Week 8 Wrapup

Week 8 in the AFC East was certainly an interesting one. The Patriots kept on rolling, the Bills gave their fans reason for optimism, while the Jets and Dolphins continued their horrible starts.

The game of the week in the AFC East took place down in the Meadowlands where the Buffalo Bills improved to 3-4 with a 13-3 win over the struggling Jets. In what was an extremely ugly game, the Bills made the one big play, a 75-yard touchdown pass from J.P. Losman, who was in for an injured Trent Edwards, to WR Lee Evans that made it a 13-3 game with 3:38 left in the game. Losman played a solid game in relief, leading the Bills on two scoring drives in the fourth quarter. The Bills defense held the lackluster Jets to just 216 total yards and forced 3 turnovers. RB Marshawn Lynch continued his great rookie year with 80 yards rushing on the day.

For the Jets, the breaking point may have finally hit. After a poor day passing, Jets QB Chad Pennington was replaced by Kellen Clemens, much to the delight of the Jets home crowd. Clemens didn’t fare much better, throwing two interceptions in his limited playing time. There isn’t much going right in New York these days, and the Jets are hoping a change at QB might give them the spark they need. The only stars of the game for the Jets would have to be RB Thomas Jones (70 yards on 16 carries) and rookie LB David Harris, who had 17 tackles and a sack playing in place of Jonathan Vilma, who was placed on IR recently. The Jets are hoping Harris can takeover the starting role for good as Vilma doesn’t seem to fit the team’s 3-4 defensive alignment.

Up in Foxboro, the Patriots took the Redskins out behind the woodshed and laid a 52-7 beating on them. There wasn’t much the Pats could do wrong this weekend as the offense scored at will and the defense held the Skins to 224 yards on the day. QB Tom Brady continued his MVP-worthy start to the season, throwing for 3 TDs and rushing for 2 more. LB Mike Vrabel had a career day with 11 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and a TD catch while playing TE. Vrabel now has 10 catches in his career, all for touchdowns. WR Wes Welker had another great day for the Pats, hauling in 9 catches for 89 yards and his 6th touchdown of the season.

Over in merry old England the Miami Dolphins looked to get their first win of the season, but it was more of the same as they dropped a 13-10 game to the Giants. Playing on a rain soaked field that isn’t built for American football, neither team was able to muster much offense. The Dolphins didn’t find the end zone until the final minutes of the game when Cleo Lemon hit Tedd Ginn, Jr. for a late touchdown that brought the Phins within 3. The ensuing onside kick slid out of bounds on the slick field and the Giants were able to run out the clock to win.