MIAMI vs BUFFALO

BILLS WIN 31 – 21

• Story of the Game – The Dolphins played hard and competed for Mike McDaniel

While nearly everyone, including myself, thought the Dolphins would have a hard time keeping this game even close with their division rival they surprised us all and really made this game far more competitive than anyone could have predicted. It’s still a loss that puts this Dolphins team in a really rough spot, now being 0-3 and having two division losses there’s little to no playoff hope left for this team but the fact they played with the effort and competitiveness that they did has to be refreshing for Dolphins fans as the first two weeks looked far from it. So while this game may not save any jobs or drastically change the outlook for this Dolphins team moving forward  it does show some hope that they can at least play competitive football and at least field a team that is fun and entertaining for Dolphins fan which may seem like a consolation prize considering where they were two – three years ago but being bad and entertaining is far more fun that being bad and just miserable watching your team every week. Hopefully they can build on this game and string together a few wins and at least make this an interesting season even if it doesn’t end the way Dolphins fans may have been hopeful for.

• Key notes for the Dolphins 

The best thing for the Dolphins this game was they were able to establish the run game on this Bills deference which helped them keep this game within reach and despite not holding many leads being able to dictate the flow of the game in a lot of ways. They had a lot of success in between the tackles running more power schemes with their bigger RB, rookie Ollie Gordon II. While they weren’t necessarily explosive runs it allowed them to keep a steady efficient moving offense and took a lot of pressure off of Tua who had some great drives and some bad mistakes as well. Ideally they find a way to get De’Von Achane and his ability to break big gains and explosives more involved as he had some good runs but nothing that broke the defense and passing game wise he was limiting to p short passes out of the backfield that didn’t go much of anywhere the majority of the time. If they can find a way to block up these zone runs better and work the edges of the field by threatening with Achane’s speed more often than this could be a very exciting run game that they could not only lean on but win games with. As for this game Ollie Gordon and that IOL o fine Dolphins were awesome and deserve a lot of credit for keeping this team within arms reach throughout.

The passing game and more specifically Tua Tagovailoa had some really promising moments throughout the entirety of the game but there were also a few plays that just can’t happen. The first drive Tua operated the offense really well and looked incredibly sharp but came out the next drive and in a 3rd & 5 situation he fumbled the snap on a play action pass play and had to give himself up which in turn ended the drive. From then on it was up and down until they got into the 4th where Tua had a drive where he went 5/5 including a TD to Tyreek that tied the game 21-21, really impressive and efficient drive. Later on after stalling out in their previous drive they got the ball back and Tua along with the rest of this offense started to drive once again but once they entered Bills territory Tua had a rally rough pick staring down a short route that Bernard picked off which ended up losing them this game. The pick wasn’t all on Tua as the 3rd WR didn’t clear out Bernard at all which allowed him to sit on the route that Tua had thrown to but you would like to see Tua recognize that and find somewhere else to go with the ball. All in all the passing game was up and down but had some really promising moments and if they can continue to run the ball like they did this passing game won’t be a downfall moving forward but at the same time I’m not sure they have the same firepower they had in previous years with this core. 

This defense despite getting a couple stops and I thought having a great game plan was clearly just outmatched talent wise. While that’s not shocking to anyone it’s still something to be brought up and the worst is the strength of this defense, the pass rush, was absolutely non existent tonight. They got moved around up front no matter the run concept and while they did a good job of limiting explosives in the passing game with Josh Allen he just picked them apart in the short and intermediate parts of the field. This defense has no real game changers on it and that was very evident this game as they fought a valiant effort but the talent for talent matchup lost them this game. It is the Bills so you give the Dolphins some grace considering how good of a team Buffalo is but you certainly wish you had more on this roster as this game was within reach and you just didn’t have the guys to make the plays you needed.

