MIAMI — Welcome to the AFC Least.

It’s a place where the first-place team has the NFL’s worst defense and the last-place team is the hottest in the division.

The two middle teams, well … let’s just say they personify the word “pretender.” Just three days after the New York Jets were upset by Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, the Bills also were embarrassed in an ugly, 35-8 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Week 11 exposed the AFC East as a mediocre division. It’s late November and only one team — the New England Patriots (6-3) — has a winning record. The Jets (5-5) and Bills (5-5) mathematically remain in the playoff hunt. But there’s nothing to suggest either team is playoff bound or good enough to make a sustainable run down the stretch.

The Jets lost two games in five days. The Bills are 2-5 in their last seven and on a three-game losing streak. Buffalo has been outscored 109-26 the past three weeks.

“We’re not a team that [should] go out and get beat 35-8 and 44-7 last week,” Bills tight end Scott Chandler said. “I don’t know if there’s any team in the league that loses like that week in and week out. We’ve been embarrassed the past three weeks.”

The game was ugly for Buffalo. It included three straight touchdown drives allowed to start the game, two interceptions on dropped passes and a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Like the Jets a few days ago, bewilderment seemed to be the overall theme with the Bills. There’s a lot of questions why this is happening and no one seems to have any answers.

“I wish I could give you an explanation,” Bills coach Chan Gailey said bluntly. “I cannot give you an explanation.”

Here is our explanation: The AFC East is not good this season.

It starts with the quarterbacks. The quarterbacking in this division has been awful in the past month and average overall this season. Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets’ Mark Sanchez had good moments early. But both are crashing hard in this crucial time. The pair have combined for just four touchdowns and 12 interceptions in their past three games.

Tom Brady has been terrific, as usual, for New England. He’s the biggest reason the Patriots are primed to win the division. New England usually falls when Brady has a bad game. The Patriots are too flawed in other areas to survive poor quarterback play on most weeks.

Miami’s Matt Moore is playing like the second-best quarterback in the division, which is telling for the AFC East. He’s not making any mistakes and it’s led to Miami’s third straight victory. Moore threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns Sunday. These are numbers Fitzpatrick and Sanchez would love to have at this point.

Buffalo and New York also have inconsistent defenses. The Bills can’t stop anybody and New York, although stout, hasn’t performed up to the level of the previous two years. This combination has led to mediocrity for both teams.

The good news is the Bills and Jets play each other next week at Met Life Stadium. Some AFC East team has to win that game in what probably is a playoff eliminator for the loser.

“At this point every game is a must-win game,” Bills safety Bryan Scott said. “We’re moving to the last quarter of the season. We have to put together a string of wins in order to compete and get to where we want to be.”

Chandler agrees.

“If you look at the big picture here, there’s not too many teams that will get in with six losses,” he said. “So, yeah, I think they’re all must-wins from here on out.”

Can the Jets or Bills suddenly run off a string of wins to get into the postseason? It will take at least 10 victories to make the playoffs in the AFC. That means Buffalo or New York has to go 5-1 the rest of the way. Even with relatively easy strength of schedules, I don’t see it.

But the last-place team in the AFC East is actually playing the best football. The Dolphins (3-7) now have won three straight with victories over Buffalo, the Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs. Miami looks like the team fighting for a playoff spot, not the Bills or Jets.

Is it time to rethink Miami’s plan in 2012? Is Moore the long-term solution at quarterback? Should coach Tony Sparano and general manager Jeff Ireland keep their jobs for another season? These are all questions for Miami — the AFC East’s bottom team — that will be resolved in time.

But we can draw one conclusion for the AFC East as a whole. It’s a division mired in mediocrity.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Darrelle Revis ran an interception 100 yards for a touchdown Monday night, helping the New York Jets lead the Miami Dolphins 17-6 after three quarters.

Revis made the longest interception runback in the league this season.

New York‘s anemic offense finally woke up late in the second quarter, leading to Mark Sanchez‘s 5-yard TD run on a quarterback draw with 1:14 to go in the second period to set the halftime score.

Then the Jets marched 79 yards in 13 plays in the third period to Nick Folk’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-6 lead. They took up nearly half the quarter on that drive, with Sanchez completing consecutive 24-yard passes to Dustin Keller and Joe McKnight.

That was in stark contrast to the early going. It took the Jets until 6:17 remained in the half to get their initial first down. They were outgained 203 yards to 34 at that point. But they were in front thanks to Revis, and added to the lead with an 81-yard drive.

