The toughest division in the NFL 🏈
Week 10 of the 2022-23 NFL season has come to a close. This past Sunday was jam-packed with great games, two of which I watched. I saw the Dolphins demolish the Browns and then got lucky to see the final minutes of regulation and overtime of the Bills and Vikings game where the Bills barely lost.
Dolphins, Bills, Jets, and Patriots make up the AFC East division. As of now, this is the only division in the NFL where every team has a winning record.
Already this season these teams have been matched up a few times. The Dolphins have defeated the Patriots and Bills but lost to the Jets. The Bills have lost to the Dolphins and Jets and have yet to play the Patriots. The Jets lost to the Patriots but somehow beat the Dolphins and Bills. As you can see, we are struggling to see who is the top dog in the AFC East.
After Week 10, things are slightly more clear, but we still can't be 100% sure who will win this division. Let's recap a couple of the recent games.
Browns 17 - Dolphins 39 🐬
The Dolphins are nearly undefeated when they have Tua starting at QB this year. The only game they have lost with him playing this season is against the Bengals when Tua suffered a pretty severe head injury and had to leave the game early. If you don't count that, loss where he was unable to finish, the Fins are 7-0 this year with Tua playing. Some even have Tua in the running for MVP this year. The only games that the Dolphins have lost were against some of the better teams in the league, the Vikings, Jets, and Bengals. Again, those were all without Tua playing.
Tua has made such huge strides forward and a lot of the credit goes to his two-star wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle. Both of them are in the Top 4 in the league in total receiving yards. Hill specifically is on pace to break the single-season record and could be the first to have over 2,000 yds in a season.
During the Browns game, Tua and the Dolphins were pretty much perfect. They didn't have to punt one single time and had zero turnovers. Tua threw 25/32 with 3 TDs and a passer RTG of 135. He somehow managed to connect with 8 different receivers in the game. On top of that, the Dolphin's run game finally got going with about rushing 200 YDS to go along with their 300 passing YDS. Just take a look at one of Tua's many perfectly timed and placed passes during the game as he lands a pinpoint pass to Trent Sherfield in the corner of the end zone.
https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/1591874304118964224?s=20&t=ai36JO9QUrcPZAZxsDwncQ
- ESPNNFL
Their offense was not the only part of their team playing well either. The Fin's defense was able to hold the Brown's RB Nick Chubb to only 63 total YDS. He was regularly going for well over 100 YDS pretty much every single game up until this one and was near the top of the league in total rushing YDS.
All of this came together quite nicely and allowed the Dolphins to decisively defeat the struggling 3-6 Browns team. This moved the Dolphins up to first place in the AFC East with a record of 7-3.
Next week the Dolphins have a bye. This means their next game is Sunday 11/27 when they are set to host the Houston Texans (1-7-1) down in Miami. This should be another easy win for them, but nothing is guaranteed yet. One thing is for certain though, they have definitely earned this week off now that they are on a nice 4-game win streak.
Vikings 33 - Bills 30 in OT 🦬
I didn't expect to get to see any of the Bills game since they decided to cover the Steelers game in my area instead. Luckily, the Bills game was still going on after all the other 1 pm games had ended. This meant I was able to catch the most exciting part of this huge matchup. Many are calling this the best NFL game of the season so far and I'd have to agree.
The Bill's QB Josh Allen hadn't practiced all week due to injury. It was looking as though he wouldn't play and Rex Grossman would get the start instead. Allen was marked as the starter last second and he ended up having a pretty good game throwing 29/43 with a TD. The only thing is, he had two INTs and a lost fumble, which cost the Bills the game.
The Bills were winning most of the game and even had a 27-10 lead early in the 2nd half. However, the Vikings made a miraculous comeback, but they were looking like they were about to fall short until this 4th and 18 play happened to save their hopes of winning. Just look at this crazy one-handed catch by Justin Jefferson. He literally ripped it out of the defender's hands. Many think this could be one of the greatest catches in NFL history. I certainly was stunned by it.
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1591899277953044480?s=20&t=PIhhwienKBkPQAEa3Xp_bA
- NFL_DovKleiman
This catch kept the Viking's final drive alive, but it wasn't over yet. They continued to march up the field and thought they had thrown a pass TD. The call was overturned and instead, they were down on the 1-yard line. The Bills somehow managed to stuff them at the line multiple times and ended up getting possession back. There was less than a minute left in the game and the Bills had the ball with a 27-23 lead. Everyone thought it was over, besides the Viking's defense.
Many would have thought the Bills may have just taken a safety so that they didn't have to worry about any accidents. They decided to run the ball instead, but before they could even do that Josh Allen fumbled the snap in the end zone and the Vikings recovered. This resulted in a TD and the Vikings were up 30-27.
Josh Allen was determined to win and was able to lead his Bills team down into field goal range although their drive started with less than 40 seconds left in the game. They made the 29 YD attempt, despite the Bill's stadium being known as a wind tunnel. Into overtime, we went.
The Vikings got the ball first and were held to a field goal. This meant that all the Bills had to do was score a touchdown and they'd win the ball game. They once again made their way up the field with ease. Then the worst possible thing happened, Josh Allen threw an interception while they were in the red zone. The game was over for the Bills. Now the Vikings have the second-best record in the league at 8-1 and the Bills dropped to a respectable 6-3.
Next week the Bills host the Browns. If the Dolphin's domination of Cleveland is any consolation, then the Bills too should be able to pull out another victory. The Bills are now on a 2-game losing streak, so the team knows they need to win the next game pretty badly if they wish to keep playoff hopes likely.
Who will win the AFC East❓
This might be the most difficult question to answer this NFL season. Each team within the AFC East will play the other again at least once before the end of the season. I think the most exciting game of the season may be on Sunday 12/18 when the Dolphins travel up north to Buffalo to face the Bills for the second time this season. The Dolphins barely won the first game when the Bills missed their game-winning field goal down in Miami. Can they do it again?
I think that if Tua can stay healthy, the Dolphins will continue to win and could even go the rest of their season without another loss. If they manage to finish the season with a 14-3 record, then you better watch out because a Super Bowl could be next. The Miami Dolphins last made the playoffs in 2016 and their last Super Bowl win was in 1974. It seems they are due for another at some point.
What do you think❓
You definitely cannot count the Bills or Jets out just yet. The season is barely halfway over and a lot could happen up until Week 17 finishes and we start talking playoffs. For instance, there are rumors that Odell Beckham Jr could possibly sign with the Bills by the end of the month. If that happens and Josh Allen then has Stefon Diggs and OBJ to connect with, then this will give the Dolphins a serious run for their money.
My NFTs: @daltono/nfts
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