Heavyweight Showdowns

By : Mike Rifkin

We have reached December and while it may be cold outside, the NFL season is getting hot down the stretch run. Two of the biggest games this week will feature a reunion of sorts in these AFC VS NFC showdowns.

The first one takes place in Philly as the 10-1 Eagles welcome the AFC South leading Tennessee Titans. The Eagles are coming off a 40-33 win over the Packers. Jalen Hurts had 310 total yards and two passing touchdowns. Miles Sanders had 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles as a team ran for 363 yards and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. 

The Titans are coming off a 20-16 loss to the Bengals last week. The only touchdown the Titans scored in the game was when rookie receiver Treylon Burks recovered a Derrick Henry fumble in the end zone, outside of that the Titans were held to three field goals. Ryan Tannehill was 22-34 for 291 yards. Derrick Henry had 117 total yards on 20 touches. 

This game will be the first time AJ Brown will play the Titans since being traded during the first round of the NFL Draft. Brown spent the first three seasons of his career in Tennessee and had over 1,000 yards his first two seasons. Last season Brown was limited to 13 games because of injury and had career lows with 869 yards and five touchdowns. Brown and Titans were in a contract dispute and during the first round of the draft Brown was traded to the Eagles for their first round pick and the Titans selected Treylon Burks. Brown signed a five year 100 million dollar contract with the Eagles soon after. Brown has flourished in Philly posting 53 catches for 831 yards and seven touchdowns so far this season for the Eagles.  

Another showdown takes place in San Francisco, as the Miami Dolphins come for a visit. The Dolphins are coming off a 30-15 win over the Texans. Tua Tagovailoa continued his impressive play by going 22-36 for 299 yards and a touchdown. Former 49er Jeff Wilson ran for 39 yards and a touchdown; Jalen Waddle and Tyreek Hill had 85 yards receiving each and the Dolphins defense forced three Texans turnovers.

The 49ers are coming off of a 13-0 shutout win over the Saints. Jimmy Garoppolo was 26-37 for 222 yards and a touchdown. The Niner defense had a sack and forced two Alvin Kamara fumbles in the win. The last time the Dolphins and 49ers got together was week 3 of 2020 season and it was a day to forget for Jimmy Garoppolo. He was 7-17 for 77 yards with two interceptions and was sacked three times in the 43-17 loss to the Dolphins. 

This is another reunion of sorts. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was the 49ers Offensive Coordinator the last few seasons and has worked under Kyle Shannahan for a long time. The Dolphins offense features former 49ers Raheem Mostert, Jeff Willson, Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft. 

Four teams, two from each conference with Playoff hopes on the line in December it doesn’t get any better than this. If you look at each game the Eagles and Titans are similar in how they want to ground and pound. The 49ers and Dolphins are similar the way they have a ton of speed on their offenses, so these two games should be a lot of fun.