The Dolphins just put up the most points in the Super Bowl era. A 70 burger.
They could have tied the 73-point record from 1940 if they had kicked a field goal, but they kneeled it out. Could have gone for 77 and the all-time-record.
Among teams that have scored 70+, this was the 2nd best margin of victory.
There were seven teams who accrued a point differential of -50 across 17 games last year. The Broncos did it in one game.
Which is worse? Going 0-11 vs Patrick Mahomes or losing 20-70? Doesn't matter, the Broncos did both.
Elsewhere, the Bills beat Washington 37-3 at Fedex Field and the Chiefs beat the Bears 41-10 at Taylor Swift Stadium.
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You would think the most painful loss at the day would be the 70-20 in Miami, but nope, it was in Green Bay.
The Saints entered the 4th quarter up 17-0 at Lambeau Field.
But Derek Carr injured his throwing shoulder in the 3rd quarter. Here were the next four drives for the Saints: Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt.
The Packers come alive in the 4th, scoring 18 on three possessions, doing the analytics thing of going for two when down 14 and it works.
So now the Saints need Jameis to go down the field and get points in the final three minutes. And he does. Gets them down to the Green Bay 28. It's a 46-yard field goal attempt for rookie kicker Blake Grupe. Who picked a bad time to miss his first NFL kick.
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Also the Cowboys must be confused about how spreads work. The line was Cowboys -12. And they sort of nailed it exactly, losing to the Cardinals by exactly 12.
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Unrelated, but the two most famous NFL players are both on the Kansas City Chiefs and have won 2 Super Bowls. Things that in 2017 wouldn't have made any sense.
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Division Check-In
NFC North
Both the Lions and Packers are 2-1. Vikings and Bears are 0-3. Bears are a lost cause. Vikings seem to have dug too deep a hole. Like they'll be 2-4 after week 6, on track for a 6 or 7 win season.
So uh, Lions at Packers is pretty big game. And DETROIT is favored at Lambeau. Wild stuff.
NFC East
That sound you heard was the Cowboys bandwagon crashing into a cactus. Eagles remain class of the division.
NFC West
49ers are the best team in the NFC. Seahawks look like a wild-card team. I still don't believe in the Rams as a playoff team, despite starting better than expected.
NFC South
This will be a cluster all year. But Carr injury and yesterday's loss stings for New Orleans. Atlanta and Tampa will stay in the mix.
Playoff Teams: 49ers, Eagles.
(9 teams in the middle)
Cross Offs: Bears, Giants, Cardinals, Panthers, Vikings.
AFC West
Normalcy is restored. Chiefs are good. Raiders and Broncos are bad. Chargers have signs of promise but won't actually win in the playoffs. Chiefs play Dolphins in Germany on November 5 and play Bills in Kansas City on December 10.
AFC East
This is a two team division. The Jets and Patriots stink. The Bills and Dolphins are two of the top 3 AFC teams. They play this week in Buffalo and in the season playing in Miami in January, avoiding both heat and snow related games. The Dolphins have been better but are one Tua injury away from irrelevance. The most competitive division race (because both teams are good) right now.
AFC North
Do the Steelers feel like a 2-1 team? They do not.
The Browns have limited two teams to 3 points each.
The Ravens will regret not beating the Colts.
Somehow three teams are 2-1 and the team in 4th place is the Bengals.
This is the most interesting division race involving all four teams. Can't cross off any of these teams.
AFC South
This division sucks. They're all bad and don't deserve our attention, time or energy.
Playoff Teams: Bills, Dolphins, Chiefs.
(9 teams in the middle)
Cross Offs: Broncos, Jets, Patriots, Raiders.
The six teams that are 10-1 or better to win the Super Bowl, sorted by conference are:
Chiefs
Bills
Dolphins
49ers
Eagles
Cowboys
My preseason Super Bowl pick was 49ers over Chiefs and I would like to cash out the value of that ticket before it goes downhill.
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