NFL Week 1 Quick Hitters
Week 1 has come and gone; the season is officially underway. It was a generally low scoring weekend, which makes sense because the defenses are usually ahead of the offenses to start the season. But the Ravens vs. Bills game on Sunday Night Football made up for any lack of scoring in the earlier slate. I don't think that will be the last time we see those two play this season.
But let's get into it, each week I will provide just a 1-2 sentence thought on what I saw or thought about in each game.
Week 1 Thoughts
Cowboys vs. Eagles
The Cowboys will go as far as Dak and CeeDee take them. The defense, without Micah Parsons, is just undermanned and they will be in a lot of shootouts this year. The Eagles are just too talented, I am a little concerned about the CB2 position, but I am sure Howie Roseman will fix it in no time.
Chiefs vs. Chargers
Justin Herbert is a top 5 Quarterback. Say it with me now, Justin Herbert is a top 5 Quarterback. He was spectacular in this game and the Chargers surprisingly changed up their philosophy to a more pass-heavy approach. The Chiefs lost Xavier Worthy on the third play of the game, and besides a bust in coverage you really didn't hear from Travis Kelce all night. The Chiefs are in danger of being 0-2 after their Super Bowl rematch next week versus the Eagles.
Giants vs. Commanders
Imagine every time you decide to go drive your car you get in a car crash, every single time. But you keep driving your car anyways. That is my life as a Giants fan, I get excited at the beginning of every season only for every season to be a car crash.
Steelers vs. Jets
I would've never believed this would be the highest scoring game from the early slate. Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields dueled it out, and the Steelers are on their way to going 9-8 and squeaking into the playoffs.
Buccaneers vs. Falcons
Emeka Egbuka has arrived and delivered two touchdowns to help lead the team to victory. The Falcons outplayed the Buccaneers yet still lost, and I can't imagine Younghoe Koo is on the team much longer after missing a relatively easy kick to force Overtime.
Raiders vs. Patriots
It's amazing what a competent Quarterback can do for a team. Geno Smith had a stellar day vs the Raiders defense and peppered Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers on their way to victory.
Cardinals vs. Saints
This is the only game I did not watch a snap of on Sunday. Can you blame me? It's going to be a long season for the Spencer Rattler led Saints
Panthers vs. Jaguars
A nightmare game for Panthers fans, like I brought up in a recent blog, I felt as if the jury was still out on if Bryce Young was the franchise QB. This game was not a good sign considering it was versus a Jaguars defense with little expectations. I liked what I saw out of the Jaguars offense though and will be eager for their matchup next weekend with the Bengals
Bengals vs. Browns
The Bengals are lucky to be coming out of this week 1-0, but like Joe Burrow said, they didn't win any of these types of games last year. As for the Browns, it just seems like nothing has changed and it will be a very long season.
Dolphins vs. Colts
One of my preseason questions in my AFC blog was whether the Dolphins were going to be a dumpster fire based on their bad vibes this offseason. I think we got our answer yesterday. It's early but I think this organization is heading towards an inevitable overhaul. As a Giants fan, I will not be answering any questions about Daniel Jones. Thank you.
Titans vs. Broncos
I don't think any Broncos fan can be coming away from that game feeling tremendous. A win is a win in the NFL but Bo Nix looked like the Quarterback we all thought he was coming out of the draft. Cam Ward had some moments, but a week 1 matchup at the Broncos for his first career start was very rude by the schedule makers.
49ers vs. Seahawks
As long as Christian McCaffrey is healthy the offense will go through him. Robert Saleh made his return as the 9ers Defensive Coordinator, and his impact was immediate. This 9ers team will have to win different ways than their teams in the past, especially with Kittle now out.
Lions vs. Packers
Oh boy, I predicted in my NFC blog that the Lions would start slow, but not this slow. It's only 1 game, and they were on the road, but the offense did not look remotely like what we saw last year. Goff never looked comfortable and Jahmyr Gibbs ended up with 10 receptions, which should never happen. The Packers, however, are a legit Super Bowl contender. Micah Parsons transforms that defense and Jordan Love is healthy after a injury riddled 2024.
Texans vs. Rams
Watching this game makes you question why the Texans didn't do more to upgrade the offensive line. CJ Stroud was on the run all game and could only muster 9 points. The Texans defense is legit and did enough to win this game. The Rams always start slow, so they'll take a sloppy win like this. At some point they need to find a way to get more chunk running plays on the ground.
Ravens vs. Bills
Football is the greatest sport in the world. This game is why we watch it. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are MVPs for a reason, and Derrick Henry will go down as one of the best running backs of all time. Both teams will make the playoffs, this was just extremely important for seeding purposes. Buffalo does need to get healthy in the secondary, starting two 6th round cornerbacks opening night is not an ideal world to live in.
Vikings vs. Bears
As I've said before, I think Kevin O'Connell is one of the best coaches in the NFL. He proved it again Monday with his trust in JJ McCarthy. I think McCarthy showed a lot of signs of potentially being the franchise QB and I think he will only grow under O'Connell. As for the Bears, man, does Caleb Williams sure deliver the ultimate highs and lows. He came out scorching hot and making doubters look foolish, and then proceeded to look like the Caleb Williams we've come accustomed to. He just misses too many throws, I think for the most part he makes the right reads, he just doesn't execute on the throws too many times.
On to week 2, I love football
