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AFC East Update: Week 5 Scores, Stats and Standings
Buffalo Bills

AFC East Update: Week 5 Scores, Stats and Standings

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

Oct 9, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive back Nickell Robey (21) celebrates the Bills 30-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. AFC East Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

With the Buffalo Bills winning their third straight, they now sit well at 2nd place in our division. In this week’s AFC East update, we examine how they got there.

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The Buffalo Bills stood at 2nd place in the AFC East coming into Week 5. Although that didn’t change after Week 5, we pretty much got everything we wanted out of the week.

First off, the best news of the week: the Bills pulled out a 30-19 road victory against the Los Angeles Rams.

A lot of things went right for Buffalo in the win, starting off with two touchdowns in the first two drives of the game. They slowed down a bit as the half neared, but enjoyed a 3-point lead at the end of two quarters.

A dominant second half on both sides of the ball is what made the difference in this one. The Bills scored a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarter — a 41-yard pick-6 by Nickell Robey-Coleman and a 6-yard touchdown reception by Marquise Goodwin. With Lorenzo Alexander‘s three sacks, the Bills contained the Rams to just two field goals in the second half, ending the game 30-19.

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

1 2 3 4 T
Rams 3 10 3 3 19
Bills 7 9 7 7 30

With their third straight victory, the Bills improved to 3-2 on the season. They are getting hotter every week and are playing with a type of swagger we’ve never seen before. Here’s a look at some of the cool things surrounding the Bills right now:

    Buffalo still sits in second place, but gained two things this week with their win: containment on the Patriots and more cushion with the Jets and Dolphins.

    Let’s start with the New England Patriots.

    Oct 9, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett (88) celebrates his second quarter touchdown against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. AFC East Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

    Unfortunately, the Patriots destroyed the Cleveland Browns with a dominant QB-TE connection between Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett.

    If the Patriots had lost on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills would’ve been tied in first place with New England. However, with Tom Brady returning and the team playing against the Cleveland Browns, that was unlikely.

    Upcoming Schedule

    Both teams started with touchdowns early in the first quarter, with the game tied 7-7 with 6 minutes left in the opening quarter. The Patriots started it off with a one-yard TD run by LeGarrette Blount. The Browns answered with an 11-yard TD pass from Cody Kessler to Andrew Hawkins.

    That’s when Tom Brady and the Patriots took over, outscoring the Browns 23-0 from the time Cleveland scored their first touchdown until the first minute of the fourth quarter. The three touchdowns came from Martellus Bennett from Tom Brady — from 7, 5 and 37 yards, respectively.

    The Browns would finally answer with 14 minutes left in the final quarter off a 17-yard TD pass from Charlie Whitehurst to Connor Hamlett. However, that would be it for the Browns as the Patriots would secure the win with a drive that lasted 6:28 minutes and ended in a field goal.

    The Patriots won 33-13. Here’s a look at the final box score:

    1 2 3 4 T
    Browns 7 0 0 6 13
    Patriots 16 7 7 3 33

    The Patriots winning on Sunday was the only thing that went wrong for the Bills, but the pain was eased with the Bills winning. The good news is we are still right on New England’s tail — and that has to really piss off Patriots’ fans (hehe).

    Here’s a quick look at the stats from the Patriots-Browns game:

    New England Patriots’ Stats

    Passing

    Tom Brady: 28/40, 406 yards, 3 TD, one sack

    Rushing

    LeGarrette Blount: 18 carries, 37 yards, TD

    Receiving

    Chris Hogan: 4 receptions, 114 yards, 5 targets

    Martellus Bennett: 6 receptions, 67 yards, 3 TD, 8 targets

    Rob Gronkowski: 5 receptions, 109 yards, 7 targets

    Defense

    E. Roberts: 7 tackles, 6 solo, tackle for loss

    P. Chung: 7 tackles, 5 solo, INT

    M. Brown: 4 tackles, 3 solo, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss

    Cleveland Browns’ Stats

    Passing

    Cody Kessler: 5/8, 62 yards, TD

    Charlie Whitehurst: 14/24, 182 yards, TD, INT, 2 sacks

    Rushing

    Isaiah Crowell: 13 carries, 22 yards

    Receiving

    Gary Barnidge: 5 receptions, 76 yards, 8 targets

    Andrew Hawkins: 4 receptions, 56 yards, TD, 7 targets

    Terrelle Pryor: 5 receptions, 48 yards, 6 targets

    Defense

    C. Kirksey: 16 tackles, 11 solo

    D. Davis: 10 tackles, 6 solo

    J. Meder: 2 tackles, one solo, one sack, one tackle for loss

    The week got even better for the Bills with the outcomes of Buffalo’s other two rivals: the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

    Let’s move on to the Miami Dolphins vs. Tennessee Titans game.

