WHAT TO DO IN THIS SITUATION

BY MARK “KNISH” HALPERN

    Over the past 30 years being a Sport Card dealer, I have had the pleasure of having some rare cards, rare to very rare autographs and even have had held the two holy grails of baseball cards in my hand and that being the Topps t209 Honus Wagner and the of course the 1952 Mickey Mantle. I used to be a very big card dealer here in New York and due to some unfortunate health issues, I haven’t been able to do it at full speed. I still buy and sell cards but, in nowhere of the numbers I was used to dealing with. It’s hard to say that every card dealer, breaker, collector ever get to hold the one card they are searching for or not searching for (getting out of a pack) and hit the treasure chest. It happens and sometimes more than you think.

     Let’s take a trip back to Westchester County New York in 2002. I brought home a case of Fleer (Yes, I said Fleer) Mystique because the East Coast National (one of the biggest cards shows to come to White Pains annually) and I knew we had a great chance in nabbing a few Ichiro rookies to be able to sell at the show. He and another well-known guy by the name of Albert Pujols was also making waves so any of his rookies would have been good too. Well let’s just say all I did was open one box. I got home went to my desk and sat down to open the case. I took one of the four top boxes (don’t remember which) and preceded top open away and the cards definitely were nice. This was one of the first style cards made on a thicker scale. Well needless to say I got three Ichiro in the first three packs and said “Well what’s next?” opened the next pack and saw a reflective magenta color and if you’re a card collector you know what meant back then. Those were the real 1/1’s and not like the 1000’s produced today. To get a 1/1 you were considered royalty at a show cause that’s how rare they were to pull back then. My hands were shaking a little cause I knew what I had but, just didn’t know who. Well kill the suspense it was the Ichiro 1/1 (no autos at this time) and when I say time froze it sure felt like it. I called my associate Aaron Mackles who had been running the card business with me and he just froze. Needless to say, we were the hit of the show and the card was sold to a Japanese collector.

      So, what does this story have to do with the anything well let me tell you. The market for baseball cards is more volatile than the NYSE index. Well as we all know that Sport Cards go up in value based on the player and their performance and if a player gets injured and out long-time prices drop, you go 50/50 for the first time in ever your cards are going to sky rocket. As a card dealer you have to play the short game more than the long game because you want to make money on you invest just some sooner than others. 

   So, I have right here a Shohei Ohtani Luminaries autograph 13/15. Has to be one of the cleanest cards I have ever seen. Here comes the conundrum I know I can make money now but, this is Ohtani could he comeback next year and win 18 games 35 home runs 100 RBI oh yes. Why would I sell now? Well, what happens if he wakes up and breaks his ankle getting out of bed well that card is going to drop. God Forbid what if he was forced to retire well that investment starts to fall so, I have to watch his play. What if he wins World Series MVP, it is just going drive the card up even more.

     Now when I think of Ohtani my mind doesn’t just automatically go to Bonds even though I backed it in a recent article. I backed it because it made more sense but, to me Ohtani is the Japanese “Babe Ruth.” There isn’t a comparison you can’t make that Ohtani isn’t like Ruth. He can pitch (TJ surgery last year) and effectively, he hits for average and power, he steals bases at will and isn’t afraid of a challenge. Sound like Ruth to you? Well, it is 100% and I don’t see Ohtani slowing down. Yes, I understand Ohtani had some issues before the season ended and we will never get the full story and I don’t want to know it however, Ruth drank and could be 3x over the legal limit and still go 3 for 4 with 3 home runs. Ruth was and always will be a GOD of Baseball. Just like what he did for the New York Yankees, Ohtani did for the Angles and now is Doing it for the Dodgers. Ruth’s Autograph isn’t as rare as you may think but to own one in the condition I have makes me want to hold on to it longer as it is going to appreciate much more with every year Ohtani plays.  The two pieces below are just a small part of my collection and might put this all together. If you are questioning if the Ruth is real its JSA and is considered one of the cleanest they have seen. These players might have been separated by a century but, are similar. 

Congrats to Shohei on his achievement. We all await what else you can Dazzle us with. In the end I will prob sell them both after I create a piece that’s fits them properly.

Monday Night Madness : Bengals vs Commanders Preview 

By Bill Murphy

For the third consecutive season the Bengals are starting the season 0-2 . The Bengals are coming off of a 26 -25 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals are facing off against the Washington Commanders on Monday night, The Commanders who  are coming off of their first win of the Dan Quinn era. A 21-18  win against the New York Giants. The Bengals have gotten into bad habits in years past with slow starts, in 2024 can they turn it around?