• Key Notes for the Bills 

While not nearly as drastic as the result in Week 1 with Baltimore the Bills IDL once again struggled to get any movement or at the very least hold their spot along the LOS. Miami consistently ran the ball in the middle of the of their OL and had success nearly every time and the fact Miami was able to have that much success has to be concerning for them to watch on film. While the IDL struggled all night and got moved around they did a great job of setting an edge and when they weren’t able to washing and/or rallying as a team to tackle out on the edge. While I’d normally say that finding a NT that can hold up in the middle of your line wouldn’t be that hard the Bills front office and coaches have continued to push the need off for years now and I don’t have much hope for them to change their minds. I just don’t know how you can continue to see the middle of your DL get moved that often without making up for it and act as if it isn’t an issue every season.

Offensively I thought this team was near perfect all game. The passing game was beautiful to watch as Joe Brady manufactured easy touches for a number of guys and Josh Allen executed at such a high level, the Dolphins really had no answers. The OL and TEs were absolutely dominant up front in the run game and made life easy on James Cook as he was able to pick between multiple zones/holes to hit and really had no wrong answers as they steamrolled this Dolphins team up front. Elijah Moore had a really nice game and while he may still be underdeveloped as a WR he made the most of the touches he got in the jet sweep and short passing game. It was clear just how much of a talent advantage this Bills offense had across the board today and while it may have not been the flashiest stat line day for anyone they were incredibly efficient and made every play they needed to for them to come away with a win.

• Standout Performers

MIA

Ollie Gordon II – 9/38  1 TD

De’Von Achane – 12/62  – 7/29 rec

Tyrell Dodson – 11 Tackles  1 Sack  1 TFL  1 PD

BUF

Josh Allen – 22/28  213  3/0 – 4/25 rush

James Cook – 19/108  1 TD – 3/10 rec

Jackson Hawes – 1/5  1 TD – Great blocking all night long

Entire OL – Destroyed Dolphins up front and only gave up 2 sacks 

Terrell Bernard – 7 Tackles (5 Solo)  1 TFL  1 INT – Game ending INT

GREEN BAY vs CLEVELAND

BROWNS WIN 13 – 10

• Story of the Game – Packers offense beats themselves 

The entirety of this game the Packers found ways through penalties, miscues in the passing game, and overall poor play on the offensive side of the ball to let the Browns fight their way back into a game they had no business being in. While the Browns defense deserves a lot credit, especially along the DL, their offense had nothing going until late in the game and even then it was shaky which is why I feel had the Packers just had an average day on offense they would have won this game quite easily. As for what led the Packers to making all of these mistakes it really has to start with the OL as a whole. They clearly were struggling to communicate up front with this being their first game on the road and because of that you saw guys oversetting and expecting help that wasn’t there, having trouble timing the snap which allowed the Browns DL to get up field faster than the Packers’ OL were expecting, and more than anything making far too many mistakes and committing penalties because of it. It was a poor performance for a group that has looked much better in the first two weeks despite not being perfect in those games either. While I expect this group to settle in, especially once they get fully healthy, it was certainly a concerning performance for their first road game of the season and it has to be better moving forward. For the rest of the offense I felt that they got away from the run game far too often and while it wasn’t all that successful consistently I thought they could have leaned into that a bit more with the play calling and used play action to slow this vicious Browns front down. Jordan Love looked like he was pressing for the majority of the game and you could tell the consistency at which he was seeing pressure was getting to him and forcing him to get sloppy with his decision making and mechanics. That led to some throws that were rushed and off target which through the first two games he did a great job of managing and playing more settled into the offense. It’s early and I’m not all that concerned for this Packers offense but certainly an underwhelming performance against a team they just flat out shouldn’t lose to, especially in that way. 

• Key Noes for the Browns

Despite struggling overall on offense I thought this Browns OL did a good job at establishing themselves on the LOS in the run game. There were a handful of times where the Packers were able to get in the backfield, especially on outside runs, but when the Browns decided to run the ball in the middle of the defense the absence of a true NT for Green Bay seemed to show. It was a dominate performance per se but as the game wore on you could start to see that they might have a real strength on offense moving forward as this IOL and Quinshon Judkins really established themselves at points in this game. 

On the other hand pass protection was rough and especially so when they got into obvious passing situations. You combine the lack of quality okay at T for the Browns, Joe Flacco holding onto the ball too long, and this Packers DL knowing you’re passing  and you got pretty ugly results. 

