VITO'S VIEWS

The Kansas City Chiefs seem to be the best story in the NFL. Last Monday night when they  were upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars to fall to 2-3, there was chatter their dynasty was in decline. But then they came back Sunday night to beat the Lions, who have injury problems, 30-17. But that wasn’t the end of the story. After the game Patrick Mahomes tried to shake hands with Brian Branch, who ignored him. Then JuJu Smith-Schuster came up to Branch thinking he would shake hands and Branch slapped his helmet, knocked him to the ground and a brawl ensued. Again, the Chiefs were in the news . And Branch was suspended for a game. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are only a game behind a playoff spot in the AFC and get Rashee Rice back from his six game suspension this week so they can’t be counted out as they face the Raiders, Commanders and Bills the next three weeks.

–One reason the Chiefs than can rebound is that the AFC Race is wide open. The Bills, who won their first four, lost their second straight to Atlanta Monday night to fall to 4-2. The surprising Colts, who beat the Cardinals, 31-27, are 5-1 while the Steelers, who posted their usual home win against the Browns, 23-9, are 4-1. The Colts and Steelers lead their divisions while the Bills are tied with the Patriots but the Patriots have the tie break since they Beat the Bills. And Denver and the Chargers are tied for the AFC West lead at 4-2. Denver edged the winless Jets, 13-11, and the Chargers beat the Dolphins, 29-27, when Justin Herbert threw a 42 yard pass in the final minute to set up the game wining field goal. Coach Jim Harbaugh said he will never forget that throw. The other two 4-2 teams are the Jaguars, who lost to the Seahawks, 20-12, and the Patriots, who beat the Saints, 25-19. So seven teams have two or one losses and are the current seven playoff teams. But the 3-3 Chiefs and 2-3 Texans are within striking distance.  But it is probably over for the 0-6 Jets and the 1-5 Ravens, 1-5 Browns, 1-5 Dolphins and 1-5 Titans. Only four teams since 1933 made the playoffs after a 1-5 start, and none of them won a playoff game. The Titans even fired their coach, Brian Callahan, as he became the first to be dismissed this year. 

–In the NFC, the Bucs have the best record at 5-1 and the Packers have the second best at 3-1-1 as they both lead their divisions. The Bucs beat the 49ers 30-19 and the Packers beat the Bengals 27-18. Every other team in the conference has two losses so race is wide open but the 4-2 49ers lost Fred Warner for the season after previously looking Nick Bosa and it will be difficult for them to overcome the loss of both of them. 

–The most puzzling team is Philadelphia. The defending champions won their first four games even though they weren’t at the top of their game but now have lost two including a 34-17 loss to the Giants Thursday night. Now the question is whether they can find their mojo from last year. But the Eagles still lead their division at 4-2 because the Commanders were upset by the Bears, who won by a field goal on the final play Monday night. The Commanders fell to 3-3 with the loss, while the Bears have won three in a row after losing the first year under new coach Ben Johnson.    

–The Jets remained the only winless team as they lost to the Broncos when coach Aaron Glenn went for it on fourth and eight at the end instead of trying a 62-yard goal. And his decision to dump Aaron Rodgers, who is 4-1 in Pittsburgh, and sign Justin Fields isn’t working out.

The NFL season is almost starting over in Week 6 with with no dominant team after the last two unbeaten teams, Buffalo and Philadelphia, both lost last weekend and there are now seven teams tied for the best record at 4-1. It was the first time in 68 weekends  that Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts all lost the same weekend.

–The weekend will feature five national games including two on Monday night plus the doubleheader game with the feature attraction Sunday night when Kansas City hosts Detroit. The Lions have won four in a row after losing their opener and are one of seven teams tied for the best record at 4-1. The Chiefs are struggling with a 2-3 start after losing in Jacksonville Monday night. They  were embarrassed as Mahomes threw a pick-six that Devin Lloyd returned 99 yards. Also, Trevor Lawrence was tripped after taking a snap in the last 30 seconds, stumbled a second time but no Chiefs defensive player touched him and he got up and ran into the end zone while their best defensive player, Chris Jones, loafed and stood on the goal line without trying to chase Lawrence. The Chiefs obviously have to get their focus back if they are to make a Super Bowl run.

