Titans Bills MNF

The Buffalo Bills head into their Monday night home opener against the Tennessee Titans 1-0. 

In week one, they routed the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Los Angles Rams winning 31-10 after being tied at halftime 10-10. 

Josh Allen looked good, having three touchdowns; the downside was having two interceptions. Stefon Diggs looked like he was already in mid-season form, having 122 receiving yards and a touchdown.

 Most impressively, the Bills defense came up big, picking off Matt Stafford three times Boogie Basham, Jordan Poyer, and Dane Jackson got the ball away from the Rams. The Bill’s defense got seven sacks on Stafford, two of which came from veteran Linebacker Von Miller. 

The Bills looked great in this game. The first half was a little ruff, but in the second half, they showed they could already be in contention to be in the big game come February. Embarrassing the Rams in what was supposed to be the celebration of their Super Bowl win was Like a Hollywood spoiler and was enjoyable to watch. 

Now to the visitors, the Titans come to Buffalo looking for their first win after losing in their home opener against the New York Giants 21-20.

The offense with the Titans looked good. Ryan Tannehill had a good game, 20/33 266 passing yards and two touchdowns, Derrick Henry 21 carries and 82 rushing yards, and Dontrell Hilliard had three receptions, 61 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. They had five sacks on Giants Quarterback Daniel Jones and got an interception off him. The two X-Factors were that one, they could not stop the giants on the game-winning 2-point conversion, and two, they could only put up seven points in the second half. 

The last time these two teams faced each other was back on October 18th of the 2021 season in Tennessee, where Henry helped the Titans to victory with 20 carries, 143 rushing yards, and three touchdowns final score was 34-31. 

Heading into Monday Night, The Bills have a little monkey to get off their back as they have not won on Monday Night at home since the 2014 season, where in week one of that season, they routed the Jets 38-3, where Kyle Orton had 232 passing yards and two touchdowns. 

Three Key Players for Monday’s Game.

  1. Derrick Henry: The Bills need to find a way and shut down Henry after what happened last time. If the Bills can do this, they can shut down what is an excellent run game by the Titans. On the flip side, if Henry breaks free, watch out cause it will be TD City when he is free. 
  2. Josh Allen: I have stated this before the key to Allen is to throw the ball away when he does not have a play, and he had a situation last week where he got picked off when he tried to make a play happen, so getting rid of the ball when there is nothing there. 
  3. Von Miller: Miller broke through in week one against the rams O-Line for two sacks. If he can do this again against the Titans, the pressure will be on Tannehill to get the ball away. If not, hold on to the ball when the Miller Train comes threw, and that, my friend, will be a rough collision. 

Looking To Bounce Back

By : Lawrence Lang 

The Packers will look to get their first win of the season as they host the Chicago Bears in their home opener in a Sunday night showdown at Lambeau Field.  

In week one The Packers lost to the Minnesota Vikings 23-7.  Running back A.J. Dillon got the only score for the Packers when he ran for a two-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Other than that the Packers underperformed.

The same thing happened  last year when they got blown out by The New Orleans Saints in week one where they only put up three points. Now in an era without Wide Receiver Davante Adams who was traded to Las Vegas Raiders the Packers now have a wide-receiver core that is young and inexperienced and that can smell trouble for Aaron Rodgers.  In the loss to the Viking Dillion lead the way with receiving with five receptions and 46 receiving yards , Rookie Wide receiver Romeo Doubs had four receptions and 37 receiving yards and Rookie Wide receiver Christian Watson had two receptions for 34 receiving yards, Watson also had a dropped ball that could have been his first career touchdown and with that drop it set the tone that it was going to be a long game. Rodgers being the only star going 22/34 with 195 passing yards did have one interception as well. 

The Bears come into Green Bay 1-0 after they beat the San Francisco 49ers at home in the Monsoon Bowl as the weather made every player feel like a kid again because of the rain. Quarterback Justin Fields looked good going 8/17 121 passing yards two touchdowns and one interception Running back Khalil Herbert had nine carries for 45 rushing yards and a touchdown, Wide receivers Dante Pettis and former packer Equanimeous St. brown had touchdowns. The Bears defense also held the 49ers to 10 points in the 19-10 victory and also got two sacks and an interception of 49ers quarterback Trey Lance. Overall it was a great win for the Bears especially with the weather they played in. 

This will be the 203 third meeting between the Bears and Packers with the Packers leading the oldest rivalry in the NFL with a 103-95-6 record and winning the last six meetings between the two. With how young this Packers receiver core is this could play a factor in Sunday nights game. 

Three Key points to the game.

