Dallas vs Carolina Post Game

The Panthers could only Meow

Record 3-1

By Mark Halpern

Yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys welcomed the visiting Carolina Panthers to AT&T stadium for an NFC match-up that many analysts thought Carolina would win. The First half of the game was pretty balanced with both teams trading TD’s, and they went into the half the Panthers were leading 14-13. The second half was much different as the Cowboys put 20 unanswered points on the board to go ahead 33-14. The fourth quarter saw a resurgence by the Panthers, but it was not enough, and at the end of the game, Dallas was the victor by a final score of 36-28.

    The offense led by Dak, Zeke, and Cooper played a fantastic game on offense. Dak Prescott threw for a season-low 188 yards and 4 yes 4 td’s. Dak didn’t have to throw that much because Zeke was fed and fed a lot. Zeke took 2 carries for 143 yards and 1 td, Tony Pollard rushed 10 times for 67 yards, and Dak wanted in on the fun, so he ran for 35 yards of his own. The running game provided all the space that the cowboys needed on the day. Amari Cooper and Dalton Schultz lead the team in receiving, with Cooper catching 3 catches for 69 yards and a beautiful 35-yard TD catch, and Schultz tallied 6 for 57 yards and his 3rd touchdown in the last two games. The Offensive line did a fantastic job in creating space for Zeke to run free; they gave Prescot all the time he needed in the pocket to make accurate and non-rushed throws.

   The Cowboys did something they haven’t done in a while on the defense side of the ball, which was tally 5 sacks. After coming back from the covid list, Randy Gregory had two of the sacks and looked good. The big story from the defense is that Trevon Diggs picked off two passes and is getting closer to Everson Walls’ record of 11 interceptions in a year. He currently has 5 interceptions in just four games. If he keeps this up, he could set a league record. 

    The Panther’s defense couldn’t contain the high-powered Dallas offense proving to me that their 3-0 record meant nothing because they played nobodies. However, Sam “I am glad I am not a Jet” Darnold was impressive, throwing for 301 yards 2 td’s, and two interceptions but also ran for two TD’s of his own. He is having a great year, and I hope it continues for him. D.J Moore had an awe-inspiring day and was Darnold’s favorite target. Moore had 8 catches for 118 yards and 2 td’s. However, at the end of the game, there was no roar for the Panthers; they could only muster 

small meow.

   The Cowboys welcome the New York “We Finally won a game” Giants for a Sunday night divisional match-up.

Dallas vs Carolina

TIME TO TAME THE CATS

Record 2-1

By Mark Halpern

Last week we saw a confident Dallas football team coming off a win from the Chargers and opened their season at home against their division rival, the Eagles. The Cowboys plucked the feathers out of them by winning by 20 points and impressive play. Dak Prescott threw for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns, Zeke took 17 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Let us say Dak and Zeke are the prime focus. Dalton Schultz was the lead receiver with 6 catches for 80 yards and 2 of Dak’s 3 td’s. On the defensive side, Trevon Diggs picked off a beautiful pass and took it to the house for a pick 6. The Dallas offense and defense is for real, and the league better watch out.

     This week the Cowboys welcome the 3-0 Panther’s to AT&T stadium for a prime matchup on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers are 3-0 and have had some impressive games, but none against a real contender. The significant loss for Carolina is that superstar running back Christian McCaffery is out with yet again another leg injury. Sam “I am no longer a Jet” Darnold has been very impressive through his first three games. He has talented receivers to help move the ball, and their defense is no slouch; this will be a tough fight.

   So, what needs to happen here in this game? Well, first, Zeke must run the ball well and get the ground game going. The switch-up with Pollard during the game is good because the Cowboys always have fresh legs on the field. Dak must come out and play as he has been. Dak has proven that last year wasn’t a fluke, and he can ball even coming off that horrible injury. Cee Dee Lamb, Amari cooper, and Cedrick Wilson have to make catches and get open. The Dallas receivers are ranked in the top 3 core groups of the league. They will be getting Gallup back soon, and that will make them even more lethal. I also expect to see a lot of Dalton Schultz as the #1 tight end this week after his impressive outing on Monday night. 