–The Eagles and Bills will both play in prime time as they attempt to rebound from their first losses. The Eagles play at the New York Giants Thursday night in what should be an easy win while the Bills will be at Atlanta in the first Monday night game. Denver will play the winless Jets in London on Sunday with the game being shown at 9:30 am. The Jets are the last winless team and don’t figure to give the Broncos much of a game.

–The CBS doubleheader Sunday game that will be shown to much of the country features two 4-1 teams with San Francisco at Tampa Bay. With Brock Purdy still dealing with a toe injury, Mac Jones will likely make his fourth start. Jones has injury issues of his own with a left knee ailment and an oblique injury. He won his previous three starts and the former New England first-round pick is jumpstarting his career after going 2-5 in Jacksonville last year.

–Fox has two interesting games Sunday with 4-1 Indianapolis hosting 2-3 Arizona and 4-1 Jacksonville hosting 3-2 Seattle.  Arizona is trying to rebound from its disaster against winless Tennessee when Emari Demercado dropped a ball just before crossing the goal line to cost the Cardinals a 28-6 lead in the fourth quarter in a game they lost at the end, 22-21. Coach Jonathan Gannon was so irate that he got into Demercado’s face on the sideline and appeared to bump him. He apologized and was fined $100,000 by the team. It remains to be seen if the Cardinals can recover against a surprising Indianapolis team. And Jacksonville has been a surprising team under new coach Liam Coen and has won three in a row. Meanwhile, Fox will show Dallas at Carolina to most of the nation. The Cowboys are always a draw despite their 2-2-1 record, even though the other two games have better storylines.

This was the weekend for the 1972 Dolphins to toast their perfect season. The last two unbeaten  teams, the Eagles and Bills, both lost so this will be the 53rd season in  a row  there will be no unbeaten teams. The Dolphins like to claim they are the only unbeaten team in NFL history but the NFL now counts AAFC records and Paul Browns Cleveland Browns had a perfect  season in 1948.

–There are now six teams tied at 4-1, so there is no dominant  team now. The Bills lost to the Patriots and the Eagles lost to the Broncos and fell to 4-1. The Colts beat the  Raiders, the Lions beat the Bengals, the  Jaguars beat the Chiefs and the 49ers beat  the Rams as they all went to 4-1. The Steelers had a bye and remained 3-1.

–There is only one winless 0-5 team, the Jets, who lost to the Cowboys, plus seven 1-4 teams  So basically eight are longshots to make  the playoff and the other 24 teams are  bunched between one and three losses fighting for 14 playoff spots. The most surprising 1-4 team is Baltimore,  which has suffered a rash of injuries.

 –The most talked about  play of the week came  when the Titans appeared to fall behind the Cardinals 28-6 when Emari Demercado dropped the ball on the goal as he was about to score on a 72-yard run. Coach Jonathan Gannon was so irate that he got in the player’s face and appeared to brush him. He apologized the next day.  The Cardinals wound up  losing 22-21.

–A lot of  questions are being raised about the Chiefs after they fell to 2-3 with the  loss to the  Jaguars. Is their dynasty over? Are they just complacent? Can they still make the playoffs?.  We will get more answers when they play the Lions and Bills the next two weeks.

–With the byes starting this week, there will be 14 games with Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay  and  Pittsburgh getting the byes.  That means the league will have two national games that aren’t good attractions. Minnesota figures to beat  Cleveland in London, a game that will start  at 9:30 a.m. on the East Coast on NFL Network. And Buffalo figures to remain unbeaten on Sunday night with a win over New England.

–But the other  two prime  time games figure to be interesting. San Francisco and the Rams, tied at 3-1 with Seattle in the NFC West, will meet Thursday  night. Seattle hosts 3-1 Tampa Bay  in a CBS  late Sunday game that won’t get much coverage.

–The  other prime time game features 2-2 Kansas City  at surprising 3-1  Jacksonville, which leads the league  with 13 turnovers on Monday. Indianapolis, tied with the Jaguars, hosts Las Vegas in a Fox early game. 

–The Fox doubleheader Sunday game shown too much of the country will feature 2-2 Washington at the 3-1 Chargers.

–And then there were two. After four weeks,  there are just two unbeaten teams left  — Philadelphia and Buffalo at 4-0. The Eagles built up a 31-20 lead after three quarters and beat the Bucs, 31-25. The Bills beat the winless Saints, 31-19. The Eagles and Bills meet in the second  to the last game of the regular season on Dec. 28 in Philadelphia. 

