There are no longer any winless teams in the National Football League (NFL), as the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers both won their first game of the season. The Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 29-27 on Sunday, and the Buccaneers defeated the Miami Dolphins 22-19 on Monday night.
The Titans outplayed the Jaguars in almost every statistical category, except turnovers. Tennessee had 3 fumbles and an interception, while Jacksonville threw 2 interceptions. The Titans threw for 279 yards compared to 160 for the Jaguars, and rushed for 83 yards to 54 for Jacksonville. But when you’re -2 in the turnover ratio, you’re chances of winning drop dramatically. While holding a 2-point lead, the Jaguars’ Will Blackmon picked up a fumble and ran 21 yards for a touchdown with 2:32 remaining in the game, which basically ended the Titans’ chances to win.
On Monday night, the Buccaneers took a 15-0 lead midway through the 2nd quarter, then gave up 19 straight points, as the Dolphins took a 4-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. It looked as if the Bucs were on their way to their 9th straight loss to start the season. But they kept running the ball effectively, outrushing the Dolphins 140 yards to 2. Tampa Bay regained the lead on a 1-yard Bobby Rainey touchdown run, with 10:19 remaining. Because of no running game, the pressure was on Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill to deliver the win for his team. He did throw for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns, but was picked off by Darrelle Revis late in the game to end the hopes of a Dolphin comeback.
The Miami Dolphins had endured a bizarre week, with the bullying charges from offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, that I wrote about a week ago. More has come out in the past week, including dramatic support for teammate Richie Incognito, the person reported to be the bully. Tannehill even said that if you asked him who Martin’s best friend on the team was a week ago, he would have said it was Incognito. Incognito in an interview said that he texted Martin when the story first broke, and Martin texted back that he didn’t say anything to start this controversy. He also said that Martin had texted him before that he was going to kill Incognito’s family. Incognito said he knew Martin wasn’t serious, that’s just the way that they communicated.
The relationship between these 300+ pound offensive lineman does seem strange, but I’ve never been in an NFL locker room. With the support that Incognito has received from teammates, it’s clear that they don’t like all this negative attention that Martin has brought to the Dolphins. I’ve never heard of an NFL player complaining about being bullied before.
With the new input from teammates this week, it seems that Martin is a wimp, and that he is preparing for a law suit. He may be planning to sue the NFL, the Miami Dolphins, Richie Incognito, and maybe other teammates. Martin, who hasn’t been interviewed on this controversy, has communicated through his lawyer, that he doesn’t plan to return to the Dolphins this year. Why would they want him? His performance on the field was poor, then he walked out on his teammates, and created this mess for his team. With the suspension of Incognito, the Dolphins have lost 40% of their offensive line because of him. The immediate result is bad, but the Dolphins will eventually be better without someone like him on the team.
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