For the first time in almost a year, the Miami Dolphins gave their home crowd something to cheer about. Reggie Bush scored the clinching touchdown and emphatically threw the ball into the stands. Bush scored twice and Rex Grossman, who got the start over John Beck this week, was picked off twice as the Dolphins cruised to a 20-9 victory over the Washington Redskins.

This was the second straight victory for a Dolphins team that started the season 0-7. ”It was nice to come in this locker room and celebrate a win,” coach Tony Sparano said. “I see 2-7 now as a hill but not a mountain. That’s how our players see it, too.” The Dolphins had a small 10-6 lead going into the half, but were able to put together 70 and 81 yard scoring drives to pull away as they held off any chance of a fourth-quarter comeback by the Redskins.

“The first seven games we were kind of in disarray,” Bush said. “We were trying to find our identity. The difference now is we’re playing 60 minutes and finishing at the end of games.”

Miami was up 13-9 with Grossman driving down the field to the 10 early in the fourth when he threw a pass right at linebacker Karlos Dansby who made the interception to end the drive. The Dolphins then came out and drove 81 yards for the touchdown on a 18 yard run by Reggie Bush, who finished with 47 yards on 14 carries

Vontae Davis, who returned from his one game benching, added another interception. Matt Moore, who had a terrific game against Kansas City last week, had an interception and a fumble but was 20 of 29 for 209 yards. The Dolphins went 8 for 14 on third down despite coming in as the worst in the NFL.

The Redskins dropped their fifth in a row after starting the season promisingly. “It’s frustrating being 3-6,” Grossman said. “We’re better than that.”Grossman was 21 of 32 for 215 yards and two picks. Grossman was the surprise starter this week after he was benched four weeks ago in favor of John Beck.

Shanahan said it had to do with the injuries to the offensive line that he decided to go with Grossman who’s more experienced. ”I thought Rex gave us a chance to win,” Shanahan said. “If you have this many guys go down, I didn’t want to go with the inexperienced guy and throw him to the wolves.”

The Redskins’ three scoring drives netted only 48 yards as they were set up close by two turnovers, but had to settle each time for field goals. Washington reached the Miami 20, 26, 5, and 10 yard lines. Graham Gano also missed two field goals form 50 and 49 yards out. The interception by Kevin Barnes set up the Redskins at the Miami 5, but they lost three yards on three plays and settled for a field goal.

On Ryan Kerrigan’s sack forced fumble the Redskins were again set up close at the Miami 24, but again settled for just three points. ”You get into the red zone three times, you’ve got to make plays to win the game,” Shanahan said. The Dolphins look to continue their new found success when the Bills come to town on a two game losing streak.

Washington heads home looking to snap the losing streak against division rivals the Dallas Cowboys winners of two straight.

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What is something that the Miami Dolphins have that John Beck doesn’t? A victory. Beck is still looking for that ever elusive first win as a starter as the Redskins travel to Miami looking to avoid losing five straight.

Beck, who was a second round pick of the Dolphins back in 2007, played in five games with four starts and failed to record a win. He was released after the 2008 season and hasn’t gotten a chance to start until last month when coach Mike Shanahan benched Rex Grossman during a game against Philadelphia. He’s now 0-3 as a starter after throwing for 254 yards, a touchdown, and an interception last week against the 49ers.

“When you’re the quarterback and the team hasn’t been winning games, you want to step up to the plate,” Beck told the Redskins’ official website. “You want to win games. I think in the league, week-in and week-out you see it — the desire to win, the feel for the need to win a game. It’s always there.

“There’s always pressure every week regardless of who you’re playing or the situation you’re in. Even when you’re winning all your games or you’re not — there’s always pressure to win.” During this four game losing streak the Redskins have been outscored 95-44, which includes a 23-0 shutout against the Bills in Toronto.

“If we come out and get some points on the board early, maybe the game would be different,” receiver Jabar Gaffney said. “But these last four games, we’ve fallen behind in all of them and, it’s like, as soon as the other team scores, it’s not the same feeling on the sideline. People aren’t looking the same, aren’t playing the same.”

The Redskins will likely look to rookie running back Roy Helu again this Sunday with Tim Hightower lost for the season with a torn ACL and backup Ryan Torian struggling. He got his first start last weekend rushing for 41 yards on 10 carries, but sparked the team by setting a franchise record with 14 receptions for 105 yards.

“Helu has the speed to make some big plays,” Shanahan said. “I think you can see he is a pretty good all-around back. He made some plays. I think he’d like to have that fumble back.” Miami is coming off their first win of the season after taking out seven games worth of anger on the Kansas City Chiefs winning 31-3. Matt Moore threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was absolutely great to get a little reward for all the work we’ve put in, just to have that feeling of getting a win under your belt,” Moore said. “I think guys now understand that, ‘Yeah we can do this,’ and they’re hungry and we’re going to enjoy this one and get ready for Washington.”

