Week 1 performance: 10-6
Wrong picks: Jacksonville, Minnesota, Buffalo, Tennessee, Green Bay, Baltimore
Suicide League: Still alive courtesy of Succop’s game winning field goal! (and lack of Greg Zuerlein’s field goals)
Fantasy Football: I went 1-2 to open the season, with the Thunder Ducks getting a nice win, while Fantastic Fournette and Kamaravirus lose heartbreaking games thanks to me not starting Rob Gronkowski (or in Kamaravirus’ case, Daniel Carlson not making one more field goal………)
What I learned in Week 1…
– The Cowboys were really one kicker away from upsetting the defending champs on their own field. Their defense is still a little suspect, even if they allowed multiple turnovers against Tom Brady; however, the offense did more than enough to hang on for all 60 minutes of play.
If Greg the Leg nails all his kicks, the final score becomes 36-31 in favor of Dallas. Unfortunately, that’s the way football goes sometimes. On Tampa Bay’s side of things, not even the turnovers could affect Tom Brady in the long run, and Gronkowski had a 5-star performance. For now, the Buccaneers are still the team to beat in the NFC, although they may not have to wait long for a suitable opponent…
– …because while Tom Brady was probably having lobster and salad with his family for dinner on Sunday, Jameis Winston was busy eating massive Ws against the Packers, the same Packers with the defending regular season MVP. Maybe it’s just the Week 1 jitters, but the Saints looked legit scary against one of the NFC’s best teams. Get ready folks; the Saints/Buccaneers games could be straight fire.
– Sam Darnold looked good in his debut as a Panther; he didn’t turn the ball over, he nearly hit 300 yards, and that pass to Robby Anderson for a TD was crisp. Yes, it was against a Jets team that finished 2-14 last season, but Darnold needed to beat his former team to prove what we already knew: Adam Gase is always the problem.
– None of the three rookie quarterbacks that started got wins to start their careers. However, all three of them put up stats ranging anywhere between decent and good. Mac Jones fell victim to the Dolphins’ defense, Zach Wilson’s offensive line failed him, and Trevor Lawrence got a huge surprise against the last team we expected to do well in Week 1. Obviously based on this week’s schedule, one of these rookie quarterbacks is guaranteed to get a win. Also to Mac Jones, you know who wouldn’t have lost to the Dolphins?
…………nah, just kidding here. Cam lost to the Dolphins last year too. Speaking of which…
– …remember when I said Cam might have a chance in Houston? Tyrod Taylor decided he had something to prove and had one of his hardest performances in years. It’s easy to say “but it was against the Jaguars” but let’s look at Tyrod Taylor in the last four seasons…
2017: Lost his starting position to Nathan Peterman for a whole 30 minutes. Only gets to the playoffs because Andy Dalton performs a game winning drive against Baltimore in Week 17. Upon arriving to the playoffs, Tyrod can’t even get in the end zone and gets injured in the Bills’ final drive; that’s right, Nathan Peterman had to attempt the game winning drive, and we all know how that ended.
2018: Goes 1-1-1 as a Cleveland Brown before losing his starting position to Baker Mayfield after a concussion
2019: Never started as a Charger, even when their season was dead in the water and Philp Rivers wanted to be anywhere but LA.
2020: Won the season opener against the Bengals, then the Chargers’ team doctor punctures his lung by accident and he loses his position to Justin Herbert.
All of a sudden, even if only for one week, Tyrod Taylor puts his name on the map once again. I’ll say this: Taylor is by no means a great quarterback. Half the time, he’s barely a good one. However, Tyrod’s got a lot of heart and he’s a guy that will do anything you ask him to. It’s still way too early to determine where the Texans finish, but going 1-0 is a step in the right direction.
Finally, while Tyrod Taylor is the new textbook definition of an average quarterback, he’s done three things that very few quarterbacks have accomplished in the NFL…
1) He has a Super Bowl ring. Yes, as a backup to Joe Flacco, but a ring nonetheless
2) His jersey is in the NFL Hall of Fame. Seriously, look it up.
3) He’s only the third quarterback in existence to beat a team led by Trevor Lawrence, joining Joe Burrow and Justin Fields. Burrow and Fields beat Lawrence-led teams in playoff games, therefore making Tyrod Taylor the first quarterback to beat Lawrence in a regular season game of any kind.
– At the two minute warning, the 49ers were beating the Lions 41-17. When the clock hit zero, the final score was 41-33 in favor of the Niners. Maybe it’s just beginner’s luck, but Dan Campbell might be dead serious about biting people’s ankles and not going down quietly.
Matt Patricia would have had the final score become 48-17. Just saying.
– Week 1 MVP: Jameis Winston looked like a completely different player out there compared to what we’re used to seeing, and he eats a huge W en route to the opening MVP award. Honorable mentions to Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, and Matthew Stafford.
– Week 1 Dud: A tough call, but if Greg Zuerlein hits all his kicks, then the Dallas Cowboys upset the champs. Dishonorable mention to Aaron Rodgers and the entire Atlanta Falcons team.
