Dolphins@Bills
I thought the Dolphins struggled to stop the Bills run game, but at some point, for whatever reason, the Bills got away from running the ball. I thought they should have ran more, sprinkling in pass plays. (A similar thing happened in the Falcons-Vikings games, with the Vikings struggling to stop the Falcon run game.) It just seems like the vast majority of OCs just want to pass the ball, or they’re just unwilling to run in over and over again, even if the defense struggles to stop it. Personally, I want an OC who has no qualms running it over and over again, even if this means really low pass attempts. I believe Jimmy Garrapolo had a playoff game where he threw the ball 8 times–attempts, not completions–and the Niners won. If the run game is really successful, if the defense can’t stop it, why wouldn’t you keep running it?
Miami’s offense looked good, at least last night. It all came crumbling down on the roughing the kicker. That didn’t happen and Miami has a darn good chance to win.
That was huge and Miami’s offense did have some success, but did n’t you get the impression that the Bills were the much better team, and they were in complete control of the game, especially in the first half? Now, I think this changed a bit in the second half, but I think that’s because they got away from the run game. It’s like they felt well they ran the ball too much; they needed to make it for this by passing more. I tend to think this was what kept the Dolphins in the game, partly because their defense could defend the pass better than the run.
I’m uneasy about the Saints-Seahawks game. I don’t think the Saints are a gimmie by any means. Additionally, the Seahawks will likely be missing their two best DBs–Love and Witherspoon–RB2 and possibly JSN. (They’re not going to have Emmanwori as well.)
Before I knew about those injuries, I would have point to the importance of the OL eliminating bad plays and keeping penalties down (0 so far!), but now, that might not be enough .
With the Raiders and Commanders, without Daniels, I think the Raiders have a decent shot. Win or lose, I’d like to see a better effort at getting the run game going. I’m going to pull my hair out if the offense looks like an Air Raid offense. The defense has been solid, and I hope they can keep it up.
Saints@Seahawks
This is the most complete game that I’ve seen from the Seahawks in a long, long time, and it’s the best ST performance, maybe since the 2012-2014 seasons. The OL looked like the took a step forward as well, which was great to see.
Raiders@Commanders
Basically, the Raiders lost in the trenches, and on ST. They struggled to stop the run at times, and I want to use the word “overwhelmed” to describe the OL.
I don’t know if the Commanders added anyone to their front four, but if you said they have a top 5 pass rushing group, I wouldn’t doubt this. They looked good against the Packers as well.
Bears@Cowboys
I stopped watching this after a while. My impression is that the Cowboys defense really struggled, and they’re struggling in general.
Chiefs@Giants
I always thought that Russ could perform well if he had a good OL, including since he left the Seahawks (assuming he got away from playing hero ball). But either this is wrong, because the Giants OL wasn’t terrible, or he’s going back to playing hero ball. (I did think he was forcing the deep throws.)
On another note, Scattebo can play in this league, and he might be a good one. He is hard-nosed runner who is not easy to bring down.