Is it time to take the backup tag off of Heinicke?

By Dan Ryans

WASHINGTON–The Washington Football Team needed to win on Thursday night, and they got it. But what they needed the most was peace of mind at quarterback. Yes, this player has some flaws and needs to clean up some issues early in the game. However, from the two starts, we have seen from Taylor Heinicke in a Washington uniform, it is clear that the backup QB tag must be removed from him. 

On Thursday, Heinicke completed 34 of 46 passes (73.91% on completions) for 336 yards and two touchdowns. With this performance, there were two statement drives, both occurring in the fourth quarter. The first statement drive started with under five minutes left in the game. Washington was down by six, and the drive’s first play was a beautiful strike from Heinicke to J.D. McKissic, who took it downfield for a huge 56-yard gain. Washington finished the drive on the next play, which was a nice throw to Ricky Seals-Jones at the corner of the end zone. The second statement drive came with about a minute left in the game. New York had retaken the lead, and WFT needed a field goal to win the game. In a series aided by Giants penalties on defense, short passes to Logan Thomas, Adam Humphries, and Terry McLaurin got Washington into field goal range. WFT successfully completed the drive with a game-winning 43-yard field goal by kicker Dustin Hopkins. Those two big scoring drives clearly showed a bounce-back performance for Heinicke after a tough start to the season.

Here are some of the Washington players speaking highly of the quarterback after the game:

Chase Young: “He came in last year and showed he can sling it. You just give him camp with the whole team and all these practices…we have all trust in 4, and we’re on his side.”

J.D. McKissic: “You’re looking at a team who has 100 percent confidence in their quarterback, we’re 100 percent behind him, we truly believe we could win with him, and I think he’s shown that time and time again.”

Terry McLaurin: “He’s always ready for his moment, and I love guys who are always ready for their moment, always prepared. He doesn’t complain about the reps that he gets in practice; even when he wasn’t the starter, he just makes the most of his opportunities. That’s all you can ask for…”

It’s over! Taylor Heinicke is QB1 moving forward, and nothing except a terrible injury (knock on wood) should take that away from him. The team and the fans love his style of play and trust him to lead Washington to victory.

Desert Duel

By: Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Arizona Cardinals will have their home opener as they prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings. The Cardinals are coming off one of the most impressive week 1 victories in the NFL as they defeated the Titans 38-13. Quarterback Kyler Murray had 289 yards passing and four touchdowns, while adding 20 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Receivers Deandre Hopkins and Christain Kirk each had 2 touchdowns receiving. Defensively Chandler Jones returned to the lineup with authority after missing most of 2020 with a Biceps injury, the star pass rusher had five sacks of Ryan Tannehill. One of the major issues the Vikings have had over the years is protecting quarterback Kirk Cousins, so watch for Jones, JJ Watt and Zaven Collins, this year’s first round pick to have an impact on this game. But the defense as a whole had a great day containing running back Derrick Henry to 58 yards and receivers AJ Brown and Julio Jones to a combined 78 yards and a touchdown on 7 catches. Defense also forced three turnovers. 

Minnesota is coming off an overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals 27-24. In that game quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked three times. For the second straight week the Cardinals defense will be tasked with stopping an elite group of skilled position players. Running back Dalvin Cook who had a big fumble last week also had 61 yards and a touchdown. In 2020 Cook ran for 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns. Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson are one of the best receiving duos in the league last week Thielen had 92 yards and two touchdowns, Jefferson had 71 yards. In his rookie season Jefferson had 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. We will have to see if Vance Joseph’s defense can stop an elite offense. This game will also feature the return of Patrick Peterson to Arizona. The Cardinals drafted Peterson fifth overall in 2011 and he did not disappoint in his 9 seasons in Arizona racking up 499 tackles, 28 interceptions and four punt return touchdowns. 

I know it’s week two but this is a big game for the Cardinals for a few reasons. The Cardinals have the opportunity to put the Vikings at 0-2 and in case they both are chasing a wild card spot gives the Cardinals a head to head advantage. Another reason is to keep the momentum going from the Titans game, last season the Cardinals started 2-0 but lost a home game to Detroit. This will be the first time the Cardinals and Vikings have played each other since 2018 a 27-17 Minnesota victory. Will the Cards fly high in their home opener or will the Vikings spoil it.

