A bit of (easily ignored) NFL History was made last Sunday during Week 8 of action. It was the first time in the 2025 regular season where all four AFC East teams won. If you listen closely you can hear
the bottles of champagne popping. The New England Patriots kept their lead in the division while the New York Jets won their first game of the season. Let’s look at some of the key takeaways from each AFC East matchup in Week 8.
It was more of the same from the Buffalo Bills in Week 8 in ways, but the team finally got back to their winning ways. On one hand, the rushing attack was dominant with James Cook rushing for 216 yards on 19 carries, finding the end zone two times on the afternoon. On the other hand, the passing attack still leaves a lot to be desired with Josh Allen only completing 12 passes (and the majority coming near the line of scrimmage). The great news is the dominant play by the defense, which shut down a potent Panthers’ run game and gave quarterback Andy Dalton more fits than he could handle.
With the trade deadline approaching next week, the hope is that general manager Brandon Beane makes a move to improve the wide receivers room. However, a new wrinkle has entered the chat thanks to defensive tackle Ed Oliver suffering a torn biceps. The injury will require surgery and has him sidelined indefinitely.
The Patriots continued their strong start to the season and now hold the longest current winning streak
in the league at five games. It took about a quarter for New England to find their rhythm against the
Cleveland Browns, but the offense outscored the Browns 29-6 in the final three quarters.
Quarterback Drake Maye continues to impress, and passed for three touchdowns in Week 8. One of those
touchdowns went to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, which was his first touchdown on the season. Their
defense forced two interceptions along with a safety making things difficult for rookie quarterback
Dillon Gabriel. The Patriots look to keep their hot start going in Week 9 when they take on the Jekyll & Hyde Atlanta Falcons next week.
Speaking of the Falcons, they laid an egg against the Miami Dolphins, losing 34-10 in one of the more
surprising results in Week 8. Credit to the Dolphins playing hard for head coach Mike McDaniel as
there has certainly been a lot of talk about his future with the team.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had one of his most efficient games on the season, posting a 138.6 passer rating. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle added five catches for 99 yards and a touchdown; he’s thriving as the go-to target since Tyreek Hill was lost to a season-ending leg injury a couple of weeks ago.
Although the team is sitting at 2-6 you never know how much a team can rally after getting a W. Miami will look to build a winning streak on a short
turnaround with a Thursday night matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.
We finish things off with perhaps the team of the week in the New York Jets. Things looked bleak in the
fourth quarter after a 73 yard touchdown drive by the Cincinnati Bengals made the score 38-24.
However, the Jets found out just how much heart their football team had by rallying to end up winning
the game 39-38. Not a lot of people expected this result as Garett Wilson and Sauce Gardner did not
play in the game due to injuries. Now beating the Bengals is nothing to brag home about given the state
of their roster but one thing for sure is that these Jets players will give their all to head coach Aaron
Glenn. It will have to be seen if the Jets can build some positive momentum going the rest of the season.
