Buffalo Bills

AFC East Update: Week 4 Scores, Stats and Standings

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Oct 2, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) sits on the bench during the second half of the Buffalo Bills 16-0 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. AFC East Update Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

In this week’s AFC East Update, we examine how the Buffalo Bills safely secured 2nd place in the division thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks.

After starting the season 0-2 with problems facing every which way, the Buffalo Bills managed to regroup after the firing of offensive coordinator Gregg Roman. The Bills have now won their last two games to even up their record at 2-2 as the opening month of football has come to a close.

With the Bills’ road victory against the New England Patriots on Sunday, we only have two other games to examine that featured an AFC East team. Before we get to those, though, let’s take a quick look back at the Bills’ victory – -which we’ll be bragging about for a while.

	1	2	3	4	T
Patriots	0	0	0	0	0
Bills	7	6	3	0	16

It was the first time the Patriots endured a shutout loss at Gillette Field, a stadium they moved to in 2002. It was also the first time they’ve been shutout at home since 1993, when the New York Jets blanked 6-0.

Upcoming Schedule

The Buffalo Bills got off to an early start by forcing a three-and-out on defense to start the game. It didn’t take long for them to catch a groove on offense, either.

In their opening drive, the Bills were controlling the ball very well both through the air and the ground. They did what they needed to do in the passing game, targeting Charles Clay and Robert Woods much more than in previous games. LeSean McCoy consistently racked up yards on the ground before catching a 7-yard TD pass from Tyrod Taylor with 5 minutes left in the opening quarter.

Their first drive took 12 plays and 7:11 of gametime, going for a total of 65 yards.

The second quarter featured more dominant play by the defense, who only allowed the Patriots 11 plays in the quarter. Zach Brown forced a fumble on a Jacoby Brissett scramble as New England punted on all three of their second quarter drives. Dan Carpenter added on to the lead with two field goals in the quarter, as the Bills enjoyed a 13-0 lead at the half.

For the second half, the Patriots continued to struggle on offense, with their only good drive coming near the middle of the fourth quarter. That drive went 12 plays and 55 yards, but ultimately ended on a failed 4th down conversion — which basically ended the game with under 3 minutes left.

Dan Carpenter hit his third field goal of the game as the third quarter ended, bringing the scoring to a hault. The Bills’ finished with a 16-0 victory against their undefeated rivals.

For a look back at the highlights, click here.

For a look back at the offensive and defensive grades, click here.

For a look back at the Bills’ performance from a fantasy perspective, click here.

That just about covers the Bills-Patriots matchup, but what about the Dolphins and Jets? How did they do this week?

Sep 29, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) hugs Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) after their game at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 22-7. AFC East Update AFC East Update. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins traveled to Cincinnati for a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Bengals. Much like the Bills-Patriots, this was a one-sided game throughout.

For Week 2, the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets squared off for Thursday Night Football. The following Thursday, the New England Patriots beat the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football. For Week 4, it was the Miami Dolphins’ chance to get a win on Thursday.

Fortunately for the Buffalo Bills, things didn’t exactly go as planned for the Miami Dolphins on Thursday. The Cincinnati Bengals held their home turf and came out with a 22-7 victory against the Bills’ rivals.

Here’s a look at the final box score of the game:

	1	2	3	4	T
Bengals	10	6	3	3	22
Dolphins	7	0	0	0	7

The Miami Dolphins couldn’t really get anything going vs. the Bengals on Thursday. Their only points came on a 74-yard TD pass from Ryan Tannehill to Kenny Stills with 9 minutes left in the opening quarter. After that, the game was completely dominated by Cincinnati — who didn’t have a whole lot of offense either.

6 minutes after the Kenny Stills TD, A.J. Green — who was a man among boys in this game — grabbed a 7-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton. With that, Cincinnati held a 10-7 lead after the first quarter.

After the first quarter, the Cincinnati Bengals were the only team to score and they did it in all field goals. With the help of the chemistry between Dalton and Green, the Bengals hit a 22 and 43 yard field goal in the second, another 22-yarder in the third quarter and a 47-yarder with 13:30 left in the game.

