Week 8: AFC East Review

Miami Dolphins 17-27 New England Patriots

The Miami Dolphins lost four straight games in a row despite dominating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the first half. The Dolphins rushed for 103 yards in the first half, while Brady was held to a meagre six completions on eight throws for only 25 yards. All seemed to be going well for the Dolphins as Brady's first pass of the game was intercepted by Dimitri Patterson, setting up Tannehill's 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Gibson. Five minutes into the second quarter, and Tannehill sent the Dolphins 14-0 up against their division rivals with a 5-yard pass to Daniel Thomas, before kickers from both teams each scored field goals to send the game 17-3 in favour of Miami at halftime.

Sadly, the third quarter was a disaster for the Dolphins. Within minutes, the Patriots scored two touchdowns from seven plays, while Brady went on to complete 13 of 22 passes in the game, only the fifth time the quarterback has gone over 50 percent this season. In the third quarter alone Brady threw 76 out of is total 116 yards. Back to the drawing board for the Miami Dolphins, who desperately need to end their barren spell. The talent on the team doesn't warrant losing four straight games on the bounce. Referees aside, Miami needs to win soon to salvage the season.

Buffalo Bills 17-35 New Orleans Saints

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints continued their dramatic return to form this season in emphatic fashion. Bills quarterback Thad Lewis threw one interception, lost two fumbles and was sacked four times on the way to passing for 234 yards and one touchdown. Running back Fred Jackson also scored on a 1-yard run. But in the end Buffalo was outclassed by a Pro Bowl calibre quarterback throwing the ball to a rookie wide receiver and a hobbled tight end. Kenny Stills, fresh after his first career touchdown against the Patriots, made three catches for 129 yards and a touchdown against Buffalo, while Graham had three catches for 37 yards and two touchdowns. Impressive stuff for a Saints team destined to go deep in the playoffs.

New York Jets 9-49 Cincinnati Bengals

Miami's next opponent for Week 9, the Cincinnati Bengals, demolished the New York Jets on Sunday. Make no mistake. The New York Jets got beaten, and beaten very well against the Cincinnati Bengals. Andy Dalton recorded a career-high five touchdown passes on Sunday, finishing the day with 19 completions of 30 for 325 yards and moving him to 11 touchdowns in the last three games. As for Marvin Jones, he caught four of those passes to finish the day with a career-high eight catches for 122 yards. The Bengals asserted their dominance early with two touchdowns in their first two possessions. The Bengals' game-plan revolved around bombing the football deep in order to take advantage of New York's man-to-man coverage. That's exactly what they did, as Cincinnati's offensive line gave Dalton time in the pocket to make numerous big plays. AJ Green himself made two catches that went for more than 50 yards each. This was an impressive home win for the Bengals, leaving Miami plenty of work to do before Week 9.

What do you think of the games in the AFC East this past weekend? Can the Dolphins get it together for Week 9? Lets hear your thoughts.