Recapping all the news around the AFC East, following Week 5 of the 2023 NFL season.

Each week throughout the 2023 NFL season, I’ll be recapping all the action and news from around the AFC East that week. Week 5, let’s go.

AFC East Scores - Week 5

• New York Giants 16 - 31 Miami Dolphins
• New Orleans Saints 34 - 0 New England Patriots
• New York Jets 31 - 21 Denver Broncos
• Jacksonville Jaguars 25 - 20 Buffalo Bills

AFC East Standings

1. Miami Dolphins (4-1) Overall; (1-1) Division
2. Buffalo Bills (3-2) Overall; (1-1) Division
3. New York Jets (2-3) Overall; (1-1) Division
4. New England Patriots (1-4) Overall; (1-1) Division

AFC East Headlines

Bills Struggle In London

After they thumped the Dolphins in Week 4, the Bills didn’t quite live up to expectations in Week 5.

Heading across the pond to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo simply didn’t show up. On Sunday, the Bills actually managed to rack up great numbers (388 total yards, 18 first downs, 7.2 yards per play), but a lack of detail on both sides of the football cost them. They couldn’t finish drives on offense, and after they allowed the Jaguars to race out to an 11-0 lead, Buffalo never quite got back in the game.

There was no effort, no attention to detail, and emotions boiled over late in the game, with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs not seeing eye-to-eye. Tensions rising, perhaps?

Jets Pull Off Road Upset In Denver

Sunday was a classic, old-school Jets victory, as New York ran for 234 yards on the ground, and controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes. On defense, the Robert Saleh’s unit created three turnovers, and sacked Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson four times. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson played just well enough to seal the victory, but the lion’s share of the credit on offense should go to running back Breece Hall, who ran for 177 yards on just 22 carries (8.0 yards per carry), including a 72-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

With their performance in Week 5, the Jets improved to 2-3 on the season, just a game behind Buffalo in the AFC East. Seemingly, even without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Jets simply won’t go away.

Mac Jones Benched (Again)

For the second straight game, Mac Jones was benched in favor of Bailey Zappe. Against the Saints, Jones went 12/22 (54%) for 110 yards, and threw two ugly interceptions to boot. Unfortunately, Zappe couldn’t get anything going for the offense either, and the team suffered their worst-ever home shutout in franchise history. On the day, the Patriots had just 156 yards of total offense, while their defense allowed the Saints to rack up 304 yards of total offense and 17 first-downs.

From top to bottom, the organization is in crisis mode at the moment, and it’s getting harder and harder to shift the blame away from head coach Bill Belichick.

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