NFL Sunday on Sky Sports: Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers meet for potentially final time, 49ers tight end George Kittle returns from injury
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins kicks off the third NFL Sunday of the season - live on Sky Sports at 6pm - with Green Bay Packers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9.25pm) and San Francisco 49ers @ Denver Broncos (1.20am, Monday) completing the triple-header.
Tuesday 27 September 2022 06:37, UK
Young defensive backs Kaiir Elam and Jevon Holland feature along with veteran quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers in some of the stories to watch out for across another bumper NFL Sunday slate live on Sky Sports.
The San Francisco 49ers, meanwhile, prepare to welcome back one of their key men, and Nathaniel Hackett looks to iron out a rocky start to life with the Denver Broncos.
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Packers in trust-building mode
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The open audition to earn Rodgers' trust remains ongoing in Green Bay as Matt LaFleur's offense continue to adjust to life post-Davante Adams, who departed in the offseason to reunite with former college quarterback Derek Carr in Las Vegas.
Aaron Jones reminded of his exemption in Week Two's win over the Chicago Bears when he logged 170 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns out of the backfield, while offseason addition Sammy Watkins, who has been ruled out on Sunday, played his way into Rodgers' good books with three catches for 93 yards.
Allen Lazard had been projected as Rodgers' lead receiver heading into the season but has since his start hindered by injury, rookie second-rounder Christian Watson is still seeking to amend his should-be touchdown drop in Week One against the Minnesota Vikings but did not practice on Thursday or Friday due to a hamstring injury, and rookie fourth-rounder Romeo Doubs is playing under heightened expectations after pumping his stock with an impressive preseason.
How this Packers offense goes about its remodel, how long it will take and what identity it adopts is one of the league's biggest question marks.
Young Bills meet Dolphins relay team
Leslie Frazier's Buffalo Bills defense arrive in Miami on Sunday to be met by a Dolphins firing squad that just gazumped the Baltimore Ravens by way of Tua Tagovailoa and his team of track stars. Tyreek Hill leads the NFL with 284 receiving yards after making 11 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns in Week Two, while Jaylen Waddle is third in the league with 240 receiving yards following 171 and two scores, including the match-winner with 14 seconds remaining.
The Bills enter ranked fourth in pass rush win-rate (58 per cent) against a Dolphins side ranked 23rd in pass block win-rate (56 per cent), according to ESPN Stats & Info. But with neck injuries to safety Micah Hyde and cornerback Dane Jackson, Sunday beckons as a heightened test for rookie corners Elam, a first-round pick out of Florida, and Christian Benford, a sixth-round pick out of Villanova. Hyde took to social media on Saturday to confirm he will be out for the rest of the season after being placed on injured reserve.
"The production that they've given us, the games haven't been too big for them," said Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said of the first-year pair. "So if it comes to that, where they would have to both start, we'd be confident with both of them out there for sure."
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Just like old times?
Kyle Shanahan's countless hours of scribbling and sketching in preparation for life under Trey Lance on a full-time basis were rocked last week when the second-year quarterback suffered a season-ending fractured ankle against the Seattle Seahawks.
It means a return to Jimmy Garoppolo under center after the quarterback had spent the offseason seeking a trade and practising alone before agreeing a one-year contract including a $6.5m fully guaranteed base salary to stay put. All things considered, it looks a last-gasp swerve of catastrophe as the most secure insurance policy available to the San Francisco 49ers at the time.
Garopplo's first start of the season against the Denver Broncos on Sunday night could be coincided by that of All-Pro tight end George Kittle, who has sat out the opening two games due to a groin injury sustained at the beginning of the month. Kittle recorded 71 catches for 910 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 14 regular season games last year, before adding seven catches for 108 yards and a score in the playoffs.
The loss of Lance's dual-threat ability alongside running backs Elijah Mitchell and Ty Davis-Price due to injury could meanwhile pile up the paperwork on Deebo Samuel's wide-back desk, though he should receive some welcome assistance courtesy of Kittle's blocking excellence. The Garoppolo, Kittle, Deebo core is back. Hello again, 2021.
Brady v Rodgers - one last time?
Sunday will stage the fifth and quite possibly final meeting between Brady and Rodgers when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Packers. It will mark the first game in NFL history between starting quarterbacks that have both won three or more MVP awards.
A 45-year-old Brady, who famously retired then unretired at the end of last season, boasts three wins in the pair's four career meetings, his only defeat in the matchup coming in their first meeting in a 2014 season he would cap by winning his fourth Super Bowl with victory for the New England Patriots over the Seattle Seahawks. The 45-year-old has since lifted that Lombardi Trophy tally to seven, while Rodgers is the reigning back-to-back MVP with an NFL record in interception percentage.
"He's an amazing player. Has been for a long time," Brady said of Rodgers on Thursday. "I love watching him play and he's from California, too, so I feel like we always have a little bit of a connection. He's an older guy now. He's been a great player in the same place for a long time, so there definitely are some challenges with that. But he's navigated them pretty well.
Two master pocket manipulators, two seen-it-all coverage decipherers, two experts in precision, two veteran greats that have set the bar for the next generation quarterbacks.
Jevon Holland - a star in the making
It is important not to lose sight of the rise to stardom for Dolphins safety Holland alongside the introduction of Mike McDaniel and Tyreek Hill when it comes to monitoring defining factors within Miami's continued ascent. The 2021 second-round pick has been a revelation since entering the league and a perfect fit for Josh Boyer's full-throttle blitz-friendly defense, with both his polished coverage expertise from the slot or free safety along with his ability to drop into the box.
The Dolphins' full-package defensive back is hurtling towards premium status in his position, his immediate value having been underlined over the summer when he was named a team captain at just 22.
What has been projected as a breakout year comes across one of his and Miami's most taxing exams yet when they sought to blunt the Bills' No 1-ranked scoring offense, its exotic wrinkles and a quarterback in Josh Allen who has performed well against the blitz through the opening two weeks (10 of 16 for 131 yards and two touchdowns).
Can he Hack it?
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The sight of Denver Broncos fans counting down the play-clock in both jest and concern against Houston Texans in Week Two cannot afford to be the lasting image of Nathaniel Hackett's Mile High tenure. Nor can his refusal to go for it on fourth-down with his handsomely-paid supposed 'final jigsaw piece' quarterback in the opening week defeat to the Seahawks.
Offseason enthusiasm surrounding a Russell Wilson-led Broncos and the potential Super Bowl implications has been stunted by way of mere sloppy football. Denver are guilty of 25 penalties for 206 yards through just two games, which includes six false start penalties and four delay-of-game penalties.
The Broncos enter their Week Three matchup with the 49ers ranked seventh in total offense, eighth in passing and ninth in rushing, but have converted zero of six red zone opportunities. They are also third in total defense as one of just two teams to rank inside the top 10 on both sides of the ball along with the Bills. It is for the talent at their disposal that head-scratching blunders have warranted so much frustration. Denver's new ownership were not involved in the hiring process surrounded Hackett, who might well be feeling an added pressure as a result.
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins kicks off the third NFL Sunday of the season - live on Sky Sports at 6pm - with Green Bay Packers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9.25pm) and San Francisco 49ers @ Denver Broncos (1.20am, Monday) completing the triple-header.