Keys to victory 

Bengals:

Offense : The key to victory for the Bengals offense is going to be the passing game and taking advantage of the  Commanders weak secondary. Last week Joe Burrow was 23/35 for 258 yards and two touchdowns , those two  touchdowns were to Andrei Iosivas and also 91 yards to tight end Mike Geisicki. So Burrow will have to spread the ball around, Tee Higgins is expected to make his season debut, after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury.  Higgins’ debut should open things up for Ja’marr Chase, who has 10 catches for 97 yards through two games. Last week the  Commanders  pass defense struggled with Daniel Jones (of all people ) as he threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, 110 of those yards and a touchdown went to rookie Malik Nabers . 

Defense : The key to victory for the Bengals defense is going to be containing Jayden Daniels. Last week Daniels was 23-29 for 226 yards and he ran for 44 yards. Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard on the edges are going to have to be big. Hendrickson did get to Mahomes twice last week. Maybe the Bengals’ familiarity with Lamar Jackson could help in this situation.

Commanders

Offense :The key to victory for the Commanders is going to be the run game , Jayden Daniels last week ran for 44 yards . Another weapon in that is going to be Brian Robinson Jr. who last week ran for 133 yards. This would be taking advantage of the Bengals rush defense that last week gave up 149 yards to the Chiefs and through two games is giving up 159.4 yards per game rushing.

Defense : The Commanders defense needs to contain Ja’Marr Chase. Even though his last two games Chase has been getting off to a slow start , the Commanders defense needs to make sure the receiver does not have a breakout game. It might be difficult with the return of Tee Higgins, but the Commanders have to limit Chase and his explosiveness. 

Prediction :

Bengals  24  Commanders 10

Sky-Lar Is The Limit

By Mike Rifkin

The Skylar Thompson era begins for the Dolphins on the road in Seattle. Thompson, replaces Tua Tagovailoa, who was placed on IR with a concussion. Thompson has played on the road before, he was the Dolphins quarterback in the 2022 AFC Wild Card game against the Bills. Thompson was 18-45 for 220 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. 

The Dolphins are coming off a 31 -10 loss to the Bills. The Dolphins turned the ball over three times and committed seven penalties for 50 yards. The Dolphins’ offense will have to look to get Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill involved, the two combined for seven catches for 65 yards last week. The Dolphins may be without Raheem Mostert again with a chest injury. 

The Seahawks are coming off a 23-20 win over the Patriots. Geno Smith threw for 327 yards and a touchdown. Both DK Metcalf and Jaxson Smith-Njigba went over 100 yards receiving. The Seahawks defense through two games is giving up 270.5 yards per game and have three takeaways. 

Keys to the game

  • Jalen Ramsey – Ramsey, will most likely be on DK Metcalf. Those two have a history, if Ramsey can get in Metcalf’s head he can be a nonfactor.
  • Pressuring Geno : The Seahawks offensive line has given up five sacks so far this season. The Dolphins defense didn’t touch Josh Allen last week, so they’ll have to get pressure on Geno.
  • Get Tyreek and Waddle involved early. Last week these two were non factors. They’re going up against two young corners in Riq Woolen and Devon Weatherspoon. 

Prediction : Seahawks 24 Dolphins 20.

Bengals vs Chiefs : Recap

By Bill Murphy 

For the third consecutive season , the Bengals are starting the season 0-2  after losing to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs   26-25 on a last second field goal from Harrison Butker. The Bengals lost the game on a  pass interference call on Bengals Secondary  Daijahn Anthony which gave the Chiefs a first down and  set up the winning drive . This game was an instant classic having five lead changes in the second half alone. 

Stars Of The Game 

Bengals 

  • Joe Burrow – Burrow made a significant improvement from his performance  last week against the Patriots . Burrow threw for 258 yards  23/36  and two touchdown passes. He was starting to look like the old Joe Burrow again as he comes off his wrist injury from last year .
  • Andrei Iovsis – In his second year In Cincinnati  Andrei Iosvis is trying to make his presence known as a wide receiver. Iovsis  caught two touchdown passes from Burrow and picked up nine reception yards. Iovsis could be an important part of the Bengals Wide receiver corps because Tee  Higgins was still out today and his return is uncertain and Ja’Marr Chase had a quiet day , so Iovsis can be a stand out for the Bengals.
  • Cam Taylor Britt- At the end of the third quarter Cam Taylor Britt did a awesome one handed interception which reminded me of Odell Beckham Jr.  This pass turned  momentum for the Bengals around for one moment after picking off Pat Mahomes.  
  • Trey Hendrickson- I said Hendrickson was going to be a key to this game in my preview and I was right. Hendrickson had four tackles ,two for loss and two sacks.

