There has debate for weeks as to whether we should be concerned about the Bills, but Week 13 allowed everything to settle exactly where we expected it to be as the Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots tried to keep pace in the race.
What a week for the Bills
So here’s a quick recap. The Buffalo Bills played on Thursday Night Football and demolished the Patriots before heading into a mini-bye week. Yet while they remained idle on Sunday, the other teams around the league did some heavy lifting, catapulting the Bills into the top seed in the AFC. Not bad for a day of watching NFL RedZone. After being fairly disappointing in recent weeks and testing fate more than a couple times, Buffalo is right where everyone expected them to be when the season started, on top. The situation surrounding Von Miller’s injury that landed him on injured reserve, remains curious. And questions still remain around the status of Josh Allen and how his arm will fare when the weather gets really cold as the season winds down, as well as other injuries that have taken a toll, but there is no denying that all those concerns might have been overblown to some degree. Or maybe they weren’t. Only time will tell.
Dolphins get a reality check
While Sunday’s game was hyped up as a potential Super Bowl preview, let’s just say that it took a serious hit. 49ers’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is out for the year and left the game fairly early, but the Dolphins still couldn’t take advantage and pull out a win. Instead they lost to the rookie, Brock “Mr. Irrelevant” Purdy. Although the quick strike ability of the Miami offense shined, with touchdowns to Trent Sherfield and Tyreek Hill, the quarterback Tua Tagovailoa struggled as the Dolphins offense was shut down for the most part by a dominant San Francisco defense. The 49ers did a great job shutting down Mike McDaniel’s running game, providing somewhat of a blueprint on how to stop Miami. Sunday’s reality check should be looked at closely, especially considering that the team struggled with a step up in competition. Playing San Francisco is a little different than the bottom feeders they’ve feasted off of in recent weeks.
These Jets don’t quit
When Robert Saleh’s team fell behind 20-3, the only thoughts in the minds of many was how out of hand would the game get? How bad would the Jets lose? Instead, they showed serious grit, even in a loss, which is fairly significant for what is still an upstart team. It’s easy to forget how young they are, coming off a quarterback change and dealing with plenty of significant injuries, but they were an overthrow or dropped touchdown away from defeating a 9-2 Vikings team on the road in a raucous environment. All week long, there were questions about Mike White and whether last week was just another outlier performance, but on Sunday he showed that he might actually belong. White brought the team back and made some impressive, tight window throws. So while they did lose, it’s really hard to not be encouraged by the effort they put forth in Minnesota. Next up, only a date with the top seeded Bills. No big deal right? We’ll see if Mike F’n White is up to the task.
Time to pack up the Pats?
Thursday’s loss to the Bills was a real gut punch for the Patriots, as it dealt a serious blow to the team’s playoff hopes. In fact, some might always be filling out the “time of death” for the 2022 Pats. In the past, that would’ve been foolish, but it couldn’t possibly be more clear that this team is just bad. They don’t have enough talent or playmakers and that shows. Mac Jones might have started to rediscover himself, but it’s too little, too late at this stage. It’s going to be an early offseason for Bill Belichick’s team, buried in the basement of the AFC East.