Can Josh Allen continue to impress?
Can a college phenom impress in his MLB debut? Are you sick of these questions?
Josh Allen’s Opportunity
What Happened: We all had to suffer through two whole days without NFL action, but fret not, as we have an AFC East showdown to enjoy tonight. The 1-0 Bills travel to Miami to take on the 1-0 Dolphins.
Bills QB Josh Allen loves a Thursday night game (more on that below), he loves playing the Dolphins (10-2 in the regular season, 11 wins including playoffs), and he started his season off with a dominant performance (two passing TDS, two rushing ones.)
A win tonight would give Buffalo an early lead in the AFC East standings. It might also push Allen’s odds for some hardware even shorter.
Why It Matters: Unsurprisingly, Chiefs passer Patrick Mahomes was and remains the favorite for MVP honors this season. But Allen’s statement in Week 1 gave his candidacy a nice boost.
Before Sunday, Allen was +900 to dethrone Lamar Jackson as the NFL’s top dog. After leading the Bills to a come-from-behind win over the Cardinals, Allen is now +500. Another big showing in an island game tonight will only put more eyes on Allen in his post-Stefon Diggs phase, and if he delivers, he might put himself in the lead for an impressive accolade.
What We’re Watching Today
Bills at Dolphins (8:15 PM ET) – Duh.
Rockies at Tigers (1:10 PM ET) – Ditch the spreadsheets early today and go watch Tarik Skubal take the mound for some day baseball. He’s a shoo-in for the AL Cy Young Award and Detroit is still an outside threat for the final wild card spot.
Rangers at Mariners (9:40 PM ET) – Kumar Rocker dominated college baseball at Vanderbilt, was drafted by the Mets in 2021 but didn’t sign, and finally makes his MLB debut with Texas tonight. Rocker can blow away any batter with a fastball that touches 100 MPH; we’re excited to finally see him in the bigs.
The Look Ahead
Bills at Dolphins – Miami will take the field as -2.5 favorites, with the game’s over/under set at 48.5. Here’s what else you need to know:
💪 Josh Allen has dominated on Thursday Night Football in his career: he is 6-0, throwing 14 TDs to six INTs and completing over 70% of his passes. He’s also rushed for four scores in these games. It’s a different story for Tua, who came in to relieve Jacoby Brissett in his first ThNF appearance and left his second one early due to injury. Overall, he’s attempted 27 passes and completed just 16 with no TDs and an interception in games Miami split.
🐢 The Bills have been able to do something no other NFL team has: consistently slow down Tua Tagovailoa. Tua is just 1-6 against the Bills in his career, making Buffalo the only team the Miami QB has faced 3+ times without beating at least twice.
🎰 Take Miami’s high-powered offense under Mike McDaniel and Josh Allen’s dual-threat capabilities and what do you get? A lot of points. Of the last four times these teams have met, three of them have hit the over.
🫣 The margins have been tight between these teams recently. Buffalo was favored in both games last season, by three at home and by 2.5 on the road, but the result was the same each time: a successful Bills cover, including an easy 48-20 win at home in Week 4.
