NFL Odds: Three things we learned from Jets vs. Dolphins and Bengals vs. Broncos on MNF
The second doubleheader of Monday Night Football featured a gruesome injury and two horrendous team performances as the Miami Dolphins defeated the New York Jets, 27-21, and the Denver Broncos thumped the Cincinnati Bengals, 28-3.
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Darren Waller, as the Dolphins picked up their first victory of the season, but lost All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the process.
Denver improved to 2-2 as Bo Nix threw for two touchdowns and 326 yards, while J.K. Dobbins rushed for 101 yards.
The Jets fell to 0-4 and the Bengals, who are plummeting quickly without franchise QB Joe Burrow, dropped to 2-2.
Here’s what we learned.
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Hill loss is catastrophic on multiple levels
With five catches for 57 yards, Hill was having a productive, albeit non-explosive, night for the Dolphins. But early in the third quarter, everything changed. Hill caught a 10-yard pass from Tagovailoa and went to the ground out of bounds.
The next image is one nobody needs to see again, but one we’ll be exposed to constantly for the next few months. Hill’s left leg got caught under him, and the portion below the knee went horizontal and stayed that way.
A dislocated knee instantly ends Hill’s season and places even more pressure on Miami coach Mike McDaniel, whose offence is heavily predicated on Hill’s dynamism. Hill may be a diva and have an assortment of off-the-field issues, but nobody can argue his impact on it. The receiver had played at least 12 games in each of his first nine seasons, and he’s only missed one game in three-plus years in a Dolphins uniform after starring for the Kansas City Chiefs.
That all changes now. Hill had two consecutive 119-catch, 1,700+ yard seasons with Miami before coming back to Earth last season. The eight-time Pro Bowler leaves a gaping hole in a Miami offence that wasn’t blowing anybody’s doors off with him.
The onus now falls more heavily on Jaylen Waddle, Waller, and the rest of the Dolphins’ receivers.
The Jets stink… again
You can forgive New York Jets fans for convincing themselves they are stuck in the Matrix. With 14 straight campaigns without reaching the playoffs, 11 of which featured less than eight wins, the Jets, quite simply, are the laughingstock of the league.
Former Jets defensive back Aaron Glenn arrived from Detroit as a heralded defensive coordinator intent on bringing discipline, focus, and winning back to the beleaguered franchise and fanbase.
Naturally, the Jets are 0-4, following a three-turnover, 13-penalty performance against Miami. They lost fumbles on their first two drives of the game and did not record a takeaway yet again. According to ESPN, New York is just the fifth team in the past 90 years to start a season 0-4 with no takeaways.
Bengals very Jets-like without Burrow
Not to be outdone by the Jets, Cincinnati put forth a second straight putrid performance on the road against Denver.
After suffering the most lopsided defeat in franchise history last week in a 48-10 setback to the Minnesota Vikings, the Bengals proceeded to score a field goal on their first drive on Monday… and that was it. They closed a three-point performance by punting on their last eight possessions.
Quarterback Jake Browning, subbing in place of the injured Joe Burrow, threw for a pedestrian 125 yards as Cincinnati totalled just 159 yards overall. The Bengals became the first franchise in 16 years to record 200 or fewer yards in three of their first four games of the season, according to ESPN.
