(My Sportsbook) - Yes, this was the same team that lost to the Oakland Raiders, and nearly fell at home to the Kansas City Chiefs. It's the same team that was steamrolled by the San Diego Chargers, and outclassed by the New England Patriots.

At the same time, the New York Jets team that showed up at Ralph Wilson Stadium and dealt a 26-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills was nothing like the one that had struggled in the above contests.

It more closely resembled the unit that pulled out a tough win in Miami in Week 1, exploded offensively against the first-place Arizona Cardinals in Week 4, and kept the Bengals at arm's length the following Sunday.

And for all of the inevitable talk about Brett Favre and the offense, it was the defense that carried the day this time around.

The Jets sacked Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards five times on the afternoon, including twice by nose tackle Kris Jenkins in the ex-Panther's finest performance of the year.

They also harassed Edwards into three turnovers, including a tide-turning 92- yard interception return for a touchdown by reserve defensive back Abram Elam to end the first quarter. Cornerback Darrelle Revis also notched a pick in the game, and both forced and recovered an Edwards fumble.

The Buffalo running game did no better, amassing a total of 30 ground yards including a season-low 16 from Marshawn Lynch.

"Looking at the film and watching [Marshawn] Lynch run around, we knew that we had to come and put a solid game together, and it was going to take all 11 of us," said Jenkins. "We came out and I think we did a good job of that this week."

"What I really liked about today is that I think that we played Jets football."

Offensively, Favre managed to quiet the turnover machine down just a tad, throwing only one interception, albeit a pick-six by Jabari Greer that threatened the Jets lead in the fourth quarter.

But the graybeard was otherwise an efficient 19-of-28 for 201 yards, and was aided considerably by both the air and ground exploits of Thomas Jones (107 total yards, 18 touches).

"It feels as good as any win I've been a part of," said Favre, who managed to walk away happy on a day in which he threw his 300th interception, most in NFL history.

The standings now say that the Jets are a first-place team following their win in Buffalo, and a 2-1 record in AFC East games puts them ahead of similarly 5-3 New England (1-1 in the division) and Buffalo (0-2 in the division) as the 2008 season makes the turn.

But are the good Jets going to show up often enough over the final eight games in order to remain above the fray and make the playoffs, or is listless, turnover-laden version of Gang Green going to keep the team from realizing its postseason dreams?

Predictably, Jets coach Eric Mangini isn't thinking that far ahead.

"I think it's a good place to be," said Eric Mangini on Monday of the team's first-place standing. "Obviously, I'm happy with where we are in relationship to the rest of the division. To me, it's more being pleased with the way that we played on Sunday and the style that we played with, having a complete effort, finishing the game, all three phases, and finishing the game and it being complementary football. That's what we need to consistently do to win. It's a tough division and we face tough teams every week, so that's what I'm looking for each time we go out."

BILLS: During the Bills' 5-1 start, it seemed that there was very little to worry about.

The offense had been efficient, the defensive solid, the special teams arguably the best in the league.

But now, with the team in the midst of a two-game losing streak following consecutive division losses to the Dolphins and Jets, it looks like a brown spot is beginning to emerge on Buffalo's apple: Trent Edwards and the Buffalo attack.

One week after coming unglued in the final 20 minutes against the Dolphins, Edwards again had his troubles on Sunday. The pick-six interception to Elam (see above) seemed to have a rattling effect on the second-year signal-caller, who would lead Buffalo to just three offensive points the rest of the day (a missed Rian Lindell field goal cost the Bills three more points).

Edwards completed 24-of-35 passes for 289 yards with a first-quarter TD, but also committed three turnovers and wasn't particularly adept at throwing downfield. Of his 24 completions, only eight went to wide receivers, and No. 1 receiver Lee Evans (4 receptions, 41 yards) was noticeably quiet in the defeat.