Sanchez hit Keller for 27 yards and Santonio Holmes for 20 on that series, which he capped himself with a third-down surge into the end zone.

In the first quarter, Matt Moore, playing quarterback with Chad Henne gone for the season after shoulder surgery, threw outside to Brandon Marshall. But the receiver had cut inside, and Revis easily caught the errant pass, then took off the length of the field.

Reggie Bush, who left in the third quarter with his right arm hanging at his side — it was announced as a neck injury — gave Miami a quick start by sprinting around the right side for 36 yards on the Dolphins’ first play from scrimmage, but the drive stalled when Moore threw incomplete on third-and-1. Rather than go for it, Miami chose to punt and Brandon Fields’ kick was downed at the 2.

When the Jets sputtered on offense for most of the opening half — they had 11 three-and-outs in 15 series over two games before the long drive the Dolphins took over at the New York 47. A 20-yard completion to Marshall, who had yet to make good on his promise to get ejected from the game, got the ball to the 10, where the Jets held.

Dan Carpenter’s 23-yard field goal put Miami on top 3-0, and the Dolphins had the ball back seconds later when a bouncing kickoff ricocheted off blocker Garrett McIntyre to Miami’s Austin Spitler at the Jets 18.

That’s when the All-Pro Revis picked off Moore’s pass and weaved through the Dolphins without being touched to tie the longest interception runback in Jets history. Aaron Glenn went 100 yards against Miami in 1996.

Miami responded with a 46-yard completion to Marshall as cornerback Antonio Cromartie lost coverage, and was at the New York 4 when the quarter ended.

Again, the Dolphins stalled and Carpenter kicked a 23-yard field goal, making it 7-6.

Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith limped off dragging his right leg late in the third quarter. The Dolphins said he had cramps.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Darrelle Revis ran an interception 100 yards for a touchdown Monday night, helping the New York Jets lead the Miami Dolphins 14-6 at halftime.

New York‘s anemic offense finally woke up late in the second quarter, leading to Mark Sanchez‘s 5-yard TD run on a quarterback draw with 1:14 to go in the second period to set the halftime score.

It took the Jets until 6:17 remained in the half to get their initial first down. They were outgained 203 yards to 34 at that point. But they were in front thanks to Revis, and added to the lead with an 81-yard drive.

Sanchez hit Dustin Keller for 27 yards and Santonio Holmes for 20 on that series, which he capped himself with a third-down surge into the end zone.

Earlier, Revis made the longest interception runback in the league this season. Matt Moore, playing quarterback with Chad Henne gone for the season after shoulder surgery, threw outside to Brandon Marshall. But the receiver had cut inside, and Revis easily caught the errant pass, then took off the length of the field.

Reggie Bush gave Miami a quick start by sprinting around the right side for 36 yards on the Dolphins’ first play from scrimmage, but the drive stalled when Moore threw incomplete on third-and-1. Rather than go for it, Miami chose to punt and Brandon Fields’ kick was downed at the 2.

When the Jets sputtered on offense for most of the opening half — they had 11 three-and-outs in 15 series over two games before the long drive the Dolphins took over at the New York 47. A 20-yard completion to Marshall, who had yet to make good on his promise to get ejected from the game, got the ball to the 10, where the Jets held.

Dan Carpenter’s 23-yard field goal put Miami on top 3-0, and the Dolphins had the ball back seconds later when a bouncing kickoff ricocheted off blocker Garrett McIntyre to Miami’s Austin Spitler at the Jets 18.

That’s when the All-Pro Revis picked off Moore’s pass and weaved through the Dolphins without being touched to tie the longest interception runback in Jets history. Aaron Glenn went 100 yards against Miami in 1996.

Miami responded with a 46-yard completion to Marshall as cornerback Antonio Cromartie lost coverage, and was at the New York 4 when the quarter ended.

Again, the Dolphins stalled and Carpenter kicked a 23-yard field goal, making it 7-6.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Rex Ryan and the New York Jets want a win in the worst way.

Three straight losses and rumblings about possible locker room disharmony have many fans and media speculating that the Jets could be on the verge of falling apart. It’s just Week 6, but New York’s game against the winless Miami Dolphins is being considered by many as a must-win — and Ryan remains confident his team can turn things around.

“We haven’t performed to our expectations, our fans’ expectations and all that,” Ryan said. “We certainly understand that, but this season’s not over. And people want to throw some dirt on us, well, we can affect how this season ends.”