Chiefs

  • Rashee Rice– Rashee Rice  had the breakout game that he needed , he had five receptions for 75 yards  and had a 44 yards touchdown reception.  This was his first downfield touchdown pass in his career and his first downfield pass since last season . 
  •  The Chiefs running game :  The chiefs took advantage of the Bengals  weak rush defense .  The Chiefs wracked up a total of 149 yds , including 90 of them from Isiah Pacheco , 29 from Patrick Mahomes and  24 from Carson Steele and more . 
  • Chris Jones – He only wracked up a half a sack against Joe Burrow , but he broke up a screen pass from Burrow which turned it into an incomplete pass.  The next play Burrow was sandwiched by Jones , Defensive end Mike Danna and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton which resulted in Burrow fumbling the ball on third and 10. 

Next Week

  • The Chiefs will be playing the Falcons on Sunday Night Football 
  • The Bengals will be playing the Commanders on Monday Night Football

External Options

By Mike Rifkin

On Tuesday the Miami Dolphins placed Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on IR. IR means Tua will miss the next four games at minimum. The Dolphins are allowing Tagovailoa to meet with neurologists after suffering another concussion last week. Skylar Thompson will get the start this week in Seattle. Thompson, does have some experience including starting the Wild Card game two years ago in Buffalo. But, this is a Dolphins team that has expectations, and if Thompson struggles the Dolphins will have to get themselves a quarterback to help this team win. They did sign Tyler Huntley from the Ravens, but if they want to upgrade the position there are some external options. 

Ryan Tannehill : Tannehill, a former Dolphin is the best quarterback on the free agency market. The 36 year old had four touchdowns and seven interceptions in 10 games with the Titans last season. 

Jimmy Garoppolo (Rams) – Garoppolo was suspended the first two games of the season for PEDs. Garoppolo played for Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel with the Niners and went to a Super Bowl together. 

Russell Wilson – I still don’t understand what the Steelers’ plan is at quarterback, but Justin Fields is 2-0. Should he continue to play well and give them a chance to win, then he should be evaluated for the whole season which could put Wilson in play. 

Bryce Young – The Panthers announced that Andy Dalton is their starter going forward. Unless he gets hurt there’s no way Bryce Young can be inserted back into the lineup. The former first overall pick has struggled, but it can be calculated as a low risk high reward deal, especially if Tua has to step away from the game. 

The NFL trade deadline is November 5th and a lot can happen between now and then. But for right now these might be the four best options for the Dolphins to turn to if Skylar Thompson doesn’t pan out, while Tua gets those opinions. 

A New Show In Town

By Mike Rifkin

On Saturday the Mets recalled one of their top prospects in Luis Angel Acuna. Acuna, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Rangers in exchange for Max Scherzer. Steve Cohen ate a lot of Scherzer’s salary to acquire Acuna. Acuna, has been playing shortstop in the absence of Fransisco Lindor, who is dealing with a back issue. 

Acuna, on Tuesday night had his best game of his young career going 3-4 with a double and a home run (first career), two RBI’S and three runs scored. Acuna has five hits in his first 11 at bats and has looked solid so far at the plate, but it’s just a glimpse into what the future. 

So I am not thinking about the playoffs for Acuna (right now), but long term where can Acuna play? Well, Lindor is locked up at Shortstop long term, so that’s off the table. Mark Vientos has had a great season, has locked up third base, unless Pete Alonso leaves in free agency which remains a possibility (though the fans don’t want him to). So that leaves second base, Jeff McNeil. McNeil had a putrid first half of the season, but was sensational in the second half, before fracturing his wrist on a hit by pitch. McNeil is signed through 2028, although there is a club option for 2027. Jose Iglesias has had a fantastic season, and the Mets can bring him back as a part time player next season to potentially back up Acuna, Acuna also has had some outfield experience, but with Starling Marte and Brandon Nimmo signed for next season, it’s unlikely unless the Mets put Acuna in Center Field. But that’s a problem for later, right now Mets fans have to love what they’ve seen from Acuna, so early in his career. Hopefully he can become a staple in the Mets lineup for years, like his brother is for the Braves.

