Quarterback Showcase

By : Mike Rifkin

Sunday at Soldier Field, two young quarterbacks put on an absolute clinic on the field as the Dolphins defeated the Bears 35-32. Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Fields both showed why they were taken in the first round. 

Tagovailoa continued his impressive play by going 21-30 for 302 yards and three touchdowns. Tua’s go to guys Tyreek Hill and Jaylen  Waddle were exactly that on Sunday. Hill had seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown, while Waddle had five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. New Running Back Jeff Wilson also had a receiving touchdown in his first game as a Dolphin. On the season Tagovailoa now has a 69.9 completion percentage, 1,980 yards, 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions with a QBR of 115.9. I think we need to start putting Tua in the MVP conversation. 

Justin Fields was sensational on Sunday going 17-28 for 123 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 178 yards and a rushing touchdown. The 178 rushing yards is a record for rushing yards by a Quarterback, surpassing Michael Vick’s record of 173. Fields new weapon Chase Claypool, who the Bears got at the trade deadline had two catches for 13 yards in his Bears debut. Fields on the season has a 58.9 completion percentage, 1,322 yards, 10 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, with a 85.0 rating. Fields also has 602 yards and four touchdowns rushing. 

Two young quarterbacks, who both had a ton of pressure and questions about them entering the season. Both had tremendous games on Sunday as they continue to give their respective teams fans hope for what they would become. Tua looks to continue his impressive play against the Browns, while Fields and the Bears host NFC North rival Lions.

Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs 

By : Ross Mazin

The Tennessee Titans visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night football. This matchup features two first place teams in the AFC. In their meeting last season the Titans destroyed the Chiefs 27-3. In that game the Titans defense forced three turnovers and had four sacks of Patrick Mahomes. 

The Titans are coming off a win against the Texans last week, giving them their fifth consecutive win. Malik Willis, who started in place of Ryan Tannehill was 6 -10 for 56 yards and one interception. But he didn’t have to do much because  Derek Henry had 32 carries for 219 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans defense held the Texans to 161 yards of total offense. Tennessee out rushed the Texans 314-43 and averaged 7.0 yards per carry. Ryan Tannehill in his career against the Chiefs has a 73.9 completion percentage, 451 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. In three games against the Chiefs Derrick Henry has 332 yards and four touchdowns, while averaging 5.4 yards per carry. 

The Chiefs are coming off their bye week. They won their last game against the 49ers. Patrick Mahomes was 25 -34 for 423 yards. He had 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. We are starting to see the emergence of JuJu Smith – Schuster in this offense now. Juju has over 100 yards and touchdowns in back to back games. Mahomes in his career against the Titans has a 65.9 completion percentage, 652 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. In four career games against the Titans Travis Kelce has one touchdown. 

I expect a relatively high scoring game between these two good teams. 

My prediction is Chiefs 40- Titans 35

Packers At Lions

By : Mike Rifkin

For the first time this season the Packers and Lions will meet at Ford Field. The Lions are coming off a 31-27 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The Lions were shutout in the second half on Sunday. Jared Goff was 27-37 for 321 yards and a touchdown. D’Andre Swift returned to the lineup had a receiving touchdown and 33 total yards on 10 touches. Jamaal Williams, the former Packers had 10 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns. This will be the first game for the Lions without Tight End TJ Hockenson, who was traded to the Vikings at the trade deadline. 

The Packers have had their own struggles as well, losing four in a row. Last week they lost to the Bills in Buffalo 27-17. Aaron Rodgers was 19-30 for 203 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Packers ran for 208 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry. The Lions defense is giving up 154.9 rushing yards per game. The Packers now have a record with 3-5. 

Last season the teams split the two meetings, with the Lions winning in Week 18. Jared Goff had a 71.2 completion percentage for 484 yards, four touchdowns and an interception against the Packers last season. In 24 games Against the Lions Aaron Rodgers has a 65.7 completion percentage averages 252.3 yards per game, 52 touchdowns and eight interceptions and in 2021 had six touchdowns and zero interceptions. 

With a win at home the Lions might end the Packers season and end their five game losing streak.

Setting A Bear Trap

By : Mike Rifkin

The Dolphins tour of the NFC North continues with a trip to Soldier Field to play the Bears. Both teams were active at the trade deadline for different reasons. The Dolphins acquired Edge rusher Bradley Chubb from the Broncos and running back Jeff Wilson from the 49ers. The Bears traded former Dolphin Edge Rusher Robert Quinn to the Eagles and Linebacker Roquan Smith to the Ravens for draft picks. They did acquire receiver Chase Claypool from the Steelers. 

The Dolphins are coming off a 31-27 win over the Lions. The Dolphins defense pitched a shutout in the second half after giving up 27 points in the first half. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa played arguably his best game in the NFL, completing 29 of 36 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns. Both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle went over 100 yards receiving and Waddle had two touchdowns. The Dolphins also ran for 107 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. 

