We finally got our beloved football back and Week 1 in the NFL certainly did not disappoint. We saw some outstanding individual performances as well as some highly contested games. Week 1 is always good for a few wild surprises and this year was no different. Surely, we all had the Washington Football Team edging the Philadelphia Eagles by 10 points, right? If not, then a lot of us had new Titans kicker Steven Gostkowski missing four kicks in Denver just hit a game-winner, didn’t we? Of course, none of us predicted those outcomes, but that is the beauty of the initial weekend of the season. It is important not to overreact to one game as each team has 15 remaining, but here is where they lie after one week of play.
Let’s get to it.
1. Kansas City Chiefs: (1-0)
The defending Super Bowl Champions wasted no time getting right back on track during the season opener on Thursday night. QB Patrick Mahomes was able to find his receivers downfield with little pressure, and the KC defense was able to keep rising star Deshaun Watson grounded. There is a lot of excitement in regard to 32nd overall pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and for good reason. He rushed for 138 yards on 25 carries in his debut.
2. Baltimore Ravens: (1-0)
It was business as usual for the Baltimore Ravens Sunday afternoon. They dismantled a banged-up Browns defense by establishing the run and running play-action early and often. Lamar Jackson looks poised to compete for his 2nd straight MVP honor, and the Baltimore defense seems to have returned to its top 10 status.
3. New Orleans Saints: (1-0)
After a sloppy start, New Orleans proved that they are still the team to beat in the NFC South. The story of the day was not from the Saints' high-powered offense; however, it was the Saints' defense. The experienced unit returned back to action by picking off QB Tom Brady twice while sacking him 3 three times.
4. Seattle Seahawks: (1-0)
Seattle started off their season with an impressive road victory over the Atlanta Falcons. QB Russell Wilson sliced the Atlanta secondary, throwing for 4 touchdowns on 322 yards. Big offseason acquisition Jamal Adams fit right in, leading the team with 12 tackles and 2 hits on QB Matt Ryan.
5. Green Bay Packers: (1-0)
The last time we saw Green Bay, the offense could barely move the ball against a suffocating San Francisco defense in the NFC Championship Game. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers did a complete 180 and lit up the scoreboard in Minnesota. Davante Adams looked strong, catching 14 passes (2 touchdowns) for 156 yards. They look to get their second division victory in as many weeks as they will host Detroit on Sunday.
6. San Francisco 49ers: (0-1)
Our first week 1 loser on our list, the San Francisco 49ers. They struggled for most of the game against the new and improved Arizona Cardinals. Aside from a 76-yard TD pass to RB Raheem Mostert, QB Jimmy Garoppolo had trouble putting up points consistently. The defense could not figure out Arizona QB Kyler Murray, letting him throw for 230 yards and rush for 91 more. San Francisco has the talent and pedigree to bounce back, so we should not overreact off of one lackluster performance.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers: (1-0)
Big Ben looked strong in his return, throwing for 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. However, the story of the day was the Pittsburgh front 7. One of the top units in the NFL a year ago, the Steelers added to their biggest strength with DE Stephon Tuitt returning from injury. Pittsburgh managed to hold Pro Bowl RB Saquan Barkley to just 6 yards on 15 rushing attempts (!!!). Just as well, they pressured QB Daniel Jones 20 times on Monday night, 5 more than the next closest team in Week 1.
8. Tennessee Titans: (1-0)
Luckily for Tennessee, an ugly win counts just the same as a pretty one. K Stephen Gostkowski split the uprights from 25 yards out to lift the Titans over the Broncos with:17 remaining in the game, but it was not as easy as it sounds. Gostkowski had missed 3 field goals as well as an extra point earlier in the game but found a way to make it when it mattered most. While they are happy to be 1-0, the outlook at that position is unclear for Tennessee.
9. Buffalo Bills: (1-0)
Buffalo started their season with an easy win against the lowly New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. Their defense looked strong against Sam Darnold and Co. while Josh Allen made enough plays to secure a victory. The Bills now will look to build off of their week one victory as they travel to Miami for a Week 2 contest against the Dolphins.
