FanHouse Afc East

What Bill Belichick did Sunday night has happened before. It justifiably earned Barry Switzer the nickname "Bozo The Coach'' for failing TWICE on fourth down in the late stages of a tie game. And the Eagles' Andy Reid did the opposite of the New England coach on Sunday, eschewing fourth-and-short twice to kick field goals in what turned out to be an eight-point loss.

Switzer's mistake didn't prevent Dallas from winning its third Super Bowl in four seasons in the early '90s, but it left Switzer at the top of the oft-debated list of worst coaches to win a title.

On Nov. 15, 1995, the Cowboys were playing in Philadelphia and faced a fourth down and 1 on their own 29 with the game tied 17-17 and just over two minutes left. Switzer decided to go for it and sent Emmitt Smith left over the massive Nate Newton.

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After starting the season 3-0, including impressive victories at Houston and against New England, the Jets have fallen flat on their collective faces. With a home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday -- a team that was previously 1-3 on the road -- the Jets have now lost four of their last five games. They've also lost their last three games at home, against the Bills, Dolphins and Jags.

Sunday, the Jets' problems emanated from losing the turnover battle (3-to-1), and their inability to stop Maurice Jones-Drew. MJD gained 123 yards on 24 carries and also threw in 22 receiving yards for good measure.

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The Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans entered the fourth quarter Sunday knotted at 17-all. Considering what happened in the last 15 minutes of the game, Bills head coach Dick Jauron and his team might have been better served to leave early.

When the dust settled, the Bills headed home with a 41-17 loss. They were also likely saddled with nightmares involving Tennessee running back Chris Johnson and the rejuvenated Titans defense.

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If the Dolphins had been able to march into Foxborough Sunday and find a way to beat the vaunted New England Patriots Sunday, the AFC East would have been quite the muddled division. Even the Buffalo Bills would have been within striking distance, while the Jets and Dolphins would have trailed the Pats by a single game with eight to play.

After a Ronnie Brown touchdown pass -- which was surely a flashback to last year's Wildcat-fest in New England -- the Patriots found themselves facing a 17-16 deficit with 4:51 left in the third quarter, and the Dolphins appeared on the verge of the critical road upset.

But Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company weren't having that.

After entering the National Football League in 1996 as a third-round selection, Terrell Owens has put up some big-time numbers in his 14-year career.

He's the NFL's active touchdown leader with 142 scores. He's second among active receivers to Isaac Bruce with 14,364 career receiving yards. He's also been a six-time Pro-Bowler. But, when asked what his goal for 2009 entailed, Owens didn't shoot for the moon like you would expect a player with his accolades to do. In fact, all Owens wants to do is outperform Dallas wide receiver Roy Williams.

Marion Barber, on his own blog, stated that he was well rested after Dallas' bye week and that his strained left quadriceps is "no longer a problem". Meanwhile, Felix Jones, who hasn't played since Week 3, is back at practice this week -- he's wearing a brace to protect his left knee, but he's still practicing.

With Barber and Jones back, why is it that Tashard Choice is going to get even more carries this week against Atlanta? The simple answer -- because Jerry Jones said so.

On his weekly radio show, Jerry Jones said that even though Barber was as healthy as he's been in two weeks, Choice would see more playing time. "Tashard certainly earned and is going to get a big part of the load."

On Wednesday, Miami Dolphins linebacker Matt Roth returned to practice for the first time since failing a conditioning test on the first day of training camp -- thus ending a strange roller-coaster ride of mysterious illnesses and phantom injuries that lasted almost three months. At least we thought the ride was over.

Roth apparently suffered an ankle injury in his first practice back and will miss Miami's game against New Orleans this Sunday.

Back in August, Roth failed his conditioning test. He failed even though he had signed a statement that every player signs, saying that he was not injured in any way, shape or form.

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The suddenly reeling New York Jets are going to have to try and get back on track without their immense nose tackle Kris Jenkins. Jenkins tore the ACL in his left knee during the Jets' dispiriting 16-13 overtime loss to the Bills on Sunday and he was placed on injured reserve Monday afternoon which ends his 2009 season.

"It comes with the game," Jenkins said. "My feelings are hurt that I won't be able to be out there fighting with my teammates."

His teammates might be finding it a lot harder to win their future fights without Jenkins occupying the middle of the line. They'll have to figure something out, though, because there's not much chance of swinging a deal before Tuesday's trade deadline.

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After beginning the game uncharacteristically hot -- hitting on his first five passes for 43 yards -- Bills starting quarterback Trent Edwards has left the game with an apparent knee head injury (see update). Edwards was hobbled after being sacked by Calvin Pace and David Harris of the Jets. After milling around the sidelines for a bit and discussing things with Bills' trainers, Edwards went to the locker room.

In his stead, Ryan Fitzpatrick is taking snaps. Considering the weather (mid-40s, almost 20 MPH winds) and the opponent (the Jets are eighth against the pass), things aren't going to be easy for Fitzpatrick. He's only 4-10-1 in his 15 career starts and sports a sorry 66.9 rating.

Monday Night Football returns to Miami for the second time in four weeks, as the Dolphins host the New York Jets in an AFC East throw down.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez looks to rebound from the worst start of his young career, the Dolphins look to build off their first win of the season, and Jon Gruden is already drooling at the thought of Miami running the wildcat all night. We'll be chatting about all of this, and more, in our weekly Monday night live chat, so please join us at 8:30 PM ET for all of the fun.