  1. Packers Wide Receivers: This receiver core needs to R-E-L-A-X and forget the week one loss. Granted Randall Cobb has faced the bears many times before its the others that need to relax. Doubs, Sammy Watkins, Watson can read their routes right and break free from the Bears defense they can put week one behind them.
  2. Aaron Rodgers: Rodgers needs to get his offense on the same page as him as they looked awful and looked like they were still in the preseason. Hopefully during practice this week Rodgers met with his receivers to figure out the game plan for Sunday cause if they are not on the same page it will be a long season for them because you can’t just relay on the run game and kicking game to win games this is not the 60’s where they perfected the Jets Sweep.
  3. Justin Fields: Week one we did not get to see the Bears offense truly perform due to the harsh weather in Chicago yes they still produced and did well in the weather. I would love to see how this Bear offense will do when it’s not raining. If Justin Fields can step up again especially in Green Bay we can be looking at the 2-0 Bears and the 0-2 Packers last time Packers started 0-2 was 2006. Fields is out to prove that he belongs here in the NFL and what better way to make a statement than trying to beat the Packers. 

Week 2: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

By Ross Mazin

This is one of the marquee matchups this weekend and on the young season. You have the old guard in Aaron Rodgers and the new guard in Justin Fields. These two teams have had quite the history over the last few decades. Being so close to each other doesn’t help. 

The Bears edged the 49ers 19-10 last weekend. Trey Lance had 164 passing yards and an average of 5.9 yards. The Bears defense had 2 sacks. The teams had a combined 155 passing yards and 176 rushing yards. Justin Fields was 8-17 for 121 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

The Vikings edged the Packers 23-7 last weekend. Aaron Rodgers had 195 passing yards. In the game rookie second round pick Christan Watson dropped a sure touchdown. With Davante Adams now in Vegas, Rodgers is trying to find an instant connection with his receivers. But don’t jump off the Packers ship yet remember the Saints trounced them in week one last year.  Rodgers has won back to back MVPS. He’s also not a bad game show host. 

The Bears have been in the NFL’S basement for a bit. I still don’t know why ownership is not stepping in.  You hope second year quarterback Justin Fields is the answer. The defense has the potential to be good. If the Offensive line and skill positions step up then the Bears have something.

Now some numbers between these two teams.

Green Bay have beaten the bears 12-2 while out scoring Chicago 406-215. The Packers are 23-5 against the Bears with games started by Rodgers.  Rodgers has 61 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 27 games against his division rival.

My prediction is Bears 23- Packers 10

Baltimore Showdown

By : Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins will meet in a clash of AFC Playoff hopefuls looking to go to 2-0 on the young season. Miami is coming off a 20-7 win over the New England Patriots. It was the Dolphins fourth consecutive win over the Patriots. In the game the Dolphin defense had three sacks, forced three turnovers and scored a defensive touchdown. Receiver Tyreek Hill had eight catches for 94 yards in his Dolphins debut. In three games against the Ravens Hill has 16 catches for 230 yards and a touchdown. It will be interesting to see the matchup of Hill and Jaylen Waddle against Ravens corners Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters who for my money is the best cornerback duo in the NFL. 

For the Ravens they are coming off a 24-9 win over the New York Jets. Lamar Jackson threw for three touchdowns, Two to Devin Duvernay. The Ravens defense had three sacks and forced two turnovers. The Ravens will be without Offensive lineman Ja’Waun James who tore his Achilles last week and Cornerback Kyle Fuller who tore his ACL. We don’t know the status of offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley who is coming off Ankle Surgery and it looks like Running Back JK Dobbins will be back after tearing his ACL in training camp last year. 

Last season the two teams met in Miami and the Dolphins won 22-10. It was their second consecutive win during their seven game winning streak. In that game both teams had four sacks, but the Dolphins forced two turnovers including an Xavien Howard fumble return for a touchdown. Tua Tagovailoa relieved Jacoby Brissett and went 8-13 for 158 yards and a rushing touchdown. Lamar Jacksonwas 26-43 for 238 yards a touchdown and an interception and ran for 39 yards on nine carries. 

Two AFC playoff hopefuls meet on Sunday in Baltimore, who will go to 2-0?