10. Los Angeles Rams: (1-0)
The Rams had a very promising start to the season as they downed the Dallas Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football." The score was 20-17 when Dallas WR Michael Gallup seemingly put the Cowboys in field goal position near the end of regulation, but an offensive pass interference call crushed their chances. The Rams defense held a star-studded offense to just 17 points, while Jared Goff looked confident coming off of a down 2019 season.
11. New England Patriots: (1-0)
The Cam Newton era started off on a positive note as they took down the Miami Dolphins by 10 points on Sunday. Cam Newton looked like the player that led his team to the Super Bowl in 2015, running and passing with ease. He seemed to be injury-free and was a dual-threat throughout all 4 quarters. The defense picked off QB Ryan Fitzpatrick 3 times and held Miami to just 87 yards rushing.
12. Dallas Cowboys: (0-1)
The Dallas offense failed to put up the necessary amount of points that they needed in order to win close games like the one they played on Sunday. RB Ezekiel Elliot had a strong day of the ground, but the Cowboys failed to cash in on multiple occasions that resulted in only 17 points on the board. The task next week will be scoring on an Atlanta defense that struggled a week ago against the Seattle Seahawks.
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: (0-1)
Not a picture-perfect start for Tom Brady in Tampa Bay as he struggled against a strong New Orleans defense. He threw 2 touchdowns, but he also threw 2 interceptions. The new-look Buccaneers may take a few weeks to get comfortable but expect them to be a playoff contender this year.
14. Philadelphia Eagles: (0-1)
The Eagles were coasting as they were leading 17-0 in the second quarter against Washington, but then disaster struck. QB Carson Wentz suddenly started turning the ball over and the Eagles could not figure out how to move the ball in the 2nd half. They allowed Washington to score 27 unanswered points on Sunday, a scary stat to carry into week 2. They will play host to the Rams in week 2.
15. Chicago Bears: (1-0)
QB Mitchell Trubisky won the game for the Chicago Bears against the Detroit Lions. Yes, you read that correctly. The Bears had just a 1.5 percent chance to win according to ESPN’s FPI before Trubisky passed for 3 4th quarter touchdowns to complete a magnificent 17-point comeback. A very promising performance for a team that knows they can hold it down on the defensive side of the ball.
16. Arizona Cardinals: (1-0)
QB Kyler Murray started off his season strong against a really good San Francisco defense in Santa Clara. Murray will have the opportunity to only get stronger from here, and he may be a dark horse candidate for MVP this year. The Arizona defense held Garoppolo in check all day and only conceded 20 points to the defending NFC champions.
17. Minnesota Vikings: (0-1)
Really bad performance for the Minnesota defense against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. They got torched by WRs Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as well as let up 158 yards on the ground. All those yards led to 43 points scored against them. One positive was the performance of WR Adam Thielen in his first game without fellow wideout Stefon Diggs. He caught 6 passes for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns.
18. Houston Texans: (0-1)
The road does not get any easier for Houston as they host Baltimore next week. This game is coming a week removed from getting handled by the Kansas City Chiefs. They will hope to contain Lamar Jackson better than they did last year, as they lost by 34 points.
19. Denver Broncos: (0-1)
What was HC Vic Fangio doing at the end of the game Monday night? Fangio opted against using his 3 timeouts while Tennessee was setting up for their eventual game-winning field goal. Instead, Fangio gave Drew Lock the ball with 17 seconds left, down 2 at his own 25-yard line. The Broncos were unable to get into field goal position and fell short against the Titans. Good thing they ended the game with 2 timeouts in their pocket!
20. Los Angeles Chargers: (1-0)
The Chargers defense looked strong against rookie QB Joe Burrow in the first game of his career. They were able to hold the Bengals to just 13 points on Sunday afternoon. QB Tyrod Taylor struggled at times but stepped up when necessary and made a few key plays for Los Angeles. Look for them to incorporate RB Austin Ekeler more in the passing game next week against Kansas City.
