Jets Country

Where AFC East Stands After Bills Heartbreaking Loss, Jets Bye Week

New York leapfrogged the Bills in the standings on Sunday, jumping into second place behind the Dolphins.

Max Goodman

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With eight weeks remaining in the regular season, the AFC East is completely up for grabs.

Can you believe it?

The Jets watched at home during their bye week on Sunday as the Bills came up short in the game of the year, falling to the Vikings in excruciating fashion. Buffalo had ample opportunities, but a thrilling comeback and a few costly blunders from Bills quarterback Josh Allen gave Minnesota enough of a shot to capitalize. 

Do yourself a favor and go watch the highlights from that epic game that went to overtime, if you haven't already.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa continued to dominate, taking care of business in a blowout win against the Browns. 

After Buffalo's loss against Minnesota, the Jets are now in second place in the division, holding the tiebreaker with the title contender after their upset win over the Bills in Week 9. Those two teams will face off again in Week 14, one Sunday after New York takes on those aforementioned Vikings (who are 8-1, by the way).

Miami sits in first place with a 7-3 record. They're 7-0 in games where Tagovailoa has been healthy. The Dolphins are now entering their bye week, meaning a win for the Jets on Sunday against the Patriots would give them a lead in the division (New York also currently holds the tiebreaker over Miami).

Speaking of New England, the Patriots are looming in fourth place at 5-4. No other division in the NFL has four teams with five-plus victories. 

In other words, as much as it's still early, all four of these teams have a legitimate shot to win a division title this season. Sure, the Patriots are a few games out and the Jets are still looking to prove that they belong in contention, but this division is poised to come down to the very last week of the year, an exciting finish with plenty of postseason implications. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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