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Buffalo Bills 27-20 Jacksonville Jaguars
EJ Manuel reminded everyone why he was picked in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft after scoring 3 touchdowns on his way to a 27-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. While Manuel didn't do anything spectacular, he proved very effective in his team's dink and dunk offense as he completed 17 of 24 passes. Robert Woods caught five passes for 82 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown, while Scott Chandler caught 5 catches for 54 yards. In the final 2:14 of the first half, Buffalo scord 10 points to take a 20-10 lead before the jaguars came back into the game in the fourth quarter to tie the game up with a touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis. However Buffalo proved too much for Jacksonville as Manuel completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Frank Summers on a 89-yard drive. While the Jaguars had one final shot with 1:46 left on the clock, they failed to pick up a first down as they consigned themselves to defeat. The win leaves Buffalo 5-9 on the season, while the Jaguars slip to 4-10.
New England Patriots 20-24 Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins underlined their offseason credentials with a huge win over the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots have proved in the past that they can win in the dying seconds of the game, but this one proved a step too far for them. With two seconds on the clock, Tom Brady made a last-gasp pass on fourth-down, only for it to be intercepted by Michael Thomas, who himself was only signed off the 49ers practice squad this week and was playing in his first NFL game (By the way, you have to watch his post-game interview). Ryan
Tannehill continued to suffer from poor protection with four sacks, but still managed to throw for 312 yards and three touchdown passes. The game clincher game on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Thigpen with only 1:15 left in the game. Tannehill's other scoring passes came from a 39 yard pass to Mike Wallace and a 2 yard pass to Daniel Thomas.
While New England are famous for slow starts, the Patriots put 10 points on the board when Michael Hoomanawanui caught a one-handed 13-yard touchdown pass from Brady. However, the Patriots failed to capitalise on their lead as they settled for field goals, and even saw kicker Stephen Gostkowski pull a 48-yard attempt wide.
That opened the game back into the Dolphin's favour as they took a 17-10 lead as Tannehill tricked the New England defense with a double fake before throwing the ball to Thomas for a 2-yard touchdown.
However, the Patriots came back into the game and went 20-17 up as Edelman caught a 24-yard pass with only four minute left on the clock. Surely the Patriots must have felt the game was within their grasp.
The Dolphins had other ideas as they mounted a comeback of their own. Stephen Gostkowski's kickoff went out of bounds, allowing the Dolphins to start at their 40-yard line. Then, on fourth and five, Charles Clay kept the drive alive as he caught a short pass but turned it into a 6-yard gain. Thigpen then wrapped up the game with five plays later to give the Dolphins a mesmerising win over their arch-rivals.
Do you dare to believe?
New York Jets 20-30 Carolina Panthers
The final game in the AFC East saw the Panthers stroll to victory over the Jets. Cam Newton threw for 273 yards and a touchdown. Last week, Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes labelled Carolina's secondary as the "weakest link" of their defense. At the end of the day, Captain Munnerlyn proved Holmes wrong with two sacks and a returned interception for a touchdown. Holmes himself only had 2 catches for 17 yards on the day. The win sees the Panthers climb to 10-4, while the Jets fall to 6-8.
