Game score: Texans 20 Chiefs 34
Texans: The Texans still need Deandre Hopkins
The Texans wide receiver core struggled. They had drops early, and no one besides Will Fuller got much separation on the Chiefs secondary. Meanwhile, Deandre Hopkins, now on the Cardinals, had 14 receptions, which was more than all of the Texans wide receivers combined (13 receptions).
Chiefs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire might be the best RB Andy Reid’s ever had
Andy Reid has coached some very good running backs in his career like Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy, but Edwards-Helaire might be better than both of them. His 5.5 average yards per carry was very impressive, and Reid hasn’t even tapped into his receiving potential. If he can develop into a pass catcher, there’s no doubt he’ll be the best running back Andy Reid has ever had.
Game score: Seahawks 38 Falcons 25
Seahawks: Russell Wilson is still elite
Russell Wilson has been an elite QB for so long. He is in the same tier of QBs as Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes II without a doubt. Against the Falcons, he had an 88% completion percentage on 35 passes and had an average of 9.2 yards/throw. However, that could also be attributed to the Falcons.
Falcons: Their defense is still trash
They lost Desmond Trufant in the offseason and replaced him with AJ Terrell, who got burnt by DK Metcalf for long passes all game long. Besides that, everything looks the same with this bad Falcons defense. On the bright side, Falcons games are probably going to be fun to watch because they will be shootouts.
Game score: Jets 17 Bills 27
Jets: Time is running out on Adam Gase and Sam Darnold
This game looks a lot closer than it was because the Jets never seemed to be able to move the ball consistently on offense. Given that Adam Gase is supposed to be an offensive minded coach that can elevate Sam Darnold in his 3rd year, time might be running out on Gase to fix this team. There were rumors that he was going to be fired after last year. If he starts the season with a few losses in a row, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him fired midseason.
Bills: Josh Allen is really fun to watch, even if he struggles with accuracy sometimes
Josh Allen is one of the best running QBs in the NFL. He doesn’t get by defenders using pure speed, but he’s really elusive and hard to bring down. He did struggle a bit with accuracy especially in the red zone, but even if he doesn’t end up being a franchise QB, Bills fans should be entertained watching Allen play.
Game score: Bears 27 Lions 23
Bears: Trubisky’s Jekyll and Hyde act has got to stop if he wants an extension this offseason
Trubisky was pretty awful the first three quarters, going 12 for 26 passing and racking up just 153 passing yards. He struggled with accuracy throughout the game, but once the fourth quarter started, Trubisky came alive and scored 21 points to pull off a comeback against the Lions. Although Trubisky was great in the 4th quarter, some of the credit goes to the Lions.
Lions: Lions are still the king of choking in the NFL
De’andre Swift dropped a wide open touchdown in the waning moments of the game that would have won the Lions the game. Swift wasn’t even on the roster last year that blew 4th quarter leads regularly, but he must’ve picked up on the habit while watching film of the Lions’ plays last year. Injuries may have played a role as journeyman corner Tony McCrae, who replaced an injured Desmond Trufant, was picked on the entire game.
Game score: Packers 43 Vikings 34
Packers: Matt LaFleur doesn’t want to free Aaron Jones after all
Aaron Jones is the Packers’ best running back and it’s not even close; however, Matt LeFleur still insists on having a running back committee for some reason. Jones got about half the carries for the Packers when he really should be a workhorse back. On the bright side, Aaron Rodgers was brilliant and led the Packers to a win.
Vikings: The Vikings pass rush disappeared
They finished with 0 sacks the entire game and just 2 QB hits. Yannik Ngakoue’s presence should’ve been an upgrade from Eversen Griffen last season. Aaron Rodgers is notoriously slippery to bring down, but the Vikings lack of pass rush played a key role in their secondary getting burnt by Rodgers.
