Thursday, December 26, 2019

2019 Season: Wildcard Round

NEW YORK 23
BALTIMORE 21
The New York Jets (12-5) won a huge game on the road to beat the Baltimore Ravens (9-8) in the opening round of the NFL playoffs.
Sam Darnold was fantastic, moving the Jets offense up and down the field all afternoon finishing with  281 yards passing.  The Jets quarterback picked up crucial 3rd downs and put the game away when his team needed him most.
"That was a tough D to play against.  Credit to the guys getting open today." Darnold said after the game.
New York moves on to take on the number one seed and undefeated Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. It will be the 3rd match up between the AFC East foes.
"Third times the charm, right?" Coach Chad Pennington said. "We like our chances.  The playoffs are a new season."

NEW ENGLAND 45
KANSAS CITY 24
The New England Patriots (12-5) won their wild card matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs (9-8) in blow-out fashion 45-24.
Marcus Mariota showed everyone why he was worth the mid-season trade the Pats made, throwing for 306 yards and 3 touchdowns before being pulled in the 3rd quarter when the game was clearly out of hand.  Mariota had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and has given the New England brass plenty to think about as he is set to become a free agent after the season.
Next week's matchup with the #2 seed Tennessee Titans will have extra intrigue as Mariota will be facing his former team.
"Just happy to get the W today." Mariota said. "It's just another game next week.  All the other story lines are your guys' job."

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

2019 Season: Week #17

MIAMI 17
NEW ENGLAND 48
New England (11-5, 3-3 AFC East) completed their turnaround season after a 1-4 start and qualified for the playoffs with a win over the visiting Miami Dolphins (9-7, 1-5 AFC East).
Things were tight early when another electrical storm (the 2nd of the season) disrupted the game.  When the fans returned to the stadium, Miami had the ball and was driving.  Then on 3rd and goal from the one-yard line, quarterback Jacoby Brissett made a crucial error and threw an interception to Byron Murphy that was taken back 104 yards for a pick six.  Miami battled back and scored on a Leornard Fournette run to tie it 7-7.  That's when things began to unravel for the 'Fins.  Derwin James forced a fumble in the red zone on George Kittle and drove down to score.  After another touchdown by the Pats put Miami in a hole, it looked as if the Miami offense was ready to get back in the game when James forced another fumble on a deep Kittle reception.  New England would go on to score and put Miami's playoff hopes on ice.
Lost in the disappointment of missing the postseason for a 2nd year in a row, was the exceptional play of Fournette who passed the 2,000 yard mark and moved into 4th place for single season rushing  with 2,059 yards.
"Man, to be a 2,000 yard rusher?  That's something you dream about as a kid.  I would've rather made the playoffs, but this is something that can never be taken away."
As for the Patriots, they ended up with the #5 seed and head to take on #4 Kanas City in a rematch of their week 14 game.

NEW YORK JETS 21
BUFFALO 30
The Buffalo Bills (16-0, 6-0 AFC East) completed their magical undefeated regular season joining the 1972 Dolphins and 2007 Patriots with a 30-21 win over the visiting New York Jets (11-5, 2-4 AFC East).
Buffalo got off to a quick start but New York kept it close for most of the game, even taking the lead at one point late on a Chris Harris pick six.  However, Aaron Rodgers responded with a 75 yard touchdown drive to regain the lead and Buffalo never looked back.
"I needed that.  Had a bad couple of throws up to that point.  I appreciated coach calling all passing plays on that drive to show confidence in me." Rodgers said.
The loss dropped New York to the #6 seed as they lost the tie-breaker with New England on division record.  They will travel to Baltimore in a rematch against the Ravens.
Buffalo will get a well deserved week off before they continue their march towards perfection.  The road to the Super Bowl will go through Upstate New York.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

2019 Season: Week #16

PITTSBURGH 20
NEW YORK JETS 27
The New York Jets (11-4) punched their ticket to the playoffs in a tightly contested win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday.
Coach Chad Pennington, fresh off his contract extension, moved to 7-0 as head coach.  The Jets coach let everyone know they are not content with just getting into the dance.
"We know this team can make noise.  It's about getting hot at the right time and this team is clicking on all cylinders." Pennington said after the game.
Pittsburgh made it a tough all afternoon as they had the lead most of the game, but a crucial stop in the 4th quarter followed by Ben Watson's 3rd touchdown of the game turned the tables and New York was celebrating.  What's really remarkable is the Jets were supposed to be in full rebuild mode this season and instead they are heading to the postseason.  The only question now is, will they be the #5 or #6 seed?
The Jets move on to take on the Buffalo Bills for week 17.

