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(CBS New York) — The Buffalo Bills entered the play arsenic the AFC East favorites, acknowledgment to a stellar season, an AFC Championship appearance, and a agleam young prima astatine quarterback. The Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and New York Jets faced plentifulness of uncertainty. Questions stay going into Week 8. And bully answers, astatine slightest for the Dolphins and Jets, don’t look to beryllium forthcoming.
The Bills instrumentality from their Week 7 bye to look a Dolphins squad successful disarray. The Patriots look for immoderate confirmation of their advancement successful Los Angeles against the Chargers. And the Jets anticipation to debar different blowout against the Cincinnati Bengals.
CBS New York sports anchor Steve Overmyer looks astatine the 3 AFC East matchups successful Week 8.
All times listed are Eastern.
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Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills, Sunday, October 31 @ 1:00 p.m. connected CBS
The Bills and Dolphins are 2 teams going successful precise antithetic directions. The archetypal motion of that divergence came successful Week 2, erstwhile Buffalo blanked Miami, 35-0. Since past the Bills person remained impressive, shutting teams down en way to a 4-2 grounds and the part lead. The Dolphins person continued to flounder, losing six consecutive and sinking into the AFC East cellar.
“Miami conscionable looks similar a squad close present that is discontent,” Overmyer noted. “You’ve got a backmost who virtually came retired and said that helium doesn’t deliberation the team, the franchise, believes successful him. And wherefore not? Clearly this is simply a Miami squad that is trying to commercialized for Deshaun Watson. And that truly cuts the legs retired from nether your starting quarterback, erstwhile everybody connected the roster knows that this squad is trying to bring successful a amended backmost alternatively of you.”
Tagovailoa, similar the remainder of the team, has had a pugnacious season. He broke his ribs successful their archetypal nonaccomplishment to the Bills, giving mode to backup Jacoby Brissett. He was little than afloat spot erstwhile helium returned successful mid-October, lone to autumn to the then-winless Jacksonville Jaguars and past the Atlanta Falcons. He’s averaged implicit 300 yards passing the past 2 weeks successful losses to fishy defenses.
“Let’s beryllium honest, Tua has not been outstanding,” Overmyer confirmed. “But helium did propulsion 4 touchdowns successful the past game. He has shown sparks. This is apt his past accidental earlier the commercialized deadline intelligibly to effort to beryllium his worth. And this was a feline who was the fig 5 wide prime successful the 2020 draft. Tua was expected to beryllium the franchise for Miami. And it has not gone well. He’s continually getting harassed by immoderate team, immoderate antiaircraft enactment that puts unit connected him.”
The Buffalo defence surely won’t springiness Tua a break. This portion is allowing a league-low 270.2 yards and 16.3 points per game. Their walk defence is strong, and they unit their stock of turnovers. And their discourtesy is among the champion successful the NFL successful putting up yards and points.
“The Bills and Josh Allen and what they bash connected the violative side,” confirmed Overmyer. “This operation that the Bills bring to the array week successful and week out, some connected the violative broadside and, erstwhile you look astatine their DVOA rankings, however beardown they are connected the antiaircraft side. This seems similar an implicit no-brainer that the Bills are going to locomotion distant with this one.”
New England Patriots @ Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, October 31 @ 4:05 p.m. connected CBS
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The Patriots are coming disconnected an awesome violative showing successful Week 7. Rookie backmost Mac Jones led them to 54 points successful a blowout triumph implicit the Jets. He went 24-36 for 307 yards and 2 touchdowns, gathering connected what’s becoming a coagulated rookie season. Running backmost Damien Harris piled up 106 yards and 2 touchdowns connected 14 carries. It was his 2nd consecutive 100-yard game.
“I deliberation determination are a batch of radical who are precise inspired by what Mac Jones and the Patriots did against the Jets,” said Overmyer. “But again, it was against the Jets. They’re not going to beryllium facing the aforesaid prime of defence this adjacent week against the Chargers.”