On the surface, a 2-3 record is far from a near-crisis situation. But, the fact the jokes haven’t been flying as frequently from the usually brash Ryan and his bunch of chatterboxes fuels the feelings that this Jets team isn’t as loose as past groups. Getting back home after a brutal three-game stretch on the road could be exactly what New York needs.

“I think Monday night is the time to definitely turn it around,” wide receiver Santonio Holmes said. “The spotlight’s on us, everybody’s watching. It’s time to really play some football and turn this organization around.”

Except for the fact the Dolphins (0-4) are coming off a bye-week break and hungry for a win, too.

“Quite honestly, you’re talking about a caged animal, so to speak, in the Miami Dolphins and they’re looking at one when they see us,” Ryan said. “Both teams have not performed to expectations and can’t wait to play this game, so it should be a physical game.”

Just as most of the other matchups between these two AFC East rivals have been over the years. That includes “The Monday Night Miracle” in 2000 at the old Meadowlands, when the Jets stormed back from a 30-7 fourth-quarter deficit and beat the Dolphins 40-37 in overtime.

Miami has also won both road games between the teams in Ryan’s first two seasons as New York’s coach.

“When the Jets and Dolphins are playing, you can kind of throw out the record books sometimes,” said newly signed Dolphins quarterback Sage Rosenfels. “I know we’ve had a lot of success going up there and playing these last few years, it’s been some great rivalries. There’s a reason they put this game on Monday night because the entire Eastern seaboard is interested in this game.”

It also might mean a little more than usual. For the Jets, it’s a chance to prove that the last three weeks — losses at Oakland, Baltimore and New England — were nothing more than a bump in their Super Bowl road and not the start of an ugly spiral.

“Nobody feels desperate,” tight end Dustin Keller said. “We just have to stick to our game plan and stick to what we do individually, and that’s worked for us in the past.”

For the Dolphins, it’s an opportunity for coach Tony Sparano to turn his team around after a miserable start. He’s already working without his starting quarterback after Chad Henne was lost for the season with a separated left shoulder. Matt Moore replaces Henne — for this week, at least.

“There’s no pressure on him,” wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. “We’re under, under, under, under, under, under, under, underdogs. so there ain’t no pressure on anybody.”

Moore will also become the 16th quarterback to start for the Dolphins since the Dan Marino era ended at the beginning of the 2000 season, the most among NFL teams in that span.

“Obviously, Marino was a great one,” said Moore, who was 10-13 as a starter with Carolina. “It doesn’t matter who’s back there, the guy who’s going to make the plays and win ballgames ultimately is going to be the guy. Whether that’s 15 guys in 15 games, or one guy, they’re going to find the right guy.”

Sparano’s job might depend on it. Miami is in danger of starting 0-5 for first time since losing its first 13 in 2007, en route to 1-15 season. There has also already been speculation about Sparano’s job security.

“That’s a hard place to be, 0-5,” he said.

Sparano says he has been through this before, including as an assistant for Marty Schottenheimer’s Washington Redskins in 2001. That team won eight of its last 11 to finish at .500, giving Sparano some hope for this Dolphins team.

“It just takes a win to get yourself going and right now that’s all we’re worried about,” he said. “We’re worried about making our football team better, using this time to develop some of our players here and figure out how to win a game.”

While the Dolphins’ offence is trying to regroup after the loss of their starting quarterback, the defence has perhaps been an even bigger disappointment. Miami is ranked 28th in overall defence, and 31st in passing defence — despite having two of the best young cornerbacks in the league in Vontae Davis, who missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, and Sean Smith.

New York has had its share of problems on defence, too, giving up an unexpectedly large number of big runs and being anything but dominant. But the offence has been the consistent trouble spot, with Sanchez taking lots of hits behind an inconsistent offensive line, a running game that is slow to get going and a group of wide receivers still trying to jell with the quarterback.

Sanchez has one less receiver this week after the Jets traded veteran Derrick Mason to the Houston Texans after not making as big an impact as expected.

“We thought we had a pretty good group of guys here, and it’s unfortunate that the organization felt another way,” Holmes said. “We have to deal with the punches that are thrown at us and continue rolling.”

Otherwise, the Jets could suddenly find themselves just a half-game ahead of the Dolphins in the standings. Not that Ryan is even entertaining any of those thoughts. In his mind, his team still has its sights set on the Super Bowl.

“I can guarantee that we’re going to chase it, that’s for sure,” Ryan said. “Do I think we’ll win it? Yeah, absolutely.”

