Coming off of a bad week 4, the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were looking for redemption this week. All of their games are winnable games. Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only Florida-based team that ended up in the winner’s circle.
Quarterback Woes Ahead?
The Miami Dolphins ended up being on the receiving end of a 40-17 loss to the NY Jets. The Dolphins suffered a big loss at the beginning of the game when they lost Teddy Bridgewater immediately. Thus, the game was left in the hands of third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson. However, the game was much closer than the final score indicated. Thompson engineered two touchdown drives in the second quarter. He would receive a big boost from Raheem Mostert’s 113-yard performance.
Raheem Mostert hits the surfer celly after getting the Dolphins on the board
Mostert ATTS +165 ✅
pic.twitter.com/0pjR7PjH3R
— Bet The Pigskin (@betthepigskin) October 9, 2022
However, the Miami defense was left quite wanting for the Dolphins as the Jets scored 21 unanswered points in the 4th quarter. One of those scoring drives was set up by a lost fumble by Thompson in the Dolphins inside their own line.
Lawerence Bit by the Turnover Bug
In spite of the fact that the Jacksonville Jaguars outpaced the Houston Texans in total yards by 422 to 248, the Texans still found a way to beat the Jaguars 13-6 and pick up their first win of the season. Trevor Lawrence was bit by the turnover bug once again with two interceptions. The real killer was his interception in the endzone at the opening drive of the second half. On top of that, the Texans only touchdown-scoring drive was sparked by an inexcusable unnecessary roughness penalty by top pick Travon Walker.
Tom Brady is Now 11-0 Against the Falcons
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled off a 21-15 win in their divisional matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Tom Brady bounced back by throwing for 351 yards and a touchdown. Leonard Fournette was the leading rusher and receiver for the Bucs. He had 139 all purpose yards. Three Bucs receivers had at least 6 receptions.
How in the world mike evans make that catch wow #TampaBayBuccaneers pic.twitter.com/PkSXUnLWKs
— vexan (@treeshardar) October 9, 2022
However, the Falcons would make things very interesting with 15 unanswered points in the 4th quarter. After cutting the lead to 6 with 4:38 in the 4th quarter, the Buccaneers would maintain possession for the rest of the game. This mainly occurred due to a controversial roughing-the-passer call against Grady Jarrett of the Falcons. Tom Brady is now 11-0 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Analysis of Next Week’s Games
The Jacksonville Jaguars will go on the road for a divisional matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. There is no question that this game will be an ugly game. The Colts offense is nothing to write home about. Neither is the offense of the Jaguars. Thus, the defenses will be on display. I feel that the struggles of Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars offense will slightly outpace the struggles that the Colts will have.
I pick the Colts over the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-10.
The Buccaneers go on the road to take on the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers’ defense was just cooked by the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday and I feel the Buccaneers will continue to do the same.
I also feel that Kenny Pickett’s growing pains will continue against an experienced Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense.
I pick the Buccaneers over the Steelers 38-14.
The Miami Dolphins will be at home against the Minnesota Vikings. There is no doubt that the Miami Dolphins have been bitten by the injury bug and there are more questions than answers, especially at the quarterback position. Their offensive line and secondary are significantly hampered. Big games may be in store for Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson.
I pick the Vikings over the Dolphins 27-17.