Going Back In Time

By Mike Rifkin

March 10th 2023, a day Carolina Panthers fans will remember for a long time. It was the day the Panthers acquired the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft from the Chicago Bears and right now that trade gets worse and worse. The Panthers acquired the first overall pick for Receiver DJ Moore, 2023 first round pick (Darnell Wright – OT), 2023 second round pick (Tyrique Stevenson), 2024 first round pick (Caleb Williams), and a 2025 second round pick. With the first overall pick the Panthers selected Alabama QB Bryce Young. Reportedly there was a bit of a disagreement over Young, as owner David Tepper wanted Young, while then Head Coach Frank Reich wanted Ohio ST. QB CJ Stroud. Ultimately Tepper won out and the Panthers took Young, and Reich was fired after 11 games into his first season. 

The Panthers offense was at the bottom of most categories last season. Things were so bad that as a part of the trade they sent the Bears their first overall pick , which happened to be first overall again. This offseason the Panthers hired Bucs OC Dave Canales to help Bryce Young’s development. Well through two games things haven’t improved and now Bryce Young is getting benched for Andy Dalton. 

In Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Chargers, Young threw for 84 yards, the fourth fewest in franchise history. Through two games Young has a 55.4 completion percentage, 231 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions, and has been sacked six times. Now, Dave Canales has announced that Young will be benched in favor of Andy Dalton. 

The Bears made out like bandits in this deal, not just based on what they acquired in the deal. But for this reason, the Panthers just said Bryce Young won’t be their starter in 2025, and potentially might never play for the organization again. Because you cannot bench him in favor of a guy like Andy Dalton, Dalton is a veteran who has been around, but if you had that little faith in Young then Dalton should’ve started from the beginning. But because the Panthers are going this route,one has to imagine the Panthers are back in the quarterback market in 2025. Unless Dalton sustains an injury the Panthers should even consider demoting Young to the emergency QB, because yo-yoing him will do nothing for his confidence. But one has to wonder would the Panthers make this deal again if they go back in time, or would they select Stroud like Frank Reich wanted?

SIN BLITZERS WEEK 2 PREVIEW

Texas Two Step : TEXANS/COWBOYS WEEK 2

“Keep your Saddle oiled and your gun greased” (Texas slang for be prepared)

         The Cowboys demolished the Browns last week. They thoroughly decimated the Browns on both sides of the ball. Dak got his contract that he wanted and hopes to take the Cowboys to the promised land known as the Super Bowl. The Browns Defense was in the top five in the NFL last year. Dak picked them apart on each drive with most of them leading to points on the board. Dallas won and now they have their home opener this Sunday against the New Orleans Saints that looked impressive against the Panthers during week 1. Now there are high school teams who can give the Panthers a good challenge. The Cowboys take on a formidable team in the Saints. The offense is loaded with weapons from Kamara to Olave and if either one of them get going the Saints are hard to stop. Now with the Saints playing the Panthers the Offense and Defense were as scary as Wile E Coyote with any of his many devices. The Saints chewed up the Panthers pretty much the same way the Cowboys did to the Browns. 

      Derrick Carr played well last week throwing for 200 yards and 3 TD’s and Kamara 15/83/1 and Rashid Shaheed lead all receivers 3/72/1. The biggest surprise was Olave only has 2/11 on the day. First things first is the Saints defense was perfect week 1 but could but find them up against a very scary team. This is a game where we could see each and every offensive major talent shut down by this top three Defense in the NFL. Look for the Cowboys to do the same things on defense as they did to the Browns in the first week and that is to swarm Derek Carr. Carr is an above average Quarterback and has a plethora of weapons to use. Carr and the Saints were up against probably the worst team in the NFL today. The Cowboys will control this game from the first drive until the final gun. MY predictions for this game are dak will throw for more than 300 yards with 4 td’s. The running game does exactly what it did in week one and that creates shorter 2nd downs and 3rd downs. The longer drives go the more the opposition has to keep changing its game plan. Look for the Cowboys to obliterate the Saints by at least two scores and the Defense comes away with a pick six as well and Kevonte Turpin to drive special teams wild. The Cowboy’s will be victorious and win 42-17.

