NFL’s Sunshine State teams hope to stay perfect
Miami, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville all have home games and a chance at a 9-0 cumulative start to the season.
Heading into the third week of the NFL season, it’s time to begin wondering if we’re experiencing mere tremors to the power structure or actual seismic shifts as unfamiliar players make claims to greatness and once unsung teams position themselves to overtake last season’s Super Bowl entries, the Eagles and Patriots, both Week 2 losers.
Here are the biggest questions:
Will Florida stay undefeated? Once upon a time, news of the Sunshine State’s top three teams being unscathed after two weeks would have engendered a yawn — the assumption being Florida State and the Universities of Miami and Florida formed the state’s premier football trio. But while the Seminoles, Hurricanes and Gators have all suffered losses in 2018, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to a collective 6-0 start for the first time since 1997.
All three are home in Week 3 and have a reasonable shot at their first 9-0 cumulative burst. The Dolphins host the Raiders, who draw the unenviable combo of a 1 p.m. ET start coupled with a cross-country flight. Upstate and riding high after spanking New England, the Jags welcome the battered Titans.
But Monday’s matchup is the most compelling as Bucs quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick tries to cement his grip on the starting job during the final week of suspended Jameis Winston’s absence. Can he sustain “Fitzmagic” against what’s sure to be a desperate Steelers (0-1-1) squad that tends to overcome its often self-inflicted turmoil? We’ll soon see while finding out if Fitzpatrick makes history as the first player to pass for 400 yards and four touchdowns in three games in a row. Who wins the Battle of Los Ange
les? The Rams host the Chargers at Los
Angeles Coliseum on Sunday for what could be a Super Bowl LIII preview.
The Rams, metrically, are settling in as early frontrunners after winning by a collective 54 points (three TDs better than the next-best differential). But the Chargers (1-1) will present their first legitimate test, featuring the league’s third-ranked offense and a trio of weapons (Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon, Keenan Allen) rivaling the Rams’ skill players.
The Bolts still won’t have their best defender, pass rusher Joey Bosa, but this matchup should still be one of the weekend’s juiciest — and an interesting barometer of how the city reacts to its newest football transplants, who will eventually be co-tenants of the Inglewood football palace, as they square off for the first time since relocating.
Will running backs finally run rampant? So far, seven have cracked the 100-yard barrier in a game. Only Todd Gurley and Saquon Barkley were anywhere near the top of your fantasy draft. Just 10 are on track for 1,000-yard seasons, and Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon is about to fall off the pace after knee surgery. What gives?
It doesn’t help that Le’Veon Bell is MIA or that David Johnson plays for an Arizona team that hasn’t been competitive. But this is also part of the new normal, where the passing game dominates and tailbacks are often deployed in space as frequently as they take handoffs. Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey (20) and Washington’s Chris Thompson (19) rank second and third, respectively, leaguewide in terms of receptions. Barkley hauled in 14 passes Sunday, and New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara has more than twice as many yards receiving (165) as rushing (75).
Who wins de facto elimination game? Start your season 0-2, and there’s an 88 percent chance you miss the playoffs. The Giants and Texans are facing that stark reality, and one of them is headed to 0-3 after Sunday’s showdown in Houston. J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus are each seeking their first sack of 2018, though a breakthrough might come against a still-suspect Giants Oline. But if Houston can’t pressure Eli Manning, then New York possesses the firepower to get off the mat against a Texans team that has fallen behind by at least 14 points in the first half the past two weeks.
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