Lamar Vs Mahomes Round 4

By: Mike Rifkin

Sunday Night Football will feature a heavyweight fight in the AFC as the two time reigning conference champion Kansas City Chiefs travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens. It will be the fourth time in their careers that quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson were going head to head with Mahomes and the Chiefs winning all three previous meetings. 

The Chiefs are coming off a week 1 victory over the Cleveland Browns 33-29. In that game Mahomes threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns through the air and added one on the ground. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce combined for all three touchdowns through the air including a 75 yard touchdown from Mahomes to Hill. On the flip side the Ravens are coming off a 33-27 loss to the Raiders on Monday night. Lamar Jackson threw for 235 yards and a touchdown, but had two costly fumbles as the Ravens lost in overtime. The Ravens will be without cornerback  Chris Westry with a torn meniscus, he played 33 snaps against the Raiders on Monday night. Baltimore’s secondary will also be without former Chief Marcus Peters who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Another injury concern for the Ravens offense is left tackle Ronnie Stanley is battling an ankle injury, so be very curious if he can go on Sunday. The Ravens traded his backup Orlando Brown to the Chiefs in the offseason so Baltimore’s line is in a bit of shambles. Baltimore will have a former Chief on offense receiver Sammy Watkins who had four catches for 96 yards in his Baltimore debut. In three seasons with the Chiefs Watkins had 129 catches for 1,613 yards and eight touchdowns. 

In the three prior meetings Lamar Jackson has completed 52.6% of his passes for 511 yards and three touchdowns, he also has been sacked three times. Lamar has added 196 yards and a touchdown vs the Chief defense. Mahomes against Baltimore has completed 70.5% of his passes for 1,136 yards, nine touchdowns and an interception. 

Entering Sunday Mahomes is undefeated as the Chiefs quarterback in September and against Baltimore. This will be a difficult task as Baltimore doesn’t want to start 0-2, so this anticipated heavyweight fight should be a dandy on Sunday night.

Week 2: WFT vs. NY Giants

By Dan Ryans

WASHINGTON–Thursday is finally here. The Washington Football Team is ready for a quick turnaround as they take on the New York Giants in a critical Thursday night matchup at home. With Washington already in a massive hole after its season-opening loss to the Chargers on Sunday, this game could dictate how the season will go for the team. 

Besides Sunday’s loss, there are many questions about the quarterback situation with the burgundy and gold after the injury to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Washington knew the risks that came with bringing in the 38-year-old veteran. Let’s be honest; it wasn’t necessarily a great signing for a team trying to build off of last year’s playoff appearance. While the term Fitz Magic has been associated with short-lived runs of excellent football he has given his last eight teams, it didn’t mean that Fitzpatrick would bring instant success to Washington. He has only led teams to two winning seasons and never made the playoffs. Now he’s out with a hip injury. Given the fact that Fitzy has elected not to have surgery on the hip subluxation, it can take several weeks, maybe the whole season, to heal. Taylor Heinicke now slides into the QB1 spot, and he also has a lot to prove. Playing two and a half quarters of football on Sunday and completing 11 of 15 passes for 122 yards and throwing one touchdown is good, but it will not win you many games. With his style of play and confidence to lead the squad, Heinicke already has teammates who trust him and will do everything they can to rally around him on Thursday. 

Washington, however, should have no problem beating a New York team that was dreadful in last week’s defeat against Denver. All Coach Ron Rivera needs to do is develop a game plan that utilizes the skills and strengths of Taylor Heinicke, the offense, and the defense. WFT has to be better on both sides of the ball. In the defense’s case, it’s all about containing QB Daniel Jones. He seems to have the best success against this Washington team, including an excellent performance in Week 6 of last season when Jones carried the ball seven times for 74 yards. Daniel Jones can run, but his fellow teammates in blue have a lot of trouble protecting him as he was sacked twice in Sunday’s game. Jones also has issues with ball security, given his 30 career fumbles. So Washington’s game plan is to pound the Giants offensive line and contain Daniel Jones. That, along with minimal penalties and a good game from Taylor Heinicke and the offense, should give you a nice win on a short week. As Coach Rivera told his team as they gathered last week, “One less mistake. That’s the difference in this football game. One less mistake, alright? That’s the truth of the matter.”