     Now on the other side of the dance floor we have the Houston Texans and the Dallas Cowboys putting up notice of their plays as they fight for the best NFL team in Texas. The Texans take on the Chicago Bears from the NFC North. The Chicago Bears are a completely rebuilt offense. Chicago wasn’t passing up on the chance to be able to draft Caleb Williams (the NFL version of Lebron James and thanks Panthers) arguably the best player in the draft that took place back in April of this year and Chicago was one of the teams who were considered to have had one of the best drafts according to ESPN and Sports Illustrated. The Bears came out and this offense that everyone and their mother has been talking about could not get into the endzone. Call it first game jitters, maybe the offense wasn’t fully in sync or call it whatever but the Bears (mind you they played the panthers) offense came out and contributed nothing for the first game. The Bears Defense and Special Teams scored all the points. If the Bears think they are going to be able to do this against Houston and come out with a win then they are dreaming. Houston is a complete team at every level and we saw that on week 1 as Stroud got everyone involved in the victory. 

    This Game is the primetime Sunday night game and I am truly looking forward to seeing these young QB’s play at their best and maybe see some real explosive plays. Look for the Texans to score early and the Defense shuts down the young rookie to a score of 31-20. 

DETROIT LIONS VS TAMPA BAY

  The Lions picked up right where they left off last season by beating the Rams in overtime in week one. The Lions took the same attitude as they did in game one this season as they did in the NFC Title game last year. Goff hasn’t lost a step and the combo of Montgomery and Gibbs. Montgomery got the bulk of the carries with 17 while Gibbs had 11 rushing attempts but Gibbs Chipped in 4 receptions as well. Even though Montgomery got 8 more carries if you watched the game you could clearly see that Montgomery is the 1st down back and then it’s by committee. I said in my earlier articles the more complete Running Back back will lead the way by week 7. When I say complete that rush and receive out of the back field. Gibbs and Montgomery can and have proven they could do it but in the NFL now teams have to be balanced at not only offense but defense as well.

     We also got to watch Baker cook for us in Tampa where he threw 4 touchdowns against the Washington Commanders 37-20. Baker picked up where he left off last season finding Mike Evans for 2 touchdowns and Chris Godwin for 83 yards and a score as well. The Lions gave up a lot of yards to Stafford. This is a rematch of the NFC Divisional playoffs last season that saw the Lions win 31-23. Goff threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions defense had four sacks and forced two Mayfield interceptions.

 I think the Lions and Cowboys are the most complete teams in the NFL. If you’re a weaker team and try to push past the “Pride” that is Detroit. You are going to be the ones going home with their pride hurt. This will be a close game but watch for the Detroit Lions to edge out the Bucs 24-21 – Mark Halpern 

          BENGALS VS CHIEFS

After getting over a disappointing week one loss against the New England Patriots by a score of 16-10,the Cincinnati Bengals are facing off against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are coming off their week one win against the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 27-20. Last week The Bengals struggled with Joe Burrow having an abysmal performance and Tee Higgins missing last week with a hamstring injury . Higgins will most likely miss this week as well, but he’s not the only one who could possibly be out on Sunday , tight end Tanner Hudson is now on limited practice due to knee injury and so is linebacker Logan Wilson .

Keys To Victory 

Bengals Offense: The key to victory on the Bengals offense is going to be two things , one Burrow will have to be more mobile and they will have to give the ball to Zack Moss . The reason for that is because the pass defense for Kansas City is absolutely superb holding Lamar Jackson to only 122 yds . Zack Moss did a good job last week for the Bengals running 44 yards and a touchdown in his first game replacing Bengals running back Joe Mixon who is now in Houston. This would also take pressure off of Ja’marr Chase with Tee Higgins possibly being out .

Defense: The key for the Bengals defense would be the combination of Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard on the pass defense .Last week this duo helped contain Jacoby Brissett to only 122 yards. The pass defense didn’t allow any Patriots receiver to have more than 35 yards. Whoever suits up for the defense will have to realize quickly that they aren’t playing the Patriots, they’re playing the best quarterback in the NFL , Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. 

Chiefs

Offense: The Chiefs offensive key to victory would be rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Worthy should now be seen as Mahomes new  favorite target , last week he rushed for 21 yards and ran for 47 yards and scored two touchdowns. Worthy can also be seen as a worthy replacement as Marquesie “ Hollywood “ Brown who was placed  on the injured reserve list .

Defense : Cornerback Trent McDuffie would be the defensive key of victory to the Kansas City Chiefs . Last week McDuffe contained Raven receiver Zay Flowers , now this week he is going to take on Ja’Marr Chase . With Higgins being doubtful this could make things easier for McDuffe because he would have a lighter load. There is a chance though that McDuffe would need help from the rest of the defense in covering him . 

