Saturday, October 25 2008 -- The Buffalo Bills (5 W- 1 L) sit atop the AFC East with the New England Patriots (4 W- 2 L) one game behind them. This is a surprise to just about everyone. Although the Bills looked like a promising team before the season started, their five-and-one record and first-place standing is a tad hard for many to believe.

The Bills have done it by playing good defense and sound offense. Their lone loss was to the Arizona Cardinals. The Bills were hammered by the Cards 17- 41. Buffalo had beaten Seattle (34-10), Jacksonville (20-16), Oakland (24-23) and St. Louis (31-14) prior to losing to Arizona. They had their bye week after that loss and in week seven, last week, they hosted the San Diego Chargers, beating them 23-14.

Although the team's performance has been impressive, the fact is that the next three games will really give insight into just how good this team is. On October 26, they travel to Florida to play the Miami Dolphins. The next week, the Bills host the New York Jets. Then on November 9, the team meets the New England Patriots on the road.

Look for these three divisional games to tell a whole lot about how good this club is. To be taken seriously the Bills must take two-of-three. A loss to the Dolphins would be disastrous and a poor showing versus the Jets would really call into doubt this team's viability. A win over the Pats would say a whole lot about both teams, while a loss to New England would make many think, "The Bills are good but not that good." The margin of victory or loss will also put this team in perspective.

Things are getting interesting in the AFC East.