And without question, Edwards is having little pressure taken off his shoulders by the running game. Marshawn Lynch rushed just nine times for 16 yards, and missed time in the game with a bout of nausea that undoubtedly extended to some in a disappointed home crowd.

Lynch has yet to sniff a 100-yard game this season, and has averaged four yards or more per carry in just two of eight outings this year.

Offensive coordinator Turk Schonert, who received high marks for his play- calling earlier in the season, might be well-served to make some adjustments to an attack that seems to have lost a bit of its former mojo. He might want to start with lighting a fire under his running backs.

"It's tough to keep their defense guessing if we can't establish [the run]," said Edwards after Sunday's loss. "Then they obviously know we're going to pass the ball and that puts a lot of stress on our passing game."

DOLPHINS: The Miami Dolphins aren't a part of the 5-3 muddle atop the AFC East, but that doesn't mean Tony Sparano and company haven't emerged as a prime contender in the tough-from-top-to-bottom division.

The Dolphins' 26-17 win at Denver on Sunday made them 4-2 in their last six games - of AFC East teams, only the Jets can match that record over the past six - and with a three-game homestand against the Seahawks (2-6), Raiders (2-6) and Patriots (5-3) upcoming, Miami looks intent on establishing itself as a legitimate postseason contender.

There have been new heroes every week for the Fins during their recent run, and Sunday's win at Invesco Field at Mile High was no different.

Wideout Greg Camarillo had a career game with 11 catches for 111 yards, while on the other side of the ball, cornerback Will Allen notched a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown that staked Miami to a 13-0 first-quarter lead.

After managing just two interceptions through its first seven games, the Dolphins secondary had three against Cutler, the AFC's leading passer.

"That secondary's really been competing pretty good out there each and every week right now and they're getting better and better," said Sparano. "When you come out on the road in this kind of situation, in this environment, turnovers are big, and we knew going into the game here, we talked long and hard about it, we knew they had given up a few turnovers and the ball was out."

PATRIOTS: The Patriots ran the football OK on Sunday night, with Kevin Faulk (10 carries, 60 yards) and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (15 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD) not looking too intimidated by the return of hard-hitting All-Pro safety Bob Sanders to the Indianapolis Colts' lineup.

New England threw it decently as well, with Matt Cassel completing 25-of-34 passes for 204 yards, and his only interception coming on a prayer lob in a 4th-and-16 situation late in the fourth quarter.

And the Pats also played generally sound defense, never allowing the Colts to establish the running game (21 carries, 47 yards) and not surrendering any huge plays to either Reggie Wayne (5 receptions, 65 yards) or Marvin Harrison (4 receptions, 50 yards).

Despite this lack of glaring problems, the Patriots still managed to lose the football game, going home 18-15 losers and missing out on a chance to seize control of first place in the AFC East.

The big things didn't go wrong for the Pats, but the little ones did.

New England drove into Indianapolis territory consistently throughout the night, but had to settle for short Stephen Gostkowski field goals on three occasions when drives stalled. The one time when the Pats did score a touchdown, a Green-Ellis score that put them ahead 12-7 in the third quarter, a subsequent two-point conversion attempt was missed that took some of the air out of the balloon.

On the fateful drive that culminated with Cassel's interception, Gostkowski was denied an opportunity to tie the game when a needless unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on tight end David Thomas took the Patriots out of field goal range.

And, while the defense had its moments, it also allowed the Colts to convert 6-of-10 third-down conversions, failing to come up with big stops on several occasions.

"It is certainly disappointing to be that close, do a lot of things well in the game but in the end not come out with the most points," said head coach Bill Belichick.

"It just came down to a lot of little things in the end, they had just a little more than we did. So I think we want to try to take the positives from the game and work hard on doing a few things better - red area offense, red area defense, third down defense, taking advantage of our scoring opportunities offensively - we had a couple that we missed. If we made any one of those plays it probably would have made a difference in the game on either side of the ball in any situation."