CINCINNATI 12
MIAMI 35
Leonard Fournette single handily kept the Miami Dolphins (9-6) playoff hopes alive with 244 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns in a win over the visiting Bengals Sunday in a South Beach downpour.
"We not done." Fournette said emphatically after the game.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett broke the touchdown drought he had all season with two touchdown passes, both to George Kittle.
"Just keep fighting.  That's all we can do." Kittle said.
On another note, rumors were swirling after the game about the future of Dolphins franchise as a few sources have reported that there may be a huge shake up in Miami after the season.  When reached for comment, the current GM stated, "Our focus is on this season."
Miami will hope for a Buffalo win over New England later today to stay alive which would set up a play-in game next week against the Patriots in Foxborough.

BUFFALO 20
NEW ENGLAND 17
In what is likely to be considered the game of the year, the Buffalo Bills (15-0, 5-0 AFC East) held off the New England Patriots (10-5, 2-3 AFC East) 20-17.
Buffalo raced out to a quick lead 7-0 on a precision drive by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and things looked to be going Buffalo's way early.  However, after a punt by New England, Rodgers threw an interception setting up a New England field goal.  From there, the game was a dog fight.
After a Julio Jones TD reception and a Buffalo field goal to close out the half, the Bills took a 20-10 lead into the half.  From then on out the two defenses flexed their muscles and traded stops and turnovers including a Patriots scoop and score on a Damien Williams fumble that brought them to within three.  However, the Buffalo defense was relentless as they have been all season and when it was time for New England's final drive, Myles Garrett got back-to-back sacks on Marcus Mariota and Jalen Ramsey sealed the game with a 4th down interception.
Buffalo goes for perfection next week at home versus the New York Jets.
New England, who had won nine in a row, will be playing for their playoff lives against the Miami Dolphins in what will essentially be a play-in game.  Winner gets in, loser goes home.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

2019 Season: Week #15

NEW YORK JETS 34
BALTIMORE 7
The New York Jets (10-4) kept rolling in blowout fashion with a dominant win over the Baltimore Ravens (7-7) on Thursday Night Football.  Sam Darnold was on his game and the 2nd year QB put things out of reach early with two touchdown passes on the teams first two drives.  The first of which was a 70 yarder wide receiver Quincy Enunwa took to the house.  Enunwa has shown his value to New York this year as a tackle-breaking sure-handed receiver.
"I've had some success lowering my shoulder this year.  Always just fighting for that extra yard man." Enunwa said.
The recent surge after the firing of Coach Adam Gase has given the Jets brass something to think about with interim coach Chad Pennington.
"We are happy with the job Chad has done.  As with any personnel position, we will evaluate at the end of the season and make a determination on future employment." The Jets GM said after the game.
Pennington will continue his season-long interview as the Jets take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 16.


MIAMI 22
NEW YORK GIANTS 27
The Miami Dolphins (8-6) playoff hopes took a big hit with a tough loss against the New York Giants Sunday.  Miami is not eliminated from playoff contention, but now will need some help to get in.
"We just didn't get it done today." Quarterback Jacoby Brissett said. "I have to be better.  Man, to still not find the end zone on a touchdown pass this season is crazy.  Just have to keep grinding and hope for some help next week.  Big Bills fans next week."
Brissett threw a crucial pick six in the 4th that made things difficult.  Lost in this all was Miami had a pair of 100 yard rushers in Leonard Fournette and Mark Ingram.
Miami takes on the Cincinnati Bengals next week.

BUFFALO 45
PITTSBURGH 3
The Buffalo Bills (14-0) put the rest of the NFL on notice with an emphatic 45-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh.
The questions about whether or not the Bills will go undefeated are getting louder and the '72 Dolphins are likely getting nervous that their record will fall after seeing the Bills lock down defense and scorching offense eviscerate the Steelers.
Aaron Rodgers is heating up at the right time with six touchdown passes Sunday and 11 in his last two games (not to mention no interceptions).
"Playing good football at the right time.  That's big in this league." Rodgers said.
Myles Garrett added to his NFL sack record with three more big ones, bringing his total to 27 on the year.
"Man, this is starting to feel like a video game." Garrett said.
Buffalo takes on division rival New England in Foxborough next week.

NEW ENGLAND 27
CINCINNATI 13
The Patriots remarkable win streak reached 9 games as New England (10-4) moved one game closer to reaching the postseason with a win over the host Bengals.
Alvin Kamara was all the Patriots needed to get the job done as the back had 201 yards rushing on 24 carries and a pair of touchdowns.
"AK had it going today.  We saw an opportunity to establish the run game based on our scouting, so hats off to our advanced scouting team." Coach Chris Petersen said.
Petersen's quote brought up more questions about the Patriots scouting methods, particularly whether or not they have been filming the sidelines of opposing teams.
"Those accusations are malarkey.  We do things the right way here." New England owner Bob Nabisco said.
It remains to be seen whether the shadow of these accusations will impact the Patriots moving forward.  They have two tough division games against Buffalo and Miami standing in their way of qualifying for the playoffs.  They need to win just one of the two games to get in.  However, if they drop both they would likely be the odd man out based on tiebreakers.

