TYROD AND DRAKE ARE TWO KEYS IN THIS DOLPHINS-BILLS SHOWDOWN
The Buffalo Bills will be fighting to stay alive for that oh-so-elusive AFC wild-card playoff berth on Sunday at home against the Miami Dolphins.
I believe the two key offensive players in this game will be Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor and Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake.
Taylor will be facing his favorite opponent. If he performs the way he did in his last four games against Miami, Buffalo would be tough to beat.
If Drake runs like he did in consecutive wins over Denver and New England, Miami would have a good chance to pull off a mild upset.
Here is Taylor’s performance line in his four games for Buffalo versus the Dolphins:
September 27, 2015 (Buffalo won 41-14 at Miami) – 21-of-29 for 277 yards, with 3 TD passes, 0 INTs, a 136.7 passer rating...3 carries for 12 yards
November 8, 2015 (Buffalo won 33-17 at home) – 11-of-12 for 181 yards with 1 TD pass and O INTs...10 carries for 44 yards
October 23, 2019 (Buffalo lost 28 -25 at Miami) – 14-of-28 for 222 yards, with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs...7 carries for 35 yards and 1 TD
December 24, 2016 (Buffalo lost 34-31 in overtime at home) – 26-of-39 for 329 yards, with 3 TD passes, 0 INTs and a 118.4 passer rating...12 carries for 60 yards.
A belated Christmas present to Taylor from management – after the only 300-yard passing game of his career – was a day off for the season-ending loss to the New York Jets.
Taylor is sort of healthy and sort of back in the good graces of management entering what likely will be the final home start of his Buffalo career.
Drake is the new heavy-duty running back for the Dolphins, replacing Jay Ajayi, who rushed for 206 and 214 yards in last season’s sweep of the Bills and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles October 31.
Prior to Miami’s last two games, Drake’s high for carries in a game was nine. At Kentucky, his high was 14 carries in a game.
Against Denver in a 35-9 win December 3 – 23 carries for 120 yards (106 yards after contact) plus 3 catches for 21 yards
Against New England in a 27 -20 win December 11 – 25 carries for 114 yards (57 yards after contact, the most by a RB against the Patriots this season) plus 5 catches for 79 yards.
Buffalo ranks 27th in rush defense (allowing 123.7 yards per game) and will have to a much better job against Drake than it did last season against Ajayi.
If Taylor throws for at least 200 yards and has no giveaways, Buffalo should win. If Drake runs for at least 125 yards, Miami would be tough to beat.
AMERKS VS. MARLIES TALE OF THE TAPE
The American Hockey League-best Toronto Marlies will take on the red-hot Rochester Americans Friday, 7:05 faceoff, at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
Will Friday night’s atmosphere be a throwback to the good old days? A big crowd for a terrific hockey game.
The Amerks are genuinely good again. The Marlies have been the class of the league this season.
Winter has arrived. Is it time for the legions of former and current Amerks fans to show their support?
Here’s how these two AHL power house teams measure up:
Records – Amerks 15 wins, 5 losses, 3 overtime losses, 3 shootout losses...Marlies 20 wins, 5 losses, 0 overtime losses, 0 shootout losses
Points in the standings – Amerks 36 of 52 possible points; .667 (fourth-best in the 30-team AHL)...Marlies 40 of 50; .800; (best in the AHL).
Home/road records – Amerks 7-4-0-1 home; 8-1-3-2 road...Marlies 8-3-0-0 home; 12-2-0-0 road.
Goal differential – Amerks +12 (88-76)...Marlies +36 (83-47).
Power play – Amerks 19.4; 7th in AHL; 25-of-134; 6 shot-handed goals allowed...Marlies 16.8; 24-of-143; 4 short-handed goals against.
Penalty killing – Amerks 83.8 percent; 11th in the AHL; 95-of-117; 4 short-handed goals by...Marlies 90.4 percent; 1st in the AHL; 103-of-114; 3 short-handed goals by.
NFL WEEK 15 “BEST BET”: VIKINGS OVER THE BENGALS
The Minnesota Vikings should be ready to play at home on Sunday coming off the 31-24 loss at Carolina that ended their eight-game winning streak.
