NFL Week 1 Results
Week 1 began with a hard-hitting matchup between the league’s best defenses and ended with a surprise showing from one of the NFL’s most maligned teams this decade. How did your team do?
Tennessee Titans 10, Pittsburgh Steelers 13 (Predicted: Tennessee Titans 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 24)
I don’t think the Steelers will have as much trouble finding running room against the post-Haynesworth Titans.
As expected this was a relatively low scoring game considering the caliber of these two defenses. Pittsburgh’s victory left a big question mark in the run game, as “starter” Willie Parker managed 19 yards on 13 carries. Kenny Britt had a decent game with 4 catches for 85 yards, while Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes made a statement with 131 yards and a touchdown.
Jacksonville Jaguars 12, Indianapolis Colts 14 (Predicted: Jacksonville Jaguars 21, Indianapolis Colts 31)
Look for Anthony Gonzalez to work wonders against the Jaguars’ rookie #2 cornerback.
Maurice Jones Drew had another great game against the colts with 97 yards and a TD on 21 carries, adding 5 receptions for 26 yards. Anthony Gonzalez left the game early with a knee injury; he’s rumored to miss 2-6 weeks (side note: why is the Colts’ entire lineup always injured?). Reggie Wayne more than made up for his absence with 10 receptions and 162 yards as Manning and company eek out the win.
Detroit Lions 27, New Orleans Saints 45 (Predicted: Detroit Lions 14, New Orleans Saints 38)
The Lions are still going to be terrible.
Welcome to the NFL, Matt Stafford. A 205-yard, 3-interception outing resulted in a 27.4 quarterback rating. What was that about sitting him on the bench for a while and letting Daunte Culpepper be the fall guy? Hmm. What’s particularly alarming is that the Saints defense isn’t even that good; and while it’s understandable that the Lions would lose against Drew Brees’ 6-TD outing, the future does not look bright if this is an early indicator of Stafford’s performance.
Philadelphia Eagles 38, Carolina Panthers 10 (Predicted: Philadelphia Eagles 24, Carolina Panthers 27)
We’ll see how the Eagles play on the road against one of the toughest teams of 2008.
The Eagles defense put together an astonishingly effective game against the Panthers, forcing 5 turnovers and limiting one of 2008’s better offenses to under 200 yards. Jake Delhomme finds himself benched after his second consecutive train wreck (the first being the NFC divisional game against Arizona). The victory was costly, however, as Donovan McNabb cracked a rib late in the game and will probably miss a couple of weeks as he recovers.
Dallas Cowboys 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21 (Predicted: Dallas Cowboys 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13)
The Bucs offense is a mess.
The Bucs never really looked like they were into this one. Early field goals from the Cowboys were just the beginning, as the Cowboys’ receivers started burning the Bucs for huge touchdown receptions (42 yards for Miles Austin, 66 yards for Roy Williams, 80 yards for Patrick Crayton). Anyone still think Tony Romo misses TO?
New York Jets 24, Houston Texans 7 (Predicted: New York Jets 7, Houston Texans 17)
At least Mark Sanchez doesn’t open his career against the Patriots.
Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez had a much better showing than #1 overall pick Matt Stafford, posting 272 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception. The Jets offense, while not flashy, was certainly effective against a Texans defense that still hasn’t gotten out of the NFC South’s gutter. Perhaps more impressive was the revamped Jets’ defense- coach Rex Ryan seems to have made his mark on a unit that was already decent under previous coach Eric Mangini.
Kansas City Chiefs 24, Baltimore Ravens 38 (Predicted: Kansas City Chiefs 13, Baltimore Ravens 28)
The Chiefs really haven’t gotten better on defense.
In fairness the Chiefs’ defense did look somewhat better than the final score would indicate. The show was stolen by Joe Flacco, who set career highs in attempts (43), yards (307), and touchdowns (3). The Ravens should be worried about surrenduring 24 points to a very weak Kansas City offense.
Denver Broncos 12, Cincinnati Bengals 7 (Predicted: Denver Broncos 9, Cincinnati Bengals 20)
The Broncos are going to be miserable this season.
Ok, I should have at least gotten the winner right on this one if not for a ridiculously lucky fluke play in which Brandon Stokley caught a tipped pass and took it to the end zone in the closing seconds of the game. I’m not sure why the Bengals’ offense couldn’t put up more than 7 points against perhaps the worst defense in the league, but that’s something they’re going to have to fix if people want to keep their jobs.
Minnesota Vikings 34, Cleveland Browns 20 (Predicted: Minnesota Vikings 27, Cleveland Browns 21)
Brady Quinn vs. Brett Favre. I can’t tell if I should be really excited for this or not excited at all.
