VITO'S VIEWS

–Not a great week for can’t miss viewing. The NFL is showing this week it doesn’t have enough good matchups for a 17 game season. Two games – Buffalo at the Commanders on Sunday afternoon and Eagles at Tampa Bay Monday night- -feature 2-0 teams with the winners going 0-3. But Buffalo and the Eagles should have the edge in these two games so they may not be worth watching.

–The Sunday night feature game is Pittsburgh at the Raiders. This was a great rivalry in the 1970s when they met in the playoffs five years in a row. The first game is remembered for the Immaculate Reception and the last three were in the AFC title game with the winner winning the Super Bowl. That was then and this is now. Both are 1-1 but Pittsburgh avoided a 0-2 start on two defensive touchdowns against the Browns even though they were minus seven yards in fourth quarter. The Raiders were thrashed by Buffalo 38-10 to fall to 1-1 but both teams have national followings so they are being featured on Sunday night.

–Fox gets the doubleheader on Sunday but half the country gets Chiefs-Bears and the other half gets Dallas-Phoenix. The Chiefs and Cowboys figure to win easily but Chiefs are the defending champions and the Cowboys are, well, the Cowboys so they hope to get decent ratings.

–The Patriots will try to avoid a 0-3 start when they go to the Meadowlands to face the Jets, who are playing without Aaron Rodgers. The Patriots figure to win their 15^th game in a row against the Jets but the odds are against them making the playoffs since they are in the same division with the Dolphins and Bills.

–The Chargers and Vikings are two disappointing 0-2 teams and one will fall to 3-0 when they meet at Minnesota. Both teams made the playoffs last year. If the Vikings lose, there is chatter they could trade Kirk Cousins and go into a tanking mode. Chargers coach Brandon Staley can’t afford to tank because he could be on the hot seat if the Chargers don’t turn things around. He can’t afford to keep losing with Justin Herbert as his quarterback, especially after the 27-0 meltdown against the Jaguars in the playoffs last January.

–For the second week in a row, the league lost a major star for the season with an injury on Monday Night Football. Last week, Aaron Rodgers of the Jets went down with a torn Achilles. This Monday night, Nick Chubb was lost for the season with a knee injury that was so disturbing that ABC declined to show the injury on replay. The Steelers showed it on their video board and the crowd gasped and became silent. The injuries show once again that despite the league’s attempt to make the game safer for the players, injuries remain part of the game.

–Unlike the Jets who rallied to win without Rodgers, the Browns lost the game in Pittsburgh without Chubb on the Steelers second defensive touchdown. The Steelers had a minus seven yards on offense in the fourth quarter, but pulled out the game when T.J. Watt picked up the ball and scored after Deshaun Watson, who also threw a Pick Six on the first play of the game, was strip sacked. The Steelers now own MNF with 53 wins and have now won 21 home wins in a row and 13 of the last 14. 

–Times have changed in the AFC East. Back in 2001, the Patriots started out 0-2 with Drew Bledsoe at quarterback. The next week, Tom Brady took over after Bledsoe was injured and went to nine Super Bowls, winning six and losing three before he left for Tampa Bay after the 2019 season and won a seventh. Meanwhile, without Brady, the days of the Patriots winning division titles and playoff games appear to be over. Buffalo won the last three division titles and Miami beat the Patriots to drop them to 0-2 for the first time since 2001 while the Dolphins are one of nine 2-0 teams.

–The Bengals were the only team to start off 0-2 and make the playoffs last year. They are off to a 0-2 start this year but it will be more difficult to make the playoffs because Joe Burrow is dealing with a calf injury. Two of the other 0-2 teams, Chargers and Vikings, made the playoffs last year. The other 0-2 teams are Pats, Bears, Panthers, Broncos, Texans and Cardinals. Since 1990, 265 teams have started off 0-2 and only 30 made the playoffs. Only two 0-2 teams, 1993 Cowboys and 2001 Patriots, won the Super Bowl after starting off 0-2 but there were extenuating circumstances. Emmitt Smith held out and missed the first two Cowboy games in 1993 and Brady didn’t take over until the Patriots third game in 2001 after Bledsoe was injured. There are nine 2-0 teams but just two, Dolphins and Ravens, are in the AFC. The other seven are the in the NFC – Eagles, Cowboys, 49ers. Falcons, Bucs, Commanders and Saints.