Overall the offense felt like they lacked a real sense of identity or any ability to really establish any consistent successful game plan. At points Judkins and this run game looked really good but they had no passing game to really compliment it as they never created any real separation on routes and Flacco seemed hesitant to push the ball down the field even when they did. I would expect to see another QB get a chance to start at some point because there were well designed plays that would have gone for big chunks at times but Flacco favored to get the ball out to the check down and didn’t do so quickly enough to consistently keep the chains moving. Is there anyone on roster that can really make up for any of these issues? I don’t think so but I feel that one of the young guys may have at least been able to push the ball down the field and at least threaten the defense to make it harder to stack the box every play. 

Defensively this team was dominant up front all day. Myles Garrett wrecked the game today and along side him rookie Mason Graham and veteran Maliek Collins really stepped up to provide the Browns with more than just a one man show. To pair with this phenomenal showing from this Browns DL you had the secondary who had a couple rough plays but overall were physical and made it hard on this Green Bay offense to attack off of motion quick and overall any quick hit passes as they couldn’t attack downfield with the Browns pass rush. It’s going to be hard for every team to attack this Browns defense as they’re incredibly well rounded and if they’re able to get guys to step up consistently along side Myles like they did in this game I’m not there’s any OL that can matchup consistently with this front. 

Also, Carson Schwesinger played incredible today and was able to clean up anything this Browns DL didn’t. Wasn’t perfect but he’s been a great pick for them so far despite people thinking the pick may have been a little high. It’s disappointing that Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah isn’t going to play this year as that LB duo would be one of the best in the entire league with how Schwesinger is playing.

• Key Notes for the Packers

The conversation around this Packers team has to start with the OL and how they played this game. While it was a terrible game up front for the Packers I think there’s context that a lot of people are skipping over. With injuries up front you had guys like Jordan Morgan starting the game at RG then having to play RT due to an injury to Zach Tom and then once again having to transition over to LG. While you would love for guys to have that flexibility and be able to move around and play at the same level all across the line it’s a stretch to expect anything positive to happen when guys are having to move around within a game that much. With that being said it was still upsetting too see this group perform at that level and you hope they come more prepared next week and especially in road games moving forward as they seemed scrambled and unprepared working in the silent count.

Penalties on offense and defense routinely set this team back and the worst part was it was often the penalties that they had full control over. Along with the 14 penalties this team had they also had to use 3 separate timeouts on the play clock running out before they could get a play off. On top of it all the play calling got off track and I thought got away from what would have allowed them to have an easier day, that being the run game. While the run game was struggling I felt they could have established it a bit more but instead they allowed the Browns to control the tempo of this game by getting pass happy which just made the protection and penalty issues more apparent. I’m not saying running the ball more would have done anything drastic to this game but I felt it may have at least allowed them to have a better shot at establishing a tempo and rhythm so they weren’t constantly in passing situations  and allowing this Browns DL to tee off on them.

Jordan Love really struggled as the game progressed and I thought it was clear that he started to press and panic after being pressured all game. While it was a chaotic day in the backfield for Love you’d love to see him be a little more settled and comfortable while operating with subpar pressure as he’s been in the offense long enough to have the answers when it isn’t perfect. With that being said they it wasn’t all bad as Love was great in the read option game and he made some really impressive throws throughout the game. It was an up and down day for Jordan including a really rough INT but just like the rest of this roster I fully expect him to bounce back from this and be better moving forward. 

