Final NFL 2023 Week 7 Observations ... With Dolphins Angles
The Miami Dolphins showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs is getting closer and closer — just one game left before things go down in Germany — and we're pretty sure everyone is ready for the obvious storylines.
But beyond the battle of MVP candidate QBs, beyond Tyreek Hill's first game against his former team, beyond Travis and Taylor (and will she be in attendance in Frankfurt?), beyond the potential showdown for the No. 1 seed in the AFC lies another good storyline.
The vaunted Dolphins offense against a Chiefs defense that might be just as responsible for the team's 6-1 start as Mahomes and Kelce.
Mahomes had another great outing in the Chiefs' 31-17 victory against the Chargers on Sunday, but that was a 17-17 game before the defense shut down and shut out the Chargers in the second half, finishing with five sacks and two interceptions, one of which came in the red zone after a pass was batted at the line of scrimmage.
The Chiefs defense ranks seventh in the NFL in total yards allowed and hasn't given up more than 21 points all season — the Lions did it in the opener when their scoring included a pick-six.
Kansas City did lose its best linebacker, Nick Bolton, to a wrist injury Sunday, but they also welcomed back defensive lineman Charles Omenihu from his six-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy and he had a sack against the Chargers.
AROUND THE AFC EAST
Before they faced the Eagles on Sunday night, the Dolphins got some help from an unlikely source when the New England Patriots upset the Buffalo Bills, 29-25, on Mac Jones' last-minute touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki.
Dolphins fans had reason to be brought back to the 2019 season finale at Gillette Stadium because Gesicki scored the game-winner in just about the same spot in the middle back of the end zone Sunday as he did a little less than four years ago.
And then Patriots fans got to see (endure?) what Dolphins fans saw after Gesicki touchdowns the past five years, that unique attempt to do the Griddy.
For the Bills, the loss continued a slide that began after their convincing victory against the Dolphins in Week 4, though an argument could be made things started going south for them in the late stages of that game when Tre'Davious White sustained a season-ending Achilles injury.
Since then, Buffalo has lost key defensive players Matt Milano and Da'Quan Jones and now starting tight end Dawson Knox is headed for wrist surgery and will be out of action for an extended period of time.
The Bills now face a quick turnaround before they play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
REELIN' RAIDERS
The Dolphins' first game after their bye — and when the cameras start rolling for their "Hard Knocks" starring role — will be against the Las Vegas Raiders, who continue to look like an absolutely mediocre team, yet one that finds itself in second place in the AFC West.
Las Vegas is 3-4, though it looked more like a 1-6 team in its dreadful showing at Chicago on Sunday when it got handed a 30-12 loss against a team starting a rookie free agent at quarterback.
Sure, it didn't help that starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo missed the game with a back injury, but there are deeper issues with the Raiders.
For one, Josh Jacobs can't get going after leading the NFL in rushing last season. After finishing with 1,653 yards in 2022, Jacobs doesn't have a game with more than 77 yards this season and he has yet to average more than 3.6 yards in any game.
And on defense, the Raiders have little going for them other than defensive end Maxx Crosby, who has 6.5 sacks on the season.
QUICK HITTERS
-- We should keep an eye on the Tennessee Titans, whose roster might look like a different when they come to Hard Rock Stadium for the Monday night game Dec. 11. The Titans look like they'll be sellers at the trade deadline, kicking things off by sending two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to the Eagles for two late-round draft picks and safety Terrell Edmunds, the son of former Dolphins tight end Ferrell Edmunds, who will now be with his third team after being a first-round pick of the Steelers in the 2018 NFL draft.
-- The New Year's Eve game at Baltimore has the makings of another great one between the Dolphins and Ravens based on how Lamar Jackson is looking these days. His performance in the 38-6 rout of the previously 5-1 Lions has put him in the thick of the MVP conversation. And the Ravens defense that the Dolphins abused in Week 2 last season is ranked second in the NFL this year in total yards allowed.
-- The NFL wants parity, but through seven weeks the two teams at the top of the standings with a 6-1 record are the two teams that played in the Super Bowl last season, the Chiefs and Eagles.
-- Speaking of the standings, the AFC playoffs would look like this if the season ended today: 1. Kansas City bye; 2. Miami vs. 7. Buffalo; 3. Baltimore vs. 6. Cleveland; 4. Jacksonville vs. 5. Pittsburgh.
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