2021 3GML Season - Week #7

Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins

MIAMI - With a narrow 5-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, new Miami Dolphins (4-3) head coach Hines Ward dialed up a dagger in an attempt to put the game away.

"We wanted to take a shot there," Ward said. "We were waiting for Julio's chance with one on one coverage all day and we finally saw it at the right time."

QB Jalen Hurts threw a perfect pass in the back corner of the end zone to hit the streaking Julio Jones. Forty-six yards, TD, Ball Game: 36-24.

"It's been an up and down year for sure," Hurts said. "We kind of needed that from Coach to show us that he believes in us and that we aren't here for participation trophies."

On a day where Matt Ryan carved up the Miami defense for 388 passing yards, Hurts was equally as impressive despite the team's slow start that saw them down 17-3 late in the first half. The second year signal caller finished the day 29-41 with 348 passing yards and 3 TDs. Hurts also added 64 yards on the ground. 

To setup the late Jones TD, newly acquired pass rusher Jaylon Ferguson came up with a crucial strip-sack of Ryan to completely flip momentum. 

"They play a similar scheme as Baltimore," Ferguson said. "I know my role here and I was happy to contribute right away."

Miami holds onto their lead in the AFC East for another week as they now turn their attention to a critical road test against at Buffalo next week. 

Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers

SAN FRANCISCO - The bye week was good to the San Francisco 49ers as they beat up the Indianapolis Colts 42-14.  The Niners (4-2) relied on the run game and the opened things up with play action all afternoon.  The Colts (1-6) looked flummoxed on defense as Alvin Kamara and Phillip Lindsay had their way.

Kamara obviously got healthy with the week off and carried the ball 22 times for 114 yards, while Lindsay had 111 yards and a TD on 15 touches.

"We have a formula for winning football and we all know our roles." Kamara said.

San Francisco travels to Chicago next to take on the struggling Bears.

Washington Football Team at Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers took care of business in a torrential downpour Sunday afternoon winning 26-6 over the Washington Football Team (4-3).  The sky dumped all day as Green Bay (6-1) amassed 408 yards of offense, 321 of which came through the air.

Tua Tagovailoa threw 48 times on the day and didn't seem to be too affected by the rain. 

"I grew up throwing in the rain in Hawaii, "Tagovailoa said. "A little colder rain here, but no problems."

On the defensive side, Casey Hayward turned the clock back four years and intercepted three of Kyle Allen's passes.

"This team can win ugly.  I like it," Hayward said.  "This group reminds me of the team that won in Buffalo in 2016."

Green Bay will look to keep things rolling next week on Thursday Night Football as they take on the Arizona Cardinals.

Houston Texans at Arizona Cardinals

PHOENIX - The Arizona Cardinals pulled out a 42-35 come from behind win over the Houston Texans in a thriller of a game.  The Cardinals (4-3) up 27-7 at one point in the first half blew their lead and found themselves trailing 35-28 late in the 4th quarter to Houston (5-2).  However, Kyler Murray and crew drove down the field for touchdowns twice in the last five minutes of the game to give the Cardinals the win.

"We've got to do a better job putting pressure on the quarterback," Coach David Shaw said after the game.

Expect GM TH to be active in finding pass rush help.  Early reports have him reaching out to Pittsburgh to see if they'd part with Melvin Ingram.

Offensively, Houston once again relied on big shot plays to Denzel Mims who has proven himself invaluable this season.  Mims had 143 of Houston's 202 yards passing on the day. 

"Doesn't matter if we didn't get the win," Mims said. "Obviously it wasn't enough."

Houston will try to regroup as it heads home to take on the Los Angeles Rams.

2021 3GML Season - Week #6

Miami Dolphins vs Jacksonville Jaguars

LONDON - The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium played host to two NFL 'also rans' as the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars squared off in the UK. Miami (3-3) looked very comfortable on the 'football' pitch despite the long flight over and overwhelmed the Jaguars 38-3.

Miami went ahead early on a DJ Reed pick-six early in the first. Reed added another INT on the day to add to his total of six on the season.

"It's just one of those things," Reed said. "You can play great all year and never take one away - This year seems to be a year where people are trying me and I'm responding well."

Wide Receiver Julio Jones returned and put on a show with 103 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. His running mate Allen Robinson also chipped in with a TD of his own.

"For me, I think I can be an X-Factor in this offense too," Robinson said. "I'm learning a lot from Julio and George (Kittle); Although we are only 3-3, I think we can make this offense special."

New Head Coach Hines Ward ran his early record to 2-1 and is quickly winning fans in the Miami locker room.

"He's the man," Jalen Hurts said. "He did it for a long time in this league and when he talks, everyone listens."

Miami will look to pick up their 4th win of the season next week as they return home to face the Atlanta Falcons. 

Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts

INDIANAPOLIS - The Houston Texans kept pace for first place in the AFC South with a win over division foe Indianapolis 28-26.  The Texans (5-1, 2-0 AFC South) were able to return to their two quarterback rotation of Andy Dalton and Gardner Minshew in this one.  As with past games this season, Dalton started and Minshew relieved.  Beat writers were speculating Minshew wouldn't play much after his poor performance last week, but the Texans and Minshew had other plans.  The backup was 9 of 11 for 126 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception.

