Game-by-Game NFL thoughts: Week 1

[Rory Sparrow]

Eagles-Redskins
I watched the majority of this game. Eagles looked like the Bears in the 1st half, but then Wentz came on strong in the 2nd half. One thing I like about Wentz is that he's usually throwing past the 1st down marker. He had some deep throws to Jackson, but even his shorter throws to Jeffery and Ertz always gave his team a 1st down. That's what drove me nuts with Trubisky/Nagy in Week 1...every pass completion was dependent on RAC. Jordan Howard looked good. Case Keenum somehow wound up with 380 yards and 3 TDs for the Redskins.

Bills-Jets
Didn't watch. Leveon Bell still pretty good, Josh Allen still somehow winning games.

Vikings-Falcons
Considering quality of opponent, Vikings were most impressive. New OC limits Kirk Cousins passes, which puts less stress on shaky OL. Vikings defense with a big 'bounce back' game after underwhelming for the entire 2018 season. I think if Dalvin Cook stays healthy, he could decide the NFC North race. I loved him coming out of college, and he was taken only a couple spots before Adam Shaheen. Imagine if Pace had decided to trade up?

Ravens-Dolphins
Caught a few plays of this. Lamar Jackson pitched a perfect game. The Dolphins suck and might be the worst team in the NFL, but Jackson playing so well was very surprising. AFC North looks terrible, and Jackson could 'coast' this year to a division title, like Trubisky did last year.

KC-Jags
Watched a lot of this game. Fights, ejections, Jaguars have some of the dumbest players in the NFL (Jack, Harrison, etc.). Spent 5 minutes watch Myles Jack fight his way back onto the field after being sent off. Underrated story is that Mahomes got his knee twisted and looked gimpy the rest of the game. Didn't really matter because Jags defense left someone wide open on every play. If I was surprised about Lamar Jackson, I was REALLY surprised that Gardner Minshew went 22-25. I thought his NFL career would amount to David Fales arc. If any of the QBs on Sunday made you second guess Pace/Trubisky, it was Gardner Minshew.

Titans-Browns
I never bought the hype. Titans didn't even play particularly well, and still won by 30. Let me know when Browns have a winning season.

Rams-Panthers
Kept flipping to this game. A heavyweight fight as both teams brought their A game. Rams offense not explosive but still scored 30 points. Panthers are tough, but if Cam Newton isn't rushing for 50-100 yards then he isn't adding much value.

Bengals-Seahawks
Very weird game. Dalton throws for 418 yards yet the team only scores 20 points. Very inefficient. Seahawks look to be the same...ok on offense, ok on defense, hope to win with fortunate luck and Russell Wilson making 1-2 big plays. Bengal WR Jon Ross was incredible, basically getting more yards this game than in his entire career. It would be like Kevin White breaking out for a 7-158-2 statline...he's still in the league, right?

Chargers-Colts
Only saw the end. Seemed like the Chargers had the game well in hand but then Anthony Lynn went into a defensive shell and nearly choked it away. Rivers is really amazing to me...no Melvin Gordon, yet he can still carry the team.

Niners-Bucs
Didn't watch. Battle of overrated QBs. Winston should not be starting for an NFL team. Jimmy G might follow him after this year.

Cowboys-Giants
Was confused when Jason Witten scored a TD. HUH? With him and Cooper and Cobb, Prescott has enough to do some damage. I thought the Cowboys defense would be more dominant. If the Dallas offense stays healthy, they could be tough to beat.

Lions-Cards
Saw the end of this game when it was the last game going. Lions really pissed away a win. I felt really good for Larry Fitzgerald, who had a big game and has been stuck in Arizona for decades. This could be the high point of Kyler Murray's NFL career...he looked like a poor man's Johnny Manziel.

Steelers-Pats
Didn't watch. I saw people picking the Steelers to win the AFC and thought WTF. They are coming off years where they lost great RBs and WRs with nothing in return. The cupboard is bare. 3 points on offense should be expected.

 

[bamainatlanta]

Cook will look phenomenal for all of 5 games until he gets injured. I actually got to watch a lot of football yesterday and it every team was throwing deep often whether they were successful or not. Maybe somebody should tell Nagy about that.

 

[Bear_Assed]

if the bears had the same game plan as the Vikings did this week on offense, Bears would have won.

Cousins had 10 pass attempts. And they have 2 pro bowl receivers to throw to. If Nagy limited Mitch to 10 pass attempts and ran the shit out of “Run DMC”, we’d have won.

 

[dennehy]

Cook was my second favorite RB prospect of the last 5 years, behind Saquon. Incredible burst and cutting ability. Obviously health is an issue.

LOL Lions.

I thought the Rams offense looked pretty weak. I think Goff got figured out a bit in the second half last year. Get him off his spot and he's not good. Agree on Cam.

I used to be something of a Browns fan. I think their fans are mostly hilarious and the most self-deprecating I've met. I have good friends in Cleveland and we go there sometimes. Not a popular opinion but I like it. That said, the Baker, OBJ, Kitchens trio is so unlikable, I truly enjoyed that implosion/beatdown yesterday.

 

[WestCoastBearsFan]

Sounds like the early returns on the Goff extension are not great.

 

[mattb78]

I didn't watch the viks, but I was most impressed with Dallas. They get hyped every year so you never really know, but they looked the part. Looked like a college offense the way their WRs are getting open. Perhaps the Giants secondary is that awful.

KC and NE the class of the AFC just like last year. NFC is were its gets interesting.

 

[mattb78]

Cook is electric but got straight up abused in college.

 

[dennehy]

Gotta give Dak his props, but was there a Giant within 7 yards of the receiver on any of his TD passes? It did look like a college offense every time I watched. 60 year old Randall Cobb and Blake Jarwin 30 yards downfield, between the hashes, and basically no one else on the screen.

 

[Rory Sparrow]

I thought the Rams offense looked pretty weak. I think Goff got figured out a bit in the second half last year. Get him off his spot and he's not good.

Yeah, Goff looked somewhat miserable...but he did convert 9/17 3rd downs.

 

[dennehy]

Yeah, Goff looked somewhat miserable...but he did convert 9/17 3rd downs.

Yep, and they ran for 166. He had lots of very manageable 3rd downs.

 

[mattb78]

Cowboys are pretty loaded though. I mean a very good OL with Zeke as a RB and Cooper as a top tier WR. That is a pretty loaded offense and then you add on Cobb, Gallup, Whitten, Tavon Austin, I mean those 4 guys aren't dominant but all have some skills for certain packages.