AFC East roundup: A rough weekend for all, except the Bills

It was an exciting weekend in the AFC East, with each team having a contest that was decided late in the fourth quarter. The Buffalo Bills (11-3) took on the Miami Dolphins (8-6), winning on a last-second Tyler Bass field goal, 32-29. Meanwhile, the New York Jets (7-7) took on the Detroit Lions, losing 20-17 at home, while the New England Patriots (7-7) wrapped things up against the Las Vegas Raiders in... interesting fashion.

For the Bills and Dolphins, their matchup on Saturday was pivotal in the battle for the division crown. A win for Buffalo meant a three-game lead with three games to play. Miami was looking for a victory, to be only one game back going down the home stretch. The snow held off for most of the game, with both offenses throwing everything they had at each other. In the fourth quarter, Miami kicked a field goal that put them up 29-21, but then it was Josh Allen time. Allen proceeded to lead Buffalo on a 75-yard touchdown drive, then tied the game up with a two-point conversion. With the score tied at 29, the snow really started to come down. Miami got the ball, but was forced to punt, giving the ball back to Buffalo with six minutes to go. Once again, Allen marched the Bills down the field for the game-winning field goal as time expired, sending the stadium into a frenzy.

The Jets had an early kickoff against the Lions, and were looking to take advantage of a Miami loss in the Wild Card standings. This game marked the return of quarterback Zach Wilson after being benched the past couple of weeks. Wilson was getting the start due to Mike White not being medically cleared to play. It was an up-and-down day for him, though, passing for 317 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. New York took the lead with less than five minutes to go in the game after a touchdown from Wilson to tight end C.J. Uzomah, which had to make the team confident due to their stellar defense. However, Detroit followed that up with a 51-yard touchdown pass on 4th & 1 with two minutes left to take the lead. The offense did respond by getting into the edge of field goal range, but Greg Zuerlein was unable to connect on the 58-yard attempt.

Wrapping things up was the most insane ending in recent NFL history, with the Raiders beating the Patriots, 30-24. The Raiders were in control heading into halftime with a 17-3 lead, before New England responded with 21 unanswered points. Things felt good for the Patriots until Derek Carr found Keelan Cole on a 30-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with 30 seconds left. Replay appeared to show that Cole was out of bounds, but the call stood after review. With 10 seconds left and the Patriots not close to field goal or even Hail Mary range, the game appeared to be heading to overtime.

The Patriots ran a draw play to running back Rhamondre Stevenson, which seemed normal enough — until he decided to lateral it to receiver Jakobi Meyers, who proceeded to lateral the ball about 20 yards across the field into the waiting arms of Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones. With only quarterback Mac Jones in front of him, Chandler Jones stiff-armed him into the ground, and proceeded to take the ball into the end zone for one of the craziest game-winning touchdowns you’re ever likely to see.

It was an exciting weekend of football for the AFC East, but it’s only the Bills who are smiling on victory Monday.