21. Las Vegas Raiders: (1-0)
Good start for the Las Vegas in their first game at Carolina. QB Derek Carr did his job throwing a touchdown and not throwing any interceptions. 2nd year RB Josh Jacobs looks primed to break out, even more, this year as he totaled 3 touchdowns and 139 yards from the line of scrimmage The Raiders have a tough assignment next week as they host the Saints on Monday night.
22. Indianapolis Colts: (0-1)
QB Philip Rivers struggled mightily after a great first drive in Jacksonville. He struggled to make throws against a young, inexperienced Jaguars defense. On the other side of the ball, the Colts got carved up by QB Gardner Minshew. I do not think I have to go into more depth as to why Indianapolis should be concerned.
23. Atlanta Falcons: (0-1)
The Atlanta defense seemingly had zero solutions for stopping Russell Wilson’s air raid on Sunday. Their defense is faced with figuring it out quickly as they will face off against a hungry Dallas team next week. As for the offense, WRs Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley are the best duo in the NFL. QB Matt Ryan will undoubtedly find success with them throughout the entirety of the season.
24. Detroit Lions: (0-1)
What a heartbreaking result for Mathew Stafford in his return from injury. He had conducted what should have been a perfect game winning-winning drive only to have his pass slip through rookie RB D’Andre Swift’s hands in the endzone with :06 left in the game. Detroit has no time to think about what could have been, however, as they travel to Green Bay for a big game against the division-rival Packers in week 2.
25. Cleveland Browns: (0-1)
The Browns were outclassed on every level when they took on the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. The defense had no answer for the reigning MVP, and the offense could not run the ball or throw it. To make matters worse, they are really banged up on the offensive line and in their secondary. It will be a short week for Cleveland as they take on Cincinnati on Thursday night.
26. New York Giants: (0-1)
Tough draw week 1 for the New York Giants. They played a Pittsburgh front 7 that overwhelmed Joe Judge’s new-look offensive line. QB Daniel Jones faced a tremendous amount of pressure, but he fared pretty well all things considered. He made two big mistakes that resulted in costly interceptions, but he held his own while his line was faltering.
27. Washington Football Team: (1-0)
Washington erased a 17-0 deficit against a highly touted Eagles squad in the nation’s capital on Sunday. QB Dwayne Haskins did just enough while the Football Team’s defense created problems for the Philadelphia offense. I do not want to overreact too much to one win, but if they can continue to confuse opponent quarterbacks the way they did Sunday, they can move up this list fast.
28. Cincinnati Bengals: (0-1)
The first overall pick in the 2020 draft had a solid debut considering he had no preseason experience at his disposal. QB Joe Burrow led a masterful drive to put the Bengals in position to take the game to overtime, but K Randy Bullock pushed his kick wide right. While the loss hurts, HC Zac Taylor has to be excited with what he saw out of his rookie QB on Sunday.
29. Miami Dolphins: (0-1)
It was not the sort of showing that 2nd-year head coach Brian Flores had envisioned for his Dolphins. The defense looked solid, but the offense struggled mightily against the Patriots defense. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 3 interceptions and they could not find ANY running lanes. We probably will not see 1st round pick Tua Tagovailoa any time soon, but there will definitely be murmurs south Florida.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars: (1-0)
Not so sure if the Jaguars played well or the colts were just flat out awful, but nevertheless the Jaguars are 1-0. Minshew threw 3 touchdowns and only 1 incomplete pass (!!!). On defense, rookie CB CJ Henderson secured 1 interception and broke up 3 passes from Philip Rivers in a dream debut.
31. Carolina Panthers: (0-1)
The offense showed some positive signs against Las Vegas in week 1. They managed to put up 30 points against a team that some have discussed as contenders for a wild card in the AFC. Free-agent signing QB Teddy Bridgewater threw the ball well, and RB Christian McCaffery did his thing on the ground. It was a losing effort for a rebuilding team, but there were definitely signs of life.
32. New York Jets: (0-1)
Just a really bad showing for the Jets. Sam Darnold looked lost, they had no run game, and the defense looked lost without C.J Mosely against Buffalo. To make matters worse, RB Le’Veon Bell was put on injured reserve today with a hamstring injury. It is looking to be a long season for New York. Hey, at least the Yankees have saved their season temporarily.
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