Game score: Dolphins 11 Patriots 21
Dolphins: Dolphin’s offense was bad… but they have excuses
Fitzpatrick threw 3 picks against a talented Patriots secondary, but there’s more to dissect here than just the box score. The Dolphins were missing their top 2 receivers (Devante Parker, and Albert Wilson) and they’re breaking in a new offensive coordinator. The Dolphins weren’t expected to win this year anyway and this performance against the Patriots is admirable for a tanking team.
Patriots: How did no one sign Cam Newton before July
Cam Newton was on the free agent market until July, when other QBs like Nick Foles and Jeff Driskel were finding new homes. Newton looks very good in his first game back, and is making the rest of the NFL look very silly for passing up on him due to injury concerns. Seeing a Patriots QB run is going to take some time to get used to.
Game score: Eagles 17 Football Team 27
Eagles: The former MVP candidate Carson Wentz is nowhere to be seen
3 years ago, Carson Wentz was widely considered an MVP candidate before he got injured and Nick Foles took over. That QB from 3 years ago does not resemble the Wentz today. He tries to force too many throws and misses open receivers. His 2 turnovers gave the Football Team points they needed on a day where their offense was stagnant for the first 3 quarters.
Football Team: The Washington O-Line might be the worst in the entire league
Football Team LT Geron Christian and LG Wes Martin were total liabilities in this game. They finished last and second to last in PFF grades for this week. Haskins was constantly under pressure and had the lowest available time to throw this week per PFF. This bad O-Line does not bode well for a team trying to develop a young QB into a franchise QB.
Game score: Colts 20 Jaguars 27
Colts: Colts were the better team… but Phillip Rivers choked
The Colts outgained the Jaguars by more than 200 yards and they still lost. A 4th down stop by the Jaguars at the goal line, one Rivers pick late in the game, and a missed FG were what caused the Colts to lose. Those seem like fixable errors, but Rivers has to perform better for the Colts to be playoff contenders.
Jaguars: Minshew Mania might be here to stay
Minshew went 19 for 20 on the day. While he barely attempted any deep balls, he was accurate, and turnover-free. The Jags offense needs to get creative to find chunk plays as Minshew doesn’t seem to trust his receivers to create separation on deep routes; however, a big reason why the Jags won was because of the smart and efficient play by Minshew.
Game score: Ravens 38 Browns 6
Ravens: This Ravens team might be even better than last year’s 13-3 squad
Newcomers Calais Cambell and Patrick Queen looked solid in their Ravens debuts and JK Dobbins found the endzone twice. Oh, and Lamar Jackson has another year of development in Greg Roman’s offense. This team just looks unstoppable.
Browns: The Browns secondary got exposed
The Browns secondary looks average on paper, but they played terrible against a stellar Ravens passing game. Safety Karl Joseph is fine in the run game, but can’t cover at all. Andrew Sendejo can’t keep up with the speedsters on the Ravens offense. The gaps in the Browns secondary made it so that Lamar Jackson didn’t even need to scramble to dice them up.
Game score: Raiders 34 Panthers 30
Raiders: The Raiders O-Line outperformed expectations
The Raiders didn’t give up a single sack all game even though they were starting backup OT Denzelle Good, who has been a guard for most of his career. The O-Line also cleared the way for Josh Jacobs who ran for almost 100 yards. Given that they pulled off this performance with a banged-up O-Line, Derek Carr should be comfortable in the pocket throughout the season.
Panthers: The Panthers pass rush needs to be better
Not getting to Derek Carr even once this game is not going to cut it. The Panthers are especially thin at CB after Donte Jackson’s injury and the lack of pass rush exposed their secondary even more. On the bright side, the Panthers seem to be in for some shootouts this year, so that will be fun to watch going forward.
Game score: Chargers 16 Bengals 13
Chargers: Tyrod Taylor’s return to action was exactly what you expected it to be
Tyrod Taylor was solid but unspectacular in his return to action. He relied on their running game, didn’t push the ball downfield, and had questionable accuracy. On the plus side, he played turnover-free football and did just enough to secure the W. That’s what Tyrod Taylor has done for his entire career.
