NFL Week 1 Play by Play Thread

Here is my recap and analysis of Week 1’s games

Patriots defeat Steelers 33-3. Pats looked dominant all around, Brady with an excellent game, lots of players got involved and made plays for the Pats, and their defense shut down the Steelers completely. The Pats look like an elite team once again, while the Steelers look to be in trouble, it’s just Week 1 but they looked downright dreadful on both sides of the ball.

Cowboys defeat Giants 35-17. Cowboys with a great game, Dak threw for over 400 yards, the Cowboys offense was outstanding, they’ve got a very talented team and are definitely dangerous. Giants didn’t look very good with their sole bright spot being Barkley who ran for over 100 yards on only 11 carries, he’s got to get more touches going forward, but the Giants defense was absolutely dreadful and needs improvement badly.

Chargers defeat Colts 30-24. Good game between 2 solid teams, Chargers looked good on offense, Rivers is still a strong QB and Ekeler and Jackson made some good plays out of the backfield in place of Gordon, the Chargers should be a solid, playoff contending team once again. Colts put up a good fight and still have a lot of talent even without Luck, I think they will still be competitive and can compete in the AFC South.

Vikings defeat Falcons 28-12. 2 teams looking for a bounce back year, and the Vikings looked sharp while the Falcons looked dismal. Falcons made several huge miscues, and the Vikings look to have improved their rushing attack with Cook going for over 100 yards, he’s a dangerous player if he stays healthy, and their defense, they didn’t even have to pass much, while the Falcons looked to have the same issues, poor play from every level of the defense, a sluggish rushing attack, along with several miscues. It will be very interesting to watch both teams going forward as both have high expectations.

Chiefs defeat Jaguars 40-26. Chiefs offense picks right back up where it left off, with Mahomes throwing for over 300 yards in the first half, and they look to be a top tier team once again even though their defense still struggled. Jags with a devastating blow as Foles is out for a while, Minshew looked good in his place but that’s a bad blow, and the Jags defense has just completed fallen apart from the strong unit they were 2 years ago, I wonder if many of those guys are just declining and washed up.

Titans defeat Browns 43-13. Terrible start to the season for the Browns, with an extremely sloppy, uneven outing filled with sacks, penalties and turnovers, they appear to have a lot of talent but they had a lousy outing today, it will be interesting to see how they do going forward as they have high expectations. The Titans always seem to outperform expectations, they don’t have any real superstars but they aren’t terrible at any position either and have a lot of solid guys and will probably compete in the AFC South once again.

Ravens defeat Dolphins 59-10. Absolute demolition here, the Ravens looked marvelous, Jackson with over 300 yards and 5 TD’s, more TD’s than incompletions, I wonder how they will do going forward as their have been questions about Jackson’s passing ability, but I think they will be playoff contenders and I like Jackson, while the Fins looked worse than anemic and at times didn’t even seem interested or giving any effort, that was downright humiliating for them, they look like arguably the worst team in the NFL and don’t even appear to care about the season, it’s going to be a very long year for them.

Seahawks defeat Bengals 21-20. Seahawks were lucky to escape with a win as the Bengals played much better than I expected them to with Dalton leading all QB’s in passing yards today, and the Seahawks were unable to get their strong rushing attack going for the most part. I think this game is concerning for the Seahawks as they didn’t look very sharp while the Bengals were better than expected, I’m not sure if they will be contenders in the AFC North but they appear to be decent right now.

Lions and Cardinals tie, 27-27. Terrible tie for the Lions, good tie for the Cardinals, the Cardinals looked terrible throughout most of the game, then Murray came alive and started making big plays, and they came back from down 18 to get the tie, encouraging for them. The Lions choked the game away badly and this is very concerning for them, I expected them to be improved this season but this is a terrible start and I’m left questioning whether they are improved at all and if Patricia can get the job done for them, horrible, horrible choke job.

Rams defeat Panthers 30-27. Not the best start for the Rams but still a nice road win and their talent is still there and I think they will be a top tier team once again, while the Panthers can’t seem to get over the hump to beat good teams, they have a solid amount of talent but can’t seem to get to the next level right now, I’m not sure if their defense isn’t good enough or if it’s Cam who isn’t good enough, but they need to be able to beat top tier teams if they want to get to the playoffs.

49ers defeat Buccaneers 31-17. Weird game with 3 pick sixes, the Niners looked okay, they are a team I have no idea what to expect from with Garappolo in his first full year as a starter and their secondary is a major question mark, but if it holds up and Garappolo plays well they can contend for the playoffs IMO. Bad start for the Bucs who were hoping Winston would turn the corner but instead he looks like the same turnover machine he’s been throughout his career, he will have to cut those down if the Bucs want to go anywhere.

Eagles defeat Redskins 32-27. Nice comeback win for the Eagles, and their offense looks to be great as expected as long as Wentz stays healthy, numerous weapons there, but their defense is a major concern and got gashed for a while today. Good effort from the Redskins who appear to be in rebuilding mode and they have minimal talent, I’m not really sure what their plan is but they looked solid against a superior team.

Bills defeat Jets 17-16. Nice comeback win for the Bills, I like what this team has, they have a solid defense along with an improved offense and I think Allen will continue to play better, and I could see the Bills having a decent year. Bad choke job by the Jets, and I don’t see them going anywhere, I’m not sold on Darnold and they don’t have a lot of talent around him, Bell didn’t look great in his return and their defense is still subpar.

Any thoughts? It’s great to have the NFL back and to do these recaps again!!!!