Tom’s Kryptonite 

By : Mike Rifkin

Sunday will be the first time Tom Brady and the Bucs play division rival Saints in New Orleans. Since joining the Bucs Brady is 0-4 in the regular season against the Saints. In fact the Bucs have lost seven consecutive games to the Saints and have not won in New Orleans in the regular season since 2017. Brady and the Bucs did defeat the Saints in the NFC Divisional playoffs in 2020 on their way to a Super Bowl victory. In Four regular season games against New Orleans Brady has a 61.1 completion percentage, averages 259 yards per game, six touchdowns and eight interceptions. Last season the Bucs lost both meetings to the Saints by Nine points. In both meetings Chris Godwin was the Bucs leading receiver, that may not be the case on Sunday. Coach Todd Bowles said about Godwin who left last week’s win with a Hamstring injury “He’s in play by a small margin, but we’ll see Sunday, but if I had a guess I’d say he wouldn’t.” Left Tackle Donovan Smith will also be a tough call to see if he plays on Sunday. If Godwin is out that would mean more snaps for Julio Jones who had three catches for 69 yards in his Bucs debut last week against the Cowboys. In 18 games against the Saints Jones has 102 catches, 1,615 yards and three touchdowns. We also get one of the best individual matchups in Football with Mike Evans taking on Marshon Lattimore. These two go back and forth often in his career Evans 48 catches and five touchdowns against the Saints, while Lattimore has a interception and a fumble recovery against Tampa. 

Jameis Winston who was selected Number One overall by the Bucs in 2015 is now the Quarterback of the Saints. Winston who tore his ACL last season, threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns last week against Atlanta. Winston was not the only major return for the Saints last week. Receiver Michael Thomas came back after essentially after two seasons out with an Ankle injury and had five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas in nine games against Tampa has 74 catches for 899 yards and four touchdowns.Running Back Alvin Kamara 464 yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games against the Bucs. In 22 career games against the Bucs Edge rusher Cameron Jordan 55 tackles, 17.0 sacks, and two fumble recoveries, if Donovan Smith is out those numbers could be increased. 

So will Sunday be Tom Brady’s first win against the Saints in the regular season or will the Saints continue to be Brady’s kryptonite. The winner goes to 2-0 and will be at the top of the NFC South.

A Giant Statement

By Jeff Knapp

The start of the 2022 NFL season is here and the New York Football Giants, along with new head coach Brian Daboll headed into Tennessee to face the defending AFC South Champions Titans who were 5.5 point favorites.  The Giants also entered the game with new OC Mike Kafka, DC Don Martindale and new QB coach Shea Tierney.

The 1st half didn’t look that good and seemed to be the same old Giants as the Titans started their series off with a 46 yard punt return and ended the 1st half with a 13-0 lead. In the 1st half, The Giants also only had 131 total yards and 1 strip fumble by Daniel Jones which was late in the 2nd quarter. 

The defense allowed 185 total yards and 3 sacks in the 1st half for a total of a loss of 16 yards. 

I’m not sure what coach said to the team at half time, but they turned things around and had a much improved 2nd half. Although they allowed Tannehill way too much time in the pocket throughout the game, the defense seemed to swarm to the ball much faster in the 2nd half. 

I was very happy to see that nobody had a dropped pass, which was a plague for them last year. I’m still waiting on Kenny Galladay to either step it up or be involved in the play call a lot more. He was paid too much to be thrown to only two times.

The game was decided on basically 2 things. The 1st one was the inability of the Titans to finish off the Giants when they had plenty of opportunities, for instance when they tried some trick play on 3rd and 1 with Henry in the back field and although not dropping any balls, but not coming up with the catch when needed in the 3rd and 4th quarter. 

I will never question the toughness of Daniel Jones, but he had a golden opportunity to put the game away early in the 4th quarter but Jones threw one of the worst endzone passes to Barkley that was easily intercepted by Amani Hooker. 

The 2nd thing that turned things around for the Giants was the fact that Barkely put that team on his back and gave them 164 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving with a TD and a 2 point conversion that he should thank the Titans defense for forgetting how to tackle that close to the endzone. 

In Giants fashion, Darnay Holmes decided that with under 60 seconds remaining in the game was the perfect time to be called for not 1 but 2 defensive holds that nearly cost the Giants the game

Besides all of that, a few other things went through my mind.

What was with the lack of playing time for Kadarius Toney, Daniel Jones needs to feel the pressure a bit better. Although the O-Line gave up those sacks, there were 2 sacks he might had had a puncher’s chance if he just stepped up a little. And finally, how great was it that Daboll went for the 2 point lead instead of playing it safe and going for the extra point?

I might be alone, but I still have plenty of faith in a healthy Sterling Shepard who had a 65 yards TD reception that ties the game at 13 in the 3rd quarter. 

Sadly, Giants rookie receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was only able to get 1 catch for 5 yards after injuring his knee in the 1st half and not being able to return. Let’s hope that not only he’s good for week 2 in the home opener against the Carolina Panthers, but we will get to see Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux take the field.

Sunday’s opening day win was the Giants 1st season opener since 2016 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Jets at Browns Preview 

By : Ross Mazin 

The New York Jets will look to avoid starting 0-2 as they travel to Cleveland to play the Browns. The Jets are coming off a 24-9 defeat in the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. The Jets will certainly come out swinging as opposed to the last game, where the offense was awful. There are a lot of stats that got padded when the game was already out of reach. The Browns won their season opener defeating former Quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Panthers 26-24. Rookie Kicker Cade York nailed a 58 yard field goal with eight seconds left. 

The Browns are one of the more interesting teams in the league. They acquired Quarterback Deshaun Watson in the offseason and gave him a massive contract. Watson was suspended 11 games for sexual assault and misconduct. So now the Browns are going to have Jacoby Brissett play quarterback. Brissett was 18-34 for 147 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers. The Jets are going to have to stop one of the best running back duos in the NFL with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Chubb ran for 141 yards against Carolina, while Hunt had 70 total yards and a touchdown. The Browns as a team ran for 217 yards and had averaged 5.6 yards per carry. On Sunday the Jets held the Ravens to 63 yards rushing and average 3.0 yards per carry. 

The Jets are a team that has been in constant flux for the last several decades. Poor management and ownership are just two factors. They keep drafting the next great quarterback; i.e Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold, to name a few. With Zach Wilson down for another couple weeks it’s imperative that Robert Salah does something here. If not he will be another coach gone sooner than later, the same could be said for Joe Douglas whether you like what he has done or not. It’s almost like the earth reset on its axis and just said that’s how things should be with regards to the Jets. The fans deserve better. 

My prediction for Sundays game is Jets 15- Browns 10.

Fin-Tastic Debut

By : Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Miami Dolphins defeated their division rival the New England Patriots 20-7 in Mike McDaniel’s Head Coaching debut. For the Dolphins it was their fourth consecutive win over the Patriots. The Dolphins defense was a major factor in the victory forcing three Patriot turnovers, getting three sacks and even scoring a touchdown. In the Second Quarter Safety, Brandon Jones knocked the ball free from Mac Jones and Melvin Ingram scooped the ball and ran two yards for the touchdown. The Dolphins defense held the Patriots to 271 yards of total Offense. Head Coach Mike McDaniel said after the game “I told the team last night that this is still the defense’s team until proven otherwise. That was important to them when they heard that. They wanted to prove me right, and they sure did.” When Miami won seven consecutive games last season the defense was a major factor. The Dolphins offense had some fresh faces as well. Tyreek Hill, who the Dolphins acquired from the Chiefs had eight catches for 94 yards in his debut. Second year receiver Jaylen Waddle had the biggest play of the day. On fourth and seven late in the second quarter Waddle caught a pass from Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and ran 42 yards for the touchdown to put the Dolphins up 17-0 at Halftime. Tagovailoa went 23-33 for 270 yards and Waddle had four catches for 69 yards and they combined for a touchdown. 

For the Patriots second year Quarterback Mac Jones 21-30 for 213 yards a touchdown and a interception. One of the major questions for the Patriots entering the season was who was going to make plays on the outside. Jakobi Meyers had four catches for 55 yards, Jonnu Smith and Nelson Agholor had three catches each. New Patriot Devante Parker had one catch for nine yards. Running Back Ty Montgomery caught the touchdown from Jones. Head Coach Bill Bellichick said after the game “We got into their territory six, seven times and it was seven points. So we’ve got to do a better job of finishing.” 

Both teams will play against AFC North teams this week as the Dolphins go into Baltimore to play the Ravens and the Patriots go to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers. These two teams will play each other again on New Year’s Day in Foxboro in what could have a lot of playoff implications.

Hot In The Desert

By : Mike Rifkin

The Kansas City Chiefs opened up the 2022 season with a 44-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. The Chiefs offense had 488 yards for the game and averaged 7.4 yards per play. Patrick Mahomes had himself quite the season opener against his former college coach Kliff Kingsbury going 30-39 for 360 yards, five touchdowns with a Rating of 144.2. Mahomes is now 5-0 in season openers and has thrown 18 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions in those games. Mahomes may not have Tyreek Hill anymore but he still has Travis Kelce who had 8 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. New receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes- Scantling combined for 10 catches and 123 yards. Running Back Clyde Edwards – Helaire had 74 total yards and two receiving touchdowns. The Chiefs defense had three sacks. Now the Chiefs will be on a short week and take on division rival Los Angeles Chargers at home. Last year the teams split the series each winning by six points on the road. 

