VITO'S VIEWS

The seventh game of the season is usually much too early for a team to have a make-or-break game.

Unless that team is the 2018 Jacksonville Jaguars.

It’s hard to overestimate what the game Sunday against the Houston Texans means to the Jaguars after they lost three of their last four, including back-to-back blowout losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys.

The Jaguars came into the season with hopes of being a Super Bowl contender and looked like one when they started off 2-0, including a victory over the New England Patriots that avenged Jacksonville’s loss in the AFC title game last January.

But the Jaguars are now 3-3, and their home game Sunday will likely determine whether they have a shot to at least win the AFC South title.

Continue reading “Already looking like a do-or-die week for limping Jaguars”

Six quick takes on Week 6 in the NFL:

1. The NFL’s new roughing the passer rules are changing the way defensive players are playing the game. With five minutes left Sunday night and the Kansas City leading New England by three on third-and-goal at the four-yard-line, Chiefs rookie linebacker Breeland Speaks had chance to sack Tom Brady from behind to force the Patriots to take a field goal. But he let Brady escape because he thought Brady had thrown the ball and Brady scampered for a touchdown in a game the Pats wound up winning, 43-40. Speaks said he didn’t take want to take Brady to the ground because he feared a flag. “It sucks, it sucks,’’ he said. “You’re supposed to finish plays like that.’’ In the future, he said he will risk the flag and make the play. For better or worse, the NFL is fundamentally changing the way the game has been played since the days of Pop Warner.

Continue reading “A quick look back at NFL Week 6”

The Buffalo Bills need to fire coach Sean McDermott.

His infatuation with quarterback Nathan Peterman has become embarrassing and a detriment to the franchise.

McDermott started Peterman for Tyrod Taylor last year at San Diego, and Peterman responded by throwing five picks in the first half. They had to bring back Taylor, who took them to the postseason for the first time since 1999 but flopped in the playoff game at Jacksonville.

The Bills then traded Taylor to Cleveland, brought Peterman back this season, signed A.J. McCarron and drafted Josh Allen.

They then traded McCarron to Oakland, leaving Peterman and Allen as their two quarterbacks.

Continue reading “QB debacle means McDermott and GM need to go in Buffalo — immediately”

Six quick takes about Week 6 in the NFL:

1. The Los Angeles Rams will be aiming to extend their perfect record against a Denver team that may be in danger of having its season spin out of control. The Broncos are on the cusp of their first 2-4 start since 2011. It doesn’t help that two of the Broncos’ next three games are against currently unbeaten teams. They play the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks sandwiched around a game against Arizona. And the future doesn’t look good for the Broncos. The Chiefs found their John Elway in Patrick Mahomes, while Elway has yet to find a franchise QB as a GM and the Broncos will now likely have to face Mahomes twice a year for the next decade. Elway got a five-year contract extension last year and a new title of president of football operations, but that long-term extension now looks like a questionable move. Elway signed Case Keenum as a free agent this year, but he hasn’t been the answer.

Continue reading “Six quick takes on NFL Week 6”

For years, the New England Patriots’ regular season has been a rather ho-hum affair.

The Patriots started the season knowing they were a lock for the playoffs unless Tom Brady got hurt.

The other three teams in the division haven’t had a franchise quarterback to match Brady since he arrived on the scene in 2000.

But things are different this year. For the second time in three games, the Patriots are playing a regular-season game with a lot on the line.

First, Miami came to Foxboro on Sept. 30 at 3-0. The Patriots were 1-2. A loss to Miami would have dropped them three games behind the Dolphins

Continue reading “Chiefs-Patriots already looks pivotal for both teams”

Five quick takes on Week 5 in the NFL:

1. The NFL gets credit for scheduling the New Orleans Saints on Monday night in the fifth weekend of the season. The odds were that it would be the week Drew Brees broke the passing yards record and he did, making it a primetime celebration.  It also made an otherwise rout of the hapless Washington Redskins worth watching. He even got the record with a 62-yard touchdown pass instead of a five-yard dumpoff. That was a nice touch. Brees isn’t just putting up numbers, though. He has the Saints at 4-1, and they have to be considered a Super Bowl contender. Still, his career must be kept in context. Brees played in a passing era and is not another Johnny Unitas or Otto Graham. He’s arguably not even on the list of the 10 best passers in NFL history.

Continue reading “Looking back at NFL Week 5”

Five things to watch for in Week 5 of the NFL:

1. Drew Brees needs 201 passing yards Monday night against the Washington Redskins to surpass Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as the league’s all-time leader in passing yardage. Brees is at 71,740, while Favre is at 71,838 and Manning is at 71,940. This says more about today’s pass-oriented NFL than it does about Brees. He probably wouldn’t make many top-10 lists of the greatest quarterbacks, but he’s been durable and consistent.

Continue reading “What to look for in NFL Week 5”

The most hyped matchup of the young season will happen in Kansas City on Sunday, when the Kansas City Chiefs’ top-scoring offense will take on Jacksonville’s No. 1 scoring defense.

With Patrick Mahomes already playing like a wunderkind quarterback, the Chiefs are averaging 36.2 points a game and the Jaguars are giving just 14 points a game.

It will be the biggest test yet for Mahomes and the Chiefs’ high-flying offense.

Ditto for a Jaguars defense that has yet to face an offense as potent as that of the Chiefs.

Still, despite all the hype, this matchup may not decide the game.

Continue reading “Chiefs-Jaguars might not be decided by what you suspect”

Five quick takes on Week 4 in the NFL:

1. At the quarter pole, there are just two unbeaten 4-0 teams left — the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. The teams are scheduled to meet Nov. 19 on ESPN in Mexico City. It could be the game of the year, but the Chiefs can’t look ahead with the next three games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams, meanwhile, have to play three road games against the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos to get to 8-0 at the halfway pole.

Continue reading “Looking back at NFL Week 4”

Players to watch in Week 4 in the NFL:

Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes is on a pace to throw more than 65 touchdown passes this year after setting a record with 13 in his first three games,. Obviously, he’s not going to throw 65. But when is he going to cool off or have an off game? He plays his first division game Monday night in Denver. The Denver defense gets a crack at slowing him down.

Khalil Mack and Mitch Trubisky

Mack has helped turn the Bears defense into one of the best in the league and enabled Trubisky to get credit for a 3-0 start. But Trubisky has been overshadowed by Patrick Mahomes. And he keeps getting reminded the Bears traded up to get him and passed on Mahomes. Will he play better against Tampa Bay, or will the defense continue to carry the team?

Clay Matthews

Mathews has been a focal point of the controversy over the roughing-the-passer penalties because he’s been called for one each week, even though his hits have seemed to be textbook to anyone not employed in the NFL officiating department. This week he gets a shot at Buffalo rookie Josh Allen, and it will be no surprise if he sacks him. But will he be penalized again?

Baker Mayfield

The first pick in the draft had a storybook night against the New York Jets last Thursday night as he came off the bench and ended Cleveland’s string of 635 days without a victory. Now he goes to Oakland, and things will become more difficult. Sam Darnold struggled after having a big game in the opener for the Jets. The spotlight will be on Mayfield when he makes his first start.

Blake Bortles

Bortles may be the most inconsistent quarterback in the league. He was mediocre in the opener against the New York Giants, but the defense helped carry the Jacksonville Jaguars to the victory. Then he was lights out against New England, only to stumble against the Tennessee Titans and put up just two field goals on the board. The Jaguars are heavily favored against the Jets, and Bortles is due for another good game. But the Jaguars never know which Bortles will show up.