Final NFL Week 8 Observations ... With Miami Dolphins Angles
While the Miami Dolphins were putting the finishing touches on their victory against the Los Angeles at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills were doing the same against the New England Patriots.
The Bills' victory might not have been as convincing as predicted given the way the Patriots had looked the previous week against San Francisco, but it was significant nonetheless because it signaled that this season likely, finally, will produce a different AFC East champion.
The Patriots have lost four in a row, find themselves at 2-5 and there are reports of wide receiver Julian Edelman possibly being done for the season, not to mention trade rumors involving Stephon Gilmore.
So, yes, even though the Patriots would just be the kind of team to bounce back and make a late run, this looks like a down year from them.
And that brought about Bill Belichick's much-publicized comment on his weekly show on radio station WEEI on Monday: "Look, we paid Cam Newton a million dollars. It's obvious we didn't have any money. It's nobody's fault. That's what we did the last five years. We sold out and won three Super Bowls, played in a fourth, and played in an AFC championship game. This year we have less to work with. It's not an excuse. It's just a fact."
-- The Bills, meanwhile, are now at 6-2 on the season and yet don't look nearly as dangerous as their record would suggest. Josh Allen still can't recapture the magic of the early weeks of the 2020 season and the defense still has major issues, such as giving up 188 rushing yards against New England.
-- Is it time for the 1972 Dolphins to start getting concerned? The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 7-0 with an impressive victory at Baltimore and have the kind of offense-defense balance that will make them tough to beat. And their schedule has set them up for a run. The Steelers play next Sunday at Dallas, followed by games against Cincinnati, at Jacksonville, against Baltimore, against Washington, at Buffalo, at Cincinnati, against Indianapolis, and finally at Cleveland. The rematch against the Ravens is the Thanksgiving night game and clearly one to watch, and the Bills also could be a problem in Week 14 if they have straightened out by then.
-- Of course, it certainly would help the 2020 Dolphins if the Steelers handled the Bills because it certainly appears they will find themselves in a playoff race.
-- What also affects the Dolphins, though it has nothing to do with the AFC East, is how the worst teams in the league are performing. In that vein, the Dolphins had to be happy to see both the Falcons and Vikings won in Week 8, as it moved both below the Houston Texans in the current 2021 draft order. The Dolphins also looked like they might good news with the New York Giants on Monday night, but the Giants came up just short against Tampa Bay. Houston's pick (Miami's actually) is now fourth overall behind the Jets, Giants and Jaguars.
-- Dolphins fans probably should be realistic about how high that Houston pick will end up being, and it's got more to do with just the Texans having Deshaun Watson at quarterback. It's just that the Jets and Jaguars are really bad and have tough schedules ahead. Jacksonville returns from its bye this week to play host to the aforementioned Watson and the Texans, but with rookie sixth-round pick Jake Luton starting at quarterback. The Jaguars' schedule after that: at Green Bay, vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Cleveland, at Minnesota, vs. Tennessee, at Baltimore, vs. Chicago, at Indianapolis. Yeah, don't see a whole lot of wins in there, either.
-- Yeah, that was former Dolphins defensive end Charles Harris with a very, very late hit on Teddy Bridgewater in the Thursday night game that got him ejected and cost Bridgewater to miss a few plays. Of course, this prompted a smart aleck Twitter post suggesting that Harris simply didn't know what to do when you get close to the quarterback. Ouch! The play was Harris' 17th defensive snap of the game, which happened to be five more than the total for fellow former Dolphins DE Taco Charlton, who played 12 snaps for the Chiefs in their 35-9 win against the Jets. Hey, at least Charlton gets to play for a Super Bowl contender.
-- Justin Herbert had another good performance for the Chargers against Denver on Sunday, though his record as a starter dropped to 1-5. But this is where records don't mean everything when judging a quarterback because it wasn't Herbert's fault the Chargers' defense collapsed, the team got killed by untimely penalties on both sides of the ball, and Joey Bosa had to leave the game because of a concussion. Let's just say Herbert didn't have the benefit of his defense coming up with four takeaways with a touchdown plus another score on special teams.