"I like coming off the bench," Minshew said. "I view myself like a sixth man in the NBA or closer in baseball.  I don't care if I start as long as I'm out there playing meaningful minutes helping this team win."

The star of the game, however, had to be the Houston defense that stifled Carson Wentz and the Colts offense all day.  Indianapolis (1-5, 0-2) only rushed for 68 yards and outside of some garbage time passing yards, looked out of sorts on offense.

Of note, tight end Mike Gesicki is starting to emerge as a star for this Houston team.  Gesicki had 11 catches for 102 yards and has consistently shown he can get open.  He has already caught 43 passes for 525 yards and 5 touchdowns through his first six games. 

Houston will travel to Arizona next week to take on the Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. 

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears

CHICAGO - The oldest rivalry in the NFL was on display Sunday as the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 30-16 at Soldier Field.  Green Bay (5-1, 2-0 NFC North) welcomed back quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from injured reserve and used his arm to down the formidable Chicago defense.  The Packers QB threw for 257 yards and a touchdown which was just enough to keep the Bears (1-5, 1-1) out of reach.

Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams continued his tear this season, racking up two more sacks including a forced fumble on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo that was picked up in the endzone by Charles Omenihu for the opening points of the game.  Williams now has 13 sacks through six games and will likely be drawing more double teams moving forward.

Bad blood erupted between the teams at the end of the game when Green Bay decided to kick a field goal as time expired already up 27-16.  Chicago coach Matt Nagy was visibly upset and refused to shake Packers coach Eric Bieniemy's hand after the game.

"This is the NFL,"  Bieniemy said after the game. "I don't take my foot off the gas ever and that's the message I want our players to hear.  If they're so upset about it, maybe they should have scored more points."

Bieniemy and his aggressive Green Bay team head home next week to take on the Washington Football Team.

2021 3GML Season - Week #5

Miami Dolphins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

TAMPA BAY - Down eight starters, the Miami Dolphins (2-3) showed some fight through three quarters but eventually fell to the overpowered Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-23 Sunday afternoon. 

Tom Brady was unstoppable as he picked apart the depleted Miami defense.

"It was a good day, but we have lots of work to do," Brady said. "You need to take care of business at home and we did that."

Wide Receiver Allen Robinson existed as Jalen Hurts go-to player on the day with multiple highlight reel catches to keep Miami in the game early. 

"The stats are meaningless if you are losing," Robinson said. "Despite who we were missing, we still wanted to win and we couldn't get it done."

With the loss, the Dolphins fall back under .500 and will look to right their ship next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals

PHOENIX - The San Francisco 49ers dropped their second game of the season 25-20 to the Arizona Cardinals (3-2, 1-1 NFC West).  The 49ers (3-2, 1-1) looked out of sync most of the game and struggled to run the ball effectively despite being the number one ranked rushing team coming into the afternoon.

Things started to unravel when Alvin Kamara fumbled late in the second quarter and Arizona recovered after a scrum. 

"I have to be better," Kamara said. "We all have to play better because we're a better team than that."

Rookie quarterback Justin Fields experienced some growing pains in this one when the run game failed to move the sticks.  Fields threw for 151 yards and an interception.  His legs, however, were effective as he rushed five times for 45 yards and a touchdown.

"I can play better," Fields said. "You won't see an outing like that from me again.  I can guarantee you that."

San Francisco will have an extra week to regroup as they have a week six bye.

New England Patriots @ Houston Texans

HOUSTON - Heartbreak in Houston.  The New England Patriots (3-2) scored on the last play of regulation to beat the Texans 24-23.  The dominant Houston offense that has been on display most of this year was nowhere to be found as Gardner Minshew struggled mightily.

Minshew missed open throws most of the afternoon and had a crippling pick-six as Houston (4-1) looked to go up at least 13 and put the game out of reach.

"It was not a glowing performance on my part," Minshew said. "I'm seeing red right now."

After a Texans field goal made it 23-17 with 1:47 left, quarterback Mac Jones marched the New England offense down the field with some crucial 4th down throws.  With no time outs and a completion to Nelson Agholor that brought the Patriots to the Houston 5 yard line, Jones was able to hurry the offense to the line and snap it as the clock hit zeros.  Kendrick Bourne beat his man to the outside of the end zone and Jones hit him to tie the game.  New England converted the extra point and Texans fans left the stadium in shock.

Houston will look to regroup next week against the Indianapolis Colts.

Green Bay Packers @ Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI - Quarterback Drew Lock redeemed himself after a dismal outing last week and let the Green Bay Packers (4-1) to a 23-6 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals (4-1).  The loss was the first for Cincinnati and kept Green Bay with some breathing room atop their division.

Lock who was dangerously close to being benched in favor of Kyle Lauletta last week against the Steelers, was 23 of 31 for 235 yards and a touchdown.  

