Tua Tagovailoa and Lamar Jackson have made a fun quarterback matchup Last week in BaltimoreTagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins rallied from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Jackson’s Ravens.
The third Sunday of the NFL regular season also brings a clash of celebrity footballs with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers playing an afternoon game in Tampa.
The Bills-Dolphins and Ravens-Patriots games are part of the noon schedule. The Bills lived up to their reputation as the league’s Super Bowl favorites. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams, the defending Super Bowl champions, and the Tennessee Titans last season, the No. 1 AFC playoff seed, by a combined margin of 72-17.
Now they must go on the road to play a warm-weather game on a short work week against a Dolphins team with a rejuvenated passing game. Tagovailo threw for 469 yards and six touchdowns in last Sunday’s 42-38 win over the Ravens.
“We were executing on all cylinders offensively,” Tagovailoa said after the game. “And then when there were times when we didn’t execute, nobody panicked. Everyone returned to the hug and we regrouped. “
The Dolphins overcame deficits of 28-7 at halftime and 35-14 in the fourth quarter. They scored 28 points in the final 13 minutes of the game, and coach Mike McDaniel began his postgame press conference with, “Anybody else tired?” He asked.
The Ravens will rekindle a sometimes spirited rivalry with the Patriots as they try to get back into the win column. Jackson is having a great performance against the Dolphins. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to have a touchdown pass and a touchdown run of at least 75 yards in each of the same game.
“There are challenges every week,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said midweek. “But of course the Ravens have a lot of it at quarterback, passing game, running game, the ability to make invisible extended plays, explosive receivers and tight ends.
Belichick drew chuckles when asked if he answered questions about Jackson’s pocket-passing skills entering the NFL.
“Without a doubt,” Belichick said. He is the type of player that is an MVP type candidate. I think he more than answered. Wait and see what his contract is. He will answer you.
Brady and Rodgers will be running for the fifth time in their highly decorated careers. Brady has won three of the four meetings so far.
Brady has thrown for a modest 402 yards in two games this season, but the defense-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to a 2-0 start. Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers are 1-1 after regrouping to beat the Chicago Bears at home following a season-opening loss to Minnesota last Sunday.