MIAMI GARDENS, FL – In a truly and tragic turn of events, thanks to a concussion suffered by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the AFC playoff race just got a lot more interesting.
Yes, while it is only Week 2, and there are 15 more weeks to go, but with a player of Tagovailoa’s talent—when he is fully healthy—sitting on the sidelines and possibly facing early retirement, and not likely to set foot on a NFL gridiron ever again, there are some teams, who may have benefitted from such a sad and tragic event.
Picked by many to finish either second—or third—in the AFC East, the Dolphins have a lot of talent on both offense and defense to be a possible wildcard team with Tua under center. Now that he is gone for the season, the Dolphins have to rest their hopes on Skylar Thompson for the unforeseeable future.
If there are a list of teams that may have benefitted from Miami losing Tua are;
– New York Jets: A-Rod is on a mission, and the Jets have one of the best defenses in the NFL. Watch out for them.
– Cleveland Browns: When—not if—Watson is benched for his latest sexual assault allegation, look for the Browns to lean heavily on Jameis Winston, and reigning Defensive player of The Year Myles Garrett to run into the playoffs on the legs of a refreshed Nick Chubb
– Los Angeles Chargers: Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert are nothing to mess with. The Bolts are playing bully ball now, Michigan style!
– Pittsburgh Steelers: Never bet against a Mike Tomlin team that has TJ Watt on it. Just don’t!
With the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens widely projected to win their divisions with Cincinnati and Jacksonville considered legit wildcard contenders, it’s going to be real interesting to see six teams battle and duke it out for two playoff spots over the next four months.