Bengals: Joe Burrow is going to be fun to watch going forward
He wasn’t afraid at all in his NFL debut. While the miscommunications were there, he made some pretty passes and put his team in a position to win the game. A questionable call on AJ Green negated the win for the Bengals, and Randy Bullock made sure the Bengals lost the game; however, this is still a very solid debut from Burrow.
Game score: Cardinals 24 49ers 20
Cardinals: Kyler Murray and Deandre Hopkins could open the Superbowl window for the Cardinals
Talking about the Superbowl after one win is definitely an overreaction but the Cardinals looked very impressive against the NFC Champs from last year. Kyler Murray was effective through the air and on the ground, and Hopkins hauled in 14 catches. This Cardinals team could be very fun to watch this season.
49ers: Jimmy Garropolo is not an elite QB
While Jimmy G got a lot of unfair criticism last year for his Superbowl performance, he was mostly efficient and safe; however, Jimmy G just doesn’t look like a player that can elevate his team to the next level and this game proved it. He was inaccurate at times and his lackluster passing performance doomed the 49ers.
Game score: Buccaneers 23 Saints 34
Buccaneers: Don’t panic about Tom Brady… yet
Brady didn’t look good against the Saints, but I think it’s way too early to sound the alarm on him. The shortened offseason definitely didn’t help his new weapons acclimate to him, and he had flashes of brilliance throughout the game. Brady’s done too much to be counted out after just 1 week of play.
Saints: Where did Michael Thomas go?
Thomas finished with a measly 3 catches for 17 yards and just didn’t look like the superstar WR that he is. Whether that is an injury-related issue or not, Brees definitely felt it and he finished with under 200 yards on the day. Brees definitely needs Michael Thomas to be productive.
Game score: Cowboys 17 Rams 20
Cowboys: The Cowboys Offense is too predictable
For some reason, the Cowboys staff seems reluctant to let Dak Prescott win the game for them. They run the ball way too much on early downs and refuse to allow Prescott to get into a rhythm. It’s just one game, but the renovated Cowboys offense has yet to be seen.
Rams: Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley’s debut couldn’t have gone much better
He held the Cowboys offense to just 244 yards. That’s very impressive going up against a team with the likes of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot, and Amari Cooper. Some thought the Rams needed Wade Phillips’ exotic defense to survive against teams with offensive power, but Staley proved to be up to the task.
Game score: Steelers 26 Giants 16
Steelers: RB Benny Snell looks a lot better compared to his performance last year
Snell last year was almost exclusively a power back that was stiff and not agile; however, after losing a few pounds in the offseason, he looks a lot more elusive. There was some thought around the league that 2020 4th round pick Anthony McFarland Jr. might take on the RB2 role that Snell had last year, but given the way he’s played, he’s pushing himself to compete for James Conner’s carries.
Giants: Saquon’s rough night is more of the Steelers D-Line being dominant rather than Saquon being bad
Saquon had an abysmal statline of 15 carries for 6 yards, and he averaged 0.4 yards a carry. It doesn’t get much worse than that. To be fair to Barkley, there was hardly a running pay where he was untouched before he got to the line of scrimmage. I think this says more about the Steelers D-line abusing the Giants O-Line than it does about Saquon Barkley.
Game score: Titans 16 Broncos 14
Titans: Stephen Gostkowski might be the first system kicker to ever exist
The future Hall-of-Famer Gostkowski went 1 for 4 on FGs and 1 for 2 on PATs. He started the night ranked 5th in all time FG accuracy, and dropped to 8th after this game. For the former Patriots kicker, maybe his heart won’t allow him to kick for another team out of loyalty to Belichick. Whatever it is, the Titans might be better off not kicking for the rest of the year. This game should have been a Titans blowout.
Broncos: Jerry Jeudy is very exciting, but is a little too raw
Whenever Jeudy gets the ball in his hands, it has the potential to be a touchdown. He’s so agile and elusive with the ball in his hands; it reminds me of prime Devin Hester. However, he had 2 drops, one of which would’ve pretty much sealed the game for the Broncos. Maybe it’s just week 1 jitters for the rookie, but he needs to be better.