–The Detroit Lions took over first place in the NFC North by beating the Browns, 34-10, to go to 3-1. Green Bay fell to second at 2-1-1 with a wild 40-40 overtime tie with Dallas on a field goal on the final play.

–Indianapolis lost to the Rams, 27-20, to fall into a first place  tie in the AFC South  at 3-1 with Jacksonville, which upset the the 49ers, 26-21. The Jaguars had four turnovers and lead the league with 13.

–The San Diego Chargers lost their first game to the Giants. 21-18, but still lead the  AFC West at 3-1. Kansas City and Denver  both  won and are tied for second at 2-2. 

–The Pittsburgh Steelers beat Minnesota in Dublin to take over first place in the AFC North  at 3-1. Cincinnati lost its second straight  without  Joe Burrow with  a 28-3  loss  to Denver and is 2-2.  

—The  International games start this Sunday with Minnesota facing Pittsburgh at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on the NFL Network from Dublin. The Steelers like to play in Dublin because the Rooney family has its roots there. Both teams are 2-1, and Carson Wentz will start in place of  J.J. McCarthy, who has a high ankle sprain. Aaron Rodgers remains the Steelers starter.

–The premier game of the  weekend is the CBS doubleheader game with Baltimore at Kansas City. Both are at 1-2 and desperate for a win. Baltimore has to protect Lamar  Jackson, who was sacked seven times Monday night  by the  Lions.

–The four night games are Seattle at Atlanta Thursday night, Green Bay at Dallas on Sunday night, and a Monday doubleheader of Jets at Miami and Cincinnati at Denver. The Packers and Cowboys have a lot of history and tradition with each other, and they will show Ice Bowl clips, but Green Bay should win easily and none of the games are all that compelling.

–One of the best games pits two 3-0 teams with the Eagles at Tampa Bay, but it is one of three FOX 1 p.m. games so it won’t get national coverage. The big challenge for the Eagles will  be dealing with steamy heat, so they will arrive early, but the key  for them is to hydrate all week long.

–Indianapolis, a surprising 3-0 team, gets its biggest test yet yet when they go to Los Angeles to meet the 2-1 Rams, who lost to the Eagles on a blocked field goal on the final play after the Rams couldn’t hold a 26-7 lead.

–Sunday was the kind of “Any Given Sunday” that helped the NFL become what it is today: Five games were decided on the final play.

The most dramatic was Philadelphia coming back from a 26-7 deficit to take a 27-26 lead only to have the Rams line up to try a game-winning field goal but the  Eagles blocked it and scored to seal the win and are one of six 3-0  teams. Often called a boring team  because of their run-oriented offense. they showed they can come from behind with Jalen Hurts at quarterback.

–Tampa  Bay and San Francisco also boosted their records to 3-0 with last-play victories over the Jets and Cardinals, but the 49ers lost Nick  Bosa for the season and backup quarterback Mac Jones is day to day with a knee injury so Brock Purdy may return against the Jaguars.

–Green Bay suffered its first loss on the final play against the Browns after the Browns overcame a 10-0 deficit and blocked a Packers field-goal attempt to set up their own game-winning field goal.

–Two surprising teams, the Colts and Jaguars, seem set for a battle for the AFC South title after the Colts beat the Titans and Jaguars beat the Texans. The Colts and Jaguars are 3-0 and 2-1, while the Texans and Titans are 0-3. 

–The Ravens fell to 1-2 after a Monday night loss to the Lions, who have won two in a row after an opening-game loss to Green Bay. Lamar Jackson was sacked seven times, and the Ravens may not be as good as they were thought to be this year.

When Liam Coen was named the head coach of the Jaguars, he had three main priorities to improve the offense,

They were establishing a good running game, improving the line to help the running game and protect the quarterback.

Two  games is a small sample size, but Coen appears to have accomplished two of the goals. They lead the league in rushing and, according to analyst Warren Sharp, they are seventh in the league in protecting quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

But the passing game is a work in progress. Lawrence makes  too many errant throws and the receivers either drop too many passes or don’t run routes well. Sharp said a third of his incompletions are due to receiver error.

According to Sharp, the receivers drop 11 percent of his passes, which is most in the league, and 21 percent of the drops are in the red zone. The result is that Lawrence is completing slightly less than 59 percent of his passes overall.

And it is not like Coen is asking for big throws. He likes the short passing game, and 32 percent of the throws are behind or at the line of scrimmage.

