MNF Patriots at Jets
The city of Dallas wept last Sunday when Sam Darnold kicked mono and came back to class just in time to school the Cowboys in a true upset win. It was the Jets first win of the year, and for New York, it was perfect. It showed that they were capable of beating better teams as well as overcoming adversity. That being said, pushing the Cowboys to 3-3 is one challenge. This week, the Jets are faced with one of the only two undefeated teams left in the NFL. The New England Patriots are rolling behind a dominating defense and good old fashioned Tom Brady. At 6-0, Bill Belichick probably isn’t too concerned going into Monday night, and for good reason. He quite literally has the #1 ranked defense going up against the #32 ranked offense in the league. You could not write up a poorer matchup for New York if you tried, but numbers don’t tell the whole story. The New York game of quarterback musical chairs is over, Le’veon Bell is looking more and more influential every game and the New England receiving front is already pretty banged up, with questionable injuries to big names like Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon. Could New York really turn it around? Is the Patriots perfect season over? Or will this be just another tragedy that’s over before it even begins?
Big Names on the Injury Report
The Kansas City Chiefs pulled out a dominating win on Thursday Night Football behind Veteran Quarterback Matt Moore, who threw for 117 yards and a TD. Never heard of him? Well that’s what happens when the former Offensive Player of the Year, Pat Mahomes, goes for a QB sneak during primetime and dislocates his kneecap. For now, Kansas City is looking at around 3 weeks without their star junior starter. In the meantime, replacements being looked at to hold down the fort include New York’s Eli Manning, as well as Andy Reid’s current backup, Matt Moore. Mahomes is not the only star on the IR this week. After not being present at practice this past Thursday, Saints starting Running Back Alvin Kamara will not be active for the New Orleans Sunday duel against the Bears at Soldier Field. This means that Wide Receiver Michael Thomas will have to carry the load along with RB2 Latavius Murray. Expect some interesting play calling from both of these teams.
Familiar Ground for Foles
Does the story of an unnoticed backup QB taking the reigns of his team and pulling them to glory sound familiar? Right away a few names come to mind, Steve Young, Tom Brady, Nick Foles and… Nick Foles? After two deep playoff runs as a backup QB (one resulting in a Superbowl win), Philadelphia decided to stick to their guns and let Nick Foles walk right to Jacksonville. The former Eagle only had time to find the endzone once before the Chiefs defense shattered his clavicle. What happened next is simple, to put it plainly, Nick Foles got Nick Foles’ed. The injury has kept him out long enough for backup rookie Gardner Minshew II to come in and for “Minshew-Mania” to ensue. However, Foles is slated to return to practice this week, leaving the Jaguars in a difficult position. Do they return to the seasoned veteran, or ride the “Minshew moustache” as far as it will take them? Should they stick with Nick, odds are good that Gardner Minshew will find himself on a new team by next year at the latest – there are almost a dozen teams that could use his potential and another dozen looking to refill their backups. Either way, within the next month, the penny will drop in Florida.
Matthew Shimkonis is a first-year student majoring in history. MS925373@wcupa.edu