Final NFL Week 3 Observations ... With Dolphins Angles
Call it six degrees of the Miami Dolphins or something like that, but it's easy for the team's fans these days to keep an eye on upcoming opponents because they're all facing each other.
The Cincinnati Bengals faced the New York Jets on Sunday, and the Dolphins are facing the Bengals this week and the Jets in Week 5. And the Jets are facing the Pittsburgh Steelers this week and that's who the Dolphins will be facing in Week 7.
So what did we learn from the Bengals-Jets matchup? Well, they are who we thought they were, and that goes for both teams.
The Bengals still aren't operating at peak efficiency as they were during their playoff run of last season, but they also fixed some mistakes after an 0-2 start had some calling the Jets game a must-win situation.
The offensive line remains the biggest issue for the Bengals, but Joe Burrow getting sacked only twice by the Jets after getting dropped 13 times in the first two games was a step in the right direction. How well the Dolphins can pressure Burrow certainly looms as a key factor in the game Thursday night.
As for the Jets, this was the second time in three games where veteran Joe Flacco had a good amount of passing yards without really having good success in the passing game.
The proof of where things stand with Flacco is that he's fifth in the NFL in passing yards through three games but 27th in passer rating.
Flacco won't be in the lineup much longer, though, and almost certainly not against the Dolphins on Oct. 9 with Zach Wilson close to being able to return from his preseason knee injury.
As to whether that changes the Jets' fortunes, that remains to be seen for a team that has two losses by 15 points already.
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STEELERS STILL STRUGGLING ON OFFENSE
The Steelers will go into that Jets game this weekend looking for answers on offense after a third consecutive ho-hum performance in the Thursday night game at Cleveland.
There have been calls for head coach Mike Tomlin to go to rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett and yank Mitch Trubisky at quarterback, but he has refused to do so at this point and the offensive line might be just as big an issue.
And the defense clearly isn't the same without T.J. Watt, though his return to the lineup should fall right around the time the Steelers will be headed to Hard Rock Stadium on Oct. 23.
BRISSETT DOING THE JOB FOR BROWNS
This probably will come as a shock to Dolphins fans who saw Jacoby Brissett struggle during his appearances in the lineup last season, but the former Miami backup quarterback is in the top 10 in the NFL in passer rating through three games.
And without that monumental collapse against the Jets in Week 2, the Browns would be right alongside the Dolphins at 3-0.
Now, it's not that Brissett is chucking it downfield at every turn; what he's doing is playing mistake-free football, which is what the Browns want and need for an offense built around the running game and one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Brissett is one of only three starting QBs in the NFL without a single completion of at least 35 yards, the other two being Matthew Stafford and Kyler Murray.
Brissett, of course, will be the Browns starter in Week 10 when they face the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 13. Deshaun Watson, as a reminder, will be eligible to play for the first time this season in Week 13 when Cleveland travels to Houston.
CRISIS TIME FOR CHARGERS
The Chargers were a trendy pick in pre-season predictions to at the very least challenge for the AFC West title and maybe even possible as a Super Bowl contender, but they look like a team in big-time trouble after only three weeks and the Dolphins' Week 14 game against them at SoFi Stadium doesn't look nearly as challenging as it did when the schedule first was announced.
It's not just that the Chargers are 1-2 after getting blown out by the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3, but Justin Herbert is dealing with a rib injury that figures to last a while and now he's going to have to operate without his best pass protector, 2021 Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater.
And keep in mind that this was an offensive line that wasn't particularly impressive to start, even with Slater.
The Dolphins blitz could create major problems for Herbert in that game.
QUICK HITTERS
-- When the Dolphins travel to Chicago on Oct. 30, it sure looks like job 1, 2 and 3 will be stopping the run because that Bears passing game just ain't cutting it. That the Bears are 2-1 is a minor miracle considering Justin Fields' passer rating is a league-worst 50.0 — the next-lowest is 76.2 (Mac Jones) — after he threw for 106 against Houston.
-- For Houston, which comes to Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 27, wins are going to be hard to come by if the Texans don't find a way to stop the run. The Bears rushed for 281 yards Sunday after the Texans allowed 177 and 149 yards in their first two games.
-- Former Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell is getting too used to heartbreaking losses with the Detroit Lions and there was another one Sunday when his team led 24-14 before losing 28-24 at Minnesota. But Campbell might have himself to blame for his curious (also bad) decision to have kicker Austin Seibert attempt a 54-yard field goal on fourth-and-4 from the Minnesota 36 with 1:14 left and the Vikings out of timeouts. A first down at that point would have clinched the victory for Detroit and Seibert earlier had missed a 48-yard attempt.
-- We wrap up again with the 49ers, a team that Dolphins fans need to monitor because Miami holds San Francisco's first-round pick in 2023. There was good news for the Dolphins with their Sunday night loss against Denver, which was compounded by the ankle injury sustained by All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams. The 49ers have a good defense, but their offense won't be nearly as efficient without Williams, who's expected to miss 4-6 weeks. For the record, the 49ers' next five opponents at the Rams at home, at Carolina, at Atlanta, Kansas City at home and at the Rams.