The Vikings usually find a way to win. The Bengals often find ways to lose.
This week’s NFL “Best Bet”: MINNESOTA (-10 ½) 31, Cincinnati 14.
Saturday’s games
(home teams in CAPS)
DETROIT (-5 ½) 24, Chicago 17 – The Lions have more to play for and a significantly better passing game.
Los Angeles Chargers 27, KANSAS CITY (+1) 24 – The Chargers are 7-2 since their 0-4 start and QB Philip Rivers has emerged as a dark horse for MVP.
Sunday’s other games
Miami 27, BUFFALO (-3 ½) 20 – Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake should be the difference against Buffalo’s suspect rush defense.
Baltimore 23, CLEVELAND (+7) 10 – The Ravens aggressive defense vs. Browns QB DeShone Kizer looks like a mismatch.
Philadelphia 28, NEW YORK GIANTS (+7 ½) 13 – The Eagles should be ready to prove they don’t need injured QB Carson Wentz to beat a weak opponent. Nick Foles is no Wentz but he’s more than good enough to get the job done here.
Arizona 24, WASHINGTON (-4 ½) 20 – The Cardinals are healthier than the underachieving Redskins. Washington is 7-17-2 against the point spread versus the NFC West.
Green Bay 27, CAROLINA (-3) 24 – The Packers are coming off back-to-back OT victories and the return of QB Aaron Rodgers can’t hurt (unless he is extremely rusty).
JACKSONVILLE (-11) 30, Houston 14 – The Jaguars are loaded with talent and – assuming QB Blake Bortles has a decent performance – should crush the battered Texans.
NEW ORLEANS (-16) 35, New York Jets 13 – That’s huge spot, but...it seems unlikely that rusty reserve QB Bryce Petty will outduel Drew Brees. If the Saints aren’t looking too far ahead to next week’s home game against Atlanta, they should romp. New Orleans is 28-10 ATS versus AC East teams.
SEATTLE (-2 ½) 33, Los Angeles Rams 27 – Going against QB Russell Wilson and his Seahawks at home usually is hazardous to a bettor’s wealth. Wilson is 11-3-1 ATS at home coming off a loss.
PITTSBURGH (+3) 28, New England 24 – The Steelers getting points at home is too tempting to pass up. Warning: the Patriots are 11-3 outright and 10-3-1 ATS in the last 14 meetings.
SAN FRANCISCO (-2) 24, Tennessee 17 – The 49ers are 3-1 in the last four games since their 0-9 start and are playing with confidence for QB Jimmy Garoppolo (4-0 outright and ATS for his NFL career). Warning: the 49ers are 0-8 ATS in their last 8 games as the favorite.
Dallas 30, OAKLAND (+3) 24 – The Cowboys are 4-2 on the road and should be fired up with the return of RB Ezekiel Elliott on the horizon.
Monday night’s game
Atlanta 33, TAMPA BAY (+6) 17 – The Falcons are 4-1 in their last five games and smelling playoffs. It has turned into a lost season for the Buccaneers.
HOW GOOD ARE THE UNDEFEATED GEORGETOWN HOYAS?
Syracuse U. (8-1) takes on Georgetown (8-0) Saturday, 12:30 p.m., (CBS-TV), at Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC.
First-year coach Patrick Ewing’s Hoyas are one of the only six undefeated NCAA Division teams (out of 351), but no one has any idea how good they are – because they’ve played by far the worst schedule in major college basketball so far this season.
kenpom.com is a website that provides up-to-date rankings of the 351 Division I teams. It puts heavy value on strength of schedule.
Here’s how he ranked Georgetown’s eight victims through entering Thursday: Richmond 221st, Mount St. Mary’s 301st, North Carolina A&T 324th, Jacksonville 327th, Howard 333rd, Maine 335th, Maryland Eastern Shore 343rd, Coppin State 344th.
kenpom.com’s current rankings have Syracuse 56th and Georgetown 95th.
