Once again, we had two games take place, simultaneously at some points, on Monday night.
Below are my review of these two games:
Monday Night Football Game # 1 - Miami 27, NY Jets 21 - This was a contest between two franchises that have gotten off to simply awful 0-3 starts. Obviously, neither team wanted to walk away from this one with an 0-4 start, because only one team in NFL history has overcome an 0-4 start to a season and managed to qualify for the playoffs (the 1992 San Diego Chargers, just for the record). Neither of these teams looks like they will be the next version of those Chargers, either. But the Dolphins played solidly enough that they at least avoided that 0-4 start. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, and scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter. That gave them a commanding 24-10 lead, which Gang Green simply could not overcome. Yet the Jets were impressive on many levels, producing 404 yards and 23 first downs, to just 300 yards and 19 first downs for the Fins. The two teams were nearly equal in terms of time of possession. But they also hurt themselves with a whopping 13 penalties for 101 yards, which is a lot. Justin Fields was impressive, completing 20 of 27 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown. Fields also was a force with his legs, adding another 81 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Breece Hall added another 81 yards on 14 carries for Gang Green. Indeed, the Jets produced a balanced and productive approach on offense in this game. Their offense looked better than Miami's, which is saying something. Still, they fell short and now fall to 0-4.
My pick: Accurate
Monday Night Football Game # 2 - My pick: Denver 28, Cincinnati 3 - The Bengals were 2-0 about eight or nine days ago. Now they are 2-2. It has to be concerning that the Bengals lost those two games, sure. But far more concerning is how they lost those two games. Because they lost to Minnesota, 48-10, and now followed that up with a 28-3 loss to the Broncos. that means that the Bengals were outscored 76 to 13 in those two combined games. That's almost as bad as you are going to see in today's NFL. Granted, both of those are on the road. Both of those are against likely playoff opponents. Most importantly, both of those were without starting quarterback Joe Burrow. Still, since Burrow seems to often be sidelined with injury, this is not something that Cincy fans should feel to be insignificant or some isolated incident. If this is indicative of the gap between how good the Bengals are with Burrow versus how good (or awful) they are without him, it's alarming. Obviously, a solid win for the Broncos, who improve to 2-2, tied with the Chiefs for second place and one game behind the 3-1 Chargers.
My pick: Accurate
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