    Oct 9, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (left) greets Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (right) after their game at Hard Rock Stadium. Titans won 30-17. AFC East Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

    The Miami Dolphins hosted the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, trying to avoid their fourth loss of the season.

    This season hasn’t been an ideal for the Miami Dolphins, much to the relief of Buffalo Bills‘ fans. Safe to say, they shouldn’t be too much of a worry on Week 7, when Buffalo travels to Miami.

    Their struggles continued against the Tennesse Titans, who are fresh with a young quarterback, explosive one-two punch at running back and a defense that held the Dolphins to just 8 first downs, 200 yards of total offense and about 13:30 minutes between the two team’s time of possession.

    Much of the first quarter was boring to watch, with each team punting on their first two drives of the game. However, the Titans would start to move the ball with just under 3 minutes left in the quarter.

    Their first 3 plays of that drive went for 29 yards, 9 yards and 13 yards before another 5-yard run brought them to the 5-yard line. Titans’ quarterback Marcus Mariota finished the drive with a 5-yard TD run.

    Upcoming Schedule

    On the Dolphins’ pursuing drive, the Titans forced a three-and-out. That was followed by a three-and-out themselves as Tennesse was forced to punt early in the second quarter.

    Back to receive the punt was Jakeem Grant, who took it to the house with a 74-yard punt return TD to tie the game up at 7-a-piece.

    The Titans would answer with a 12-play, 76-yard drive finished by a 5-yard TD catch by Andre Johnson. Then the Dolphins followed with a 6-play, 79-yard drive ended with a 4-yard rushing TD by Jay Ajayi. Lastly, the Titans would have another 75+ yard drive capped off with a 20-yard TD catch by Delanie Walker.

    At halftime, the Titans enjoyed a 21-14 lead.

    Things would settle down in the third quarter, which ended with just one field goal being scored by each team. Entering the fourth quarter, the Titass were up 24-17, but the Dolphins still had a chance to score with plenty of time remaining.

    Luckily, they wouldn’t score again. The Titans added to their lead with a little over  8 minutes left in the game with a 4-yard pass TD to Rishard Matthews. With a blocked extra point, the game sat at 30-17. Tennessee’s defense sealed the deal with their second interception of the day just before the 2-minute warning.

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

    1 2 3 4 T
    Dolphins 0 14 3 0 17
    Titans 7 14 3 6 30

    Let’s take a look at the stats from this game:

    Miami Dolphins’ Stats

    Passing

    Ryan Tannehill: 12/18, 191 yards, 2 INT, 6 sacks

    Rushing

    Jay Ajayi: 13 carries, 42 yards, TD

    Receiving

    D. Parker: 2 receptions, 70 yards, 3 targets

    D. Williams: 2 receptions, 67 yards, 2 targets

    J. Landry: 3 receptions, 28 yards, 3 targets

    Defense

    Kiko Alonso: 12 tackles, 8 solo, 1.5 tackles for loss

    T. Lippett: 9 tackles, 8 solo

    M. Thomas: 6 tackles, 4 solo, tackle for loss

    Oct 9, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) attempts a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. AFC East Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

    Tennessee Titans’ Stats

    Passing

    M. Mariota: 20/29, 163 yards, 3 TD

    Rushing

    D. Murray: 27 carries, 121 yards

    M. Mariota: 7 carries, 60 yards, TD

    D. Henry: 7 carries, 54 yards

    Receiving

    Delanie Walker: 5 receptions, 66 yards, TD, 8 targets

    R. Matthews: 4 receptions, 32 yards, TD, 4 targets

    A. Johnson: 2 receptions, 13 yards, TD, 4 targets

    Defense

    D. Stafford & J. McCourty: INT

    Brian Orakpo: 6 tackles, 5 solo, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss

    D. Morgan: 4 tackles, 4 solo, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss

    J. Casey: 2 tackles, 2 solo, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss

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    The Dolphins now sit at 1-4, moving further behind the Bills and Patriots in the AFC East. The Bills will face them in Week 7 and judging by the way Tennessee ran the ball (235 rushing yards vs. Miami) and sacked the quarterback (6 sacks vs. Miami), Buffalo should have no problem at all.

    That means with a win vs. Colin Kaepernick on Sunday and a win against Miami the following week, the Bills will be at 5-2 with a lot of bragging rights — one of those being a 5-game winning streak on their hands.

    We have one more game to review, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.

    Oct 9, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (R) talk at mid-field after their game at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

    The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the New York Jets for their Week 5 matchup, handing the Jets a loss similar to the one Miami suffered this weekend.

    The New York Jets were forced to face a red-hot Pittsburgh Steelers’ team that was 3-1 headed into this game. The Jets were sitting at 1-3 with a struggling quarterback that had thrown one TD and 9 INT in the past two games.

    Ryan Fitzpatrick wouldn’t throw an interception vs. the Steelers on Sunday, but ultimately struggled to find the endzone as much as Pittsburgh did.

