If the Dolphins had had a collective alarm clock that day, it would have gone off around 12:30, with a cheery voice message stating, “Good morning! It is Sunday, October 15th, and you are now down 14-0 to one of the worst teams in the National Football League! Enjoy your afternoon!!”
Whatever the reason Miami looked confused to be playing an actual football game through nearly the entire first quarter, they did indeed wake up. From the final few minutes of the 1st quarter, they outscored the Panthers 42-7 the rest of the way, reminding us of the stunning potency of their offense and upping their season record to 5-1, their best opening to a season since 2002.
Allow me to now puff my chest out a tad in reviewing my prediction from last week. Not only did I predict the win (not that impressive), but I nearly nailed the exact score. Sure, that first quarter was something I never imagined, but the game generally played out right along the lines I expected:
driftinscotty’s Straight Up Picks for the 2023 Season
| Game # | Opponent | Prediction | Outcome | My Straight Up Season Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @Chargers | L, 27-24 | W, 36-34 | 0-1 |
| 2 | @Patriots | W, 27-20 | W, 24-17 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Broncos | W, 34-17 | W, 70-20 | 2-1 |
| 4 | @Bills | W, 34-24 | L, 48-20 | 2-2 |
| 5 | Giants | W, 41-17 | W, 31-14 | 3-2 |
| 6 | Panthers | W, 41-20 | W, 42-21 | 4-2 |
So the Dolphins did what they were supposed to these last two weeks against clearly inferior opponents with combined records now of 1-11. On to their next real test against a legitimately good team, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Fins’ last measuring stick game – three weeks ago in Buffalo – did not exactly go well. Buffalo was mostly healthy, completely locked in, and essentially did to Miami what Miami just did to Carolina. This next Sunday in Philadelphia, our Dolphins have a chance to shake some of the “pretender” stink off of them by either beating the defending NFC champions or at least making them work really hard for a home win.
We know Philadelphia charged hard all the way to the Super Bowl last year, and they’re off to a 5-1 start this year. How do they stack up to the Dolphins right now?W