• Standout Performers 

GB

Josh Jacobs – 16/30 –  5/44 rec

Matthew Golden –  4/52 – 3/9 rush

Quay Walker – 14 Tackles (6 Solo)  1 PD

Rashan Gary – 3 Tackles  2 Sacks  2 TFLs

CLE

Quinshon Judkins – 18/94 1 TD 

Carson Schwesinger – 9 Tackles (6 Solo)  1 Sack  1 TFL

Myles Garrett – 6 Tackles (2 Solo)  .5 Sacks  1 TFL

Maliek Collins – 5 Tackles (2 Solo)  1.5 Sacks  1 TFL

JACKSONVILLE vs HOUSTON

JAGUARS WIN 17 – 10

• Story of the Game – Houston has a problem 

This game was one of the ugliest games I’ve watched through 3 weeks. CJ Stroud had absolutely no protection and a run game that was inconsistent all day and Trevor Lawrence routinely missed throws and set this Jaguars offense behind the sticks. While Stroud really struggled I felt that the Texans’ inability to block anyone and lackluster results in the run game led to him having do nearly everything on his own while Lawrence’s struggles were more on him. While I understand this Texans defense is great and they made some amazing plays Trevor’s inability to consistently hit his target in passing game led to the Jaguars not only limited in results but play calling options as well. Both teams struggled but I feel the Jaguars will be able to win far more often than the Texans can with where they’re at on the offensive side of the ball. I quite honestly don’t know where you go from here as getting better options along the OL come few and far between in the offseason let alone during the season. This Texans defense is truly special and I feel they have the talent on the offensive side of the ball to be a very dangerous team but without protection nothing works and right now I’m not sure you could put together a worse performing OL than what the Texans have right now.

• Key Notes for the Jaguars 

While this offense shows real potential and has flashes of brilliance where the talent all comes together it’s clear they need some part of this offense to find a higher level of consistency. Between Trevor’s constant inaccuracy and at times poor decision making as he presses and a run game that shows special flashes with the backs in this room but has up and down play along the OL I just don’t see any way this team is able to hang with the best of the AFC until they establish some level of consistency. 

Defensively this DL they’ve constructed is really special. Josh Hines-Allen tore apart rookie T Aireontae Ersery all day long and as HOU started to pay more attention to him and where he was lined up the rest of this DL just continually one their one on ones. While the secondary has been up and down and is still rounding into form they clearly have a really special group up front that should be able make up for a lack of consistency on the back end. 

There’s so much talent on this team and I’ve been really impressed with their coaching as well but until this offense is able to consistently operate within structure and move the ball on a regular basis it’s going to be hard to win games like this regularly. With Brian Thomas Jr, Travis Hunter, these RBs, and Brenton Strange who’s really impressed this year as he’s gotten a bigger role I believe fully in the talent they have but I think far too much of this is on Trevor’s shoulders for what he’s shown this season.

• Key Notes for the Texans 

This defense at every level is incredibly impressive and they’ve absolutely played like one of the best groups in the entire NFL all year. Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter have been killing opposing offenses, the LBs have been playing as one of the best groups collectively, and even with an injury to Derek Stingley Jr the secondary was lights out for a large majority of this game. It’s terrible to see this defense play this well week in and week out and still be 0-3. 

This offense as I talked about earlier is just brutal to watch. They’re really struggling to have any special impact in the run game without Joe Mixon on the field which is putting them in terrible situations where they have to lean on this terrible pass protecting group to hold up in obvious passing downs. From penalties, to miscommunications, to flat out getting beat this Texans OL has struggled in every facet and I’m not sure that there’s any shot it gets better moving forward. It’s not all on the OL and the rest of this offense isn’t blameless as Stroud needs to be sharper getting to the open man, this group of weaponry has to stop making mistakes, and overall this offense has to find something to lean on but ultimately with this OL play I’m not sure there’s much to build with. 

• Standout Performers 

JAX

Bhayshul Tuten – 6/21  1 TD – Ran hard all game

Brenton Strange – 6/61 

Jourdan Lewis – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  1 TFL  1 INT  2 PDs

Tyson Campbell – 7 Tackles  1 FF  1 PD

Josh Hines-Allen – 2 Tackles (1 Solo)  .5 Sack  1 PD

Travon Walker –  3 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 Sack  1 TFL

HOU

Nico Collins – 8/104  1 TD – Did have a terrible fumble late in game 

Will Anderson Jr – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  1 Sack  1 TFL

Jalen Pitre – 3 Tackles  1 INT  3 PDs 

DETROIT vs BALTIMORE

LIONS WIN  38 – 30

• Story of the Game – Lions found their pass rush and contain Lamar

While the Ravens were still able to put together 30 points this Lions defense made it just about as hard as they could on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense. Constantly getting after Lamar while wracking up 30 pressures (PFF) and 7 Sacks forcing Lamar to play at an elite level every play (Which he was nearly able to) just to find any success. It was unreal to watch Lamar continually escape and make something out of nothing while this Lions defense gave a huge amount of trouble to this Ravens OL. What really impressed me about this Lions front was their ability to not only get pressure on Lamar but even more so being able to hold rush lanes and contain Lamar when he went to scramble. I’m not saying it was perfect as Lamar certainly found success but it was extremely impressive considering what Lamar has been doing this year. 