–The home field edge isn’t what it used to be. After two weeks, the visiting teams hold a 19-13 edge.

—The 16 teams that lost their openers will be trying to avoid 0-2 starts. Only one team, Cincinnati, started out 0-2 last year and made the playoffs. By contrast, six teams that started off 2-0 made the playoffs.

—The feature game is Miami at New England Sunday night. Patriots coach Bill Belichick took defensive players with the first three picks in the draft and held Philadelphia to a touchdown in the opener but still lost. If his defense can’t stop the explosive Dolphins, the Patriots will start off 0-2 and be two games behind the Dolphins in the division. And owner Bob Kraft may be frustrated.

—The Bengals are trying to avoid a 0-2 start for the second year in a row after a listless performance in the opener against the Browns as Joe Burrow seemed to show the effects of missing most of camp with a calf injury. The Ravens opened with a win against Houston and are going for a 2-0 start.

—The defending champion Chiefs are trying to avoid a 0-2 start when they go to Jacksonville, a team they beat twice last year. The Chiefs lost to the Lions in the opener when Kadarius Toney dropped some key passes and Travis Kelce was injured and Chris Jones was holding out. They are both back although Kelce probably won’t be 100 per cent. The Jaguars may have the weather on their side. It will be hot and may rain so Chiefs have to show they can avoid wilting.

—Zach Wilson, the Jets starter now that Aaron Rodgers is injured, faces a tough task at Dallas. The Jets aren’t expected to win but need to show they can be competitive and not be blown out the way the Giants were last week by the Cowboys.

 –Maybe the Jets are a cursed franchise. They’ve spent over half a century looking for their next Joe Namath and this year they decided to hitch their wagon to aging Aaron Rodgers as a short term fix.  And for several months and through training camp, Rodgers seemed the right choice. He seemed happy and the Jets figured he could lead them to a Super Bowl. But four snaps into the season against the Bills, he was lost for the year with a ruptured Achilles. The Jets still pulled off a dramatic victory with an overtime punt return for a touchdown. But the road to the playoffs may be a bumpy one. They have a good defense and running game, but will need to find a quarterback if third year quarterback Zach Wilson isn’t the answer.

Meanwhile, the Bills have to wonder if Josh Allen is the quarterback who will take them to the Super Bowl. He threw three interceptions and lost a fumble and virtually gift wrapped the game to the Jets. He needs to stop being a turnover machine if the Bills are to do deep into the playoffs. He is now 0-5in overtime games.

—With Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Chargers all stumbling, Miami may emerge as the favorite in the AFC. A year ago, there were concerns that Tuo Tagovailoa’s concussions  might severely affect his career. But he had one of the best opening day showings ever, throwing for 466 yards with Tyreek Hill making 11 catchs for 215 yards in a 36-34 win over the Chargers. But it was a disappointing finish for the Chargers Justin Herbert, who needs to put a field goal on the board at the end, but didn’t get much protection and failed to pull the game out. He was even called for intentional grounding and sacked on last series.

—The two more impressive performances of the weekend were Dallas crushing the New York Giants 40-0 and San Francisco routing the Steelers, 30-7. Along with defending NFC champion Philadelphia, they look like the top three NFC teams. Meanwhile, the Giants and Steelers had high hopes for this year and have to hope the openers were a one off.

–Joe Burrow just got the best contract ever but that doesn’t change the fact he was rusty after missing training camp and it showed as he passed for just 82 yards and had a passer rating of 52.2. Both were career lows in the 24-3 loss to the Browns, who appear to know how to defend him. He is 1-5 against them.

–No surprise that the three rookie quarterbacks starting their openers – C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson – all lost. So did the five coaches in their first season with their current teams –Sean Payton, Frank  Reich, Shane Steichen, Jonathan Gannon and DeMeco Ryans. Meanwhile, Jordan Love sat for three years behind Aaron Rodgers and led the Packers to the win over the Bears. Maybe Love can own the Bears the way Rodgers did.