Covid and the Saints

By Mark Halpern

     Yesterday I found out that six, count it six different assistant coaches on the New Orleans Saints tested positive for the Covid virus. I would be angrier if they weren’t vaccinated, but they all were; however, the people they must have been around were not. The people around the ones who gave it to them could have been vaccinated, but at least some of the people they were in contact with most likely weren’t.

    How does this affect the Saints? Well, they must have regular daily testing to ensure their tier 1 and tier 2 players do not test positive, and we will find out today if any of the main starters have contracted it. This could be a massive problem for a football team because they would have to go on the covid list and be out for 14 days, and that could start as soon as today. Can you picture a football team having to raid their practice squad and sign as many free agents as they need to play? You might as well call them the replacements for now. According to head coach Sean Payton, most of the coaches who contracted the virus were not around many players. This can be reassuring, but if one player isn’t vaccinated, it can spread fast, like spreading cream cheese on a bagel. SO now the Saints are in full covid protocol this week. This means masks on full time; the team will have grab-and-go lunches and must be separated, and for the next few days, all players and coaches have to be tested. For a team to function correctly and prepare for what’s coming up this weekend, they need to practice as a team. If shit like this keeps happening, it’s going to be a rough season.

        As of right now, all teams are above the mandatory 85% vaccination expectancy. That’s still not 100%, and again I understand it’s an individuals right to get the vaccine or not, but in the case of playing on a major sporting team, there should be no excuse, especially with how this virus spreads, and that is how the old man sees it.

Round 5 to Mahomes The Run game Kept Browns Going

By Lawrence Lang

In Round five of the Baker Mayfield Patrick Mahomes rivalry, Mahomes would come away with the victory and lead the Kansas City Chiefs to their first win of the season of the Cleveland Browns 33-29. Mayfield would go 21/28 321 yards passing and one interception for the quarterbacks, while Mahomes went 27/36 337 yards, passing three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

On the bright side, one thing that looked good for the Browns was the run game, especially against a great defense in the Chiefs. They accumulated 153 yards rushing as a team. Nick Chubb at 15 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns and one fumble, Kareem Hunt would have six careers for 33 yards and one touchdown, and even Jarvis Landry joined in on the fun with two careers for 13 yards and one touchdown.

Looking at the Browns receiving side, they could rack up the yards with 321 total yards. The top receiving leaders were David Njoku 76 yards, Jarvis Landry 71 yards, and Anthony Schwartz 69 yards. The only thing missing from the Browns receiving was the end zone; hence they turned to the run game.

The Chiefs were the opposite as they turned to the receiving game to get it in the endzone, but the rushing game still helped them win this week. Clyde Edwards-Helaire led the way with 14 carries for 43 yards, and Mahomes had five carries for 18 yards and one touchdown. On the receiving end, Tyreek Hill had 11 receptions for 197 yards and one touchdown, and Travis Kelce had six receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

In the end, this was a great Sunday afternoon game that saw the game go back and forth. It’s just that the Browns had one foul play, and that came down when Mayfield threw the interception with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter that sealed the game for the Chiefs. Obsolvey a few things the Browns need to work on heading into week 2, one being their defense. Granted, this is a hard one to call in that they faced their Chiefs opening week, but 33 points are still 33 points, which means things need to be worked on. Besides getting the ball in the end zone on the run game, they need to find a way to get the ball in the end zone on the receiving end. If defenses figure out the run end of things near the endzone, you will be kicking field goals all seasons, and they might help win games, but they won’t help win them all. The Browns will look to rebound in week 2 in their home opener against the Tennessee Titans at 1 PM.

Rams roll pass Bears in prime time 34-14

By Zakary Haines

LOS ANGELES–What better way to kick off the season than with a win on Sunday Night Football. The Los Angeles Rams were able to dominate their opponent, the Chicago Bears, and go on to win 34 to 14. A 20 point blowout for Matthew Stafford to make his LA debut. The night was filled with excitement and even trying to handle two different Bears quarterbacks. It is good to know that football is back in full swing with all of this going on.

