Through eight weeks of football, the Buffalo Bills sit in a precarious spot in the AFC with a 5-3 record.

The Bills have surprised many critics thus far, as a number of experts expected the team to win just five or six games all season.

Even the fans of Buffalo are a little shocked with what their team has accomplished thus far. The team handled the Denver Broncos at home early in the season to hand Von Miller and company their first loss of the season in Week 3. They’ve also beaten the defending NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons on the road in a brand new $1.6 billion stadium, and some called it the best road win since the drought began. But what has begun to be recognizable is the miscalculation many have given this Bills team.

Yes, a 5-3 record is something to be happy with for many, but digging deeper tells another story. The five teams that Buffalo has beaten combine for a record of 17-25. Hailing the wins against the Falcons or the Raiders as strong wins are disregarding who those teams are this season. Atlanta has struggled to find an identity that fits their offense, and their record shows that at 4-4. Oakland has looked stellar at times and pathetic at others, and they sit at 4-5 as a result

After the Bills dominated the Raiders at home in Week 7 with a score of 34-14, the 17-year playoff drought suddenly appeared to be on the brink of extinction. The team traded for wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in the waning minutes of the trade deadline and seemed destined to roll over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. It didn’t happen.

The Bills were embarrassed in front of a national audience and now fans are clamoring for any and all optimistic news they can muster up. Western New Yorkers might spend more time on the New York Times playoff machine than the next ten fan bases combined and still feel a rocky sense of what’s to come.

What Buffalo fans need to do right now is to take a deep breath, think calmly about how the Bills are 5-3 and give their team some good mojo for the rest of the season without overreacting after every win or loss the team has.

Buffalo is a good football team and has shown that in nearly every game this season. The team has scored over 20 points in all but one game with the sparse weapons they had and have help on the way with Kelvin Benjamin and the return of tight end Charles Clay. Although the defense has been up and down of late, the team still leads the NFL in turnover differential with +11. They’re also the eighth-best rushing defense in the league, as they’re currently giving up just 84.4 yards on the ground per game.

For Bills fans, put good faith in the process and be patient because Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane are building something special. The puzzle is starting to come together.