"I needed to show my teammates I wasn't going to let them down," Lock said. "Great team win."

On the defensive side of the ball, NFL sack leader Quinnen Williams added three more to his resume against Joe Burrow.

"Big plays are hard to come by in this league," Williams said. "I've learned a lot from Geno [Atkins] this last year and a half and it's really paying off playing next to the goat."

Green Bay heads to Chicago next week to take on its oldest rival the Bears.

2021 3GML Season - Week #4

 Houston Texans @ Buffalo Bills

BUFFALO - Buffalo Bills fans were left muttering a phrase they would prefer to never hear again Sunday; "Wide right."  Tyler Bass missed a field goal as time expired that would have sent the game to over time and Houston ran off the field still undefeated after a 26-23 win.

The Texans (4-0) looked dominant defensively early and held the Bills (2-2) out of the end zone.  However, Houston also struggled offensively and were unable to put Buffalo away. With the door cracked, Josh Allen and crew seized the momentum and was able to tie the game late on a 68 yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.

Andy Dalton then ran the two-minute drill to perfection leading the team down the field and setting up a chip shot field goal for Rodrigo Blankenship to give Houston the lead with 17 seconds remaining.  Buffalo wasn't about to roll over and Allen threw a dime down the sideline to Adams giving Bass a 54 yard field goal opportunity to tie it up.  Coach David Shaw called a time out to ice the kicker and the strategy paid off.

"What a start," Shaw said.  "To get road wins over Cleveland and Buffalo shows what this team is made of."

Houston will look to keep the win streak alive next week when they host another AFC East opponent in the New England Patriots.

Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers

SAN FRANCISCO - In an instant classic, San Francisco stunned Seattle with nine seconds left on the clock as quarterback Justin Fields scrambled 40 yards to give the Niners a 34-27 victory.

After a rough start, including two interceptions, Fields managed to find CeeDee Lamb for a beautiful toe-tap touchdown putting San Francisco up 27-20 with less than two minutes in the game. Seattle answered quickly with a deep touchdown pass by Russell Wilson and before 49er fans could celebrate their lead, it was gone.

Given the ball with 44 seconds left, Fields and the offense just needed to get into field goal range for the win.  On the drive, the Seahawks committed a late hit to get San Francisco to the 40 yard line. Only needing a few more yards to give Tristan Vizcaino a shot to win it, Fields had other plans, taking off and making defender after defender miss on his way to the end zone.

“Well, I had to dig out of the hole I put us in,” Fields said. “There was no way I was going down on that run.”

The loss left Seattle (3-1, 0-1 NFC West) looking up at San Francisco (3-1, 1-0) in the division and opened the door to a chaotic fight for the crown. This may be football’s best division and we can only hope the rematch was as good as this one.

San Francisco keeps it in the division as they head south to Arizona next week.

Indianapolis Colts @ Miami Dolphins

MIAMI - The Miami Dolphins (2-2) bounced back from a tumultuous week with a resounding 41-9 thrashing of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday morning. Late in the 3rd, with the game still in the balance, newly minted Head Coach Hines Ward elected to pass on a chip shot field goal (which would have pushed Miami's lead to 15) to opt for a 4th-and-1 attempt to go for the TD.

"I know the old mantra that this team has success under was three is sometimes better than six," Ward said. "But we are establishing a better balance moving forward between being conservative and aggressive."

James Conner gained the needed 1-yard, and then some, as he finished the play with a 4-yard touchdown run. The 5th year HB out of Pittsburgh looked rejuvenated in this game.

"We have so many weapons," Connor said. "It was easy to toss the ball around the first three weeks. But, for us, we need to still establish a ground game to open up space for our weapons in the passing game."

The Dolphins defense also played their best game of the season as they frustrated Carson Wentz all game long. Haason Reddick notched his first three sacks of the season in a breakout game for the OLB.

"This new staff had a tall task on short notice," Reddick said. "But they were smart and brought in Rob (Ryan) who knows the scheme we are best at. I think things will only go up from here."

Next week Miami faces a truly elite test as they take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers (3-1) dropped a heartbreaker 23-20 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3) Sunday at Lambeau Field.  The Packers had their opportunities and looked like the better team but three lost fumbles and two interceptions by back up quarterback Drew Lock was too much to overcome.  

Green Bay looked poised to win after a Pittsburgh turnover late in the 4th gave them the ball down three on the Steelers 12 yard line.  However, the offense stalled and the Packers had to settle for overtime.  

In overtime, Pittsburgh won the toss, elected to receive, drove the length of the field and kicked a field goal.  Green Bay looked ready to answer by driving into field goal range for Jason Sanders, but he would never get the chance as Lock threw his second interception.

"Drew's got to play better.  Period," Coach Eric Bieniemy said, "There was a little voice in my ear begging me to put in Kyle [Lauletta].  If he knew the playbook better, I may have done it.  Practice is going to be interesting this week.  I need to see how Drew responds."

Green Bay's attempt to bounce back doesn't look easy as they head to Cincinnati to take on the undefeated Bengals.