The Buffalo Bills went into the season as the AFC East faves, many thanks to an outstanding season, an AFC Championship appearance, as well as an intense young celebrity at quarterback. The Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, as well as New York Jets faced plenty of unpredictability.
Questions continue to be entering into Week 8. And also good solutions, a minimum of for the Dolphins as well as Jets, do not seem to be upcoming.
The Bills return from their Week 7 bye to deal with a Dolphins team in chaos. The Patriots search for some verification of their progression in Los Angeles versus the Chargers. And also the Jets intend to avoid one more blowout versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
CBS New York sports anchor Steve Overmyer considers the three AFC East competitions in Week 8.
Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills, Sunday, October 31 @ 1:00 p.m. on CBS
The Bills and also Dolphins are 2 groups entering very different instructions. The very first indicator of that aberration can be found in Week 2, when Buffalo blanked Miami, 35-0. Ever since the Bills have continued to be remarkable, shutting teams down en route to a 4-2 document as well as the division lead. The Dolphins have remained to stumble, losing six straight and also sinking into the AFC East cellar.
” Miami just resembles a group now that is discontent,” Overmyer kept in mind. “You’ve got a quarterback who essentially appeared and stated that he does not believe the group, the franchise, counts on him. And why not? Clearly this is a Miami team that is trying to trade for Deshaun Watson. Which truly reduces the legs out from under your starting quarterback, when everybody on the lineup knows that this group is attempting to generate a better quarterback rather than you.”
Tagovailoa, like the remainder of the team, has had a tough period. He broke his ribs in their first loss to the Bills, paving the way to backup Jacoby Brissett. He was less than full strength when he returned in mid-October, just to be up to the then-winless Jacksonville Jaguars and then the Atlanta Falcons. He’s balanced over 300 backyards passing the last 2 weeks in losses to suspect defenses.
” Let’s be sincere, Tua has actually not been outstanding,” Overmyer verified. “But he did throw four goals in the last video game. He has shown sparks. This is likely his last possibility prior to the profession deadline plainly to try to prove his well worth. And this was a person that was the number 5 general pick in the 2020 draft. Tua was supposed to be the franchise for Miami. As well as it has not gone well. He’s continuously getting harassed by any type of group, any type of protective line that taxes him.”
The Buffalo defense certainly won’t provide Tua a break. This unit is enabling a league-low 270.2 backyards and also 16.3 factors per game. Their pass protection is solid, as well as they require their share of turn overs. As well as their offense is among the best in the NFL in putting up points and also yards.
” The Bills and also Josh Allen as well as what they do on the offending side,” validated Overmyer. “This mix that the Bills bring to the table week in and week out, both on the offensive side as well as, when you check out their DVOA rankings, exactly how solid they get on the defensive side. This looks like an outright no-brainer that the Bills are mosting likely to win this.”
New England Patriots @ Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, October 31 @ 4:05 p.m. on CBS
The Patriots are coming off an impressive offensive proving in Week 7. Novice quarterback Mac Jones led them to 54 points in a blowout sway the Jets. He went 24-36 for 307 lawns and also 2 goals, improving what’s becoming a strong rookie season. Running back Damien Harris piled up 106 yards as well as two touchdowns on 14 brings. It was his 2nd successive 100-yard game.
” I think there are a great deal of individuals who are very inspired by what Mac Jones and also the Patriots did versus the Jets,” stated Overmyer. “But once again, it was against the Jets. They’re not mosting likely to be encountering the same high quality of protection this following week versus the Chargers.”
The Chargers have actually allowed only 201.8 yards passing per game in their 6 video games, fourth in the league. That stingy defense in the death game is aided by a strong pass thrill, led by outdoors linebacker Joey Bosa. Beyond of the sphere, Justin Herbert continues to excite, improving last season’s Rookie of the Year campaign. The offense puts up 282.8 backyards passing per game, with wideouts Keenan Allen as well as Mike Williams the primary recipients. Austin Ekeler, who’s been productive in the run game, is another target out of the backfield.
The Chargers are coming off a bye, which was come before by a hideous loss to the Ravens in Baltimore. “There’s constantly a little bit of a question mark when a young quarterback and also a young group with young leadership comes off of a bye,” Overmyer said. “How are they mosting likely to react? Due to the fact that we saw last week, Robert Saleh with the New York Jets, came off of a bye, and the group primarily was an absolute dud. So are the Chargers on their best week better than the Patriots? Absolutely they are. Coming off of a bye week offers you a little of hesitancy, especially when you see that the Patriots’ losses this year have been very slim losses to very good teams.”
The Patriots ought to be able to run the round against a Chargers defense that surrenders a great deal of yards on the ground. However can the Patriots defense do sufficient to decrease the Chargers’ assault?
According to Overmyer, “when you truly consider this and also you damage down what the Chargers can do on the offensive side, also if it is a letdown game for Herbert, he still has Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. They can still run the ball. This Chargers group I seem like is a head over the Patriots. If you are looking at the wagering lines, and also you can see that. You can see how much of a preferred they remain in this video game. And that’s why I just assume that it’s mosting likely to be as well large of a challenge for Bill Belichick to be able to beat the Chargers today.”
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets, Sunday, October 31 @ 1:00 p.m. on CBS
In past periods, when both the Bengals and Jets were (to put it nicely) rebuilding, this would certainly not be amongst the week’s finest matchups. The Bengals, nevertheless, have actually plainly turned a corner. Joe Burrow’s promising rookie period ended on damaged reserve with a torn ACL and MCL. But he’s remained to expand in his 2nd year, and the enhancement of fifth-overall choice Ja’Marr Chase at pass receiver has actually absolutely aided. Joe Mixon continues to be a threat out of the backfield.
If the playoffs started today, the Bengals, at 5-2, would be the top seed in the AFC. Other than the offending improvement, the defense has actually additionally taken a progression. They’re one of just a handful of teams to allow under 100 yards per game rushing, and also among an even smaller sized handful to enable less than 20 points per video game. None of this bodes well for the Jets.
” The Bengals are plainly, far and away 10 times better than what the Jets are,” stated Overmyer. The Jets are one of the most awful teams in the NFL. And also, on top of that, they do not even have their newbie quarterback and also Zach Wilson. Mike White is mosting likely to be the quarterback for the Jets this week, which you might believe would be a fine point if they can run the round. Yet the Jets can’t even run the ball. They have the lowest yards-per-carry average in the entire NFL. So they’re not also assisting their young quarterback out what once more. The Jets simply do not seem to have a way to move the round. As well as defensively, they have this bend-but-don’ t-break protection. However last week, they damaged. They damaged to the tune of 550 lawns as well as 54 indicate Mac Jones and The New England Patriots.”
Burrow leads Jones in his growth and also has much more weapons at his disposal. “What’s mosting likely to take place currently with Joe Burrow, who’s just coming off a 400-yard passing video game, and Ja’Marr Chase had 200 obtaining lawns?” asked Overmyer. “Let’s not forget about Uzomah, the tight end. The Jets quit a lots of yards in the joint to the limited end. They have an extremely inexperienced second. It’s clear they’re playing a protection 1.0. They don’t really have an advanced protective system in place today, due to the fact that they have a lot of young players because protective backfield.”