Week 7 Wrapup

Finally, a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark and gloomy bottom of the AFC East. The Buffalo Bills managed to pull off the upset against Baltimore, knocking off the Ravens, 19-14. The win wasn’t easy as the Ravens tried to stage a late comeback but the Bills were able to step up and shut down the Baltimore offense when it mattered most. The Bills offense was efficient and took care of the ball, but was forced to settle for 4 FGs from Ryan Lindell and a TD run from Marshawn Lynch (27 carries for 84 yards). WR Lee Evans had a very strong game for Buffalo, pulling in 5 catches for 98 yards to help rookie QB Trent Edwards improve to 2-1 on the season. It was a very impressive win for the Bills, and if the young team can continue to improve they could make a late season push for a wild card spot.

As far as Dolphins fans are concerned, the less said about Sunday’s 49- 28 loss to the 7-0 Patriots, the better. New England raced out to a 42-7 halftime lead behind Tom Brady’s 5 touchdown passes and a kickoff return for a touchdown from Willie Andrews. The Patriots had their way with Miami in every aspect of the game in the first half, moving the ball at will and continually stuffing the Dolphins offense drive after drive. And as bad as the play on the field was, the loss of star RB Ronnie Brown to a knee injury may hurt even more. Brown has been the lone bright spot for Miami this season, and if he is lost for the season it could add fuel to the 0-16 talk across the league.

While the Patriots have to be satisfied with the victory, coach Bill Belichick will no doubt point to the second half performance of the defense, which allowed Miami to run up 21 points without much effort. The Patriots offense continues to throw the ball all over the field at a record setting pace. WRs Randy Moss and Wes Welker had 2 touchdown catches each, while TE Kyle Brady and WR Donte Stallworth added TD catches as well. Moss’ catches were especially amazing, both coming against double coverage on leaping grabs in the end zone.

In yet another disappointing display of football, the Jets took a tough 38-31 loss at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals. Things were looking great for the Jets early as they jumped out to a 20-10 lead at the half, only to self-destruct the rest of the way. It seemed as though anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Stupid penalties, shanked punts, botched snaps, more stupid penalties all led to the second haf collapse. One bright spot for the Jets was the play of WR Laveraneus Coles who had 8 catches for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. The running game for the Jets, which appeared to breakout last week, was once again dormant. The Jets young secondary had a tough game against one of the NFL’s best passing offenses, and the defensive line allowed 2nd string RB Kenny Watson to rip through them for 130 yards rushing. Of all the Jets losses this year, the latest one may be the most bitter.