    This is Carolina’s first real test as a football team. I think the Panthers will be knocked down to size and be kittens at the end of the game. I see Dallas winning big with a score of 38-17.

It Was In the Cards

By: Mike Rifkin

For the first time since 2015 the Arizona Cardinals are 3-0 as they defeated the Jaguars 31-19. Coincidentally 2015 is also the last time the Cardinals made the playoffs. It is weird to say that a 2-0 team was in a must win situation, but the Cardinals were in that situation. The two main reasons being they were 2-0 last season before losing to the Lions and that one game can be the difference between making and missing the playoffs. The other reason is that the upcoming schedule gets difficult for the Cardinals.

At the end of the first half the Cardinals attempted a 68 yard field goal, not only did it miss but Jamal Agnew returned it 109 yards for a touchdown. But as they did last week the Cardinals battled back in the second half. They were led by free agent acquisitions as James Conner had two rushing touchdowns and AJ Green had 112 receiving yards. But the most instrumental might have been JJ Watt who pressured rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence into throwing an interception to Byron Murphy which was returned for a touchdown. Murphy had two interceptions on the day and they were two of the four the Cardinals defense forced. Murphy is off to a tremendous start to his season. Through three games he has 11 tackles, 5 passes defended and yesterday he got his first two interceptions of the season. 

Quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 316 yards and had a rushing touchdown in the win for the Cardinals. The Cardinals will now open up divisional play as they go to Los Angeles to play the 3-0 Rams, followed up by games against the 49ers and Browns. It was imperative that the Cardinals got off to a hot start and they have. Now let’s see how they fare against some of the heavyweights in the NFL. 

Unfamiliar Territory

By: Mike Rifkin

For the first time since 2015 the Kansas City Chiefs are in last place in the AFC West. On Sunday the Chiefs lost to the Chargers 30-24. 

 Kansas City turned the ball over four times as Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions, Tyreek Hill and Clyde Edwards-Helaire lost fumbles. It was the second consecutive game Edwards-Helaire has lost a fumble. It was also the second year running back best game of the season rushing for 100 yards and having a receiving touchdown. For the second consecutive week Tight End Travis Kelce went for over 100 yards receiving. 

 But the uncharacteristic turnovers have cost the Chiefs the last two games. With 1:42 remaining Mahomes threw his second interception of the day. Then on 4th and 9 with less than a minute left, first year head coach Brandon Staley put the ball in the hands of his second year quarterback Justin Herbert. That gamble paid off as they were able to get a pass interference call against the Chiefs, and then with 32 seconds left Herbert hit Mike Williams for his second touchdown of the game. On this day Herbert outdueled Mahomes throwing for 281 and 4 touchdowns. Mahomes 260 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Chiefs defense was without starting corner Charvarius Ward and Rashad Fenton was evaluated for a concussion at halftime. That left Deandre Baker who got called for that pass interference on fourth down. And Mike Hughes who struggled in coverage most of the game. 

There is a bigger situation that came with this loss as well. Head Coach Andy Reid was feeling ill and was taken to a hospital after the game. The team said Sunday night that Reid was feeling well and is in stable condition. 

The Chiefs will look to rebound as they play the Eagles in Philadelphia next week. Then a 3 game stretch of the Bills, Washington Football Team, and Titans.

Not So Optimistic Jets Pregame

By Eric Ford

If you remember, in my early posts, I said I would be optimistic until at least week 1. Well, I was optimistic until last week. Then Zach Wilson threw 4 interceptions. That is when hope left my body. We still have a long season ahead, so you never know. I do not think we will go 0-17. But I am not optimistic about this game.

The Denver Broncos are 2-0. That defense is challenging, and their offense can win games. On defense, you have Bradly Chubb and Von Miller, still threats. On offense you have a good run game in Teddy Bridgewater, Courtland Sutton and Melvin Gordan. All are playing well. Grant it they did have an easy schedule as of late. Their first game was the Giants and then the Jaguars. Now they have their first home opener against the Jets.

