09/21 — For the first time since Week 2 of the 2003 regular season — a span covering 86 regular-season weeks — the Buffalo Bills are in sole possession of first place in the AFC East. And that’s not even the lead story in the division on this Sunday.

The Miami Dolphins went into Foxboro and put together a Boston Massacre of their own, ripping the Patriots by a 38-13 count. If you’re counting at home, that’s a 25-point spread and this contest was absolutely no fluke.

Let’s call it what it was: a woodshed beatdown. The Dolphins, who were led by Ronnie Brown, outgained the Pats, 461 yards to 216. Brown scored a team-record four rushing touchdowns and also threw a TD pass. Oh, by the way, former Jet Chad Pennington was nearly perfect, going 17-of-20 for 226 yards.

But Miami outfoxed the Pats, using Brown brilliantly out of the shotgun as four of his scores came on direct snaps to the running back, including a 19-yard toss to TE Anthony Fasano in the third quarter.

"You should have seen his last pass in practice," Penny said of Brown. "It wasn't very pretty."

The Pats’ regular-season winning streak, which began after a loss to the Dolphins in December 2006, came to a screeching halt at 21. The Tom Brady-less Pats are now 2-1 and 1-1 in the division while those upstart ‘Fins improved to 1-2 and 1-1 in the AFC East.

It was almost a great double for the Jets because the Bills looked to be dead to rights to the Raiders after JaMarcus Russell went to Johnnie Lee Higgins for 84 yards, giving Oaktown a 23-14 advantage with just 6:23 remaining.

But the undefeated Bills circled the wagons, closing the gap on a 14-yard Trent Edwards scoring pass to Roscoe Parrish less than three minutes later. And then Rian Lindell sent the masses in Orchard Park crazy with a 38-yard field goal as time expired.

The Bills found a way to win again in the fourth quarter despite turning the ball over three times. Edwards, in just his second season, continues to display veteran moxie and threw for 182 yards in the final quarter.

"It shows the chemistry and character of this team," said defensive end Chris Kelsay. "Since I've been here, I've been on the other side of this situation many times, but this year there's just something different about this team to find a way to get it done."

If the Green & White get it done Monday night in SoCal, they’ll move to 2-1 and tie the Pats for second place in the division. But this was a whale of a Sunday for football with outstanding finishes seemingly everywhere you looked.

The Bills, the Tennessee Titans and the Denver Broncos are the only AFC teams with 3-0 records (the Ravens, who beat Cleveland, are 2-0). The Jets will face the Bills Nov. 2 at Buffalo and then host them Dec. 14 at the Meadowlands. On Nov. 23 they’ll visit the Titans and then return home the following week to host the explosive Broncos on Nov. 30.

Next Sunday, the Jets will host the Cards. Arizona suffered its first loss of the season today, dropping a 24-17 decision in Washington to the 'Skins. Coach Ken Whisenhunt, who coached the Jets tight ends in 2000, will keep his team in D.C. this week and practice at Catholic University before training them up to the New York area Saturday afternoon.

But the immediate task at hand is the Chargers and Monday Night Football. We’re not even through a quarter of the season and while it’s been quite entertaining thus far, there is a ton of football to be played.