–How much do the Chiefs miss Travis Kelce? Since he was sidelined with an injury, Patrick Mahomes tried to hit Kadarius Toney and one pass went off his hands for a pick six and he dropped a pass that would have set up a game winning field goal late in the game as Chiefs lost to the Lions, 21-20. Chiefs tackle Jawaan Taylor got a lot of attention for lining up off the line of scrimmage. He did it in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars didn’t play in a lot of high profile games and it wasn’t noticed. Now the Chiefs come to Jacksonville on Sunday we will see if he gets called for it.

Forty seven years ago when Inside the NFL made its debut on HBO, it had a niche as an NFL highlight show.

But over the years as the number of highlight shows has exploded and the NFL Red Zone shows every touchdown every Sunday, the show has lost its novelty.

The result is that it has moved from HBO to Showtime to streaming last year on Paramount.

Now it is back on cable on the CW channel but there are questions about whether it will attract an audience.

It also has a new group of commentators with Ryan Clark being the host and joined by Channing Crowder, Jay Cutler, Chad Johnson and Chris Long.

Clark said he’s always wanted to be a host but never in his wildest dreams did he think he would be hosting Inside the NFL.

But is Inside the NFL the show that it once was? Will the new group of analysts have good chemistry? What will the ratings be like? Will fans even know it is on the CW?

The show debuts Sept. 5. We will then start getting the answers to those questions.

—The Lions didn’t make the playoffs last year and struggled at times in the preseason, but they like to think they are an up-and-coming team. The NFL even gave them the high profile opening Thursday night game at the defending champion Chiefs. The Lions will find out if they are ready for the challenge. Meanwhile, the Chiefs begin their bid for their fourth Super Bowl appearance in the last five years.

–The NFL didn’t waste any time showcasing Aaron Rodgers’ transition to the Jets. He will play his first Jets game on Monday against the Bills, who have beaten the Jets six times in a row so it won’t take long to find out how much of a difference Rodgers can make.

–Rodgers used to say he owned the Bears. Now Jordan Love takes over as the Packers quarterback after sitting on the bench for three years and will play the Bears in his first game. The Packers have beaten the Bears eight consecutive times. Can Love keep the streak going?

–The Cowboys have beaten the Giants 11 times in the last 12 meetings, but they will get the first Sunday night game because, well, they are the Cowboys and are ratings gold. And New York is the biggest market.

–The 49ers will play the Steelers for just the fourth time since 2011 and it an important game for two second year quarterbacks. Brock Purdy of the 49ers wants to pick up where he left off last year when he was injured in the NFC title game. The last pick in the draft last year, Purdy was so effective that the 49ers are convinced he is their quarterback of the future and traded away Trey Lance. Meanwhile, the Steelers’ Kenny Pickett was drafted in the first round by the Steelers last year to be their quarterback of the future and he may live up to that billing.

–Philadelphia, the Super Bowl losers, will be shown in much of the country as the doubleheader game on Sunday afternoon. They play at New England, but the Patriots aren’t what they were when they had Tom Brady and the Eagles may dominate this game.

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch said all the right things after they traded Trey Lance, the quarterback they gave up three first round picks and a second to select him with the third pick in 2021.

“I always feel like I let Trey down,” Shanahan said. I always believed in Trey.”

“We took a shot and it didn’t work out,” Lynch said. “We are accountable for that.”

Well, they have proved that talk is cheap.

You just don’t give up four high picks for a quarterback and get rid of him after he was injured two years in a row and started only four games.

We still don’t know if Lance will be a bust. He is now in Dallas as the third stringer and who knows what his future will be.

Meanwhile, the 49ers will go forward without those four high draft picks they gave up for Lance. The amazing thing is that they built a contender without them and found Brock Purdy in the seventh round to be their quarterback.

But they haven’t gotten a ring yet despite three trips to the NFC title game and a Super Bowl appearance in the last four years.

If they don’t get a ring, their legacy will likely be making one of the worst draft trades ever.