The New York Jets are 0-2.  In the first game, we gave the Panthers a run for their money but, Penalties and play-calling prevented the win. Last week against the Patriots was strictly turnovers. If there was a game for the Jets to show up, it is this game. It will only get tougher because nobody wants to lose to a 0-3 team.

Keys to victory, last week the Jets were looking good. The offense gave Wilson time, and the defense kept the Jets in the game. The thing that killed them was the turnovers and penalties. The Jets need to play more disciplined football. The Offensive line has a tough job ahead of them this week. The Broncos defensive line is no joke. They will look to get to Zach Wilson early. The Jets need to establish the run; the Jets running backs are good at gaining yards, run early, and run often. The defense needs to continue to show up like they have been doing. If they do all of this, we have a shot at winning and showing other teams that they are truly a threat.

The Jets are 0-2, but they are way better than their record shows. They need to show up plain and simple.

Titans Home Week 3 Against the Colts

By Bill Murphy

Nashville- After nail-biting overtime against the Seattle Seahawks last week, the Titans are back home as they face their division rival, the Indianapolis Colts. After the Texans lost to the Panthers on Thursday night, a win would put the Titans in possession of 1st place in the AFC South.

Derrick Henry exploded last week after an abysmal performance in week one, rushing for 35 carries, 182 yards, and three touchdowns. The Key for Henry this week would be to get released early and take advantage. Henry has a record of 5 straight 100 yards or more games against teams in the AFC South.
Not only Henry, but the rest of the offense has to take advantage of a weak Colts defense. This week, Ryan Tannehill’s big target should be AJ Brown and Julio Jones, who got six receptions on 128 yards. During week 1, the Colts gave up 654 yards to the Seattle Seahawks and 657 yards to the Rams. Even though the Colt’s defense has been anemic over the past two weeks, they still have some folks to look out for on defense, such as defensive linemen DeForest Buckner and Al-Quadin Muhammad and edge rusher and new pick up from this year’s draft Kwitty Paye.

A thing to look out for is the defense. The problem with the defense is inconsistent. Last week during the game in Seattle, the defense let Russell Wilson and company run through them by scoring 24 points. While in the second half of the game, the defense held its own while holding the seahawks to only one touchdown. On Sunday, they will have to be more consistent while fending off the Colt’s offense. However, this week they should have it much easier than they had the last two weeks.

The big talk is that the Colts will be down a quarterback after Carson Wentz sprained both of his ankles in last week’s game against the Rams. He did, however, report to practice this week, holding out hope that he might play on Sunday. So, in place of Carson Wentz, the Colts will be starting second-year quarterback Jacob Eason, who threw two completions out of five attempts, 25 yards, and one interception, So the defense would have to do so cover him and pressure him early. Last week, they will also have to cover Michael Pittman, their lead receiver, having 123 yards on eight receptions. This should be an easy win for the Titans if the defense stays strong, Tannehill stays sharp, and Henry has a hell of a game.

Jacksonville Jaguars Week 3 Pre-Game

By: Noah Trombley

The Jaguars will look to bounce back this week as they host the Arizona Cardinals in week 3. The last time these two teams played was in 2017 and the Cardinals took home the victory 27-24, however this time do not expect a close score. 

Between their first two games the Jaguars have averaged a total of 17 points, the cardinals have averaged 36, these offenses are not built the same. Kyler Murray is putting together, so far, an MVP Caliber season. He currently sports a 73.5 completion percentage, 689 yards, 7 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions. Lawrence on the other hand has a 50 completion percentage, 450 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Lawrence has struggled all year in this current system, receivers can’t get open, and the run game can’t get any momentum. Urban Meyer needs to really come up with some inventive play calling in order to get this offense going and able to score some points cause the Cardinals behind Kyler Murray, Deandre Hopkins, and the rookie sensation Rondale Moore, will put up points in bunches against the flat Jaguars defense who so far this season has not caused a single turnover and they are losing the turnover ratio by -5. 

