The Patriots established themselves as the favorite in the AFC East. Without playing.

First, you can forget about Buffalo, which took a 10-6 halftime lead at home and promptly blew it in a 31-10 loss to visiting Houston. Second, even after what became an exciting game at the Meadowlands, the Jets and Dolphins left with more questions than they possibly could have arrived with.

Can the Dolphins come up with the defensive backs to deal with a high-level passing game? Can they get the ball downfield on offense? Can Chad Henne mature in time to lead the kind of playoff drive Chad Pennington did last year?

And that’s the team that won the 30-25 thriller. As for the Jets . . .

Has the league caught up with Mark Sanchez? Do the Jets have a prayer of moving the ball offensively the way he’s playing, given the devastating loss of Leon Washington? What’s up with the special teams? Can this club do anything but play defense?

Most of what’s whipped New England into a frenzy recently - can the Patriots (5-2) find a third receiver; is BenJarvus Green-Ellis getting enough reps - seems pretty minor.

“Sometimes, things just don’t make sense,’’ Jets coach Rex Ryan said after the loss. “Statistically, this game is not going to look close. I truly feel our football team is good enough to beat anybody in this league. But we also can lose to anybody in this league if we spot a team three touchdowns. That’s about it. It’s a huge loss for us.’’

Truth be told, it’s not one to be making excuses after, either.

Kick-return touchdowns, like Dolphin Ted Ginn’s twin runbacks, will infuriate coaches. Cheap fumbles, like the Jets’ Shonn Greene’s bobble in the third quarter, which was picked up by Jason Taylor and run back 48 yards for a touchdown, have a similar effect.

Maybe it’s the fluky stuff. Or maybe it’s indicative of a team struggling find consistency, and making big mistakes in big spots as a result. Sanchez threw a costly fourth-quarter pick against Buffalo. A blown coverage over the top allowed Ginn’s big touchdown in the Jets’ loss in Miami in October.

Ryan’s right about the stats. The Jets gained 378 yards to the Dolphins’ 104, and controlled the ball for 34:06. The defense answered the bell after getting torched by Miami in October, and there were encouraging signs. But it wasn’t a win.

“I think we played good football,’’ Jets linebacker Bart Scott said. “We gave up some big plays, but the last time, the defense went out there and embarrassed ourselves. I think we responded well. We gave up 104 yards, if you want to call that sloppy.

“You want to say we didn’t play well, we didn’t play well. All I know is we turned in one bad performance as a defense this year. You guys can judge us how you want to.’’

Judge them like this: They’re talented, and carry a lights-out mentality, but they also have a propensity for leaving games they should’ve won in the right column of the standings.

The Dolphins proved yesterday, again, to be the polar opposite of that.

“There was great focus and attention to detail this week in practice,’’ coach Tony Sparano said. “I have a tough team. I know I have a tough team. There were some questions about my team this week, and whether or not they were tough. I’m not saying we answered them all. But we made a good dent today.’’

Miami usually doesn’t beat itself and plays good complementary ball throughout the three phases of the game, something the Jets have failed to do of late.

The problem is the Bill Parcells regime is still in the process of overhauling the roster, and there are cracks on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, there’s the question of Miami’s ability to threaten defenses on the perimeter, an element that allowed Ryan to dial up blitz after blitz, get rushers free, and sack Henne five times. Remember, the genesis of the Wildcat was to generate a running game, but also to create big plays on an offense that seemed less than capable of making them.

On the other side, the season-ending injury to cornerback Will Allen looms large. Rookies Sean Smith and Vontae Davis are promising, but to start two first-year players at that position is tough, particularly when there’s another rookie, Chris Clemons, starting at safety. Veteran Gibril Wilson has struggled, and Yeremiah Bell isn’t playing to the level he did in 2008.

All of which leads to the same kind of problems Miami had containing New England’s offense last November, and to Sanchez going 12 of 19 for 211 yards and two scores in the second half yesterday, keeping the Jets within striking distance when those kick returns and Taylor’s touchdown could have been backbreakers.

“This type of game, it’s not going to be perfect,’’ veteran Dolphins nose tackle Jason Ferguson said. “You’ve got two defensive teams. You’re gonna have some bumps and bruises on offense. But we’ve got a third team - our special teams showed up. That’s big in the NFL.’’

So the Dolphins scratched and clawed and got to 3-4, leaving plenty of room for a second-half surge. The Jets (4-4) found a way to blow it.

And in the process, both showed why they’re chasing the Patriots now, and why chances are that won’t change as the season wears on.

Albert R. Breer can be reached at abreer@globe.com.