One of the more shocking stories of the season has been the plight of the Los Angeles Rams. The California outfit headed into the 2022 season as the reigning Super Bowl champions following their last-gasp victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on their home turf at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Their triumph was the second consecutive season in which the Lombardi trophy had been lifted at a franchise's home stadium following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who accomplished the same feat the previous year.
Unfortunately, defending the Super Bowl could not have gone any worse for the Rams. After 13 games, Sean McVay’s team has a dismal record of 4-9 and their hopes of returning to the playoffs for the fifth time in six years are long gone.
There can be no question that the surprise team this season has been the Miami Dolphins. The Florida-based outfit had made the playoffs just twice in the last 20 years (back in 2008 and 2016), and there were many questions about them heading into this season.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has endured plenty of criticism since coming into the league, with fans claiming that he does not have a strong enough arm to lead his offense down the field. This season, however, he has confounded his critics, and then some.
The 24-year-old leads the entire league when it comes to yards gained per attempt. Only Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers have thrown more touchdowns this season than the former University of Alabama standout.
And if that wasn’t impressive enough, Tagovailoa missed two-and-a-half games earlier in the season after suffering a horrific concussion against the Bengals in Week 4. Aside from that game, along with the ones he missed against the Jets and the Vikings, the only loss Tagovailoa has suffered where he finished the game as a starter was last week against the San Francisco 49ers.
Given that background, it only makes sense that the Dolphins are featured in one of our two must-see fixtures from the remainder of the 2022 NFL season.
Bills vs Dolphins - Week 15
While NFL odds heading into the 2022 season positioned the Buffalo Bills as the favorites to lift the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history, they did not factor in a resurgent Miami Dolphins. The Bills are at the top of the AFC East, but the Dolphins are hot on their heels with a record of 8-5. Things will come to a head on December 18th when the pair square off at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo.
The Bills will head into the meeting as favorites, and with quarterback Josh Allen firing on all cylinders, it is easy to see why. If anyone has been as good as Tagovailoa this season, it's been the former University of Wyoming standout. The only players ahead of Allen in terms of throwing yards and touchdowns thrown are Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. This battle of AFC East divisional rivals, who also happen to be two of the league's best teams, promises fireworks.
Bengals vs Ravens - Week 18
As we all remember, last season ended in the heartbreak of the cruelest order for the Cincinnati Bengals. They shocked everyone - including Mahomes’ Chiefs thanks to an overtime victory - in last season's playoffs when they reached the Super Bowl for the first time in 32 years. In fact, they hadn’t even won a game in the playoffs - never mind reach the Super Bowl - since 1991.
And with barely a minute remaining at SoFi Stadium, it looked as though they would secure the victory. That was until Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford found wide receiver Cooper Kupp in the end zone with just 26 seconds remaining to steal the victory and the Lombardi Trophy.
The Super Bowl hangover was very real for the Bengals in the opening weeks of the 2022 season. They lost at home to their division rival Pittsburgh Steelers and then again on the road to the Dallas Cowboys. However, they have gotten things back on the right track in recent weeks and are hitting top form at the perfect time.
The Bengals have won their last five games and are deadlocked with the Baltimore Ravens at the top of the AFC North. So who will they face on the final weekend of the regular season? Of course, it has to be the Ravens.
The Ravens beat the Bengals in Week 5 and know that if they can secure another in the final week of the season, they may end the campaign as winners of the AFC North for the first time since 2019. However, their chance at victory will likely depend on the health of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is currently sitting out a few weeks with a leg injury. If he is healthy for the season finale, it should be one heck of a game.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