Also, while Travis Hunter has proved he can play two positions, former receiver Steve  Smith Sr. says Hunter must learn to run better routes. And Brian Thomas Jr. has yet to show the form he did as a rookie and sometimes acts as if he is wary to get hit.

With a critical division game coming  up Sunday against Houston, it’s time for the Jaguars to get their passing game rolling. A victory would put the Jaguars at 2-1 and the Texans at 0-3. The Colts will be 3-0 if they beat the Titans.

But the  Jaguars have to upgrade their passing game to beat the Texans.

The feature game of the week is Detroit at Baltimore on Monday night. Both teams are 1-1 with Detroit losing their opener to Green Bay and Baltimore losing its opener to the Bills.  The Ravens have won the last five meetings with the Lions last victory in 2005. The Ravens are favored by 2.5 points. Last year, they both won their division titles with Lions at 15-2 and the Ravens at 11-5. Both lost in playoffs, Detroit to Washington and the Ravens to the Bills. The loser drops to 1-2 so it is critical for both teams.

–The other two prime time games don’t figure to be good attractions with the 2-0 Billls likely to rout 0-2 Miami Thursday night, and the Chiefs figure to get their first win against the 0-2 Giants.

–Fox has two 4:25 p.m. games with the Cardinals a one-point choice over the 49ers, who will have  Mac  Jones making his second start over injured Brock Purdy. Both are 2-0. The 1-1 Cowboys are a slight favorite over the winless Bears.

–The defending champion Eagles host the Rams with the winner going to 3-0. Jalen Hurts has yet to throw a touchdown pass in the victories over Dallas and Kansas City, but they still win. It will be interesting to see if they can do the “tush push: without jumping offsides.

–The surprising Colts with Daniel Jones at quarterback are favored to go to 3-0 when they play the winless Titans. If the winless Texans beat the Jaguars, they will both be 1-2, and the Colts could have a two-game lead in  the  division.  

–Just seven months ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were a game away from becoming the first team of the Super Bowl era to threepeat. Instead, they were routed by the Eagles, 40-22 in the Super Bowl. Now after losing to the Eagles in the rematch, 20-17, the Chiefs are off to an 0-2 start for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era and facing questions about whether they’re in a rebuilding stage. Mahomes doesn’t have enough weapons, and Travis Kelce suddenly seems near the end. A pass went off his hands at the goal line and turned into an interception that was the turning point in the game, although Mahomes said he could have made a better pass and it appeared to be tipped. Meanwhile, the defending champion Eagles are 2-0 in their quest for a repeat. The Eagles weren’t particularly impressive, but they find ways to win and their “tush push” keeps drives alive, although there may be another attempt to ban it after the officials failed to call the Eagles for being offsides on the play once Sunday. Coach Nick Sirianni said to the naked eye it might not be as obvious they were offsides as in slow motion, but they have to clean up the play. 

–The Bengals beat the Jags 31-27 but probably lost their season when Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury and will undergo surgery for ligament damage that will sideline him three months, if not the entire season. Backup Jake Browning led the Bengals to a victory over the Jaguars for the second time in three years but is unlikely to take them to the playoffs, so the Burrow injury may open the door for another team in the AFC to make the playoffs. Burrow’s injury also raised questions about whether the Bengals need to do a better job of getting him a good offensive line so he doesn’t become another Andrew Luck. 

–The Colts are a surprise team with a 2-0 start with Daniel Jones at quarterback after the Broncos tried to block a 60-yard field goal attempt at the end and were called for leverage. The Colts then kicked a 46-yard field goal to win the game. The Broncos probably shouldn’t have attempted to block the long kick. Even coach Sean Payton said it was a mistake not to go into their usual  field-goal formation because it was such a long kick instead of the one that they use to try to block game-winning field goals, and it resulted in the leverage penalty. Payton admitted the officials made the right call.

–The NFC West is the only team with three teams at 2-0 as the 49ers beat the beat the Saints 26-21 with Mac Jones replacing the injured Brock Purdy, while the Rams beat the Titans 33-20, and the Cardinals beat the Panthers, 27-22. It should be a good division race. All four teams play the four AFC South teams. 

–The Lions bounced back from the opening loss to Green Bay to spoil Ben Johnson’s homecoming and beat the Bears, 52-21. The Bears are off to an 0-2 start under Johnson, one of nine teams at 0-2. The odds are against them making the playoffs. Only 32 0-2 teams since 1990 made the playoffs.