___

AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed to this report.

By Greg Stoda

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

DAVIE — If misery really does love company, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets should have great affection for one another.

They don’t, of course, because, well, they’re the Dolphins and the Jets.

And they won’t Monday night in MetLife Stadium, either, when they meet amidst mutual miseries in East Rutherford, N.J., with the Dolphins seeking their first win of the season and the Jets trying to end a three-game losing streak.

“We don’t like them, and they don’t like us. Under any circumstances,” said Miami safety Yeremiah Bell. “The hitting always seems to be a little harder and the trash-talking gets to be louder faster.”

So what might happen under circumstances as ugly as the Dolphins at 0-4 and the Jets at 2-3 as AFC East lollygaggers behind New England and Buffalo?

“Both of us pushing hard for a win we both need,” Bell said. “We’ve been pretty good up there. We’ll see.”

Miami, in fact, has won its past three road games against the Jets, who nevertheless must be happy to be coming home off consecutive road losses to Oakland, Baltimore and New England.

The truth of the matter, though, is that there’s not much to recommend on either side. The harsh facts are that the Dolphins have scored all of six touchdowns in four games – and just one in each of its past three outings – while New York allowed at least 30 points in each of its losses.

“Something’s gotta give,” Bell said.

One would think.

Many of the Dolphins, coming off a bye week, insisted that Tuesday’s practice was one of their best of the season with quarterback Matt Moore preparing to start in place of injured and out-for-the-season Chad Henne. Several of them commented on how animated and upbeat much-maligned coach Tony Sparano was despite speculation that his job might be on the line from week-to-week until the end of the season.

It’s possible, too, that Miami is catching the Jets at a good time. New York was losing to New England last weekend while the Dolphins rested. And, according to one report, the New Yorkers might be dealing with at least the hint of turmoil. Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was the subject of a New York Daily News report that said some of his receivers have complained to coach Rex Ryan about what they perceive as an offense that’s too often too conservative.

“I said it was untrue, because it was untrue,” Ryan said of the report. “I can guarantee it was untrue, because I was the guy supposedly that had the conversation. Well, I can tell you 100 percent, I did not.”

The Jets do rank 14th in the 16-team AFC in total offense, but the Dolphins have their own problems with and without the ball.

On offense, most glaringly, Miami’s third-down conversion percentage (26.5) is the worst in the league. The offense hasn’t been able to stay on the field long enough to sustain drives, but neither has it demonstrated an ability to break big plays. That’s quite a double sabotage.

On defense, most revealingly, the Dolphins have forced only two turnovers (tied for worst in the league) and have produced only six sacks (close to worst in the league). That’s another double dose of awful.

Now, the task is to avoid a third start of 0-5 or worse in eight years.

“It’s a spotlight for us to show that we’re a good team,” said offensive tackle Jake Long.

Whoa. A win wouldn’t change perceptions of the Dolphins to that significant an extent.

But the timing of an assignment against a rival Miami despises as much as it despises the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets might be as good as it G-E-T-S, gets, gets, gets for the Dolphins right now.

It’s all about misery, and love has nothing to do with it in this company.

NEW ORLEANS — The New York Jets were content to be one-and-done on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas reports the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the front-runners to be featured this summer.

The New England Patriots aren’t the kind of organization to give cameras access to their inner workings. Same can be said for the Miami Dolphins. The Buffalo Bills would be the only other AFC East team fathomable for the show.

A Jets spokesman confirmed the Jets declined to pursue a second season.

Based on ratings for the training camp reality show, the Jets would have been a hot contender to repeat. Head coach Rex Ryan’s profanity-laced speeches and an assortment of entertaining storylines such as Mark Sanchez’s development, Darrelle Revis’ lockout and Antonio Cromartie’s children made “Hard Knocks” must-see TV.

No team has been chosen for consecutive seasons. The Dallas Cowboys were the only team to be featured twice, in 2002 and 2008.

“We will give Rex and the Jets the year off from ‘Hard Knocks.’ But you never know what the future holds,” HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said in a statement to the New York Post a few weeks ago. “It took many years before there was a ‘Star Wars’ sequel. Hopefully someday Rex and the New York Jets will be back on HBO.”

Tim Graham

Graham joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Miami Dolphins for the Palm Beach Post. He previously spent eight years at the Buffalo News, where he was an award-winning NHL and boxing writer. The Baldwin-Wallace College grad also has worked for the Las Vegas Sun and Boston Herald.

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