• Key Notes for the Lions 

With the pass rush being as impressive as it was I thought the back end of this defense really stepped up as well, despite a few rough plays. Terrion Arnold continues to struggle with being too physical throughout routes but other than that this group really stepped up and the fact the Ravens’ offense was able to score 30 points with how this defense played is really more a credit to Lamar than anything. 

The defense really stepped up late in all phases as they were able to stop a deadly Ravens’ offense multiple times down the stretch to win the game, including a fumble to pretty much ice it that Aiden Hutchinson forced on Derrick Henry. 

Offensively they were really able to control the LOS and lean on their run game which helped limit the pressure that this Ravens’ defense loves to create. Especially in the IOL this group has drastically improved over these last two weeks since the Packer game and it was really impressive to see them lean on the Ravens’ IDL and get to the next level to create holes for David Montgomery to break through regularly. 

To pair with this incredible run game the Lions were able to work off of play action whenever they wanted to, including on the play that won them the game to Amon Ra  St. Brown. Jameson Williams was also able to get going early and often while working off of play action shots and it was clear that BAL was focusing on limiting big plays but that only opened up the middle of the field more. 

• Key Notes for the Ravens

Early on this Ravens offense was able to establish the run and get Derrick Henry going as he even broke off a 28 yard run for a TD. As the game wore on though this Ravens’ OL really started to wear down in both the run and pass game which clearly became an issue down the stretch as they weren’t able to really count on anything besides Lamar making magic happen. The OL has to play better than that and while Lamar made up for a lot of poor play you can’t count on winning games in this league like that regularly. 

Defensively the Ravens team lost the battle up front as well. Even when they lined up in 5 man fronts the Lions were able to open up running lanes and while the DBs for the most part did a good job containing runs to the edge the IDL got moved over and over again off their spots. I also thought the second level players, including Roquan Smith, looked like they were struggling to fill their gaps and make plays as this Lions OL got up to the second level multiple plays this game. 

 I thought the secondary also had its ups and downs and it was clear that their focus was on taking away the explosive plays but that left the intermediate level of the field wide open for this Lions offense to attack. Overall it was another disappointing performance from a very talented Ravens’ defense and you hope they’re able to find some level of rhythm down the stretch this season similar to last as they’re not going to have consistent success with these results. 

Special teams wise the Ravens were fantastic on punt coverage, especially TJ Tampa who made big plays tackles on both special teams and on defense. They’re so close to putting together games they really struggle having all phases come together mad play well at once and it’s costing them games.

• Standout Performers 

DET

Jared Goff – 20/28  202  1/0

David Montgomery- 12/151  2 TD – 1/13 rec

Amon Ra St.Brown – 7/77  1 TD

Jack Campbell – 8 Solo Tackles  1 Sack  1 TFL  1 FF

Brian Branch – 6 (5 Solo) Tackles  1 PD

Aiden Hutchinson – 2 Solo Tackles  1 Sack  1 TFL  1 FF

Al-Quadin Muhammad – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  2.5 Sacks  2 TFLs 

Trevor Nowaske – 1 Solo Tackle  1 Sack  1 TFL – Played great while spying Lamar Jackson

BAL

Lamar Jackson – 21/27  288  3/0 – 7/35 rush

Mark Andrews – 6/91  2 TDs

Nate Wiggins – 2 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 PD – Wasn’t perfect but had an incredible rep on a crossing route against Isaac TeSlaa

Kyle Hamilton – 9 Tackles (5 Solo)  

TJ Tampa – 2 Tackles 2 Solo – Couple nice plays on special teams including a really nice tackle + a nice play coming up with a big hit on defense