It’s Week 14 and with a full slate of action on the menu let’s use the NFL Game Spotlight to dial up some interesting items of note about the action on the gridiron.
NFL Game Spotlight
It seems the NFL Game Spotlight is in the AFC today.
Dolphins vs Jets
You talk to almost anyone about these two teams and one can quickly see the disparity between how not only the two teams are viewed, but the Jets themselves. The Dolphins are all about graduating from Tank University as they are all-in on the Cleveland Browns rebuild mode of absolutely sucking for multiple years in order to stockpile picks that where you can stock your team with cheap, rookie-contract talent. I see the admiration for the approach, I mean, after all, it’s working out so well for the 5-7 underachieving (again) Cleveland club. I digress. The point is everyone knows the Dolphins are undermanned in the talent department and are looking to put anyone that actually has talent on the trade block or move them to IR to make it more difficult to win. The Jets, on the other hand, depending on who you talk with, are either viewed as a team climbing the ladder to challenge the Patriots or bags of excrement who are stabbing their fans in the hears (again). Both could be correct, but that’s not the point. What is relevant here is the Jets are 4-8 and the ‘Phins are 3-9 with a few games they lost by a hair. Both teams play tough against better competition. Both teams have front offices that, shall we say, “challenge” their coaching staffs. I posit these two teams are mirror images of each other. Watch today as a very competitive game goes down to the wire. The Jets should win. Should being the key word. I wouldn’t bet somebody else’s money on this toss-up.
Chargers vs Jaguars
Two 4-8 teams that had a TON of promise in the preseason. Another game this week that will define both teams going forward. Is this really the end for Phillip Rivers or can he rally and go out showing the sage, veteran skills he is known for or will he continue to press and miss? Can head coach Lynn get his team to eliminate their gameday mistakes or is he lining himself up to be replaced as well this offseason? Is Nick Foles the future for the Jags or can Minshew take his magic to another level before being relegated to “Fitzmagic-status?” Can the Chargers Melvin Gordon keep pounding out positive gameplay on a team that is packing it in? Can the Jags RB Fournette show any consistency as he flashes between world-beater and missing-in-action? Both clubs’ defenses are hit/miss due to their team’s offensive struggles. Two teams mirror images of each other. Two teams staring in the mirror. Will they shatter or reflect a future worth buying a ticket to watch? Today’s game will go a long way in helping answer those questions.
Chiefs vs Patriots
The game will have nuance. Andy Reid and Bill Belichick always bring a twist to game day that makes it more than worth the price of admission. But the pure entertainment factor of one of the best games of the year to watch and a probable playoff-preview is not the story of the day. The doomsday clock marks the time left until the end of the world. The Tom Brady clock marks the time until the passing of the torch and much like the Lamar Jackson game, anytime Brady and Patrick Mahomes are on the field together you wonder which way the hands are going to move, closer to the end or will the ageless superstar push them back yet once again? Brady has his work cut out for him as he would gladly trade WR corps with Mahomes. The fans may be upset at the disparity in talent catching the ball but Brady is all business and Mahomes has no mercy in his heart once the whistle blows. Will this be a passing of the torch from Brady to Mahomes or, even bigger, from Belichick to Reid for AFC dominance? I can’t wait to find out!
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