Monday, December 2, 2019

MVP Race Update

Wow what a freaking 3GML Season so far. The Bills are undefeated, charging their way to a
potentially historic and record setting season. The Dolphins and Jets who were supposed to be
rebuilding are playing tremendous football and are in playoff contention with 3 weeks remaining.
The Patriots started the season as the most disappointing team in the NFL and then after
changing quarterbacks have won 8 straight games, the 2nd best run in the NFL. With just 3
weeks to play everything is up for grabs, including MVP races, a perfect season, and 2 more
wildcard spots.

As far as the MVP race goes it seems like this is a Buffalo Bills award it just depends on whose
name is getting etched on the plaque. The front runner was, and may still be, Myles Garrett who
now owns the NFL record for sacks. The question of who votes for him after his alter-ego pulled
a WWE move on a quarterback is maybe the greatest question in end of year voting in the
history of the 3GML. Garrett has been a complete nightmare for everyone who has tried to block
him this year and his impact in the head to heads has been impossible to ignore.

The other defensive player from the Bills with a legit chance to take home the hardware, is the
greatest 3GML player of all time - Geno Atkins. He could end up with the trophy due to a few
interesting factors. Number 1 is this award is almost as much about the story and it would be
fantastic for the best player in league history to end up getting the greatest award in the sport.
The 2nd piece to this is he is having an insane year as well, with over 20 sacks from an interior
line position, which may be even more impactful than Garrett’s numbers off the edge. The 3rd
and maybe most important aspect of this is that there may be some in the league, including his
own GM who won’t cast a vote for Garrett due to the “off the field, but on the field in another
universe” situation, which could propel Atkins to the award.

The 3rd and final Bill with a legit shot to win the award is the signal caller, Aaron Rodgers. If
Rogers continues to take care of the football and move the team up and down the field he could
easily find his way to the trophy. While I feel like the team has truly been led by the defense, its
impossible to deny how impressive Rodgers has been this season. He almost never turns it
over, completes a high percentage of his throws and doesn’t take many sacks. He also has a
ton of weapons around him, including someone who could definitely get some MVP votes in
Brandin Cooks, and the fact his offensive line is arguably the best in the league certainly helps
but damn he’s been impressive. In a game this year where turnovers have been the biggest
factor, his ability to avoid turnovers has been maybe the 2nd biggest factor in this 3GML
iteration.

That segue leads to what has been FAR AND AWAY the most important piece to the 3GML
season which is of course the “Enforcer” impact. While the Dolphins have regressed a bit in the
past few weeks the guy who was the MVP leader for a long time was Jamal Adams whose
enforcer roots have led to him setting and NFL record with 13 forced fumbles through 13
games. A lot of these plays have led directly to points’ and it means that at times this season,
his Dolphins defense had a better chance to score than the Fin’s O. His impact on the game
with a roster that was rated at the bottom of the league simply can’t be ignored. It was easier to
be conservative and play within the confines of the offense when you can sit back and wait for
Adams to make a game changing play, which is precisely what he did in big wins against
Baltimore and throughout his incredible record-setting season. Add in a pick 6 and someone
who could lead the league in tackles and you have a legit MVP candidate.

The other players with legit shots to win the MVP at this point in the season are few and far
between but a handful of guys have really made a push led by the second enforcer in the game
Derwin James. If it weren’t for Adams insane numbers, James would be in consideration for the
award as well. He has forced nearly as many fumbles and the last fumble rumble 6 against the
Chiefs iced the game for the Pats. Julio Jones and Brandin Cooks have been matchup
nightmares and certainly are in the running as well. Leonard Fournette was having a year in
which he was in the conversation before slowing way down the last two weeks. And a resurgent
Jets team who have won 5 straight since a coaching change have been led by really under the
radar play of Sam Darnold who is on pace to set an NFL record for completion percentage and
leads the NFL in that stat currently. The top 3 look secure but the other 7 players who can
receive votes and help in their Hall of Fame candidacy are certainly in play. Linemen could get
votes this year as well, with maybe rookie Eric McCoy, LT Kelvin Beachum who has still yet to
give up a sack, or the most impactful power run blocker in the league Quentin Nelson beginning
his Hall of Fame campaign. This may be the most fun MVP vote ever, with the race still pretty damn wide open with 3 weeks to go. Can’t wait.