The Bears are coming off a 49-29 loss to the Cowboys. The Bears, who once trailed in the game 28-7 cut it 28-23 before the Cowboys pulled away. Justin Fields went 17-23 for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He added 60 yards and a touchdown rushing. The Bears as a team ran the ball for 240 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry, led by Khalil Herbert’s 99 yards and a touchdown. Fields was sacked four times on Sunday, putting his season total at 31. Fields was sacked 36 times in 12 games last season. The Bears defense gave up 200 yards rushing and 6.9 yards per carry against the Cowboys including 131 yards and three touchdowns to Tony Pollard. 

Two teams heading in opposite directions, the Bears have lost three of their last four, while the Dolphins have won two in a row after losing three straight. The Bears are in a similar position that the Dolphins were in last season, and now by adding Chase Claypool they are checking to see if Justin Fields is their long term solution at Quarterback. 

Week 9: Bills at Jets

By Ross Mazin

The Jets face the Bills Sunday afternoon at MetLife. This is the last game before the bye week for the Jets. The Bills have been playing great football and are one of the favorites to hoist the Super Bowl. The Jets had been playing great as well until they ran into the Patriots.

The Jets are coming off a disappointing loss to the Patriots. This was a must win game because the Jets had so much momentum and the Patriots had won twelve straight meetings and were coming an off a bad loss to the Bears. Zach Wilson was 20-41 for 355 yards. He had two touchdowns and three  interceptions. Some of these interceptions were bad, he struggled to throw the ball away. But the run game that had been so successful for the Jets struggled in their first game without Breece Hall, rushing for 51 yards and averaging 3.4 yards per carry. One of the major plays in the game was the Jets got an interception returned for a touchdown, but a roughing the passer penalty on John Franklin – Meyers changed the game. 

The Bills are coming off a big win against the Packers.. Josh Allen was 13 -25 for 218 yards. He had two touchdowns and two interceptions. Unlike the Jets, the Bills run game was really good rushing for 153 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry. The Bills are first in yards per game averaging 430.6 yards per game and they are third in yards allowed, allowing 298.1 yards per game. 

Zach Wilson played in one of the two meetings against the Bills last season and was 7-20 for 87 yards and a touchdown. Wilson was sacked eight times in that game. Josh Allen in his career against the Jets has a 63.8 completion percentage, averages 241.3 yards per game with seven touchdowns, five interceptions and three rushing touchdowns in seven games. The Jets haven’t beaten the Bills since 2019.

My prediction is Bills 30 -Jets 13

All In

By : Mike Rifkin

Tuesday was the NFL Trade Deadline, and it was the most active trade deadline in history. One team pushed all of their chips to the middle of the table. The Miami Dolphins have gone all in and made the biggest splash at the deadline. 

The Dolphins acquired pass rusher Bradley Chubb along with a 2025 fifth round pick from the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 2023 first round pick, 2024 fourth round pick and Running Back Chase Edmonds. Last season the Dolphins defense was fifth in the NFL in sacks with 48.0, so far this season they have 15.0. Chubb has the third highest win rate for pass rushers only trailing Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons. Chubb, the fifth overall pick in 2018 has 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in eight games so far this season. Chubb’s presence should help Jaelan Phillips, Emmanuel Ogbah and company apply more pressure to quarterbacks. Earlier today General Manager Chris Grier said “We anticipate having something finished up here shortly.” Talking about signing Chubb to a long term deal. 

But a team doesn’t make a move like this unless they believe in their group. The Dolphins currently sit with a record of 5-3 and in the thick of the AFC playoff picture. The Dolphins are undefeated in games started and finished by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who currently leads the NFL in Passer Rating. The Dolphins used this offseason and put all the pressure on Tua, they got him an Offensive Coach in Mike McDaniel. Terron Armstead and Connor Williams on the offensive line, Running Back Raheem Mostert, who played for McDaniel in San Francisco came over to help the running game,  they used draft capital that they had an abundance of and traded for Tyreek Hill, who leads the NFL in receiving yards. 

The Dolphins acquired three first round picks from the San Francisco  49ers 19 months ago. In the trade the 49ers wound up drafting Quarterback Trey Lance, while the Dolphins used one first on receiver Jaylen Waddle, and traded the other two. They acquired Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb in separate deals. This season you are starting to see the benefit of believing in your young quarterback. The Dolphins on the season have an impressive comeback road win at Baltimore and they beat the Bills at home. I’m not saying the Dolphins are going to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, but you have to put respect on their name not just for 2022 but going forward as well.

Riding The Stars To Victory

By : Mike Rifkin

On Sunday, the Cowboys defeated the Bears 49-29 at AT&T Stadium. In the game the Cowboys big players showed up in a big way. 