    Upcoming Schedule

    Each team scored on their first drive of the game, with the Jets starting it off with an 8-play, 58-yard drive that ended in a field goal. The Steelers answered with a 72-yard TD catch by Sammie Coates from Ben Roethlisberger.

    The Jets would hit another field goal with 11 minutes left in the second quarter, bringing the Steelers’ lead to 7-6. The Jets would then score again off a 15-yard TD pass to Brandon Marshall, taking the lead with two minutes left in the half.

    Once again, though, Pittsburgh would answer right away with a touchdown of their own that came off a 1-yard pass to Jesse James with 40 seconds left in the half. The Steelers enjoyed a 14-13 lead at the end of two.

    The third quarter was nothing short of boring until the final minutes of the quarter. Up until the 4 minute mark, the only points scored in the third were a field goal by the Steelers. Other than that, both teams combined for  5 punts in the third quarter.

    With 4 minutes left in the third, the Steelers got the ball and started to drive. A 22-yard catch by Coates on third down at the Jets’ 33 yard line brought the ball to the 11 yard line and a 6-yard pass to M. Wheaton brought it to the Jets’ 5-yard line as time expired in the third quarter.

    In the first play of the fourth, Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown in the endzone for a 5-yard TD catch. The Steelers’ lead was at 24-13 after scoring 17 unanswered points. They would add on to that with another dominant drive towards the end of the game that finished with another Coates TD reception — this time from 5 yards out.

    The Jets wouldn’t have enough time to comeback as the game ended 31-13 in Pittsburgh’s favor. The Jets were held scoreless in the second half, spelling the difference in this one.

    Let’s take a look at the final box score from the game:

    1 2 3 4 T
    Steelers 7 7 3 14 31
    Jets 3 10 0 0 13

    Next, the stats from the game:

    New York Jets’ Stats

    Passing

    Ryan Fitzpatrick: 25/38, 255 yards, TD, 3 sacks

    Rushing

    Matt Forte: 12 carries, 53 yards

    Receiving

    Brandon Marshall: 8 receptions, 114 yards, TD, 15 targets

    Quincy Enunwa: 4 receptions, 51 yards, 7 targets

    Defense

    E. Henderson: 8 tackles, 5 solo

    R. Miles: 6 tackles, 6 solo, tackle for loss

    L. Williams: 4 tackles, one solo, one sack, tackle for loss

    Oct 9, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) celebrates a touchdown pass against the New York Jets during the second half of their game at Heinz Field. The Steelers won, 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

    Pittsburgh Steelers’ Stats

    Passing

    Ben Roethlisberger: 34/47, 380 yards, 4 TD, one sack

    Rushing

    L. Bell: 20 carries, 66 yards

    Receiving

    Sammie Coates: 6 receptions, 139 yards, 2 TD, 11 targets

    L. Bell: 9 receptions, 88 yards, 11 targets

    Antonio Brown: 9 receptions, 78 yards, TD, 11 targets

    Defense

    V. Williams: 9 tackles, 8 solo, one sack, 3 tackles for loss

    L. Timmons: 8 tackles, 3 solo, 0.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss

    A. Chickillo: 3 tackles, 3 solo, one sack, tackle for loss

    With the Jets’ loss, they joined the Miami Dolphins with a 1-4 record and now sit at the bottom of the AFC East, while the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots continue to strive.

    Before we completely get ready for Week 6, let’s take a quick look at how the AFC East standings are looking now that Week 5 is history.

    Oct 9, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) rushes against the Los Angeles Rams during a NFL game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

    If the Patriots had lost on Sunday, everything would’ve gone right for the Buffalo Bills. However, we’ll live with getting 3 out of 4 last Sunday.

    We’re not going to waste any time on this one.

    Here’s the AFC East standings heading into Week 6:

    New England Patriots

    AFC East Standings

    4-1The New England Patriots will host the Cincinnati Bengals at 1:00 PM. Hopefully Andy Dalton and A.J. Green can dominate the Patriots’ defense.

    Buffalo Bills

    AFC East Standings

    3-2The Buffalo Bills will host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at 1:00 PM. Chip Kelly has already announced that Colin Kaepernick will be starting vs. the Bills, so it will be our first real look at a dual-threat quarterback after extending a lot of pressure to Joe Flacco, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Carson Palmer, Jacoby Brissett and Case Keenum.

    New York Jets

    AFC East Standings

    1-4The New York Jets will travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals for Monday Night Football. The Buffalo Bills already showed they can beat the Cardinals, but struggled against the Jets (Gregg Roman was OC). It will be an interesting game that should see a lot of David Johnson, Jr.

    Miami Dolphins

    AFC East Standings

    Let’s go out there and get a W vs. Colin Kaepernick on Sunday. Hopefully, we see the Pats, Jets and Fins all lose this week.

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