We’re three-quarters of the way through Week 12 in the AFC East, with only the Primetime Patriots left to play. Sunday’s action included a matchup of the bottom-feeders of the division and the surprising upstart stealing a win against a team with much bigger issues on its mind.

The headliner game of the week for the AFC East saw the 2-9 Jets/Titans taking on the 0-11 Dolphins and the throwback-clad Jets put a whooping on the woeful Dolphins, 40-13. Miami QB John Beck looked like somebody who would get cut by BYU, throwing 3 interceptions and losing 2 fumbles in a performance that probably made Phins fans pine for the glorious days of Ray Lucas. The Jets turned those turnovers into points and handed the Dolphins their worst loss of the 2007 season. Jets’ RBs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington combined to run for over 140 yards on the day, and QB Kellen Clemens played a decent game.

The other AFC East game had the Bills heading into Washington for a matchup with the mourning Redskins. In a very emotionally charged stadium the Bills were able to keep themselves close enough on the leg of kicker Rian Lindell, who had 5 FGs on the day. Lindell kicked the game winner for the Bills with 4 seconds left, with a huge assist from Skins coach Joe Gibbs. Gibbs brain-farted the Bills from a 51-yard attempt to a 36-yard attempt when trying to call consecutive timeouts, which resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Washington. Lindell’s kick easily split the uprights and the Bills moved to 6-6 on the season. Buffalo now finds itself in the thick of the AFC playoff hunt, trailing the 7-5 Browns and Titans in the race for the 6th playoff spot.

Week 11 in the NFL coincided with Thanksgiving, and in the AFC East we have many things to be thankful for. Sadly, not a lot of them have to do with our NFL teams. The Patriots can be thankful that they survived a scare from the Philadelphia Eagles and remain undefeated. They can also be thankful for the Bills loss in Jacksonville, which clinched the 2007 AFC East Division title for the Pats. The Bills can be thankful for a surprising season that leaves them with a punchers chance at snagging an AFC Wild Card spot. And the Jets and Dolphins can be thankful that there are only 5 weeks left in the 2007 season.

On Thanksgiving Thursday the Jets travelled to Dallas to take on the white-hot Cowboys. Maybe they should have stayed home and enjoyed a second slice of pecan pie, because showing up in Dallas only led to a lopsided 34-3 loss. Honestly, there was nothing positive in this game for the Jets. They were dominated in all phases of the game by a far superior Cowboys team that looks to be the favorite to represent the NFC come Super Bowl time. I guess the only positive the Jets can take out of this is that it helps them get a better draft pick in April. Yikes.

Down in Jacksonville the Bills had a very tough day against a Jacksonville team that looks to be among the better teams in the AFC. The Jaguars had their way with the Bills, winning 36-14. It wasn’t really as close as the scoreboard showed, mainly because the Jaguars balanced offensive attack kept Buffalo’s defense on their heels all day. The biggest story for the Bills is that the QB merry-go-round is making yet another turn as rookie Trent Edwards moves back into the starting role.

The New England Patriots once again took center stage under the NFL’s primetime spotlight, this time taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Foxboro. The Eagles gave the Patriots one of their toughest tests of the season, holding a 4 point lead in the fourth quarter, but a four yard run by RB Laurence Maroney gave the Pats a 31-28 leadthat ended up being the final score. QB Tom Brady was once again the star for the Pats offense, throwing for well over 300 yards once again, but only finding the end zone once. The Pats defense was led by CB Asante Samuel who had 2 interceptions, the first of which came just minutes into the game and was returned for a touchdown. The Pats defense did look flat for most of the game but came up big when it mattered most. The 11-0 Patriots look to continue their streak next Monday night in Baltimore.

Week 11 of the NFL season has come and gone, and it left us fans of the AFC East a little surprise: a Jets win! We were also left with the now expected Patriots win, as well as losses for the Bills and Dolphins.

The Jets were able to pull off one of the bigger upsets of the year on Sunday when they knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 19-16, thanks in large part to running back Thomas Jones, who had 117 yards on 30 carries. Jones was the first running back in 35 games to rush for more than 100 yards in one game against the Steelers defense. The Jets were also helped immensely by kicker Mike Nugent, who kicked 4 field goals on the day, including the game tying kick with just 10 seconds remaining and the game winner in overtime. The Jets defense played their best game of the season, holding Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker to just 52 yards rushing while sacking QB Ben Roethlisberger 7 times. Definitely a huge win for the Jets, and a very tough loss for the playoff-hopeful Steelers.