Quarterback Dak Prescott played his best game of the season going 21-27 for 250 yards, three touchdowns (one rush) and an interception. Running Back Tony Pollard, who got the start with Ezekiel Elliott out, had 14 carries for 131 yards and three touchdowns. Pollard averaged 9.4 yards per carry.  Jerry Jones after the game said “ We go as Zeke goes.” On the season Zeke has 443 yards and four touchdowns and averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Jerry has to say that they have to go as Zeke goes because Jerry paid him before he had to. All Tony Pollard has done since has shine in a tough situation, but either way whether Zeke is healthy or not they have to find a way to get Pollard the ball more. 

On defense Micah Parsons stepped up in a massive way. Parsons had four tackles and a 36 yard fumble return for a touchdown. Outside of that the defense wasn’t great Justin Fields threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears ran the ball for 240 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Khalil Herbert and Justin Fields had a rushing touchdown each. 

The Cowboys enter their Bye week with a record of 6-2 and in two weeks will play the Packers at Lambeau Field. The Bears will travel home to play the 5-3 Dolphins.

What Could Have Been

By Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Knicks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-108. Donovan Mitchell, who the Knicks were rumored to be in on during the offseason had 38 points and 12 assists in Cleveland’s win. 

Mitchell is currently averaging 32.2 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game and 7.3 assists per game. Yes, it is early in the NBA season, but the Cavaliers are now 6-1 on the season and Mitchell is a big reason. Mitchell is shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three. Mitchell said after the game “It’s easy to point to this summer… but I’m pretty much friends with everybody on that team… Johnny Bryant’s like a big brother … got nothing but love when it’s your home team you wanna go out there and play hard.” 

During the offseason it was rumored the Knicks were going hard after Mitchell, a Upstate, New York native. Eventually the Jazz traded Mitchell to Cleveland and the Knicks missed out on a star again. The Knicks potentially will have four first round picks in next year’s draft, four draft picks in 2024 including three in the second round, five picks in 2025 including two in the first round potentially. 

So here is my question are the Knicks going to use all of these picks that they have? No, but even if they did the Knicks draft picks are not always worth the risk, why not move some of the picks and get a guy in Mitchell, who in his career averages 24.0 points per game. The Knicks have not had a star since Carmelo Anthony left. People criticized the Knicks when they made the trade because most experts believed Anthony would have signed with the Knicks that offseason anyway. Mitchell is under contract and would have been the move that Knicks fans got excited for. Eventually the front office has to step up and swing for the fences and acquire a star.

Lion Tamers

By : Mike Rifkin

The Miami Dolphins were down 27-17 at Halftime on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The Dolphins outscored the Lions 14-0 in the second half to win 31-27 to improve to 5-3 on the season. 

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was 29-36 for 382 yards and three touchdowns. Tua became the first quarterback in Dolphins history to have 350+ yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions while completing 80% of his passes in a game. Tua now leads the NFL with a 112.1 passer rating and the Dolphins are 5-0 in games Tua plays the whole game. Sunday’s game is the reason the Dolphins acquired Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs. Hill, had 12 catches for 188 yards and averaged 15.7 yards per reception. Jaylen Waddle had eight catches for 106 yards, averaged 13.3 yards per reception and two touchdowns. Hill and Waddle have set a Super Bowl Era record with 1,688 yards combined through the team’s first eight games of  the season.  Lions Coach Dan Campbell said postgame “We couldn’t stop their receivers. We didn’t hit them at the line, and that was part of the game plan. We didn’t want to turn it into a track meet, and it was a track meet.”

The Lions scored on all five of their first half possessions, but were held scoreless in the second half. A key play late in the first half was when Jared Goff threw a pass to Josh Reynolds in the end zone, but Reynolds dropped it and Detroit had to settle for a field goal. Goff was 27-37 for 321 yards and a touchdown. Running Back D’Andre Swift returned to the lineup and had 10 touches for 33 yards and a touchdown, while Jamaal Williams had two rushing touchdowns for Detroit. 

The Dolphins tour of the NFC North continues next week when they visit the Bears while the Lions who fell to 1-6 after this loss will host the reeling Green Bay Packers. 

Week 8: Packers at Bills

By : Ross Mazin

Oh boy. The packers head to Highmark Stadium to take on the Bills Sunday night. The Bills are coming off their bye week and are well rested. The same can’t be said for the Packers.

The Packers are coming off a lose at Washington last weekend. Aaron Rodgers had 23 out of 35 threw for 194 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Packers have lost three consecutive games for the first time under coach Matt Lafleur. Offensively te Packers only managed to run the ball for 38 yards on 12 carries. The Packer defense will be tested by the best offense in all of the NFL. the Bills average 440.8 yards per game. 

The Bills are coming off their Bye week. They last played against the Chiefs back on October 16th. Josh Allen was 27-40 for 329 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. The Bills not only rank first in yards per game, they also rank first in yards allowed, allowing 281.5 yards per game. 

I expect a blowout  My prediction is Bills 30- Packers 3