The only couple positives to take away from the Jaguars defense is that they do get pressures on the QB. Linebacker Josh Allen has a sack a game so far (2 total), safety Andrew Wingard has one, and DE Adam Gotsis has one as well. The Jags will need to focus on these three players to try and get some turnovers on defense whether that be some forced fumbles on the QB or forcing some bad throws and causing some interceptions. 

The big key to this game for the Jaguars will be to contain Kyler Murray. They are not gonna bring the QB down many times as his elusiveness will get him out of many situations, however the Jaguars will need to keep getting pressure on Kyler the entire game in hopes that he gets hurried and makes some mental errors. On the offensive side James Robinson, Carlos Hyde, and Duke Johnson need to get the run game going in order to take some pressure off of Trevor Lawrence to make plays constantly and allow him to find his targets and throw the ball away when need be. 

Giants Falcons Week Three Pre-Game

By Jeff Knapp

This Sunday at 1 PM, the 0-2 Atlanta Falcons travel to Metlife Stadium to take on the 0-2 New York Giants. The Giants are not only coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Washington Football Team, but now they are facing the league’s 32nd ranked defense and the team that has given up the most points so far in this early season and 3rd lowest-scoring offense in the league.

The Giants are rightfully favored to win this week and hopefully not drop to 0-3, which in most divisions would mean they are playing spoiler and getting ready for next season, but they are in the NFC East, so anything is possible.

The Falcons still have Matty Ice, but he isn’t the same player he once was, but he does have weapons around him like Calvin Ridley, Rookie TE Kyle Pitts, and RB Cordarrlle Patterson, who is off to a pretty decent start with what he’s working with (136 total yards and 2TDs)

This week, the Giants come in with the idea that they can score some point, with last week’s outing against the WFT. Sterling Shepard has been the team’s MVP through 2 games with 207 receiving yards, and I know I’m jinxing myself, but he hasn’t thrown an interception this season and only one but costly fumble. He has thrown for 516 yards, 2TDs, and has run for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

The keys to a win this week and the rest of the season are getting Kenny Golladay more involved than his seven receptions and getting Saquon Barkley going. He needs bigger holes to run, but he needs to create something from nothing he has done in the past. If he can give the Giants a 2nd and three instead of a 2nd and 9, that would be amazing and open up all options.

DC Patrick Graham could have some faith in Adoree Jackson and Xavier McKinney in blitz situations and put Jabrill Pepper on the field for more snaps. I wanted him out of Michigan; we traded for him; let’s use him. Upfront Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams need to step up on pressuring the QB, especially this week against an immobile QB like Matt Ryan. They have combined for only four tackles, zero sacks, and only pressured the QB 20% of the time on dropbacks, which is 24th in the league.
Jason Garrett needs to open things up for Daniel Jones. Utilize his arm. When throwing for 15+ yards, Daniel Jones is 14 of 18 through 2 games.

Good Luck to the Giants, and our thoughts are with Nick Gates, who may have suffered a career-ending leg injury.

Bills Look To Keep Rolling against Washington

By Lawrence Lang

Buffalo will look to go back to back in the win column tomorrow when they host the Washington Football team in a Sunday 1 PM game. The Bills come in after they routed the Miami Dolphins 35-0 in what was a great bounce back from week 1, where they blew their lead against the Pittsburgh Steelers and ended up losing the game.

Week 2 also saw key players on the Bills step up as well Josh Allen had two touchdown passes, Zach Moss had two Rushing touchdowns, Devin Singletary had a touchdown. Bills Defence should take the week one loss and leave in the rearview mirror as they came up big time with getting six sacks and forcing three fumbles, two of which they recovered. Most importantly, minus the shutout victory when the Dolphins went for it on fourth down, the Bills defense went three for three in stopping them. This was a significant improvement from week one, where the Bills struggled both on the offensive and the defense against the Steelers. Against the Dolphins, the Bills look like they were back in midseason form already. When you can stop an opponent from scoring and forcing fumbles and stopping them on fourth down when they go for it, you become a significant threat on defense.