The Dolphins look to turn their luck around at home. They’ve lost seven straight at Sun Life Stadium. The defense should get a boost, as corner back Vontae Davis is expected to play after being held out of last weeks’ game after showing up late to practice. Reggie Bush who had another solid game last week rushing for 92 yards on 13 carries and a score will look to continue that against the 21^st ranked rush defense. Washington is giving up 122.6 yards per game.

John Beck will try to one up his old team as he takes on one of the worst passing defenses in football. Miami is ranked 27^th giving up 265.3 yards per game. He will have to look to tight end Fred Davis with wide receiver Santana Moss being out for the season.

With Miami coming off their first victory, they are riding some momentum. John Beck won’t get his first win against his former team as Miami should get their first win at home this season and make it two in a row. Final Prediction: Washington 10 Miami 21

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When the Jets and Patriots met a month ago, the Patriots handed the Jets their third straight loss and made people question whether the Jets would even make the playoffs, let along make good on Rex’s usual preseason guarantee. Now the Jets have the chance to do the same thing right back to the Patriots.

The Jets have been hot lately, and they are undefeated at home this season. They’ve won the past two meetings at home against New England and on Sunday have a great opportunity to give the suddenly vulnerable Patriots their third straight loss, which would be their first since 2002.

“Both teams are going to be humming for this one, no question,” Rex Ryan said. “You can sugarcoat it all you want, but they know they need it and we know we need it. Both teams are going to be hungry.”

During their three game losing streak the Jets gave up at least 30 points and fell two games behind the AFC East lead. Three wins later and New York is 5-3 and back into a tie for 1^st with Buffalo and New England. The defense looks like the defense of old, circa 09’ and 10’, allowing only 38 points and forcing 8 turnovers in the past three games. Their last win was a convincing one 27-11 over the Bills last week.

“We definitely have been getting better these last three weeks,” Ryan said. “But we’re going to see how much we’ve improved.” While the defense is playing better they will still face a tough task against Tom Brady and the Patriots who are ranked second in the league averaging 437.3 yards per game.

However in the Patriots past three games they’ve failed to score more than 20 points. Against Pittsburgh two weeks ago they managed only 213 yards total and didn’t score in the first half last week against the Giants. They also committed four turnovers against New York last week which is the third time they’ve done so this year compared to only 1 turnover through their final eight games last year.

Tom Brady isn’t having his best year as he already has 10 interceptions which is the third most in the league compared to only four all of last year. ”Just decision making,” Brady said. “I’ve just got to make better decisions.” The problem for the Patriots though hasn’t been the offense. There issue is the defense which is dead last in passing allowing 314.0 yards per game and is the only team allowing 300+ passing yards in the league.

“I think everybody can do a better job,” Bill Belichick said. “That includes everybody — it includes me, it includes all the coaches, it includes all the players. There’s room for improvement for all of us.” The Patriots cut Albert Haynesworth on Tuesday who they had brought in hopes that he could help improve their defensive front.

They also brought in wide receiver Chad Ochocinco hoping he could give them some sort of a vertical threat, but he hasn’t made a catch in three games. Last week Brady targeted him five times. ”He’s continued to do a great job in practice in his role that he’s really carved out for himself,” Brady said, “and he’s going to continue to be out there and, hopefully, make a bunch of plays.”

The patriots will need him to start making plays to give them a some semblance of a deep threat, because due to his lack of production the Patriots have had to rely extensively on Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. With Welker likely being matched up against All-Pro corner back Darrelle Revis his job will be even tougher this week.

Welker had a big 73 yard reception in the last meeting against the Jets, it came when he was lined up opposite Revis. He was otherwise held to a very pedestrian day only catching four balls for 51 yards. ”Sometimes I was throwing him on the ground, sometimes he was catching some balls on me,” Revis said. “I call him the ‘Energizer Bunny’ because he never stops — it doesn’t matter what you do to him, he just keeps on coming and coming.”

The key for the Patriots last time the two met was the run game. BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots racked up 152 yards on the ground. The Jets defense has been playing well against the run lately, though they are still ranked 22^nd giving up 123.0 yards per game. They will be getting defensive end Mike DeVito back who is a big part of their run defense so that bodes well for the Jets.

Though the Patriots pass defense is bad, the Jets will continue to rely on their run game as they have the past few games. Shonn Greene has stepped up and the Jets are averaging 130.7 yards over the three game win streak up from 76.2 before. A lot of the resurgence has to do with All-Pro center Nick Mangold fully healing from injury.

The return to the run game has also helped the passing game as Mark Sanchez has 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions with a 63% completion rate over the past four games. Sanchez has done well at home against the Patriots posting a 114.5 passer rating and a 2-0 record.

With the recent struggles of the Patriots and the Jets playing well lately and at home the game will be a close one. The Jets should be able to learn from the Steelers and their New York NFC counterparts and be able to keep Brady off balance in the passing game. Unless the Patriots get another big day from the run game the Jets will be hard to beat at home.

