Pro Chatter: Winning Football Is Back
Who’s the hottest pro team in the Sunshine State? Take your pick between the Miami Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s not the Tampa Bay Bucs?
Huh? And it isn’t a mistake due to Hurricane Ian.
Instead, it’s about having three winning teams in Florida for the first time in a while.
As the NFL begins its fourth week, the Dolphins and Jaguars appear ready to do an about-face and push the mighty Bucs off the Florida mantle.
Despite their loss to the Bengals Thursday, the 3-1 Dolphins have found new life this season. Such also is the case in the Pan Handle where the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence appears ready to climb the ladder to success.
The Bucs will play in Tampa against Kansas City tonight, and they will look to get back on track after their extra-point conversion loss to Green Bay last week. Tom Brady hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
Who WIll Be The Lead Dolphin? – Yes, Tua-gate will grab all the headlines for the time being, and there is plenty of optimism around South Florida that he should be back in a few weeks.
Miami will have a true character test next week when they travel north to face the Jets. Unless the Jets pull an upset against Pittsburgh this afternoon, they will be a three- to seven-point favorite.
For the Dolphins, it will be a matter of whether they can respond to Teddy Bridgewater at the controls. The Dolphins will keep the offense simple for him, and there shouldn’t be any concerns about Bridgewater succeeding.
A positive now is that first-year head coach Mike McDaniel will have some time to line it up all.
WIll Jaguars Pass Their Biggest Test - This will be a statement game for the Jags in Philly today.
The 3-0 Eagles have a sound defense and quarterback Jalen Hurts has silenced his critics.
Jacksonville needs to maintain the poise they have shown over the past two weeks, and not be rattled by an expected raucous Philly crows. In a short time, they have take to new head coach Doug Pederson, and this will be a homecoming for the head coach who brought them a Super Bowl four years ago.
One big key will be running back James Robinson, who hit the 100-yard mark last week in Los Angeles on 17 carries, and he could be in for a bigger workload today. He and second-year back Travis Etienne have the potential to form one of the league’s most productive duos.
The Eagles’ defense is ranked 18th against the run, but they will be a test for Lawrence, as they registered nine sacks against Carson Wentz last week in Washington.
Conversely, the Jags’ defense is the top-ranked team against the run, and that should help them against the Eagles. But they will face a big challenge in trying to slow Hurts and the passing game.
Can Bucs Will The Primetime Battle? - Both the Bucs and the Chiefs will begin tonight with 2-1 records, and they both need the game.
Kansas City is expected to get some of its regulars back into their lineup, and the Chiefs will be hungry after their shocking loss at Indianapolis last week. Likewise, the Bucs’ receiving corps is banged up and some could return by gametime.
Mike Evans will be back in the lineup for the Bucs after his suspension, and veteran Cole Beasley has been elevated from the practice Squad. Leonard Fournette will need to run the ball hard against the Chiefs.
The Bucs’ defense will have a test here corralling Patrick Mahomes. The top-ranked overall defense did a good job shutting down Aaron Rogers last week.
With the two quarterbacks grabbing the marquee, this likely will come down to the two defenses in a low-scoring affair.