On the offense, when Allen, Singletary, and wide receivers such as Cole Beasley, Stefon Diggs, and Emmanuel Sanders are one point; the Bills offense becomes one of the best in the league are up there with offenses such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers, and that has two do with head coach Sean McDermott and offense coordinator Brain Daboll.

Looking at Washington, they are 1-1 and defeated the New York Giants 30-29 in week 2. The game had a controversial ending when Dexter Lawrence was called offsides at the first attempt field goal. Washington attempted to win the game and move the chains up 5 yards, which would be enough on the second attempt as Dustin Hopkins to kick the game-winner. Quarterback Taylor Heincke started struggling early but was able to rebound and help lead the comeback. Heincke went 34/46 336 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. It was a great game regardless of the outcome. Even if Washington lost the game, Heincke still looks excellent in his first start of the season.

Sunday’s game is one of those under-the-radar games that can turn out to be a game of the week. I like both quarterbacks, and if both can get going early, we could have a high-scoring affair.
Don’t be surprised if a low-scoring affair happens and both defenses are reasonable, and if they both show up and play as they know, how we can have an awesome low-scoring defensive game.

Rams Look To Go 3-0 Against Tampa Bay Buccaneers

By Zakary Haines

LOS ANGELES- After a close call against the Indianapolis Colts, the Los Angeles Rams are looking to stay undefeated in the 2021 season. This next match-up will not be easy. Their opponent are none other than the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This game will be a significant test for this Rams squad, as they hope to prove they belong in the Super Bowl conversation. It will be a clash of two of the best teams in the NFC and possibly of the entire league.

The Rams defense has one goal, distribute the offense. Tom Brady has had an outstanding season so far: nine touchdowns, 655 passing yards, and a 113.3 quarterback rating. Brady is on a roll the league has not seen since his first MVP season in 2007. If the Rams want any chance of slowing down the Buccaneers’ offense, they will need to go after Brady early and often. Expect plays to get Aaron Donald involved, and blitz plays to get hits on Brady. As for the secondary, they will need to lock down Rob Gronkowski. He has been outstanding on the offensive side. Gronkowski currently has four touchdowns, 129 receiving yards out of 12 receptions. Brady has relied on Gronkowski to be his bail-out option during passing plays. If the Rams can stop Gronkowski, it will be much easier to slow down Brady.

As for the Rams offense, the most significant factor will be how well Matthew Stafford plays. Stafford has had a tremendous start with five passing touchdowns, 599 passing yards, and a quarterback rating of 127.0. Stafford will have to play close to perfect against Tampa Bay’s defense. The Bucs’ defense is nothing to laugh at. Players like Vita Vea, Devin White, and Mike Edwards have been performing at a similar level to last season. However, the one weakness seen is the secondary. Tampa Bay has allowed 3rd most passing yards in the league. If Stafford can find lapses in the coverage, he will have no issues getting the ball to his targets.

As for the run game, it may not matter too much unless it is third down and short. The running back duties come down to Sony Michel and Jake Funk as Darrell Henderson Jr is dealing with a rib injury. Henderson is currently listed as questionable and will be a game-time decision. Do not expect a lot from the running game early on, but later in the second half. If the Rams can establish a balanced offense, Tampa Bay will have their hands full.

Finally, Sean McVay has proven to be a headache to coach against. McVay is known for causing mismatches and creating opportunities through confusing the opposing defense. So far, this has been the case against the Bears and Colts. McVay will give Kupp, and Woods plays where they can cause confusion and get wide open. Regardless, McVay will be up against Bruce Arians, who, in his own right, is a coaching mastermind as well. This will be one of the best games to watch in week three as FOX has this game as their “game of the week.” Kickoff is set for 4:25 pm est on FOX.