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The New York Jets are back on top. Well, kind of.

For the first time since Week 2, the Jets have regained top standing in the AFC East, once again having to share the spotlight with the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots in a three-way tie for supremacy. As bizarre a situation this may seem, its not even the first time its occurred this season.

Following Week 2, the Jets, Pats and Bills all shared first place after starting their seasons 2-0. It wasn't until week 3 that Buffalo surpassed everyone, defeating New England following a New York loss in Oakland. But the three teams not only share the same record. No, it's a little more complicated than that. To decipher these standings you'll need to dust off the old math textbook and open to the chapter on geometry.

Through the first nine weeks of the 2011 NFL season, the Bills, Jets and Pats have managed to assemble an equilateral triangle of sorts atop the AFC East standings. For those of you who struggled with math in high school, an equilateral triangle is a shape in which all three sides are of equal length. In traditional geometry, equilateral triangles have three congruent angles each of which measure 60 degrees. The Jets, Bills and Pats make up a triangle of their own, with all three standing at 5-3 with win percentages of .625.

Complicating the matter even more is their records against one another. Each of the three teams is 1-1 against the two other division rivals. As you can see from the illustration, each team has defeated the team in front of it, while losing to the one behind. This scenario is anything but good for the NFL environment.

For situations like these, the league has a system of tie breaking procedures to award a a victor amongst equals. The list is lengthy at 12 entries, starting with head-to-head records and ending with something as conclusive as a coin toss. If the coin were to land standing up on its edge then the league would call in Marc Summers to settle the score the old fashioned way, with a physical challenge.

Without having to resort the likes of early 90s Nickelodeon game shows, the New England Patriots are first in the division and not because Roger Goodell has a man crush on Tom Brady. According to the tie-breaking rules upheld by the NFL, the Pats do have a slight edge over the Jets and Bills. Although New England and New York both have division records of 2-1, New England holds the advantage on their earlier season match-up in Week 5. The Bills are the odd man out, falling from first to third in the standings due to a 1-1 division record. Unfortunately for them, they have yet to play the woeful one-win Miami Dolphins, who may be a different team under Matt Moore following their 31-3 tromping of the Kansas City Chiefs last week on the road.

The true test for all three teams comes this Sunday, Week 10, with each team's fate lying in their own hands. The Jets are set to take on the Patriots Sunday night at MetLife Stadium, in a rematch of their Week 5 meeting. New York will be looking for redemption after losing to New England 30-21 the first time around. The Jets have not lost to Bill Belicheck and the Patriots at home in Rex Ryan's 3 year tenure with the team, and they are not looking to start now. A New York victory places them atop the AFC East despite the outcome of the Bills game, but Buffalo is hoping to be singing a different tune come Sunday.

The Bills can look to regain their dominance of the division with a win Sunday over Dallas and a Jets loss. Even with a New England win over New York, Buffalo would hold the slight edge with their head-to-head record. That leaves the Pats donning Cowboy hats this Sunday, favoring Dallas over the Buffalo purely for personal gain. Just don't tell Mark Miller that Dallas has the advantage playing at home.

At this point in the season, the New York Jets look like the strongest candidates to take the division. Left for dead just three weeks ago, the Jets were written off by many with a 2-3 record. But patience and persistence has paid off for Gang Green, stringing together three straight wins in convincing fashion over the Dolphins, Chargers, and Bills. The victory over the Bills came as the most crucial, as it was the Jets' first road victory, despite never having to leave the state.

The Jets should be used to finding themselves in these types of predicaments by now. This is the third straight year under Rex Ryan that New York has had to come back from adversity. The team has become regular undertakers, digging themselves a grave always shallow enough to climb out of. Typically starting the season strong, Jet Nation typically tends to fall off as more fans hop on.

It is a horse of a different color for the Bills and Patriots.

It has been longer than Mark Miller would like to admit since the Buffalo Bills have been relevant in the National Football League. Their team structure is entirely unique, made up of individual underdogs, undrafted free agents, washed up veterans, and Ivy League nobodies. It is this common bond that has motivated players thus fueling their early season success. But these same players’ lack of experience in high pressure games may be their Achilles' heal.

Buffalo had nothing to prove coming into the 2011 season, and it was that lack of pressure that likely led to their perfect record through the first three weeks of the season. But can the Bills stay relevant as the tension of sustaining a division lead over two AFC Powerhouses builds? Still, nothing is expected of Buffalo this season. Most pinned them to finish third in the division anyway. To finish any higher would be considered an accomplishment in itself. The same does not reign true for the New England Patriots.

Bill Belichick's Patriots, on the other hand, have experienced plenty of pressure moments in the past decade, and more often than not, have come away victorious. But New England does not appear to be the same dominant force it has been since Brady started taking snaps. Granted, every time I say something to this effect it comes back to kick me in the groin. But the truth of the matter is the Patriots have lost back-to-back regular season games, something that hasn't occurred since the 2009 season. Even more shocking is the fact that they lost to the New York Giants at home in Foxboro, where they were 20 for their last 20. But hey, 20 for 21 is still nothing to scoff at.

The realization is that now the Patriots must face a revitalized Jets team that they have not beaten on the road since Rex Ryan arrived in East Rutherford. After the smoke settles Sunday night, we could be looking at a New England team that has lost three straight games for the first time since President George W. Bush's first term in office. This team and city are not accustomed to losing so it will be interesting to watch how this all plays out.

Okay, so maybe this whole predicament isn't as confusing as I made it out to be. And maybe I didn't need to incorporate high school level math to get my point across. Whatever the reason, you can't deny the Bermuda Triangle building atop the AFC East. The only thing disappearing in these coordinates is the Miami Dolphins. Maybe they'll have better Luck next year.

- @mjsthe3rd