Shady making his mark

Eight weeks into the season and the Buffalo Bills are leading the AFC East. Think about that statement for a second. At this moment in time the Bills are the No. 1 team in the AFC East.

A lot can happen in the second half of the season. But what the Bills are doing can't be written off as a fluke. They are a significantly better team than their beleaguered fans have witnessed the past few years.

The players believe in Chan Gailey and believe in quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Sunday's win over the Redskins was another example of the Bills finding ways to win games. In what is becoming a habit, Fred Jackson had another excellent game. But this time the Bills defence stole the show as they racked up nine sacks and did something that has never been done before, they shutout a Mike Shanahan team.

Time to look back at what else happened in Week 8:

Star of the week:

Bills nose tackle Marcell Dareus deserves a lot of votes for the defensive player of the week after his dominating performance against the Redskins. But this week's star is the man they call "Shady" in Philadelphia, running back LeSean McCoy. Making Rob Ryan eat his words, McCoy ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles statement win over the Cowboys. McCoy's performance is a big reason the Eagles held the ball for over 42 minutes. The last two weeks "Shady" has run for 311 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry.

Stiff of the week:

Philip Rivers received some votes for costing the Chargers a chance to win the game Monday night when he fumbled the exchange from centre late in the fourth quarter. But this week's award goes out to Titans running back Chris Johnson. Armed with a four-year contract worth over $50 million, Johnson has been a major disappointment this year. Facing a Colts team that was ranked 31st in the NFL at stopping the run, all Johnson could manage was a paltry 34 yards on 14 carries.. For the year Johnson is averaging only 2.8 yards per carry and only has two carries over 20 yards. He simply hasn't been the same game breaking running back since he signed that new contract.

Tebowmania -- Poor Tim Tebow had a horrible game against the Lions as he fumbled the ball away three times and also threw an interception. Two of Tebow's turnovers turned into touchdowns for the Lions as the Broncos got crushed at Mile High Stadium. Mike Florio of Profootballtalk.com uncovered this gem courtesy of Yahoo! Sports outstanding football writer Michael Silver. A Lions player who asked not to be named was not very impressed by Tebow's performance:

"Can you believe 15? Come on -- that's embarrassing. I mean, it's a joke. We knew all week that if we brought any kind of defensive pressure, he couldn't do anything. In the second half it got boring out there. We were like, 'Come on - that's your quarterback? Seriously?'"

Part of the blame rests on the shoulders of coach John Fox. If you're going to start Tebow, why not cater the offense to his strengths?

Team on the rise:

I am not sure the dapper Tom Landry would approve of Todd Haley's disheveled appearance, but the Chiefs head coach is getting results. After Monday night's over-ime win over the Chargers, the Chiefs became just the fifth team in the last 42 years of the NFL to start the season 0-3 and then win their next four games. A big reason the Chiefs were able to beat the Chargers and go on this four0game winning streak has been the play of their defence. On Monday night, linebacker Tamba Hali had two sacks and forced Chargers left tackle Marcus McNeill into taking numerous penalties. Haley said he's blown away by the energy Hali brings to their defense.

"There isn't one snap where you ever see him take a play off. People talk about motor, but this guy lives it from start to finish of every game, every practice."

The next two weeks the Chiefs have winnable games at home against the Dolphins and the Broncos.

The Dream Team Watch:

Michael Vick and the Eagles sure looked like a playoff team Sunday night after their dismantling of the Cowboys. The Eagles had the ball for nearly the whole game, they didn't turn the ball over and avoided making the kind of mental mistakes that had cost them games earlier in the season. The Eagles will try to extend their winning streak to three games when they host the Bears in the upcoming Monday night game.

The catch of the week:

Two rookies hooked up for what turned out to be the catch of the week. Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton hit receiver A.J. Green for a beautiful 43-yard touchdown. Thanks in a large part to Dalton and Green, the Bengals have stunned the AFC with a 5-2 start. Blessed with both size and speed, Green has caught a touchdown in each of the Bengals last three games, all wins.

The Ronnie Lott award:

Defensive end Chris Long wins the award with the the second of three sacks of Drew Brees during the Rams upset win over the Saints. The son of Raiders legend Howie Long, Chris capped off the sack with a tribute to the World Series Champions Cardinals who took part in a pre-game ceremony at the Edward Jones Dome.

The unsung hero award:

Lost in the Texans win over the Jaguars was the performance from rookie linebacker Brooks Reed. Because of injuries to players like Mario Williams, Reed has taken on a greater role. Against the Jags the rookie out of Arizona had a sack and four tackles, and is slowly emerging as a key cog in Wade Phillips' 3-4 alignment.

The big injuries of the week:

The biggest injury took place in the Steelers win over the Patriots. A big reason the Steelers were finally able to beat Tom Brady was a result of the relentless pressure from LaMarr Woodley. Woodley sacked Brady twice and now has seven and a half sacks in his last four games. However, he suffered a fairly serious hamstring injury and will miss the Steelers game against the Ravens. That is a big blow to a defense already missing James Harrison.

What to watch for in Week 9:

The Bills and Jets meet at the Ralph in a key AFC East game. The Steelers, without LaMarr Woodley, face the Ravens. The Bears and Eagles hook up in Philly. In a rematch of Super Bowl 42, the Giants face the Patriots in New England. And in a big NFC South showdown the Saints host the Bucs in New Orleans.

Jim Lang is co-host of Brady and Lang in the morning on SPORTSNET 590 The FAN and a columnist for sportsnet.ca.