The Rams defense looked like the number one defense from last year. There was no stopping Aaron Donald last night, as he went on to get three tackles and one sack and recorded one tackle for a loss. Donald often faced double teams, but that did not stop last year’s defensive player of the year. Jalen Ramsey had himself a night with nine tackles, seven of those solo and two for a loss. Ramsey was able to cover the whole field by being able to adjust and read plays. The Bears’ offense struggled to move the ball as the Rams held the Bears to 188 passing yards and 134 rushing yards. David Montgomery racked up 108 rushing yards and a touchdown, but that would be the most he could do against the Rams. 

As for the Rams’ offense, this game showed how much Matthew Stafford could elevate this team. Stafford recorded 321 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 89.9. Stafford only took one sack during the entire game, meaning the offensive line is working and in sync with the playbook. Cooper Kupp had himself a night in the receiving game, recording seven catches, 108 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Van Jefferson and Robert Woods also scored one touchdown each. 

As for the rushing game, issues from the preseason were obvious again during this game. The offense struggled to move the ball on the ground against Chicago’s defense. Only 74 rushing yards were recorded, with Darrel Henderson Jr racking up 70 rushing yards. Sony Michel made his debut tonight but only recorded two rushing yards. This shows that Sean McVay and the coaching staff need to figure out the run game if they want to make a deep playoff run. Fortunately, the run game was not so important this week, but it will have to be addressed sooner rather than later. 

In his post-game press conference, head coach Sean McVay had high praise for the defense. He said, “Defensively, what a good job holding up in the first half… I thought they made some key stops on fourth down.” When it came to the offense, McVay liked what he saw but said there is some room for improvements, specifically with the run game. McVay said, “I was encouraged to get the run game going a little bit. We can certainly build on it.” 

Overall, this was a huge victory for the Rams. The move to acquire Matthew Stafford is showing promise early on. Now with multiple receiving options, it makes Stafford’s job much easier than before. Meanwhile, the defense continues only to get better. Being able to adjust to plays between Andy Dalton and Justin Fields shows that they can handle different styles of quarterback. In week one, the Rams are looking to be one of the best. The Rams are on the road this Sunday in Indianapolis to take on the Colts. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT.

Bills Start Hot Then Go Ice Cold

By Lawrence Lang

Sunday saw the first time since 2019 the return of Bills fans, aka Bills Mafia, return to Buffalo in Highmark Stadium. The Buffalo Bills would start hot when they received the ball on the opening kick-off, and Isah McKenize would return for a 75-yard kick-off return. After the return, the Bills would settle for a field goal, going up 3-0 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bills would extend their lead in the second quarter when Quarterback Josh Allen threw a three-yard pass to Gabriel Davis to take a 10-0 lead. Allen would finish the day going 30 of 51 270 yards passing and one touchdown.

The turning point in this game came in the fourth quarter after a pair of field goals by the Steelers to make the score 10-6. The Steelers would take control of the game with a touchdown from Ben ​​Roethlisberger to Diante Johnson would give the Steeler the lead 13-10 Then with the Bills punting to the Steelers. Steelers would block the punt, and Ulysses Grant III would return it for another touchdown giving the Steeler an even more commanding lead at 20-10. The game would end with the Steelers taking the win with a 23-16 win. Roethlisberger ended the day going 18 of 32, 188 yards passing, and one touchdown.

The game was very interesting for the Bills because things looked like they would pick up where they left off last season, especially what happened in the kick-off return. But it seems the Bills got caught up in the moment you can’t bring the ball back 75 yards just to get three points. It would be best to get six out of that, and that comes down to play calling. Granted, going up 10-0 going into halftime looked good for the Bills, but it seemed they let up a bit going into the second half, and instead of keeping the foot on the gas, they let up on the gas and let the Steelers take control. But this is the first week of the season, and you can’t make assumptions yet that this is not good for the Bills. If anything, this will get them to look at what they did right and what went wrong for them and get them ready for the week two matchup against their division rival, The Miami Dolphins, in Miami.

The Dolphins come in as the only team to get a win in week one in the AFC East, beating division opponent The New England Patriots 17-16. Stay tuned for further analysis later this week for the Bills Dolphins game on Sunday at 1 PM.

Dallas Vs Tampa Post Game

By Mark Halpern

Missed it by that much {more like 35 feet}

Last night we saw a great football game between the defending world champs and the Dallas Cowboys. The game, for the most part, was excellent. Both teams came out firing, with Tampa putting the first score up and to no other than Gronk. The Cowboys, for the most part, played well. There were a few drops here and there during the passing game, the running game I’ll touch on, and of course, the reason we lost.

