The Sports Insanity Network

Preview : Bengals Vs Jaguars

By Bill Murphy

After coming off a 17-16 win in the Battle Of Ohio against the Cleveland Browns, the Bengals are now taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last week Joe Burrow was 14/23 for 113 yards and one touchdown. In the run game Chase Brown had 21 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown . In the receiving game, Tee Higgins had three receptions for 33 yards and in his Bengal debut Noah Fant had four receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown.

Liam Coen shined in his head coaching debut against the Carolina Panthers, as the Jaguars won 26-10. Trevor Lawrence was 19-31 for 178 yards and one touchdown. Travis Etienne had 143 yard on 16 carries and Brian Thomas jr. had one carry for nine yards and one touchdown . The Jags got the Tight Ends involved as Brenton Strange led the team with four receptions for 59 yards and Hunter Long had one reception for six yards and the touchdown.

Keys to the Game

Bengals

Offense: The Key to the Bengals offense would be Joe Burrow . Even though ,Burrow got off to a slow start last week , he is really going to have to step it up this week and hit Ja’mar Chase .

Defense : The Defensive key to the game for the Bengals would be the pass rush led by Trey Hendrickson . Last year Hendrickson got 33 solo tackles 13 assist and 17.5 sacks.

Last Week Hendrickson got three tackles and one sack . Hendrickson is going to have to go through a tough Jaguars Offensive Line who kept Trevor Lawerence from at all last week.

Jaguars

Offense : The keys for the Jaguars offense would be the offensive line . Last week, the Jaguars kept Trevor Lawerence’s jersey absolutely spotless giving up no sacks . The O- Line are going to have a bigger challenge this week with the Bengals pass rush led by Trey Hendrickson .

Defense: The defensive key for Jacksonville would be the pass rush including Javarian Jones. Last week the pass defense held Bryce Young to only 51.5 % completion rate . Now they can do the same to Burrow who Myles Garret sacked three times last week .

Prediction :

Bengals 20 , Jaguars 17

A Commanding Win

By Lawrence Lang

The Green Bay Packers moved to 2-0 on the season after they defeated the Washington Commanders 27-18 at home at Lambeau Field in a crowd of 77,289.

For the Packers, quarterback Jordan Love continued his stride this season, going 19/31 with 292 yards passing and two touchdowns, with an average yards per pass being 9.2. Love’s first touchdown game in the first quarter in the Packers’ second possession of the game a seven-play 96-yard drive that ended in a five-yard pass to wide receiver Romeo Dobbs, who on the day had three receptions for 28 yards.

Loves second touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a nine-play 65-yard drive that ended in an eight-yard pass to tight end Tucker Kraft to put the Packers up 24-10. Kraft for the night had six receptions for 124 yards total, his longest being a 57 yard reception that help set up a Packer touchdown.

In the run game, the Packers were still productive, even being held to 135 total yards. Running back Josh Jacobs had 23 carries for 84 yards rushing and one touchdown. Rookie Runningback Savion Williams, the third round pick out of TCU, got some action with two carries for 24 yards, and Rookie Wide-Receiver Mathhew Golden got some run time in with two carries for 15 yards. Golden also had to target Love but was unable to bring the ball in for the receptions.

The Packers’ defence continued their impressive performance, getting four sacks on the day. Commanders Quarterback Devente Wyatt had a sack. Edgerrin Cooper and Micah Parsons split a sack. Rashan Gary had a sack, and Karl Brooks Barryn Sorrell split a sack. The Packers’ deference also shut down the Commanders’ run game, holding them to 51 total rushing yards and holding Danniels to just 200 yards passing on 24/42 attempts.

Daniels did have two touchdowns on the night, one to tight end Zach Ertz and the other to wide receiver Deebo Samuel. In all, the Commanders could not get anything going, and when they could, it was just the Detroit Lions; it was too late to make the commanding comeback happen.

Both teams also had some key injuries that happened during the game. For the Packers, they lost Wide Receiver Jayden Reed for the foreseeable future with a Broken collarbone he set for surgery next week. The Commanders lost two key players from their roster for the remainder of the season. Defensive End Deatrich Wise is out with a quad injury, and Running back Austin Ekeler has a torn Achilles, which was a non-contact injury. These are two major blows to a Commanders team.

Commanders will look to get things rolling again when they head home to host the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Packers will hit the road for their first road game of the season when they head to Cleveland to face the Cleveland Browns.

WEEK TWO PREGAMES

BY SIN BLITZERS

NYG AT DAL : Even though the Cowboys lost in Philly, there were a lot of positives to take away. Now they play another division rival in the New York Giants. All time the Cowboys are 77-47-2 against the Giants, including 9-1 in their last 10. The Cowboys defense did suffer a blow this week with the injury to Da’ron Bland, but even still they should be able to get to Russ. The big test will be how the offensive line holds up for a second straight week? That being said I like the Cowboys to bounce back. – Mark Halpern

CHI AT DET : Speaking of rivalry games the Bears and Lions will play for the first time this season, both teams coming off losses in the division. The Lions were flat out embarrassed against the Packers and welcome back their former Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson and his new team the Bears into Ford Field. The Lions are going to need to use the best Running Back duo in the league early, as they were non existent last week. We’ll see how the Lions approach their former OC, but one of these teams will be 0-2 in a tough division.

NE AT MIA : You wanna talk about embarrassing performances, the Miami Dolphins put in the worst performance of any team in week one. It was so bad they had a players’ only meeting after the game. Now, they will play the New England Patriots in their home opener. The Patriots are coming off a tough loss to the Raiders in their opener. Tua Tagovailoa has never lost to the Patriots in his career and is 5-0, but this is a new Patriot team under Mike Vrabel.

PHI AT KC : It’s a Super Bowl rematch in Arrowhead, and let’s be honest everyone is questioning the Chiefs after their loss to the Chargers, if they start 0-2 people might go into cardiac arrest. For Philly they are coming off a close win over the Cowboys, but didn’t play perfect. For the Chiefs we’ll have to see who can step up on the outside, but also can they protect Mahomes this time.

A LEGEND RETURNS

BY : MIKE RIFKIN

“ Hi I’m Jacob DeGrom and I have a chance with my stuff to just dominate baseball for years to come.” Joe Buck was right, Jacob Degrom dominated baseball and Friday night he returns to Queens as a member of the Texas Rangers.

DeGrom came up in 2014 and posted a 9-6 record with a 2.69 ERA and had 144 strikeouts in 140 innings pitched, on his way to the NL Rookie Of The Year. 2015 Degrom went 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA and had 205 strikeouts. But it was his bulldog performance in game five of the NLDS against the Dodgers where you really saw his makeup. DeGrom outdueled Zack Greinke in the win. Without his best stuff DeGrom still gave the Mets six innings and gave up two runs.

In 2018 and 19 DeGrom won a combined 21 games but with phenomenal ERAs of 1.70 and 2.43 and posting over 250 strikeouts in both seasons DeGrom was able to win back to back NL CY Young awards. The problem was that those Mets teams were not very good and they wasted great pitching seasons that fans in Queens hadn’t seen since Doc Gooden.

Then injuries started to pile up, but in 2022 excitement was in the air when he returned and just dominated the Atlanta Braves. Degrom’s last start as a Met was game two of the Wild Card Series against the Padres. DeGrom went six innings and gave up two runs on five hits and eight strikeouts in the win.

That winter DeGrom left the Mets and signed a five year 185 million dollar contract with the Texas Rangers. DeGrom left the Mets tied for seventh all time in franchise history in wins (82), first in ERA (2.52), third in WAR (41.2) fourth in strikeouts (1,607). Let us also not forget that great rotation of 2014 DeGrom was the least talked about prospect, but had the best career as a Met as the other guys. When he takes the mound tonight, even though the game means a lot in terms of the standings, the bigger story is a legend returns to a place he once called home. We often talk about retiring numbers. At some point the Mets should retire 48, because he was special and at times Degrominant.

PRETTY WILD

BY MIKE RIFKIN

According to reports Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov turned down an eight year $128 million dollar extension with the team. The contract would’ve made Kaprizov the highest paid player in the NHL in total dollars and AAV (Average Annual Value) at 16 million dollars per season. Last season Kaprizov was limited to 41 games and posted 25 goals and 56 points and was a +19 (if you’re into +/-). Since Karprizov has come into the league he has 185 goals and 386 points in 319 games played. So I have two thoughts as to why Kaprizov turned down this lucrative offer.

The first is that Kaprizov is one of three major players up for the max extensions along with Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel. So, Kaprizov and his camp could be waiting for either McDavid or Eichel to sign first before he signs. If that’s the case Kaprizov could wait a while, especially after McDavid’s latest comments.

The other would be that Kaprizov would want out of Minnesota. Now while the Western Conference and the Central Division are both tough as nails to get through, the Wild are actually in a very interesting spot. They have some young talent, that have ascended including Matt Boldy and Brock Faber. The other thing is that they are no longer in salary cap hell, the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter no longer have an effect on their cap situation, and with the cap going up, Bill Guerin can improve his roster without being handcuffed.

For the Wild organization it’s imperative that a deal gets done before the season. They cannot let this drift into the season, and if something goes wrong they lose him in the summer for nothing. If they are unable to come to an agreement on a deal, they’re going to have to trade him. If they do have to go that route, they should look at the route the Carolina Hurricanes used when they traded Mikko Rantanen to Dallas, and allow it to be a sign and trade. But for Bill Guerin’s sake, they better hope Kaprizov still wants to be the face of their franchise.

A Commanding Pack

By Lawrence Lang

The Green Bay Packers host the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night in Green Bay at Lambeau Field.

For the Packers, they are coming off an impressive and, to some, a shocking win against the Detroit Lions with a 27-13 win.

Jordan Love was 16/22 with 188 passing yards and two touchdowns, one to Wide Receiver Jayden Redd and one to Tight End Tucker Kraft. The Packers’ offensive line was a big part in helping Love by making sure no Lions defensive player broke thru to sack him, as they aloud no sacks to happen. Also on the offensive, Josh Jacobs picked up where he left off at the end of the regular season. Jacobs, who came over last year on a four-year $48 million contract, got his first rushing touchdown of the season and had 19 carries for 66 total yards, his longest run being 15 yards.

On the deference to the debut of Defensive End Micah Parsons as a Packer. He made his presence known and helped the Packers get four sacks on Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Parsons had one of those sacks, the other coming from Defensive End Rashard Gray, 1.5 sacks, Defensive End Lukas Van Ness, 0.5 sacks, and Defensive Tackle Devonte Wyat, 1.5 sacks.

The Packers as a whole played a complete game and tamed the raining NFC North Champions, Lions.

The Commanders also won their home opener in a Commanding win over the New York Giants in a 21-6 rout. Quarterback Jayden Dainels was 19/30, 233 yards passing with one touchdown, the touchdown being a seven-yard pass to Tight End Zach Eritz. Danniels was also sacked three times for a total loss of 21 yards.

The highlight on offense for the Commanders was the run game. Five players in total ran for a combined 220 yards reusing with two touchdowns on 32 carries two touchdowns coming from Rookie Running Back Jacory Croskey-Merritt the 7th round pick and 245 overall pick went 82 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown his longest run of the day being 42 yards and Running Back Debo Samuel on his only carry of the game went 19 yards for the other rushing touchdown. Add to the fact that they held the Giants to just 74 yards rushing and quarterback Russel Wilson to 168 yards passing and sacked him two times for a loss of 11 yards. The Commanders easily took care of the Giants.

For the Game Thursday, the Packers and Commanders could easily be a playoff matchup come playoff time, but for it only being week two of the NFL season, each team is looking to start their season 2-0 and to continue the momentum heading to week three. Where each team faces a team that is stuck in limbo, but that is week three. Here are three key questions for each team heading into Thursday night’s matchup.

The Packers

Can the Packers’ defence step up again and shut down an explosive offense in the Commanders?
Can Jordan Love contuine his impressive start and be smart with the football and make smart plays?
Can Micah Parsons contuine his hot start and help shut down Jayden Daniels in getting the football in the endzone?

The Commanders

How do the Commanders shut down Micah Parsons?
How do the Commanders shut down the long ball from Jordan Love?
How do the Commanders address the aura that is Lambeau Field?

THE ROAR OF THE PACKERS

by Lawrence Lang

The Green Bay Packers started their 2025 season off with a stunner of a win over the Detroit Lions in their home opener at Lambeau Field, and it was a complete game for the Packers.

The Packers started with the ball, but it took a long time for them to get the ball going and scoring. It took Quarterback Jordan Love 12 plays and a time of 5:34 to score the first points of the game, and on the season, a 12-yard pass to Tight End Tucker Kraft to start the game with a bang.

The Packers then would make the Lions go three and out and added a field goal to go up 10 -0 to end the first quarter. The Lions would get their first points of the season with a 30-yard field goal by Jake Bates to make it 10-3 and an impressive nine-minute-plus possession of the football.

But in true Packer quarterback fashion, over the last 30-plus years, between Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and now Jordan Love, here hold this practice football.

Love took the Packers down the field in two plays and in just under a minute (53 seconds) for another Packers touchdown, 48 48-yard pass to wide receiver Romeo Doubs, and a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Jaylen Reed got the Packers up 17-3 after the extra point.

Running Back Josh Jacobs got in on the scoring action with his first rushing touchdown of the season, scoring a three-yard touchdown run to put the Packers up 24-6 in the fourth quarter.

Now to the newly acquired Packer Linebacker Micah Parsons got his first sack as a Packer and first sack on the season, sacking Lions quarterback Jarred Goff for a four-yard loss.

For the Lions the little shinning light came in the same possession Parsons got his sack a 13 yard pass from Goff to rookie wide receiver Isaac Teslaa in the endzone was initially ruled incomplete after Teslaa made an impressive one handed catch and came down with ball and it didn’t look like he kept both feet inbounds but after replay assist it was ruled he did and it looks like we have a catch of the year candidate already.

The downside side it was too late, as it would be the last time the Lions touch the ball, and the Packers would win the game 27-13.

Five Keynotes for the Packers

Jordan Love was 16/22, had 188 yards passing and two touchdowns, and was sacked zero times.
Micah Parsons was ready for week one, even with dealing with his back injury, and was able to get that “monkey off his back” in getting his first sack as a Packer.
The Packers, as a defense, got four sacks and an interception on Goff.
The Packers’ defence also held the Lions, who have one of the most explosive offences, to just 13 points, and if it was not for the late touchdown could have been just six points.
As a whole, they played 60-minute football and not 45-minute football, where in the 4th quarter they took the foot off the gas, they kept the gas on and didn’t let off.

Three Key questions for the Lions

How do they bounce back and get ready for another divisional showdown when they have their home opener against the Chicago Bears?
With being held to just 46 yards rushing as a team, how do they address the run game?
Does this loss to the Packers make the Packers the divisional front-runners, and are the Lions looking at a wildcard spot?

The Packers will host the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football.

The Commanders are coming in after a commanding 21-6 win over the New York Giants.

AFTER THE DEADLINE

BY MARK HALPERN

At the trade deadline the Mets made a lot of moves. They didn’t move any of the young players on the roster (Vientos, Acuna, Baty and Mauricio). Since the deadline one of things that has come up more than once is what will Pete Alonso do? Odds are he will opt out of his current deal with the Mets to get a contract that will make him a Met for Life. The question becomes what should the Mets do with all the talent in the wings? What do the Mets do?

Pete Alonso will be at the forefront of all issues the Mets need to deal with. Pete Alonso affectionately known as “The Polar Bear” signed a two-year deal with an opt out last year with the Mets. Pete is not just a great ball player but he wants to finish his career with the Mets and has not made that a secret. Cohen and Stearns will have to make a decision on what to offer but I’m thinking around 5 years 40 per $200 million. Pete just turned 31 and we don’t know what he will be like 5 years from now and the Mets can make that decision then.

Of all the Mets rookies this season Brett Baty has played the most consistently all season and should win the third base spot. Ronny Maurico will back up at both second and third, but can also play left field giving him many opportunities to play. Francisco Alvarez has had an injury plagued season. Alvarez is the top catcher in the organization. The Mets also promoted former first round pick Kevin Parada to triple A. Luis Angel Acuna has definitely proved his worth with his baserunning and his glove but his Bat has not developed as much as the Mets hoped.I’m chalking that up to him not playing everyday. I also don’t think it’s fair to compare him to his brother. That brings us to Mark Vientos who is finally showing us the player of 2024. Most of the season for Vientos has been dreadful, but is now turning it around with a scorching red hot August that we truly hope continues into the playoffs. Vientos’s glove has been a liability for the Mets this season making him the DH on this team. I don’t have a problem with it at all but he can be useful on the field and maybe teaching to play more of a first base as a back up. With Starling Marte being an impending free agent, Vientos could be the future DH.

The Mets will have two more position players ready next season and that will be CF Jett Williams and 1b/3b Ryan Clifford (who is on one of the hottest runs in AAA) who could compete with Vientos.

As for the rotation. The Mets have now called up all three big pitching prospects in Mclean, Tong (who have combined for a 5-0 record) but Brandon Sproat will make his debut Sunday and we are all expecting to see some more greatness. These three pitchers are the life line right now pulling the Mets into the playoffs.

Once we hit the offseason the Mets will have a better idea on what they need to add whether to the rotation or lineup but, Steans and Cohen definitely will have some decisions to make.

WEEK 1 PREGAME

BY SIN BLITZERS

DOLPHINS AT COLTS : Two teams that missed out on the playoffs last season will meet in Indy on Sunday as the Colts host the Dolphins. The Dolphins missed the playoffs by a game, in part because Tua Tagovailoa missed six games with a concussion and a hip injury, the team was 2-4 without him. The Dolphins will have some questions on offense, but if Tua can get the ball to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle this offense could be as explosive as it was two years ago. On the other side of the ball the Fins should have a tremendous pass rush with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips both back from injury and the emergence of second year pro Chop Robinson, they also brought in Matthew Judon in free agency.

For the Colts they’re turning to Daniel Jones to help an offense that averaged 22 points per game last season. The Colts still have Jonathan Taylor, who is coming off a 1,400 yard season rushing with 11 touchdowns. Indy did add some offensive fire power in the draft when they selected Tyler Warren, the Tight End out of Penn St.The Colts brought in veteran Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo, formerly of the Bengals to be their defensive coordinator. Only three teams gave up more yards than Indy last season.

BENGALS AT BROWNS : Division game to start in the AFC North. Last season the Bengals swept their in state rivals, but it didn’t help them make the playoffs. Both teams made headlines this offseason by being able to do something people didn’t expect. For the Bengals it was being able to retain Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, and Trey Hendrickson. For the Browns it was being able to re-sign Myles Garrett. Last season the Bengals started the season 0-3, Zac Taylor has talked about getting off to a better start, well here’s there chance against their in state rivals led by Joe Flacco.

STEELERS AT JETS : The major layer in this game is the fact that both teams starting Quarterback will be playing their former team. I feel Justin Fields was disrespected by the Steelers, and will have every opportunity on Sunday to prove them wrong. On the other side Aaron Rodgers will look to help the Steelers win their first playoff game in years.

RAVENS AT BILLS : Rematch of the AFC Divisional game, won by the Bills. Both teams are still looking to get over the KC hump. Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are two of the best Quarterbacks in the game, Sunday could be the beginning to one’s journey to hoisting the Lombardi. The Ravens have arguably the best roster in the league, and the added DeAndre Hopkins to the offense, and somehow the league let them draft Malaki Starks. For the Bills, a big question will be who can emerge as a top Josh Allen target?

REMAINING AT THE TOP OF THE CHAIN

BY MARK HALPERN

The Detroit Lions have certainly changed their culture under Head Coach Dan Campbell. Two years ago the Lions were playing in the NFC Championship and last season they won their second consecutive NFC North Championship and were the number one seed in the NFC.

The offense is so dynamic Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are the best running back duo in the league. They are not just great backs, they are also great receiving threats and both can block. The Wide Receivers of St. Brown and Williams and Tight End Sam LaPorta give Jared Goff a plethora of weapons. Last season the Lions averaged 33.2 points per game.

If the Lions have something to worry about is their secondary unit. In each of the last two seasons the Secondary collapsed towards the end of the regular season and was one of the reasons they faltered in the playoffs. The Lions do have the advantage of getting Aidan Hutchinson back and will hopefully lead the defense to greatness.

The NFC North is going to be a very tough division. With the loss of both coordinators it could be hard for the Lions to repeat, but I believe they will.