The Chargers person allowed lone 201.8 yards passing per crippled successful their six games, 4th successful the league. That stingy defence successful the passing crippled is helped by a beardown walk rush, led by extracurricular linebacker Joey Bosa. On the different broadside of the ball, Justin Herbert continues to impress, gathering connected past season’s Rookie of the Year campaign. The discourtesy puts up 282.8 yards passing per game, with wideouts Keenan Allen and Mike Williams the main beneficiaries. Austin Ekeler, who’s been productive successful the tally game, is different people retired of the backfield.
The Chargers are coming disconnected a bye, which was preceded by an disfigured nonaccomplishment to the Ravens successful Baltimore. “There’s ever a small spot of a question people erstwhile a young backmost and a young squad with young enactment comes disconnected of a bye,” Overmyer said. “How are they going to respond? Because we saw past week, Robert Saleh with the New York Jets, came disconnected of a bye, and the squad fundamentally was an implicit dud. So are the Chargers connected their champion week amended than the Patriots? Absolutely they are. Coming disconnected of a bye week gives you a small spot of hesitancy, particularly erstwhile you spot that the Patriots’ losses this twelvemonth person been precise constrictive losses to precise bully teams.”
The Patriots should beryllium capable to run the ball against a Chargers defence that gives up a batch of yards connected the ground. But tin the Patriots defence bash capable to slow down the Chargers’ attack?
According to Overmyer, “when you truly look astatine this and you interruption down what the Chargers tin bash connected the violative side, adjacent if it is simply a letdown crippled for Herbert, helium inactive has Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. They tin inactive tally the ball. This Chargers squad I consciousness similar is simply a caput supra the Patriots. And you tin spot that if you are looking astatine the betting lines. You tin spot however overmuch of a favourite they are successful this game. And that’s wherefore I conscionable deliberation that it’s going to beryllium excessively large of a situation for Bill Belichick to beryllium capable to bushed the Chargers this week.”
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets, Sunday, October 31 @ 1:00 p.m. connected CBS
In past seasons, erstwhile some the Bengals and Jets were (to enactment it nicely) rebuilding, this would not beryllium among the week’s champion matchups. The Bengals, however, person intelligibly turned a corner. Joe Burrow’s promising rookie play ended connected injured reserve with a torn ACL and MCL. But he’s continued to turn successful his 2nd year, and the summation of fifth-overall prime Ja’Marr Chase astatine wide receiver has surely helped. Joe Mixon continues to beryllium a menace retired of the backfield.
If the playoffs started this week, the Bengals, astatine 5-2, would beryllium the apical effect successful the AFC. Aside from the violative improvement, the defence has besides taken a measurement forward. They’re 1 of lone a fistful of teams to let nether 100 yards per crippled rushing, and 1 of an adjacent smaller fistful to let little than 20 points per game. None of this bodes good for the Jets.
“The Bengals are clearly, acold and distant 10 times amended than what the Jets are,” said Overmyer. The Jets are 1 of the worst teams successful the NFL. And, connected apical of that, they don’t adjacent person their rookie backmost and Zach Wilson. Mike White is going to beryllium the backmost for the Jets this week, which you mightiness deliberation would beryllium an good happening if they could tally the ball. But the Jets can’t adjacent tally the ball. They person the lowest yards-per-carry mean successful the full NFL. So they’re not adjacent helping their young backmost retired what erstwhile again. The Jets conscionable don’t look to person a mode to determination the ball. And defensively, they person this bend-but-don’t-break defense. But past week, they broke. They broke to the tune of 550 yards and 54 points to Mac Jones and The New England Patriots.”
Burrow is up of Jones successful his improvement and has much weapons astatine his disposal. “What’s going to hap present with Joe Burrow, who’s conscionable coming disconnected a 400-yard passing game, and Ja’Marr Chase had 200 receiving yards?” asked Overmyer. “Let’s not hide astir Uzomah, the choky end. The Jets springiness up a ton of yards successful the seam to the choky end. They person a precise inexperienced secondary. It’s wide they’re playing a defence 1.0. They don’t truly person an precocious antiaircraft strategy successful spot close now, due to the fact that they person truthful galore young players successful that antiaircraft backfield.”
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According to Overmyer, “this could beryllium a large blowout.”
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