AFC East roundup, Week 11: stock up, stock down

Week 10 of the NFL season is in the rearview mirror and, with it, what had been status quo for AFC East seeding. The New York Jets (6-3) and New England Patriots (5-4) were idle this week enjoying their bye, while the Buffalo Bills (6-3) and Miami Dolphins (7-3) were in action. Miami continued its winning ways in a rout of the Cleveland Browns, while the Bills came away with more questions than answers in a hard-fought loss to the Minnesota Vikings. With that, let’s take a look at those players trending up and those whose stock is headed in the wrong direction.

Buffalo Bills stock down: Josh Allen

Mr. Allen, you have some explaining to do. Allen was the main reason Buffalo blew a 17-point lead against Minnesota. In the fourth quarter, Allen threw an interception on 4th & Goal from the two-yard line. Sometimes great players just have to try and make game-winning plays for their team, so he gets a pass on that red zone turnover. Later, after the defense made a stop on the one-yard line that appeared to seal the game for the Bills, Allen fumbled the ensuing quarterback sneak and hand-delivered a touchdown for the Vikings. Like always, Allen gave Bills Mafia hope by driving for a field goal with only 37 seconds on the clock, forcing overtime. But then, in extra time, he threw another interception with the game in reach to be tied or won. Allen currently leads the NFL with 13 turnovers. He desperately needs to rediscover the quarterback he was over the first few month and a half.

Buffalo Bills stock up: Tremaine Edmunds

Edmunds is in a contract year after the team declined his fifth-year option for the 2022 season. While his play is often a hot topic with much of Bills Mafia, he’s playing lights-out this season. Already on the year, Edmunds has four games with 10 tackles or more with three of those efforts coming in the past four games. There could have been no bigger indication of his impact than against the Vikings. In the first half, Edmunds was all over the field in coverage and against the running game. However, he reaggravated his groin injury and missed the entire second half, which is when Minnesota started to make their move. He is still only 24 years old and the Bills’ front office would be wise to find a way to keep him playing for them beyond this season.

Miami Dolphins stock up: Tua Tagovailoa

Like it or not, Tua is here to stay, and he even has a legitimate case to win the NFL MVP this season. On Sunday, Tagovailoa was back to doing his thing against the Cleveland Browns, passing for 285 yards and three touchdowns. FOX ran a poll on Twitter asking fan to vote for the midseason NFL MVP. Tua won the vote, and for good reason. His football team is 7-3 heading into their bye week, and the team is 6-1 in games that he’s started. The lone loss came when he was knocked out of the game due to a concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals. He is third in the NFL with 18 passing touchdowns. Where Allen has 10 interceptions, Tagovailoa only has three. The Dolphins are now a very dangerous team, and a huge part of that is due to Tagovailoa reaching his full potential.

Miami Dolphins stock down: Mike Gesicki

It’s been a tough season for Gesicki, who received the franchise tag during the offseason. Being the third option in an offense behind highly productive wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can be difficult, but Gesicki had been able to find some success. In three games during the month of October, he had a total of 12 receptions and three touchdowns. November hasn’t been as kind to Gesicki’s production. In two games thus far, he’s only managed three catches for 33 yards. It’s hard to gauge what kind of contract Gesicki may receive next season, but if Miami can involve him more consistently, it will only make their offense better.

New England Patriots stock up: Mac Jones

Quarterback Mac Jones has been the biggest question mark for the Patriots this season due to his up-and-down play. However, in Weeks 8 and 9, Jones led his team to back-to-back victories against the Jets and Indianapolis Colts. In those two games, Jones only threw one interception. When Jones takes care of the football, the team usually comes away with a victory, but when he’s careless and starts throwing interceptions, he puts New England behind the eight-ball. There was a point earlier this season when it seemed possible that Jones would be benched for rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe, but that appears on hold for now. In Week 11, Jones has a big rematch against the Jets that will most likely determine the trajectory of his stock the remainder of the season.

New England Patriots stock down: Damien Harris

Harris had a career year last season, rushing for almost 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground, good for second in the league. This season, it appears that Harris has lost his job to Rhamondre Stevenson. Specifically over the course of his last three games, Harris has 18 rushes for only 56 yards. For reference, Stevenson has received 42 carries in the same span. New England usually loves to utilize a rotation in their backfield, but right now it appears Harris is on the outside looking in.

New York Jets stock up: Sauce Gardner

While it seems like ages ago now, Darrelle Revis used to be the Jets’ lockdown corner who would shut down opposing teams’ number-one receiver each week. Now, if early returns are any indication, rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner could become the next cornerback with his own island in The Big Apple. Against the Bills, Gardner had a momentum-changing interception and followed it up with extremely tight defense on the last play of the game. Gardner hasn’t allowed a touchdown this year when he has been the closest defender in coverage. He may not be filling the box score up with stats each week, but that’s a good thing for a cornerback, because it means the players they’re covering aren’t catching the football.

New York Jets stock down: Corey Davis

There were big expectations for Davis coming into the 2022 season, with the hope that rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson and Davis would make a deadly pair for opposing defenses to handle. Additionally, fans wanted to see how Davis would respond after signing a lucrative contract last season. However, injuries have not been kind to Davis to this point in 2022, with a knee injury sidelining him for a few games. Davis last played on October 23, but even when on the field, he’s had minimal impact for the Jets. In four games during October, Davis had just nine receptions—not at all what a team expects from its second wide receiver.