All in all, the score ended 22-7 in the Bengals’ favor, as Green was easily the man of the match with his 123 receiving yards in the first half. On their six scoring drives, the Bengals totaled 55 plays and finished the game with a 16 minute advantage as far as time of possession goes.

Let’s take a look at the stat leaders in this game.

Sep 29, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills (10) carries the ball to score a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. AFC EAst Update Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Dolphins

Passing

R. Tannehill: 15/25, 189 yards, TD, INT, 5 sacks, 1 fumble

Rushing

J. Ajayi: 6 carries, 33 yards

Receiving

K. Stills: 1 reception, 74 yards, TD, 3 targets

Jarvis Landry: 7 receptions, 61 yards, 10 targets

Defense

R. Jones: 9 tackles, 5 solo

K. Alonso: 8 tackles, 5 solo, 2 tackles for a loss

B. McCain: 4 tackles, 2 solo, sack, tackle for a loss

Sep 29, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) makes a catch against the Miami Dolphins in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. AFC East Update Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati Bengals

Passing

A. Dalton: 22/31, 296 yards, TD, sack

Rushing

J. Hill: 21 carries, 71 yards

Receiving

A.J. Green: 10 receptions, 173 yards, TD, 12 targets

B. LaFell: 4 receptions, 44 yards, 6 targets

Defense

C. Dunlap: 5 tackles, 4 solo, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss

G. Atkins: 2 tackles, 1 solo, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for a loss

D. Dennard: 6 tackles, 4 solo

Next, let’s take a look at how the New York Jets did against the Seattle Seahawks.

Oct 2, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) throws in the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium. AFC East Update Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets hosted the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday. Did the Jets take advantage of Russell Wilson’s banged up knee?

The Seattle Seahawks have a long recent history of stealing running backs from the Buffalo Bills. I mean, I can’t be the only one that has noticed this trend.

The worst part is, they always seem to do better in Seattle.

bills

BuffaLowDown 2dBuffalo Bills Fantasy Football: Top Week 4 Performers

More headlines around FanSided:

5d - Fantasy Football Outlook Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots 1 w - Bills vs. Cardinals Fantasy Football Outlook 2w - What Does Bills Offensive Coordinator Change Mean For Fantasy Football?2w - Buffalo Bills Fantasy Football: Top Week 2 Performers 2w - Bills Lose Home Opener On Thursday Night FootballMore News at BuffaLowDown

First it was Marshawn Lynch, who the Bills drafted in 2007 with the 12th overall pick. After spending his first four years with Buffalo, he moved to Seattle and finished the last 6 years of his career there. In those six years, he solidified himself as one of the best backs in the league and totaled 1,200+ yards in four straight seasons — all with the Seahawks.

Next, it was Fred Jackson, who didn’t have a productive turn of events like Lynch. However, they still managed to fit him into the system after the Bills’ released him. So, who is it now?

Who remembers C.J. Spiller, the running back we drafted with high hopes, but never really cemented himself as a consistent playmaker. We drafted him in 2010 with the 9th overall pick and spent the next 5 years in Buffalo. After being seen as a disappointment, he moved to New Orleans for the 2015 season before finding himself on a couch in South Carolina for the 2016 season.

That was until a week ago, when the Seattle Seahawks did something oh, so strange. They signed the former Bills’ running back and got him ready for their Sunday matchup vs. the Jets.

Let’s just say after being with the team for a week, he found the endzone in Week 4 with Seattle… 5 years in Buffalo struggling to find the endzone and it takes him one week in Seattle. Nice.

Anyway, here’s a look at the final box score from the Seahawks-Jets Week 4 matchup:

	1	2	3	4	T
Jets	3	7	0	7	17
Seahawks	0	14	3	10	27

Many people doubted Russell Wilson’s ability to control this game, given that he was playing with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. However, he found a way to shine and completely dominant the Jets on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ryan Fitzpatrick continued his struggles since dominating the Bills two Thursday’s ago. After throwing 6 interceptions vs. the Chiefs last week, he threw another 3 against Seattle to make it 9 over the past two games.