Prediction Chiefs 28 Bengals 17 – Bill Murphy

BROWNS AT JAGS

Both of these teams are coming off of disappointing week one losses. The Jags blew a 17-7 lead to the Dolphins. The Jags offense was shutout in the second half in the 20-17 loss. Trevor Lawrence was 12-21 for 162 yards and a touchdown. One interesting note was Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby both had 12 carries each. Now whether that has to do with Etienne fumbling or not we don’t know, but Bigsby outgained the former first round pick 73-44. Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. had good debuts with their new team combining for 7 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.  

On the Other side the Browns are coming off a 33-17 thrashing at the hands of the Cowboys (20-3 at halftime). Deshaun Watson really struggled. He was 24-45 for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and was sacked six times. Watson struggled throwing the ball down the field. In seven games against Jacksonville Watson has nine touchdowns and three interceptions with a 93.4 passer rating. Watson will not have tight end David Njoku, who will miss  the game with an ankle injury. The Browns defense will also need to be better than they were against the Cowboys. Two teams that can’t afford to start 0-2 go head to head in Jacksonville.

Prediction

Browns : 24 Jags : 21 – Mike Rifkin

Nightmare Scenario

By Mike Rifkin

There was a lot of pressure on the Miami Dolphins Thursday night to change the narrative and finally beat their division rival Buffalo Bills. Instead Thursday was a worst case scenario for the Dolphins. They got beat by the Bills 31-10 and on top of that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got hurt in the third quarter with a concussion. The game becomes secondary, because everyone hopes Tua is okay, but after what occurred during the 2022 season, one has to wonder if we have seen the last of Tua? 

The biggest story was the Bills defense. They forced three Tua interceptions including a pick six. The Bills defense also didn’t allow Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to beat them, the two combined for seven catches for 65 yards. 

Offensively the Bills got three touchdowns from James Cook (two rush, one receiving) and 95 total yards. Josh Allen was only 13-19 for 139 yards and a touchdown, but that was enough. But if you read my pregame for this game, I said the Dolphins defense had to watch out for Allen’s legs, and Allen made quite a few plays with his legs, not by running the ball but by extending plays that lengthened Bills’ drives. The Dolphins’ defense couldn’t lay a hand on Allen. 

For the Bills they have won 11 of the last 12 over the Dolphins and remain the favorite in the AFC East. But the biggest story is what happens next with Tua. I think it’s safe to say he’ll miss next week’s game in Seattle, but who knows what the future holds. But the Dolphins are going to look at getting help at the quarterback position. The Dolphins go to Seattle and the Bills will host the Jaguars on Monday night.

Change The Narrative

By Mike Rifkin

The narrative surrounding the Miami Dolphins is that they haven’t been able to win the big game. Well, they can start to change that narrative on Thursday night when they host the Buffalo Bills.  In week 18 of the 2023 season the two teams battled to see who would win the AFC East and the Bills prevailed 21-14. A major key was the Bills possessed the ball for almost 40 minutes, while the Dolphins had it for slightly under 22 minutes. 

Keys To the game : Bills

  • Will someone on the outside step up? Last week against the Cardinals, Bills receivers stats were very balanced. This is the first meeting between the two teams since the trade of Stefon Diggs, who was a Dolphin killer. Diggs had 670 yards and six touchdowns in eight games against the Dolphins. Khalil Shakir did have 100 yards in week 18 last season.
  • Make The Dolphins one dimensional : Everything the Dolphins do on offense is about one thing: speed. If the Bills can stop the run, and make the Dolphins one dimensional they can sit back and not allow Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle beat them. 

Keys to the game : Dolphins

  • David Long and Jordyn Brooks – Let’s be honest Josh Allen has owned the Dolphins over his career with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his career. But why are the two inside linebackers a key? The Dolphins cannot allow Allen’s legs to beat them, he will do damage with his arm, but his legs were a massive weapon in week 18 last season so containing his running ability is a massive key. 
  • Run the Ball – What’s another way to beat Josh Allen let him hangout on the sideline and run the ball. The Dolphins struggled against the Jags to get the run going. The Cardinals had 124 rushing yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry in week one, if the Dolphins can take a page out of that book that’d be beneficial. 

The Bills have won eight of the last nine meetings, and if the Dolphins truly want to change this narrative this is as much of a must win in week two that there will be. 

Prediction

Bills – 24 – Dolphins : 21