The most hotly contested and controversial sports league in the USA kicked off last weekend. And yes, it was crazy. We witnessed a blind side upset, a rare tie, and some surprising break out players. Week 1 in the NFL had it all, and without further ado, let’s jump right into it:
We are gonna start with the game that began the final season out in Oakland. The Raiders came face to face with a highly touted Los Angeles Rams squad. This game came shortly after Jon Gruden and company shipped star linebacker (LB) Khalil Mack to the Bears. That sure came back to bite them. Los Angeles dropped a heavy 33 points on the Raiders and ran away with the 33 to 13 victory. Oakland quarterback (QB) Derek Carr did not really help out the lackluster defense by throwing three interceptions, one of them being returned for a touchdown. The Raiders will look to improve upon a week 1 loss against in Denver against the undefeated Broncos.
Meanwhile, rookie QB Sam Darnold shocked the world in Detroit. After throwing a pick 6 on his first professional pass attempt, the youngster went on to go 16 for 21 with 198 yards and two touchdowns, carrying the Jets to a 48 to 17 victory over the Lions. In addition, the Lions defense looked sluggish and struggled to contain New York running back (RB) Isaiah Crowell. The youngest week 1 starting QB in 60 years will look to continue his hot streak at home against the Dolphins next week.
The Packers and Bears had a thriller of a game in which new addition LB Khalil Mack had a pick 6 and a strip sack. Aaron Rodgers managed to return from a knee injury in the fourth quarter of the game and score 3 late touchdowns to give Green Bay a 24 to 23 victory.
Alex Smith and the new look Redskins started the season strong against a horrid Arizona Cardinals team. In addition to Washington’s new quarterback performing well, new RB Adrian Peterson proved that he can still perform at a high level. The Redskins defense held the Cardinals to 6 first half yards and finished the game with a 24 to 6 win.
The Cowboys proved what I had been fearing for them – they have no one outside of Ezekiel Elliott. On the other hand, the same could be said for the Panthers and Cam Newton, who took care of business against Dallas by a score of 16 to 8.
One of the lowest profile games of the week took place out in Denver. The Broncos won by a slim margin against Russell Wilson and his slowly deteriorating Seahawks. The final score was 27 to 24 in a game where one-handed prodigy Shaquem Griffin took the field for the Seahawks for the first time ever. This game was a battle of below average teams, with the more talented of the two coming out on top.
Rookie QB Patrick Mahomes turned a lot of heads on Sunday. He carried the Chiefs to a 38 to 28 win over the division rival Chargers with 4 passing TDs. He had a little help from “The Cheetah,” Tyreek Hill, who had 2 touchdowns on the day. Los Angeles RB Melvin Gordon was a threat as always but he could not outpace the firepower of Mahomes and his offense.
The Baltimore Ravens absolutely destroyed the Bills by a score of 47 to 3. There isn’t much to say about this one other than the fact that Buffalo has the worst team in the league. By far.
The Jaguars played a very Jaguars-esque game on Sunday in against the Giants. QB Blake Bortles was below average (as usual), the defense smothered the Giants for a meager 15 points (as usual), and RB Leonard Fournette showed off what his rookie season has the potential to be – amazing. Fournette’s counterpart in the “star rookie RB” conversation just so happened to be on the other side of the field, Saquon Barkley, and he carried the Giants to a close game with a final score of 20-15 in favor of Jacksonville.
What is going on down in Tampa Bay? Starting QB Jameis Winston was injured on Sunday for their game against the Buccaneers’ game against the Saints, so unreliable back-up Ryan Fitzpatrick was in. The Saints should easily win, right? Wrong. Fitzpatrick threw for 417 yards and 4 touchdowns and shocked the world by topping New Orleans and they’re highly touted defense 48 to 40.
The Patriots took care of business down in Houston on Sunday. Rob Gronkowski got the 27th 100 yard game of his career as 40-year-old Tom Brady and Co. spoiled the return of Texans QB Deshaun Watson from the ACL tear that sidelined him in the middle of last season.
Similarly to the Patriots, the Vikings handled an expected win with virtual ease. They took out the 49ers by a score of 24 to 16 in Minnesota on Sunday, knocking 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo to a career 6-1 as a starter. Jimmy G will have to start winning soon if he wants to keep the hype around him intact.
The Dolphins and Titans played a 7 hour game on Sunday. Yes, a 7-hour game. There was a rain delay that separated the two halves of the game by 4 hours. And when the sky cleared, QB Ryan Tannehill and his Dolphins closed things out by a score of 27 to 20.
I’m sure you all know QB Andrew Luck, the guy who hasn’t played a full season in 3 years because of arm injuries. Yeah, well he attempted 53 passes on Sunday, not the best plan if you ask me. It might have been justified if the Colts would have won, but the Bengals stomped them 34 to 23.
That brings us to the surprising game of the week, Browns vs. Steelers. The Browns did not win a game in 2017 and the Steelers were one of the final eight teams remaining in the league. And they tied. Yes, tied. A missed extra point and field goal by Browns kicker (K) Zane Angeles proved to be fatal as Cleveland narrowly missed their first win in over a year.
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