New York Giants (0-1) @ Washington Football Team (0-1)
The Giants looked like they made zero improvements over the summer, even with Saquon Barkley getting healthy again. Washington puts the team on the shoulders of Taylor Heinicke once again who makes his third career start (and probably many more with Fitzpatrick’s hip injury). The Giants already fell victim to one good defense, why not make it two?
Pick: Washington
Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) @ Chicago Bears (0-1)
A tough pick, considering the Bears only fell victim to a Super Bowl favorite. However, I like some of the improvements Cincinnati made in the offseason, and they had a solid performance against the Vikings, so I’ll give them the edge for one week.
Pick: Cincinnati
Houston Texans (1-0) @ Cleveland Browns (0-1)
All the credit in the world to Tyrod Taylor for his debut as a Texan, but Cleveland’s offense was just a few plays away from upsetting the Chiefs. The Browns rebound quick after their opening snafu and start picking up momentum.
Pick: Cleveland
Los Angeles Rams (1-0) @ Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
All you had to do is watch both of these quarterbacks in action. Carson Wentz changed teams and looked like the same quarterback he’s always been for the last three seasons. Matthew Stafford changed teams and looked eight years younger on the field.
Pick: Los Angeles
Buffalo Bills (0-1) @ Miami Dolphins (1-0)
A tougher pick than expected. Not only did the Dolphins’ defense look good, and not only did the Bills offense get upset last week, but most interdivisional games are never a lock. I think Buffalo shakes off the Week 1 loss and gets on the right foot this time around.
Pick: Buffalo
New England Patriots (0-1) @ New York Jets (0-1)
Both Mac and Zach had humble beginnings in week 1, but barring some crazy tie, one of them will get their first W here. Neither one looked bad in their losses either. If the Panthers game taught us anything, it’s that the Jets have a bad offensive line, and the Patriots’ D will take full advantage of that.
Pick: New England
San Francisco 49ers (1-0) @ Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)
The Eagles won last week just like I predicted, but it was against the Falcons, who might be gearing up for another top draft pick in 2022, where they’ll pick Matt Ryan’s successor. Meanwhile, the 49ers look like they’ll put up another mountain of points on a team least expecting it.
Pick: San Francisco
Las Vegas Raiders (1-0) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)
I wouldn’t put it past the Raiders to get two shocking wins in a row, but Pittsburgh looked like a different team as compared to last season. Taking the safe pick here.
Pick: Pittsburgh
New Orleans Saints (1-0) @ Carolina Panthers (1-0)
If Darnold and CMC lead the Panthers to victory here, then I’ll be 200% convinced this team is for real. However, I’m not a brave man; the Saints destroyed one of the best NFC teams from last year and Jameis Winston looks like a strong candidate for Comeback Player of the Year (either him or Dak Prescott).
Pick: New Orleans
Denver Broncos (1-0) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)
I knew Trevor Lawrence would get a wake up call after playing mostly cake-level college teams (plus Alabama, LSU, and Ohio State), but I wasn’t expecting what we saw last week. On top of that, Denver’s defense is better than Houston’s and Teddy Bridgewater looks like he’s found new life on the field.
Pick: Denver
Minnesota Vikings (0-1) @ Arizona Cardinals (1-0)
While their win was impressive, I think the Cardinals were fortunate to face a Titans team affected by Covid. I think they get brought back down to Earth just a little and get outdone by a Vikings team that looked good in last week’s loss.
Pick: Minnesota
Atlanta Falcons (0-1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)
You’re kidding right? Atlanta is pretty much the last team that wants to play Tom Brady.
Pick: Tampa Bay
Dallas Cowboys (0-1) @ Los Angeles Chargers (1-0)
Quite possibly the most interesting game all week. Dak Prescott is Comeback Player of the Year material right out the gate, while Justin Herbert still managed to throw over 300 yards against a tough Washington defense (one that is miles ahead of Dallas). I’m leaning towards Dallas getting a well-needed victory here, especially if Prescott repeats his performance from the season opener; he’ll basically have to if he wants Dallas to have any chance of winning.
Pick: Dallas
Tennessee Titans (0-1) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-0)
Tough break for Tennessee, but I don’t see them upsetting Seattle here. When Russell Wilson is on, he’s really on.
Pick: Seattle
Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) @ Baltimore Ravens (0-1)
Remember last year when I picked Baltimore to upset the Chiefs as Lamar Jackson’s way of earning some validity and making Mahomes vs Jackson a thing?
I’d like that statement stricken from the record. The Ravens are still good, but obviously their finest days are behind them. Kansas City’s only getting started.
Pick: Kansas City
Detroit Lions (0-1) @ Green Bay Packers (0-1)
Again, I admire the tenacity and grit that Detroit had late in their opener. Not many teams can turn a 3-possession game into a 1-possession game in under two minutes, but the Lions did it under their new coach and starting quarterback.
However, they’re now playing a very angry Packers team at Lambeau Field, and Aaron Rodgers is going to do everything in his power to avoid an 0-2 start.
Pick: Green Bay
Tough break for Trevor Lawrence, but plenty of quarterbacks drafted at #1 have lost their Week 1 debuts. Just ask Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, Kyler Murray, Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, and Sam Bradford, among others.
But until they win, the Jaguars are riding the hottest active losing streak of 16 games in a row! Only 10 more to reach Tampa Bay’s record!
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Please gimme hope for the Lions.