Dating back to last season the Cardinals have now lost six of their last seven games including the playoffs. Kyler Murray who got a massive extension this offseason went 22-34 for 193 yards and two touchdowns, much of that came after the Chiefs had put the game out of reach. Going into the game the Cardinals had a long list of players missing wether due to injury or in the case of DeAndre Hopkins who is serving a six game suspension for violating the NFL’s PED policy. Marquise Brown who was acquired at the draft from the Ravens had four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown in his Cardinal debut. 

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said after the game “They beat us in every way, there is no denying it, no hiding from it. We didn’t execute in any phase and they played at a high level.” Here is my thing on the Kingsbury quote he doesn’t deny it or is hiding from it but did he not expect the Chiefs to play at a high level? The Chiefs have won the AFC West five straight seasons and have been in the AFC Championship game the last four seasons. That seems like a team you should be ready for. Now I was very critical of both the extensions for Murray and Kingsbury, and they could have made a statement in the opener but they laid a flat egg. They need to respond quick because they will play another AFC West opponent this week when they go to Vegas and play the Raiders and their old friend Chandler Jones.

BUFFALO BILLS VS L.A. RAMS

By Lawrence Lang

Football Is back for the Buffalo Bills as they begin their quest for the franchise’s first Lombardi trophy(currently, they lost all four chances they had in the early 90s). Many experts expect the Bills to compete if not win the AFC. They open the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Los Angeles Rams, on Thursday Night Football.

The Bills had a great 2021 season. They went 5-1 in the division, only losing to the New England Patriots in week 13 of the regular season 14-1, and they won the division for the second year in a row. When it came time for the playoffs in the Wild Card round, they not only beat the Patriots but they trounced them 47-17 by scoring a touchdown every time they had the ball. Then the following week, with an AFC title game in reach, the Bills just had to kill 13 seconds of the game clock left. Still, with the Kansas City Chiefs having the ball, Patrick Mahomes led the chiefs to a game-tying field goal to send the game into overtime, and with winning the coin toss would march the team down the field and win the game ending the Bills’ season.

Now stats-wise, the Bills had a great 2021 season
• Quarterback
o Josh Allen: 4,407 passing yards ,36 touchdowns, and 15 Interceptions
• Running back
o Devin Singletary : 870 rushing yards , seven touchdowns
o Josh Allen : 763 rushing yards six touchdowns
o Zack Moss: 345 rushing yards four touchdowns
• Receiving
o WR Stefon Diggs : 1,225 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Got a four-year contract extension worth 96 million in the off season.
o TE Dawson Knox : 587 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Got a four- year contract extension worth 53.6 million on 9/7/22.
o Gabe Davis : 35 receptions 548 yards and six touchdowns. Davis had 200 yards and four touchdowns in the playoff game against the Chiefs. With Emmanuel Sanders retiring and Cole Beasley still on the FA market Davis should have a big year.

Heading into this week the Bills team has a tough task ahead of them going against the defending champions. The Rams road to glory began in the WC round with beating the Arizona Cardinals, then beat in what was Tom Brady’s last game and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season, next task was to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the conference championship and they did in superior fashion, and finally beat the Cincinnati Bengals in SuperBowl 56 23-20.

When you have players such as
• WR Cooper Kupp 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns
• WR Van Jefferson 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
• QB Matt Stafford who had 4,886 passing yards 41 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Defense wise
• Aaron Donald who had 12.5 sacks last season
• Cornerback Jalen Ramsey with 4 interceptions
• Safety Taylor Rapp four interceptions
• Linebacker Leonard Floyd Nine and half sacks

There are two ways Thursday night game can go. First either a high scoring game for both teams or Second it will be a defensive battle between the both of them since both are loaded on defense.

Three key players for the Bills

  1. Josh Allen: Allen is out to prove this year that he can be a MVP candidate and that he can get past the Divisional playoff loss to the Chiefs and what better way to start that by beating the champion Rams? The Key for Allen is if there is no play to pass or where he can run just throw the ball away when he tries to make a play happen. When it can’t, that’s what gets him in trouble.
  2. Stefon Diggs: with getting paid by the Bills Diggs can also throw his name in the MVP race Diggs is their number one WR so expect the ball to get to him a lot during this game
  3. Von Miller: Miller had nine and half sacks last season if he can break through the Rams O-Line he might be able to get one or two sacks on Stafford.

This is a great way to kick off the NFL season with what could be a possible SB 57 match-up. Both teams will look hungry to start the season 1-0. LA will raise the banner to celebrate their SB win from February, and with Buffalo, in town, they will spoil the celebration and take care of business. This will be a game you don’t want to miss as a predictor for a score Bills 35 Rams 32.