NFL Week 1: Notes and observations
The first week of the NFL season is in the books, save for two games on Monday night between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, and the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers. We saw plenty of great plays, some really lousy play, and a few intriguing storylines to watch moving forward.
Let’s take stock of where we are at after the first 13 games of the campaign…
The New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks are in major trouble if they can’t fix their offensive lines. While the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers are good teams, neither has a terrific defensive front (especially Dallas). The Seahawks couldn’t do anything against Green Bay, leaving Russell Wilson to run for his life more often than not. Somehow, he was only sacked three times, but the play was continuously blown up. Eli Manning was also only sacked on three occasions, but again, the designs were destroyed almost immediately.
Meanwhile, the AFC South looks like a complete dumpster fire. The Tennessee Titans followed up a miserable preseason with a home loss to the Oakland Raiders, 26-16. Oakland is a good team, but Marcus Mariota played an average game instead of a good one, while the defense couldn’t get off the field. However, Tennessee was still the best of this division. The Indianapolis Colts were beaten 46-9 by the Lo Angeles Rams, allowing Jared Goff to throw for over 300 yards. The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Houston Texans 29-7, but it was much more about Houston than Jacksonville. Neither team has a quarterback, or much hope.
On the positive side, the Detroit Lions should be counted among teams in the NFC that could cause a problem to the supposed contenders. Most believed the Arizona Cardinals would walk into the Motor City and take care of the Lions, but it wasn’t to be. The Lions won 35-23, picking off Carson Palmer on three occasions while Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes. Detroit isn’t likely to beat out the Packers in the NFC North, but a wild card berth is definitely on the table.
Of all the Week 1 wins, none was more impressive than the Kansas City Chiefs taking a hammer to the New England Patriots. Kansas City was a nine-point underdog going into the season opener but won 42-27, largely on the backs Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt. Smith threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns while Hunt, in his first NFL games, racked up 157 rushing yards and 98 receiving yards for three scores. If the Chiefs can continue to play anywhere close to that level, they will be in the mix for their first Super Bowl berth since 1969.