Here’s how Syracuse is shooting the basketball this season compared to Georgetown (versus inferior opposition) and top-ranked Villanova (11-0:
Field-goal percentage – Villanova .508 (331-of-651)...Georgetown .499 (226-of-453)...Syracuse .441 (232-of-526)
3-point FG percentage – Villanova .409 (113-of-276)...Georgetown .392 (62-of-158)...Syracuse .285 (47-of-165)
Free-throw percentage – Georgetown .763 (142-of-186)...Villanova .757 (168-of-222)...Syracuse .668 (139-of-208).
THE MIAMI MARLINS ARE A JOKE
Derek Jeter always will be revered by New York Yankees fans, but he’s not a favorite of fans of the Miami Marlins – if there are any left.
Jeter is a part-owner and the face of the Marlins. Player agent Scott Boras this week described the Marlins as baseball’s “pawn shop.” Right on target.
The 2017 Marlins had considerable talent but underachieved (77-85 record). That can’t happen in 2018 because most of the talent has been dispatched and most observers expect them to stink.
Miami’s assets last season included second baseman Dee Gordon (.308 batting average; 114 runs; 60 stolen bases) and arguably baseball’s best all-around outfield in Giancarlo Stanton (.261; 123 runs; 59 HRs; 132 RBI), Marcell Ozuna (.312; 93 runs; 37 HRs; 124 RBI) and Christan Yelich (.262, 100 runs; 18 HRs; 81 RBI).
Now Gordon is a Seattle Mariner, Stanton is a New York Yankee and Ozuna is a St. Louis Cardinal.
Now only Yelich is left from the Core Four. He must wish he were somewhere else, too.
BATAVIA DOWNS WRAPPING UP THE LIVE HARNESS RACING SEASON
Batavia Downs will finish the 2010 live harness racing season Friday and Saturday evenings with 6 p.m., first race post time.
There is a three-man race for top driver: Larry Stalbaum 127 wins...Ray Fisher Jr. 122...Drew Monti 117 (leads in purse earnings at $806,269).
Post-time favorites have a 45.03 winning percentage.
Out of 784 races, post position 1 has won 198 times (25.3 percent). Congratulations if you cashed a win bet on a horse from the No. 8 post position: 10 wins in 340 starts (2.9 percent).
SHORT SHOTS
The Cleveland Browns are 4-46 since November 30, 2014 – the worst 50-game stretch in NFL history. DeShone Kizer is the team’s 28th starting quarterback since 1999 and he’ll be the seventh different QB to lead the Browns in passing in the last seven years.
The NY-P League has taken control of the Batavia Muckdogs and will try to sell the franchise. Rochester Community Baseball will get 50 percent of the price of the sale. I feel sorry for the 1,000-or-so loyal fans who will really miss their Muckdogs.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Friday, December 15
Jahlil Okafor (22)...Josh Norman (30)...Rodney Harrison (45)...Mo Vaughn (50)...Jerry Ball (53)..Carlton Bailey (53)....Ric Seiling (60)...Carl Hairston (65)...Art Howe (71)...Stan Bahnsen (73). Don Johnson (68) and Tim Conway (84) are invited to the birthday party.
Saturday, December 16
David Johnson (26)...Tyler Chatwood (28)...Mike Weber (30)...Hector Santiago (30)...Alcides Escobar (33)...Antrel Rolle (35)...Luke Harper (38)...Trevor Immelman (38)...Donovan Bailey (50)...Clifford Robinson (51)...Billy Ripen (53)...William “The Refrigerator” Perry (55)...Orlando Woodridge (58)...Bart Oates (59)...Charles Romes (63).
Sunday, December 17
Buddy Hield (24)...Manny Pacquiao (39)...Chase Utley (39)...Takeo Spikes (41)...Chuck Lindell (48)...Vincent Damphousse (50)...Craig Barube (52)...Michele Tofoya (54)...Rocco Mediate (55)...Eddie Brown (55)...Tammie Green (58)...Albert King (58)...Dave Polulin (59)...Bobby Ojeda (60)...Kay Stephenson (73). Native American actor Wes Studi (70) and Pope Francis (81) is invited to the birthday party.