Dolphins win and Bills loss shakes up AFC East power rankings after Week 5

After a disastrous weekend for three of its four teams, the AFC East is back to being anyone's division. One team stood out and may have solidified its place in 2024.

The Miami Dolphins were the only team in the division to win on Sunday. They beat the New England Patriots, but does that change the rankings within the division? Not really, unfortunately. The good news is they got back into the win column.

Miami defeated New England, the New York Jets lost in London, and the Buffalo Bills dropped a second straight game. Let's take a look at the updated AFC East power rankings.

4. New England Patriots (1-4)

The Patriots have solidified their last-place worthiness.

New England is a bad football team. Victory was in their laps against Miami, but they couldn't close it out. As a result, they remain one of the worst teams in the NFL, the worst team in the division, and have the worst offense in the league.

The Patriots could have won their second game but blew the 10-3 lead they took into the second half. The way the Dolphins played for much of the game, the Patriots had no business losing.

New England moves back into the basement after escaping last week. It will need more wins and a rematch victory over the Dolphins when they meet again if they are going to move up.

3. Miami Dolphins (2-3)

The Dolphins managed to score more points than they have the last two weeks, but in no way did they play great. They managed to score just 15 points. The Patriots' defense isn't horrible, but they gifted the Dolphins a victory on Sunday.

Miami has been undeniably bad through five weeks of football, and that didn't change because Mike McDaniel's team beat up on the Patriots, who might just be the absolute worst team in the league. Oddly enough, Miami is still in the AFC East chase, one game out of first and tied for second with the Jets.

While the game was ugly on the field, the Dolphins got more bad news with Jevon Holland's injury.

2. New York Jets (2-3)

Aaron Rodgers has become inconsistent, at best. The Jets' star quarterback clearly could have used the offseason practices to get more familiar with his teammates. Three interceptions and some of the worst throws of his career doomed the Jets early in their loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Former Dolphins star Andrew Van Ginkel helped seal the Jets' defeat.

New York stayed in the game because of its defensive play. After giving up 17 points, the Jets' defense held the Vikings to only six points. New York is still a mess, and coaching seems to be dooming the team just as much as Rodgers.

On the sideline, head coach Robert Saleh looks lost most of the time, and he doesn't have the answers.

1. Buffalo Bills (3-2)

Dolphins fans will become Jets fans next Monday night when New York hosts Buffalo. The Bills have now lost two games in a row, this time as the clock ticked to zero and Houston Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn split the uprights from 59 yards out. The Bills looked out of sync against the tough Texans defense.

Buffalo climbed back into the game late and tied it, but the defense couldn't keep the Texans backed up, and they were able to get into position to win it.

There are problems for the Bills, and they are not beating good teams. They have the toughest schedule in the AFC East, and their second straight loss pushes the division race wide open.