—For the second week in a row, a game was called off in the fourth quarter because a player was hospitalized after a head hit. This time, it was Miami rookie Daewood Davis, who went out with 8:32 left and the Jaguars leading 31-18. Coach Mike McDaniel of the Dolphins said it was appropriate to call the game. Davis was released the next day from the hospital and was placed in the concussion program. A week ago, Isaiah Bolden of the Patriots was injured against the Packers in the fourth quarter and the game was also called off. He also went in the concussion protocol. The two injuries are a reminder that despite all the emphasis the league puts on player safety, the players remain at risk.

–Aaron Rodgers often skipped the preseason in Green Bay but he played in the finale against the Giants and completed 5 of 8 for 47 yards and a touchdown so he go off to a good start. He and the Jets host the Bills in the Monday night opener and we will quickly find out how much of a difference he will make.

–Will Grier knew he was going to be cut by the Cowboys after they traded for Trey Lance, but still played well in the preseason finale against Las Vegas as he passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns.  He led the league in passing yards with 640 but he was the odd man out in Dallas.

–Are the Rams ready to start the season? They were routed by the Broncos 41-0. It is preseason, but still not a good look.

–The Steelers finished the preseason 3-0 with a 19-6 win over the Lions and now that the Ravens record string of 24 was snapped a week ago, they lead the league with six preseason wins in a row. With second year quarterback Kenny Pickett playing well, they hope to be a playoff contender.

–Baltimore’s preseason streak is finally over. The Ravens record string of 24 consecutive preseason victories was finally ended Monday night by Washington on a late 49 yard field goal by Joey Slye. Even though Washington guard Sam Cosmi called it a stupid streak before the game, the Commanders celebrated like they had just won a playoff game. Meanwhile,Baltimore   coach John Harbaugh lauded his players for playing so well during the streak. “They respect what it takes to play the game,’’ he said. And despite the streak being on the line, Harbaugh didn’t play Lamar Jackson so he treated it like another preseason game. Very few preseason games are memorable. This one was. 

–The NFL keeps trying to keep the game safer but they got another reminder last week that the players are still often at risk. Two players were strapped on a stretcher Saturday and carted off the field and hospitalized after suffering head and neck injuries. Fortunately, neither seems to have suffered a serious injury and both were released from the hospital. New England cornerback Isaiah Bolden collided with a teammate in the fourth quarter of the Patriot-Green Bay game and the rest of the game was called off. The Patriots also called off two practices with the Titans this week. Tampa Bay quarterback John Wolford suffered a neck injury when he was sacked by the Jets. The two teams finished the game. 

–The NFL went ahead and played the Chargers-Saints game in Los Angeles despite the hurricane and earthquake that hit the area. Since the field is covered, the game went off without a hitch despite the small crowd. But it made no sense for the league to expect the fans to attend a preseason game in those conditions.

–Kenny Pickett of the Steelers has put three touchdowns on the board in three games. So the AFC North is loaded in quarterback with Pickett, Joe burrow, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson. At least one wild card figures to come out of this division with the Bengals the team to beat.

–San Francisco’s Brock Purdy made his debut after being injured in the playoffs last year as he completed 4 of 5 passes for 65 yards and directed 10 play 69 yard drive against Denver and the 49ers went on to win 21-20. If he picks up where he left off before the injury, the 49ers figure to be a contender.

When the Colts drafted Anthony Richardson with the fourth pick in the draft, it was taken for granted he would be the team’s quarterback of the future.

But even Richardson said he was shocked when the Colts named him the starting quarterback after one preseason game in which he had a typical up and down performance against the Bills.

The question now is whether he will be ready to play or is he being thrown into the fire too soon.

After all, he started only 13 games at Florida.

The Colts signed veteran journeyman Gardner Minshew in the offseason to compete in camp but decided not to wait to go with Richardson.

Coach Shane Steichen said Richardson’s playmaking ability tipped the scales in his favor.

Minshew will be a reliable backup and said he understands the move because Richardson is now the franchise.

The worst thing that could happen is that Richardson could have a 3-13 season like Peyton Manning did as a rookie. But that worked out just fine for the Colts.