- Bills regain form, dominate Cowboys
- Tagovailoa leads Dolphins to victory
- Rodgers’ uncertain future with Jets
An inquiry that has proven highly problematic throughout the NFL season is, “What is the issue with the Buffalo Bills?”
There may be none. The Bills, who struggled for most of the early season and got off to a slow start, have recently regained their form. On Sunday, they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-10, a performance that was arguably the most impressive victory of the entire season. Coming in with a 10-3 record, the Cowboys had consistently undermined opponents each week with their explosive quarterback-and-receiver duo of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
However, upon the Cowboys’ arrival in western New York, they were met with hostility by the Bills:
- Prescott endured the entire afternoon under duress.
- Lamb was unable to escape the Bills’ defenders.
- The Buffalo defence was struggling to contain an offence that had appeared unstoppable.
Despite finishing the game with ten points, they were all scored during garbage time. Buffalo regarded the situation as equivalent to a shutout.
The Bills’ offence overcame this obstacle and improved to 8-6 as the host team advanced. They must earn at least two victories in their final three contests to reclaim a playoff berth that was once assured but is now regarded as exceedingly improbable.
However, Buffalo has finally achieved the same level of consistency that has enabled them to qualify for the postseason for the past four years. There may still be hope for this team’s future.
Bills’ Dominance
One particularly remarkable aspect about the Bills’ dominance was that it occurred on a day when the franchise quarterback, Josh Allen, struggled to generate much movement with his arm. Allen completed only seven of his fifteen passes for 94 yards.
It was largely inconsequential, as the Bills’ offensive line functioned as a battering ram for the prodigious running back James Cook. Cook stormed through the openings created by his prominent men with reckless abandon, accumulating 179 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Cook got 100+ yards rushing for the first time since November 13; he had been a productive substitute in recent contests and produced a career-high performance in this one.
The Georgia native and second-year player led the offence on a day in which Allen did little (and wasn’t required to do much).
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The Bills’ season has undergone a significant transformation in the past fortnight. The Bills entered last week’s contest against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, with a 6-6 record and a reeling narrative surrounding humiliating revelations concerning the leadership of coach Sean McDermott. (McDermott reportedly lauded the 9/11 hijackers’ teamwork to convey a message to his athletes.) However, the Bills prevailed over the Chiefs with the assistance of Kansas City receiver Kadarius Toney, who was offside on a touchdown that would have sealed the game.
Moreover, such excellent fortune was unnecessary for them to defeat the Cowboys.
It is highly improbable that the Bills will emerge victorious in the AFC East, given that the dominant Miami Dolphins own ten victories to their eight. And as Sunday’s contests concluded, they remained outside the wildcard playoff picture via tiebreakers. However, a win would qualify them for the postseason, and two of their last three games are in the hands of the dreadful Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots.
Both teams are utilising their second quarterback of the season due to performance or injury. The Bills have resolved their most significant challenges; thus, the central inquiry regarding their condition has shifted. In contrast, it adopts a more progressive perspective: To what extent could they travel?
Player of the Week
Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa possesses this. In the past two seasons, Tagovailoa has emerged as one of the most effective passers in the league; however, his detractors have remained vocal. Critics contend that Tagovailoa is an average quarterback whose performance is elevated due to the strategic approach of head coach Mike McDaniels and the exceptional talent of his skill position players, most notably the league’s fastest wideout Tyreek Hill.
Despite Hill’s absence on Sunday due to an ankle injury, Tagovailoa led the Eagles to a 30-0 victory over the hapless New York Jets. 21 of 24 passes were completed for 224 yards and one touchdown, which was to Jaylen Waddle, Hill’s lightning-fast companion in motion.
Tagovailoa demonstrated exceptional skill and maintained the appearance of a franchise quarterback in his own right—someone who undoubtedly benefited from the excellence in his environment but is in no way reliant on it. With even this level of performance in January, the Dolphins will be a playoff contender. Sunday’s attendance would have been more impressive had McDaniel not consented to the Jets in light of the lopsided margin.
The New York Jets have been unable to make the playoffs for that many consecutive seasons. On Sunday, their loss to Tagovailoa and the failure of the rest of the AFC playoff picture to advance them further formally extended that streak by one. As a result, the likelihood that quarterback Aaron Rodgers will return for the current season is diminishing. Since suffering an Achilles tear in Week 1, Rodgers has expressed interest in making a surprising early return and participating this season, possibly to assist the Jets, bolster his reputation as a master of recovery, or both.
Quarterback Futures
However, Rodgers has also indicated that he may not return if the Jets fail to contend for the playoffs, and Sunday’s loss sealed that. Whether or not the 5-9 Jets decide to attempt again with Rodgers in 2024 is unlikely, but they will require a backup quarterback of higher calibre than the miserable Zach Wilson.
Rodgers’ management’s failure to implement a more robust insurance policy might have irreparably damaged the franchise’s disastrous season due to his immediate injury.
Three years in the NFL have been up and down for Justin Fields, but the rookie quarterback for the Chicago Bears has recently produced several impressive passes. Quarterback Terrell Fields characterized a 20-17 defeat to the Cleveland Browns by executing extraordinary plays that his pass-catchers (on average) could not convert. For instance, consider a game-ending Hail Mary pass that landed in receiver Darnell Mooney’s limbs before Mooney kicked the ball away with a game-ending interception.
Positively, Fields delivered a touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet in the corner of the end zone while under tremendous pressure in the first half. Fields raced to his right, then back to his left, and the pass may have been the finest of his career. Fields’ rookie contract includes a fifth-year option that the Bears must decide shortly whether to exercise to extend his stay under contract until 2025.
Given the considerable need for competent quarterbacks throughout the league, Fields will maintain his value regardless of whether the Bears retain him or trade him for a rookie such as Drake Maye of North Carolina or Caleb Williams of Southern California.