The scoring in this game didn’t really pick up until the second quarter, with the first quarter only showing a Jets’ field goal. The Seahawks followed that with two unanswered Russell Wilson passing touchdowns — an 8-yard throw to Spiller and a 42-yard pass to Tanner McEvoy. To finish the second, the Jets finally answered with a 17-yard pass from Fitzpatrick to Brandon Marshall.

The Seahawks held a 17-10 lead at halftime.

The third quarter was rather boring as far as scoring goes, with the Seahawks getting the only points off a 33-yard field goal. However, the fourth quarter provided more scoring like the second quarter did.

Starting the final quarter with a 6-yard pass to Christine Michael from Russell Wilson, the Seahawks quickly added to their lead. With 4 minutes left, they hit another field goal to bring the lead to 27-10. Without a lot of time remaining, the Jets had to work fast.

The Jets ended up scoring a 42-yard fumble recovery TD just before the two-minute warning, but that was it as the game ended 27-17 in favor of the Seahawks.

Let’s take a look at the stat leaders from the Seahawks-Jets Week 4 matchup.

Oct 2, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) scores a second quarter touchdown ahead of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) at MetLife Stadium. AFC East Update Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

New York Jets

Passing

R. Fitzpatrick: 23/41, 261 yards, TD, 3 INT, 4 sacks

Rushing

M. Forte: 14 carries, 27 yards

Receiving

B. Marshall: 4 receptions, 89 yards, TD, 12 targets

Q. Enunwa: 6 receptions, 60 yards, 7 targets

B. Powell: 6 receptions, 54 yards, 9 targets

Defense

B. Skrine: 4 tackles, 3 solo, sack, tackle for a loss

C. Pryor: 7 tackles, 5 solo, 1.5 tackles for a loss

S. McLendon: 3 tackles, 1 solo, 1.5 tackles for a loss

Oct 2, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll talks with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) in the second half at MetLife Stadium. Seattle Seahawks defeat the New York Jets 27-17. AFC East Update Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Seahawks

Passing

R. Wilson: 23/32, 309 yards, 3 TD, 2 sacks

Rushing

C. Michael: 18 carries, 58 yards

C.J. Spiller: 2 carries, 12 yards

Receiving

J. Graham: 6 receptions, 113 yards, 8 targets

C. Michael: 5 receptions, 32 yards, TD, 6 targets

D. Baldwin: 4 receptions, 54 yards, 4 targets

Defense

B. Wagner: 11 tackles, 7 solo, sack, 2 tackles for a loss

K.J. Wright: 6 tackles, 2 solo, sack, tackle for a loss

R. Sherman: 5 tackles, 3 solo, 2 INT

C. Marsh: 2 tackles, 2 solo, INT

Lastly, let’s take one quick look at how the AFC East Standings are looking after four weeks of play.

Oct 2, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan exits the field after the game at Gillette Stadium. The Bills defeated the Patriots 16-0. AFC East Update. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

How do the Buffalo Bills sit in the AFC East after Miami, New England and New York all faced a loss last week?

AFC East Update: That’s right, last week couldn’t have gone any better for the Buffalo Bills.

bills

BuffaLowDown 2dBuffalo Bills Fantasy Football: Top Week 4 Performers

More headlines around FanSided:

First, they did something in Foxborough that hasn’t been done since 1993 and also something that hasn’t been done in Gillette Field at all: shutout the Patriots. Their 16-0 road victory came with a lot of bragging rights.

With the Patriots handed their first loss of the season, they dropped to 3-1. They do still own the division for right now, but they only lead the Buffalo Bills by one game — meaning anything can happen.

With the losses endured by the Jets and Dolphins, they each fell to 1-3 this week. Now one game behind the Bills, both of these teams will need two straight wins just to get an even record.

That leaves your Bills secured in 2nd place in the AFC East. If the Bills win on Sunday and the Patriots lose — with Tom Brady — then they will share first place.

New England Patriots

AFC East Standings

3-1

Buffalo Bills

AFC East Standings

2-2

New York Jets

AFC East Standings

1-3

Miami Dolphins

AFC East Standings

Let’s hope for a Bills’ victory and a loss to the Patriots, Jets and Dolphins this week.