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The 4th NFL game day
Historic last week, now disastrous: Miami is being dismantled! And a running back leads Cincinnati
Back on the NFL field nine months after his cardiac arrest: Damar Hamlin.
© Adrian Kraus / DPA
After 70 points the previous week, the Miami Dolphins are overrun by the Buffalo Bills – but the game becomes a minor matter given the return of Damar Hamlin.
Mona Stevens and Anja Driver
Last week the winner, now the loser:
Last week, the Miami Dolphins were the team of the hour and the new favorite for the Super Bowl after their historic 70:20 win over the Denver Broncos. A week later, the team from the Sunshine State of Florida came back down to earth – and were defeated in the 20:48 defeat against the Buffalo Bills literally played against the wall. The Dolphins’ defense looked disastrous and simply couldn’t find an answer to the Buffalo Bills’ attack around quarterback Josh Allen.
Anja Driver (left) plays as a wide receiver for the Erlangen Rebels and the German national team (tackle and flag). With the national team she won the bronze medal at the European Championships in 2015 and the European Championship silver medal in flag football in 2017. The sports and Latin teacher previously played football for 25 years, including for SV 67 Weinberg in the second women’s Bundesliga. Since 2023, she has also been working as offensive coordinator on the coaching team of the newly formed U17 girls national flag football team.
Mona Stevens plays for the “Saarland Ladycanes” and the German women’s national football team (flag and tackle) in the quarterback position. Stevens has also served as the NFL’s official flag football ambassador since 2022. The Saarlander is part of the RTL NFL on-air team and can be seen in numerous formats as a football expert.
© Private
Both defenses had starting problems and so scores were scored in the first five attacks. Buffalo then quickly adjusted and put constant pressure on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. However, the Dolphins defense was still powerless against the fireworks from Josh Allen, who put his pass receiver Stefon Diggs in a particularly good light. Diggs caught balls for 120 yards and three touchdowns, making him the game winner. Next to Josh Allen, who played a perfect game. The 27-year-old only failed to complete four (!) of his 25 passes. In addition, Allen threw four passes into the end zone and ran for a touchdown himself – only Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers have achieved this in NFL history. The reward for Buffalo’s playmaker: a quarterback rating of 158.3 – the best performance rating a quarterback can achieve in the NFL. The last time a quarterback achieved this was in December 2020. His name? Tom Brady, of course!
Buffalo and the emotional climax:
The Bills’ defense played with a lot of tailwind on Sunday, which was also the moment of the game day for us: Safety Damar Hamlin celebrated his comeback after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field after a tackle nine months ago and left the entire football world in shock. The victory for Buffalo tastes twice as good. And a moment that even the social media department of the NFL, which currently only shares videos and photos of Taylor Swift at Kansas City Chiefs games, was worth its own post.
The move of the day:
When the Tennessee Titans’ offense is close to the end zone, all NFL fans usually know what will happen: Running back Derrick Henry – 1.91m tall and 112kg – gets the ball and carries it over the goal line. The same applies if the Titans are close to a new first down or if they want to gain yards at all. Derrick Henry is the driving force of the entire team. The “King,” as he is reverently known, is unstoppable: in 2020, he rushed for over 2,000 yards in a single season and has already scored over 200 yards in a single game six times. Values that primarily express his physical superiority. And the respect that the opposing defense has to have for him makes the play of the day possible.
Tennessee only needs two yards into the end zone, quarterback Ryan Tannehill is standing behind the center as usual, all players except for one wide receiver are standing close together, “King Henry” is waiting in the backfield for his turn. When Tannehill suddenly leaves his original position in a so-called motion and positions himself near the sideline as a wide receiver, Henry takes his place as quarterback. This indicates what everyone suspects: The “King” will catch the snap and run into the end zone himself. If the Bengals want to stop Henry, they have to send all defenders forward immediately – and that’s exactly what the Titans take advantage of: Henry briefly fakes a run, a tight end breaks away unnoticed from the O-line, runs completely free into the end zone and Derrick Henry throws a touchdown pass unchallenged. Apparently no one expected that – not even the Bengals, who looked astonished.
In the end, the Titans deserved to win 27-3 against Cincinnati, who are in a downward spiral after three defeats. However, this is hardly surprising when even the opposing running back throws more touchdown passes than Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.