AFC stock reports: Colts remain two seed, Chiefs fall further behind

New England Patriots remain on top while the Buffalo Bills take a step back

Another week passes that New England faces an inferior opponent, or in this case, one that is struggling to find any kind of rhythm despite all of the talents at playmaker positions. The difference in Week 8 was that the Patriots were not the perfect stars that everyone crowns them to be.

Three turnovers by the Cleveland Browns offense gave the Pats 14 points in the first quarter. With two fumbles coming from running back Nick Chubb on consecutive drives and a head-scratching interception by quarterback Baker Mayfield, this team continues to struggle. Blame the rain if you want, but this has been a trend for Cleveland in 2019.

The Browns, who were coming off a bye week, looked completely unprepared on offense. Questions most certainly are continuing to rise on the promotion of Freddie Kitchens to head coach. Mayfield continues to look like a completely different quarterback than what we were exposed to at the end of 2018. While Chubb was responsible for the two fumbles in the first half, the Patriots allowed him to rush for 131 yards on 20 carries in a downpour.

Belichick and his defense still added three turnovers to their league-high total of 25 and only allowed their second touchdown of the season. The next highest team in turnovers is 10 below New England at 15. Taking advantage of young quarterbacks in 5 of their last 7 games and will face another next week against Baltimore. Staying undefeated with another win while increasing their lead over the Buffalo Bills after they faced a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles makes them that much harder to catch up to.

Another game dealing with bad weather, the Eagles came into New York with every intention of running the ball keeping it on the ground for 41 plays. The plan was unsuccessful in the first half, but the second half was a completely different story. Ending the day with 218 yards on the ground for the Eagles was a big reason for their success only throwing for 172 yards.

On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Josh Allen struggled against a depleted secondary throwing 16 of 34 for 169 yards and two touchdowns with a 47.1 completion percentage. He continues to struggle connecting deep again against the Eagles missing his targets in a way that his receivers had no chance of making a play. Most of his success came either on the ground or throwing while on the run. The defense has been able to bail out Buffalo’s offense for most of the season. Allen has not thrown for more than 219 yards in his last four games.