Week 2: AFC East Review

New York Jets 10 - 13 New England Patriots

Thursday night saw the New York Jets travel to New England to face the Patriots. On the very first drive of the game Tom Brady connected with Aaron Dobson for a 39-yard touchdown. Unfortunately for both sets of fans, this is as good as the game got. Both offenses played as poorly as the weather in Foxborough as the Patriots narrowly beat the Jets on their home turf 13-10. Brady had serious difficulty in connecting with his rookie wide receivers, while Jets rookie quarterback took too much time to throw the football, causing him to be repeatedly sacked. Smith also threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter alone. This was a game to forget for football fans.

Carolina Panthers 23 - 24 Bills

On Sunday rookie Bills quarterback EJ Manuel's solid performance gave a promising glimpse into the franchise's future. Take note Geno Smith! Manuel masterminded a great nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to narrowly defeat the Panthers. Is Manuel ready to be a consistent NFL quarterback? Not just yet. Luckily Manuel had help from the officials, who wiped out his interception with a pass-interference call on Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, and also was fortunate to face an injury-ravaged Carolina secondary. There's no doubt that he is still incredibly raw and has much to learn as he was off-target for much of the first half. A franchise-record 4.5 sacks by Mario Williams was easily the performance of the day, but Manuel's last gasp-drive proved the talk of the town.

Miami Dolphins 24 - Indianapolis Colts 20

To the delight of all Dolphins fans, Miami recorded their second-straight win of the regular season in a tight game against the Colts. Ryan Tannehill threw for 319 yards and one touchdown, while the Miami Defense held Indy to 133 yards in the second half to escape with a narrow victory. After the first half came to the close, the Colts seemed to possess all the momentum. Andrew Luck and the Colts made 315 yards to turn a 14-3 deficit into a 17-14 lead, before Caleb Sturgis's 54-yard field goal tied things up at the half.

But in the second half the Colts only managed to connect on a short field goal after Luck's one-yard touchdown scramble was disallowed after Joe Philbin's successful challenge to the prior catch. A few plays later, and Luck's 15 yard touchdown pass was also wiped out by an illegal shift. Then, in what was effectively Indy's last play of the game, Philip Wheeler and Randy Starks combined to take Andrew Luck down and finish the game 24-20 to the Dolphins.

5 things to take away from the Dolphins game:

1. If there was any doubt that Ellerbe and Wheeler were upgrades over Dansby and Burnett, this game proved those doubters wrong. Both players combined for 26 tackles, while Wheeler's blitz against Andrew Luck on the Colts' last drive helped seal the game.
2. The Dolphins didn't commit a penalty during the ENTIRE game.
3. Mike Wallace's 9 receptions today set a career-high for the wide receiver. Wallace's speed means he can turn short passes into long gains in a flash.
4. Sure, Tannehill out-played Luck but he still has a tendency to hold the ball too long. Give him time, the future is still bright.
5. Brent Grimes may just prove to be the steal of free agency. We now know how he got 27 interceptions in college.