Another week, another crazy slate of games. These are only strengthening my argument to Cam that the NFL is world class. Plus, the fluky picks are falling over, so her education is more important than ever! Now, my take on the Thursday night and Sunday games:
Chiefs v Chargers:
An ultra-entertaining dogfight between the two elite quarterbacks in the AFC. Surprisingly, the defences were the early story, but nothing would stop Mahomes from slinging the ball around and allowing his Chiefs to take the win against the ultra-tough Patrick Herbert. Coaching was the big factor, as Reid’s play calling and decision making exposed the inexperience of Brandon Staley. Can’t wait for their rematch later in the season.
Steelers v Patriots:
Without JJ Watt, the Steelers’ pass rush looked ordinary. Speaking of ordinary, the calls for Kenny Pickett will be getting louder as the offence under Trubisky is bad. One more loss and a few awful turnovers could lead Tomlin to make the switch.
Giants v Panthers
The Giants are 2 – 0. Re-read that. Yes, the perennial losers have strung together wins under their new coach Daboll, and the defence continues to play well against sub-par competition. Daniel Jones is not looking like the franchise QB, but maybe he can get them to the next well-stocked QB class in time for a run in the NFC East. Matt Rhule just does not know how to use McCaffrey, who accounted for the vast majority of their offence. An awful day on 3rd down continues the Panthers poor start to the season on offence.
Jags v Colts
This felt like a bit of a Trevor Lawrence coming out game, as he was extremely efficient and ran the offence to perfection. That said, the real story so far is the Colts and Matt Ryan’s terrible start to the season. All of the accolades and hype coming out of camp looks like it may have been smoke. If Indy doesn’t clean things up soon, they could lose the South early.
Lions v Commanders
D’Andre Swift looks incredible, and Jared Goff has weapons all over the field. Where was this offence when Matthew Stafford was behind the helm? When Detroit’s balanced attack is going, they are hard to stop, starting with a beastly offensive line. It’s a good thing too, because the defence is vulnerable to chunk plays through the air. Wentz took a bit too long to warm-up which spelled the end for the Commanders.
Ravens v Dolphins
Holy crap! This game had everything. Opening kickoff for the TD, Lamar goes almost 80 for the score, and then the Fins charge back and shock the Ravens in the 4th. When Tua was at ‘Bama, he was ultra-successful, putting up eye-popping numbers. His biggest knock was that he was a “system” QB, with more talented skill players than the teams they faced. Sound familiar? McDaniel and Miami have the speed and scheme that allow Tua to be super successful. As many have said before, its often not the talent for quarterbacks, but the situation. Tua’s situation is looking up.
Rams v Falcons
Who are the LA Rams? At the moment, they do not look like the champs from last year, as they have struggled with consistency on both sides of the ball. While the Falcons look improved, especially on offence, they gave LA a scare towards the end of the game. If the Rams and McVay can’t establish a running game, I could see some of the more talented NFC defences (Bucs, GB, Dallas) locking them down.
Niners v Seahawks
First off, I want to wish Trey Lance the best for his recovery. That said, are Niners fans taking a breath of relief that they have an NFL QB taking snaps for them? Lynch and Shanahan’s hunch in keeping Jimmy G in the building was the right one, and he played well enough against a sub-par Seattle team to get the victory. Geno fell to earth, as most expected, and this will be a long season for the 12th man after getting their hopes up in Week 1.
Browns v Jets
Weirdly enough, while the ending of the game was insane, you kind of got the sense that when Mann went to setup the onside kick at the end of the game, it felt like the Jets were going to get it. Maybe that was just me, but then to see Flacco hit rookie sensation Garrett Wilson in the endzone to put the dagger in the Browns’ hearts…wow! Two bad teams made one of the best finishes in recent memory. Maybe this is karma for the Cleveland organisation?
Cardinals v Raiders
How good is Kyler Murray? His heroics in the last 20 minutes of the game were incredible, after the Raiders’ D was suffocating for most of the first three quarters. When you have a player that can run 80 yards on one play on fourth down, and then get the TD and 2 pt conversion, you are willing to dole out the cash for it. Defences cannot gameplan when their whole team is gasping for air and this little dynamo is running literal circles around them. Tough way to lose for LV who really should have taken it, but Carr and the offence disappeared when the defence needed them to eat up some clock.
Broncos v Texans
If the Broncs don’t run off 3 or 4 straight here, Hackett’s head will already be in the firing line. His game-management has been beyond embarrassing, and Russell Wilson is suffering for it. Cam’s team, the Texans, are a bunch of game vets that are well coached. They also have one of the least talented rosters in the league, and it shows. The Texans may lose 14 this year, but I hope they keep Lovie as he seems to get the best out of a bad bunch.
Cowboys v Bengals
The offensive line for the Bengals continues to be the story, but I thought Joe Burrow looks tentative and is holding the ball way too long. The Cowboys D is special, and will continue to allow the team to hold on while Cooper Rush is leading the O. They didn’t look too bad overall, with healthy doses of both Zeke and Pollard helping to take the pressure off of the young QB.
Saints v Bucs
Brady was pissed off, and his struggles against the Saints continued. Luckily for him, Jameis Winston was real bad, and the Bucs used their awesome pass rush in combination with their ball hawking secondary to get out win the win. The Bucs offence has not looked good, with the offensive line having a hard time giving clean pockets and running room for the backs. I would not be surprised if Jason Licht looks to bring a veteran in on a trade or signing soon if the struggles continue.
Packers v Bears
The Packers D showed up against Fields, keeping him bottled up, and forcing the Bears into 3rd and long when they had the ball. Which they barely did. Aaron Rodgers kept the Bears off the field and drove his team down using a great balanced attack and spreading the ball around to nine different receivers on the way to the expected domination Packers fans come to expect against the Bears at Lambeau. Green Bay could be scary employing this ball-control defence and forcing team to pass on their solid defence.
That’s all for the first games. See you soon for the Monday night recaps and out podcast recapping Cam’s thoughts on Week 2!
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