As it turns out, neither quarterback did much in this game. Favre just handed it off to Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 3 TDs and 180 yards. Brady Quinn ended his day with a touchdown, a fumble, and an interception with 205 yards passing. Eric Mangini’s defenses have been known for stopping the run, and while perhaps the best running back since LT isn’t a fair test, the Browns are going to have a long season if they keep missing tackles like they did in this one.
Miami Dolphins 7, Atlanta Falcons 19 (Predicted: Miami Dolphins 17, Atlanta Falcons 30)
The Falcons at home were undefeated last season.
Matt Ryan got a little revenge on the Dolphins for passing him over in the 2008 draft. He tossed two TDs and 229 yards with no turnovers. The Dolphins’ strong run defense limited Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood to only 72 yards, but the offense couldn’t put up the required numbers even against a young, inexperienced Falcons defense. The Dolphins play a much harder schedule in 2009 than they did in 2008; they’re going to have to figure out a way to score.
Washington Redskins 17, New York Giants 23 (Predicted: Washington Redskins 13, New York Giants 17)
A repeat of last season’s opener, this should be a low-scoring, hard-hitting game.
Eli Manning and the Giants won the game, but his stats were almost identical to Jason Campbell’s. Hate to say it but Campbell really didn’t do much to help his case for staying in Washington. Albert Haynesworth was pretty pedestrian with four tackles and no sacks, and the Redskins’ defense in general was not up to the challenge. By the way, Eli Manning targetted Steve Smith 8 times and he caught all 8 passes. If you’re in a PPR league, pick him up.
San Francisco 49ers 20, Arizona Cardinals 16 (Predicted: San Francisco 49ers 21, Arizona Cardinals 28)
Warner and company will be looking to break the curse.
The curse is real. The Cardinals got upset at home against a 49ers unit that has had an entire offseason under the tutelage of Mike Singletary, who instituted a no-nonsense, hard-hitting culture that the team has really bought into. The 49ers looked like they were determined and motivated, very unlike they were at the beginning of last season under Mike Nolan. While it’s too early to say that the Cardinals’ offense is in trouble, it’s a little puzzling why Tim Hightower had 12 receptions and 121 yards on 14 targets while Larry Fitzgerald only had 6 receptions on 11 targets.
St. Louis Rams 0, Seattle Seahawks 28 (Predicted: St. Louis Rams 17, Seattle Seahawks 34)
Welcome back Matt Hasselbeck.
Indeed. Not a great debut for Steve Spagnuolo and the Rams still-woeful offense. Hasselbeck looked a little rusty throwing 2 interceptions, but made up for it with 3 touchdowns. Even Julius Jones managed a 100-yard game, while John Carlson led the team in receiving yards with 95.
Chicago Bears 15, Green Bay Packers 21 (Predicted: Chicago Bears 24, Green Bay Packers 38)
Jay Cutler can only do so much with his receivers.
Perhaps Jay Cutler is color blind as well as being a diabetic. I seriously do not understand why he threw three out of his four interceptions. Not only were there no receivers within 5 yards of the ball, the receivers that were closest were all covered by a defender usually with a safety over the top. The 2011 draft never looked so far away in Chicago, as Brian Urlacher is out for the season as well after wrist surgery.
Buffalo Bills 24, New England Patriots 25 (Predicted: Buffalo Bills 3, New England Patriots 41)
Even with Richard Seymour gone from the Patriots and Terrell Owens possibly starting for the Bills, Buffalo’s offense is about as effective as the French Army.
Buffalo played around 57 minutes of great football, but couldn’t stop the Patriots when it counted. Brady and the Patriots looked a little lost the entire game, and the offensive line couldn’t stop the Bills from generating more pressure than we’re used to seeing. If it wasn’t for a boneheaded decision by Leodis McKelvin to return a kickoff with the hands team blocking for him, the Bills win this one easily.
San Diego Chargers 24, Oakland Raiders 20 (Predicted: San Diego Chargers 34, Oakland Raiders 20)
LT will tease fantasy owners with a huge week 1 game before a nagging injury limits his output to 10 carries and 30 yards for the rest of the season.
Everything about my above statement was true except for the huge game part. LT managed a touchdown, but got hurt with a “sprained ankle” and sat out most of the game allowing Darren Sproles to score what turned out to be the game winning touchdown. The Raiders do look better, however, and the acquisition of Richard Seymour paid off with two sacks.
12-4 this week, although most of the picks weren’t particularly challenging. Since this is week one, I’m 12-4 on the season.