When it’s all said and done the Jets should be able to hand the beleaguered Patriots their third straight loss and move into first place in the AFC East. Final Prediction: Patriots 24 Jets 27

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The Bills come into the game on Sunday looking to avoid losing two in a row for the first time this season when they travel to Jerryworld to square off with the Cowboys who are trying to keep pace with the Giants for the NFC East. “The focus is trying to win a game. … We got everything in front of us — we hold our own destiny in our own hands, so we gotta go take care of business,” coach Chan Gailey said.

Buffalo, who sit at 5-3 tied atop the AFC East with the Patriots and the Jets, failed to take care of any business last Sunday against the Jets. They fell 27-11 and saw their high power offense, which is tied for the highest scoring in the AFC with the Patriots at 27.8 points per game, sputter as the Jets made them look like the one win Dolphins. The Bills went 3 for 11 on third down and turned it over three times.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions and had his worst game of the year going 15 of 31 for 191 yards and a touchdown. ”It was a bad game,” said Fitzpatrick. “We certainly didn’t have our best effort out there, and I think that’s where a lot of disappointment and frustration comes in.”

Fitzpatrick will look to bounce back facing a Cowboys pass defense that’s right in the middle of the pack ranked 16^th giving up 232.5 yards per game. The Bills are led by running back Fred Jackson who is having a career year leading the AFC at 100.4 yards per game and helping the Bills to the 7^th ranked rushing attack with 135 yards per game.

However, the Jets held the team to only 96 yards on the ground and forced Jackson’s first fumble of the year. They will look to get back to the run, as Dallas has struggled lately giving up 401 yards on the ground the past two weeks. Dallas will get Sean Lee back who is their leading tackler and this should help them somewhat.

For Buffalo to keep pace for the AFC East title they’ll have to go at least 2-1 on their three game road trip facing Dallas, Miami, and then the Jets again before heading home to face Tennessee. ”It will be a difficult stretch, but we don’t have to play all three of them at the same time,” Jackson said. “If we go out and continue to make plays like we have been throughout the season, we feel like we’ll be OK.”

Buffalo has struggle so far on the road this year by going 1-2, but the losses came against the Giants and the Bengals, both who are in first place in their divisions. Each loss was only by three points. The Cowboys sit at 4-4, but are looking to make a push in the second half of the season as they benefit from an easy schedule. They also benefit from the first place Giants having a tough stretch over the next few weeks.

After the Bills the Cowboys face Washington, Miami, and Arizona who have a combined record of 6-18. After that, the Giants come to town in what looks to be a pivotal matchup. ”We’ve done a lot of things to build on over the first eight games, a lot we can be positive about. … But we have to get better,” said Garrett

When starting running back Felix Jones got hurt, people expected the running game to take a step back, but the opposite has happened with rookie DeMarco Murray shining rushing for 466 yards in three games. They hope he can keep it up against a Bills run defense that ranks 20^th giving up 120.8 yards per game.

“We are going to have a great 1-2 punch when Felix gets healthy,” Witten said. “It’s going to put us in a great situation.” The Cowboys are a little banged up with Felix Jones still being questionable and wide receiver Miles Austin out for possibly a month after he reinjured his hamstring last week.

With no Austin, Dez Bryant figures to see a lot more targets, along with tight end Kevin Ogletree and wide receiver Laurent Robinson. Buffalo’s defense, while rich with playmaking ability, they lead the AFC with 15 interceptions, isn’t that great. They rank 25^th against the pass giving up 260.4 yards per game.

The game should be a close contest as both teams can put up a lot of points in a hurry. Both teams need to win to keep pace in their respective races, but with the Bills on the road and Dallas’ defense being run by Rob Ryan, Rex’s twin brother, they will see a dose of the same stuff they saw against the Jets. The Cowboys should be able to get a win at home. Final Prediction: Bills 17 Cowboys 27.

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The Packers are again at the top of the Power Rankings this week as they remain undefeated. The Ravens and Steelers switch spots after Joe Flacco led a late drive to win the game at Heinz Field. The Bears, Texans, and Bengals all cracked the top 10 this week with the Patriots and Bills both losing and falling out of the top ten.

The big winner this week is the Dallas Cowboys who jump from 21^st to 15^th, with a win over Seattle to stay within striking distance of the Giants who have a tough schedule coming up. Another big move was the Jets who while only moving from 13^th to 11^th with their win over Buffalo, have jumped both the Patriots and Bills to be the highest ranked AFC East team.

The big losers this week are the New England Patriots who fell from 6^th to 13^th after their second straight loss. The Bills also saw themselves fall from 14^th to 8^th after getting beat at home by the Jets. The Chiefs dropped from 21^st to 16^th after their four game win streak was snapped by the winless Miami Dolphins in a big way.

The Cardinals, who last week fell behind the Rams, switched with the Rams again this week after beating St. Louis in OT on an amazing punt return by rookie Patrick Peterson. Rounding out the bottom of the rankings again this week are the Indianapolis Colts who lost again this week and look like they’ll be the front runners for Andrew Luck in next year’s draft.

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