The Miami Dolphins went into Philadelphia on Sunday hoping to notch their first win of the season. For the first 30 minutes or so it looked like they might pull it out, but Eagles’ backup QB (and former Dolphin) A.J. Feeley led the team on two second half touchdown drives to seal the 17-7 win for Philly. Rookie return man Tedd Ginn, Jr. put Miami on the scoreboard first with an electrifying 87-yard punt return to put the Phins up 7-0. Alas, it would be the last time Miami scored on the day. The Dolphins had their chances, but were denied by the Eagles defense whenever they got within sniffing range of the end zone.

Up in Buffalo the bright lights of the national audience paled in comparison to the firepower displayed by the Patriots offense in a 56-10 rout of the Bills that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated. QB Tom Brady was his usual ruthless, efficient self, throwing for 373 yards and 5 touchdowns. 4 of those touchdown passes were to WR Randy Moss, who hauled in 10 passes for 128 yards. The Patriots outgained Buffalo by 281 yards (510-229) and forced 2 turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Pats’ DB Ellis Hobbs just 1 minute into the 4th quarter and made the score 56-10. From then on the Pats offense called off the dogs and settled for draining the clock with simple fullback dives. The Pats extended their unbeaten streak to 10 while the Bills fell back to .500 at 5-5.

The AFC East is on the national stage tonight as the 9-0 Patriots travel up to Orchard Park, New York to take on the 5-4 Bills on Sunday Night Football. While the Pats come into the game as heavy 15 point favorites, its never smart to bet against a home team when they have weather and rabid fans on their side. The forecast in Orchard Park is calling for temperatures at game time to be 34 degrees with a 10 mile an hour wind. Anybody who has been to Ralph Wilson Stadium knows the wind can feel even stronger when it starts whipping through the seats. It will be very interesting to see how the cold effects the Patriots record-setting passing attack.

The Bills may need the weather to hamper the Patriots offense since their own offense will be hampered by injuries. Offensive catalyst Marshawn Lynch will likely miss the game with a sprained ankle, and that could be a major blow to a Bills offense that struggled to score even when he was on the field. The burden should fall to QB J.P. Losman and the Buffalo WRs, led by Lee Evans. Look for Buffalo to try some unconventional plays on offense to move the ball and generate some big plays. Also, Buffalo’s special teams could play a huge role in this one, including punt returner Roscoe Parrish (averaging an eye-popping 19.4 yards per punt return) and kickoff returner Terrence McGee (averaging 28.2 yards per return). If either return man can run back a kick for 6 it would greatly help the Bills pull off the major upset.

For the Patriots, one of the bigger challenges will be shaking off the rust from the bye week and getting the offense back into its groove. While the weather won’t be conducive to throwing the ball, I doubt it will stop Brady and company from throwing the ball the second they get off the plane. Buffalo’s injury-riddled secondary will have its hands full, so look for Brady to exploit mismatches whenever they present themselves. The Pats will also try to get a struggling rushing attack back on track, as it will be imperative for the team to be able to run the ball as the calendar turns towards December. On defense, the Patriots will have to prevent the big plays. The secondary will have to be sure not to commit pass interference penalties on long throws, as those were the plays that hurt the team in their last game against Indianapolis. The Patriots defensive backs can’t help the Bills offense by giving up huge chunks of yards in penalties and expect to win.

On paper, this game looks to be a fairly easy win for the Pats. But with the national lights on Orchard Park tonight I would expect the fans to be charged up and extremely loud which should give the Bills a very big home field advantage. Will it matter? Tune in tonight to find out…

Two big Dolphins stories to pass along to you. First, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reinstated Dolphins’ RB Ricky Williams after an 18-month suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Also, the Dolphins will announce that rookie QB John Beck will make his starting debut in Sunday’s game in Philadelphia against the Eagles.

The Dolphins will be given a two-week roster exemption for Williams, during which Williams will be allowed to practice with the team without counting against the 53-man roster limit. The Dolphins can activate Williams at any point during the two week period but would have to clear a spot on the active roster for him if they choose to do so. If the Dolphins do not want to add him to the roster, they will be forced to release him and make him an unrestricted free agent. Given that star RB Ronnie Brown is on injured reserve, it makes sense that the Dolphins will at least take a look at the once-great running back. But even if they decide to activate him, I wouldn’t expect to see any 100-yard rushing performances from Williams in the near future.

The 0-9 Dolphins also have another window to work with, this time at the quarterback position. It appears the team will use the last 7 weeks of the season to evaluate the rookie Beck to see if he has the potential to be the long-term answer at QB for the struggling Dolphins. If Beck proves to be a dud over the last two months, the team may be forced to use a probable top-5 draft pick on another future franchise QB. But if Beck shows he can handle the load and is a viable franchise QB the Phins could use that pick to bolster the offensive line or defense, both of which could use a lot of work.