Dak Prescott returned to the gridiron last night after a horrific injury last season but, you would not have noticed it at all. Prescott came out firing and shook off all the rust or questions about his health on his first throw, which was an 18-yard completion to Cooper. Dak was firing on all cylinders and completed passes to every first-string player. Dak had a massive night, completing 42 passes for 403 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. This is far better than most analysts were saying he was going to do. In our live Thursday night show, I said Dak would have 300+ yards 3 total TD’s, and I was brushed off and smirked. Dak is back, folks, and he shows no signs of last year’s injury hampering him at all.

The running game was nonexistent, which had most Cowboys fans wondering if Zeke was hurt? The Cowboys planned to make it a passing night after seeing what defense schemes they were being shown. With Zack Martin out, the offensive line was weakened but still played a great game. Zeke was not going to run anywhere with the looks they were being given, so they turned to the pass. Zeke, however, came up big in the blocking game. He picked up many players coming on the blitz to give Dak more time, which we didn’t see from him last year. The same thing is to be said for Tony Pollard, who saw more looks in the passing game than running schemes.

The wide receivers had a big night for the Cowboys. Cooper and Lamb both eclipsed the hundred-yard mark, and both scored touchdowns in the game. Michael Gallup also had 36 yards, but he injured his right leg during the game and will be missed for a few weeks. Cedrick Wilson had a good game, and I expect him to be stepping up along with Noah Brown while Gallup will be unavailable. Both tight ends were featured, and I expect them to do more blocking for Zeke next Sunday.

The Defense did not have a horrible day but a rough one. One big positive was that they forced three turnovers in the game and kept the Cowboys in the mix. However, you can only give Tom Brady so much time, or he will beat you, and that is what he did. The Tampa o-line kept Brady off the ground and gave him time to complete passes to Antonio Brown, Godwin, and Gronk. Antonio Brown constantly beat Anthony Brown on the night to the tune of 118 yards and a score. The Cowboys needed to play better coverage in the secondary and get more pressure on the quarterback or see the same problems next week.    

I have seen many fans blame the fact that the Cowboys lost due to the non-call on offensive pass interference in the game’s waning moments. The Cowboys lost because their placekicker Greg Zuerlein missed a chip-shot 31-yard field goal that shanked left. He then missed an extra point later on. Those four points were the difference in the game and cost the Cowboys their first win of the year. That is why the Cowboys lost, plain and simple.

With the run game being nonexistent this week, I expect to see a better sample of it in the next few weeks. The Cowboy’s only lost by 2 points. Both teams played very well, and next week’s challenge of the Chargers will be another good test for this potent offense.

Welcome To The Mahomes Show

By: Mike Rifkin

On Sunday in Kansas City the reigning two time AFC champions were in a battle with the Cleveland Browns. At halftime  the Chiefs trailed the Browns 22-10. But in the second half the Chiefs outscored Cleveland 23-7, to win 33-29.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 27-36 for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 1 on the ground. 75 of Mahomes’s 337 yards came on one big throw to Tyreek Hill who made a great adjustment to the ball and ran it in for a touchdown and pulled the Chiefs to within two points. Hill on Sunday had 11 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown. Tight End Travis Kelce had six catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes was under plenty of pressure on Sunday against the Cleveland defense but was only sacked twice. Kansas City’s offense was 9-13 on third down. 

But to give Mahomes an opportunity to come back the Chiefs defense needed to be better in the second half and they were. This defense was without star safety Tyrann Mathieu who had been on the covid list until Saturday. They held the Browns to seven points in the second half and forced two turnovers. Star defensive tackle Chris Jones had two sacks in the game. Mike Hughes, a cornerback that they got from the Minnesota Vikings sealed the victory intercepting a Baker Mayfield pass with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter. If there is one area the Chiefs are going to want to improve it’s their run defense, the Browns ran for 153 yards and four touchdowns. 

Andy Reid knows his team is going to get every team’s best shot this season because they have been to two consecutive Super Bowls. Kansas City’s road to a third consecutive Super Bowl continues on Sunday night as they travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens.