The teams in AFC East, collectively, had a fairly rough week. The Buffalo Bills, first in the division, were the only team that won, and they beat the New England Patriots, last in the division, on Thursday night — which now feels like a distant memory after an insane slate of games on Sunday.
The New York Jets, third in the division, lost in a nailbiter to the Minnesota Vikings, with quarterback Mike White misfiring to receiver Braxton Berrios on fourth down in the final moments of the game for what would have been a go-ahead touchdown. The Miami Dolphins put together their first true stinker with Tua Tagovailoa under center. It happens to everyone, right? Or was it symptomatic of the decline that everyone seems to expect from Miami?
Let’s dive into the AFC East takeaways from the week.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is careful about controlling Tua’s emotions
Tagovailoa always seems to feel everything that goes wrong is his fault. Always. And it doesn’t seem like he’s just saying that, which quarterbacks will do. They’ll say it’s their fault when it’s not. Tagovailoa has a history of being too hard on himself, and McDaniel has spent the season emphasizing that Tua needs to have more fun. McDaniel has worked to build up his QB.
That’s why it’s interesting to see McDaniel take the blame for just about every bad situation during press conferences this year. But, as we saw on Sunday, McDaniel is also taking the blame away from Tua on the field — as demonstrated by this moment captured by former NFL player and current analyst Chris Long.
That begs the question: Does McDaniel feel like Tua requires kid gloves?
Tagovailoa has played like an MVP candidate. There’s no way around it. Until Sunday’s game, he was lighting up every defense and was undefeated in his starts. But McDaniel seems reluctant to hold Tua accountable. Maybe that’s just how McDaniel does it, that’s just his coaching style. But I wonder: Does McDaniel think his QB’s confidence is fragile? Does that require too much maintenance?
I don’t have the answers. But it will be something worth monitoring if Tua has another awful performance, filled with unforced errors.
Mike White is a clear upgrade over Zach Wilson for the Jets
Maybe White missed his final two pass attempts. Maybe White had ample opportunities to beat the Vikings. And, clearly, he let down his teammates. But — in a counterintuitive way — that’s a sign that White is already ahead of Wilson in quarterback development.
Wilson never got the chance to beat opposing teams — New York asked their running backs to do that when Wilson was on the field. The Jets did everything they could to take the load off the QB, because they knew that when they asked him to win the game, he did just the opposite. It sounds harsh. But take a look at what happened against the Patriots, when he threw 41 times and completed just 21. He threw three interceptions and killed their chances.
Meanwhile, White’s passing has been a big part of the Jets’ game plan, ever since they inserted him into the lineup.
“If Mike needed to push the ball downfield, he could push it downfield, which he did a couple times against the Bears. And then with the Vikings, he had the opportunity to push the ball downfield, and he did,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said Monday. “We feel like Mike can do both. He can push it downfield. He can take his check downs. He’s capable of doing both. It’s just he’s really good at making the decisions he needs to make on game day to move the ball forward.”
The locker room has also thrown its support behind White. A group of offensive players, including receiver Berrios, traveled to Minneapolis wearing “Mike F’N White” T-shirts.
I haven’t seen that same gesture for Wilson. And White returned the favor after the game — he took the blame for the misfire to Berrios.
“I gotta figure out how to put that ball a tad more in front of him and let him securely make the catch instead of making a tough catch,” White said.
Remember when Wilson didn’t take accountability after the team’s second loss to the Patriots? Well, White showed Wilson how it’s done. The quarterback always takes blame. Always.
Now, let’s be clear — the Bears and Vikings have proven they struggle defending the pass. Those are the only teams White has faced this year. So we’re comparing apples to oranges from White’s performances to Wilson, because Wilson played against the Patriots and Bills, two top-10 defenses.
That’s actually what makes this week so interesting. The comparison is apples to apples. White will play the Bills, a defense that Wilson could not throw against. So how will White fare?
I think it will be the key for him to keep his job. Because at a press conference on Wednesday, Saleh reminded reporters that he intended to bring back Wilson at some point this year.
“Right now it’s Mike’s opportunity,” he said.
Right now. But if White keeps winning and proving the Jets can trust him as a passer, then maybe he’ll supplant Wilson for the rest of the season.
Patriots rookie WR Tyquan Thornton has been a nonfactor since his second game
I jumped the gun when I said Thornton was a member of a burgeoning rookie class. The Patriots’ rookies are, indeed, impressive. Guard Cole Strange remains a starter. Cornerback Jack Jones and Marcus Jones are making their imprints on the defense and on special teams — and, in the case of Jones, also on offense where he scored a touchdown last week as a gadget player. Quarterback Bailey Zappe helped the team as a backup when Mac Jones suffered an injury.
Every rookie from the top three rounds has contributed in a big way — except for Thornton, who dealt with a collarbone injury during preseason and the beginning of the season.
“Tyquan, his development so far over the first year, obviously a bit rocky with the injuries, but he’s coming along just like most of the other rookies in the league,” receivers coach Troy Brown said Monday.
His two-touchdown game came in a blowout win over the Cleveland Browns in mid-October. When the Patriots have needed a spark on offense, he has been nowhere to be found. He has played 36% of offensive snaps, which is actually a lot considering he missed the first four weeks. He has 12 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. In the past three weeks, the Patriots have increased his timeshare on offense slightly. But over that span, he has three catches for 36 yards.
It’s one storyline that’s flying under the radar while the Patriots have much bigger offensive issues on their hands — namely within the coaching ranks.
Buffalo remains in the hunt for Odell Beckham Jr.
The Bills met with Beckham last week. He has also met with the Giants. And he’s in the process of a multi-day meeting with the Cowboys.
It’s easy to imagine that this will be largely about money — from everyone’s perspective. The cap-strapped Bills ($2.3M in cap space) and Giants ($2.4M) may not have as much flexibility as the Cowboys ($6.3M). But if Buffalo really wants Beckham, it can restructure a few contracts to fit him under the salary cap.
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was asked whether adding Beckham might be a sign that the Bills think they’re missing a piece on offense. He toed the company line.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Dorsey said. “Any time you can create opportunities to create problems for defenses, you’re always looking at ways to do that … At the same time, we’ve really been so happy with the guys that are here [and] what they’re doing. It would just be another piece to add to our already strong group.”
There is no clear timeline for Beckham’s decision.
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Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.
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