Our complete NFL Week 1 Recap
Pittsburgh Steelers 23 Cincinnati Bengals 20
One of the most bizarre games of all time. Joe Burrow started the game with a pick 6 and it only got crazier. My one takeaway from this game is how much the Steelers’ offense needed the defense to do in order to win this game. Trubisky looked bad. Pittsburgh forced 5 more turnovers, sacked Burrow 7 times, blocked an extra point and got lucky when Evan McPherson missed a chip shot field goal in OT. They needed all of that and an extra quarter to win by 3. It does not bode well for the remainder of the season, especially since Watt will miss at least half of it.
Miami Dolphins 20 New England Patriots 7
The Patriots’ offense looked horrendous. Reports have since come out Mac Jones was playing with back spasms which helps explain this performance a little, but still. His throws had no zip and gaining even 1 yard was a battle. On the other side of the field, the Dolphins used their new star WR very effectively. Tyreek Hill had 12 targets and 1 carry. The rest of their offense looked dynamic as well. Six people registered a carry and 9 people saw targets. However, it still feels like this offense will be limited by Tua. Miami doesn’t feel like a squad that can win shootouts. We’re curious to see how they play in the upcoming weeks when they are down a score or two.
New Orleans Saints 27 Atlanta Falcons 26
Atlanta blows another lead. Shocker. They did give the Saints a run for their money though, something we didn’t see coming. Once the Saints finally woke up, it was clear they were the much better team. Jameis Winston looked outstanding in the fourth quarter, leading back-to-back touchdown drives when the Saints needed it most. New Orleans’ offensive line needs some reps though. For three quarters in that game Jameis was running for his life. If they can find a way to give him some consistent time back there, New Orleans will be a strong team. As for Atlanta, they didn’t look like the awful team that most of us expected. Mariota was very serviceable and Cordarrelle Patterson is still one of the most unique weapons in the league.
Cleveland Browns 26 Carolina Panthers 24
Baker almost did it, but Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt were too much for Carolina’s defense. They combined for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns further showing why they are the best backfield in the league. If Jacoby Brissett can simply not turn the ball over and make two or three big throws a game, the Browns have a great shot at being at or above .500 by the time Deshaun Watson comes back from suspension. For Carolina, Christian McCaffrey didn’t get hurt and that’s about all you can ask for outside of winning. They eased him in, only giving him 14 touches. This team will surprise some people once he is back to 100%.
Chicago Bears 19 San Francisco 49ers 10
Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears busted many people’s survivor entries with their win over the San Francisco 49ers. The problem is, Chicago is still not a good team. All props to Fields because he made throws once the rain started pouring and Lance didn’t but the Bears can’t count on a monsoon to save them every week. Like the Bills losing to the Patriots last year, the 49ers will likely get back on track this upcoming week against Seattle. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to Mother Nature and realize there wasn’t much that could be done.
Indianapolis Colts 20 Houston Texans 20
Is Davis Mills good? I know there was talk around the league at the end of last year he was progressing fast, but he looked like an NFL starter out there. By no means first or second tier, but definitely someone who can put on a respectable performance each week. This game has to scare you if you’re a Colts fan. Taylor carried the ball 31 times for 161 yards and you still couldn’t win. Matt Ryan looked old or at least out of shape. Him throwing the ball 50 times is not how Indianapolis wants to win games.
Kansas City Chiefs 44 Arizona Cardinals 21
All rise for the king of the NFL, Patrick Mahomes. 30/39, 360 yards, 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a 154.6 rating. If anyone still has doubts he won’t be able to produce without Tyreek Hill, you didn’t watch the game. Granted, Arizona’s defense is below average and for some reason they chose to blitz Mahomes (why?), but that shouldn’t take away from this performance. Kansas City went up 14-0 and never looked back. Arizona on the other hand, went down 0-14 and gave up. It looked like that entire team wanted to be anywhere but on the field. They didn’t even put up a fight. The Cardinals have a tough stretch of games ahead. They could be 2-4 by the time Deandre Hopkins returns, needing a miracle the hottest of streaks to get back into playoff contention.
Baltimore Ravens 24 New York Jets 9
Nothing special happened in this game. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens took care of business. Interestingly, Jackson did not run the ball very much, but did have a lot of great throws from the pocket. Leads one to wonder if he didn’t because he didn’t need to today or because he is trying to progress his passing game more. Every Ravens fan is hoping for the latter. Fantasy owners can’t feel great about what they saw from New York Jets’ running back Breece Hall. He only had 4 less carries than Michael Carter, but 37 less yards. It’s only Week 1, but if you started him, he probably already cost you a win.
Minnesota Vikings 23 Green Bay Packers 7
Shame on me for waking up Sunday morning, look at this line flip to favor Minnesota and quickly put Green Bay in a teaser. I was blinded by Green Bay catching 8 points, I didn’t stop to think who Aaron Rodgers was going to throw to. Christian Watson dropped a would-be touchdown in the first quarter and it was all downhill from there for the Packers. It didn’t help anything they were trying to stop the best wide receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson. That dude is on his way to Offensive Player of the Year and if Kirk Cousins keeps feeding him, I don’t think he’ll have a challenger. 9 receptions, 184 yards and 2 touchdowns is a hell of a way to kick off the new season.
Los Angeles Chargers 24 Las Vegas Raiders 19
Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack were the tandem everyone thought they would be. Derek Carr was on the ground the entire game. Las Vegas might have signed the best wide receiver to hit the free agent market in a long time this past offseason, but they forgot how bad their offensive line is. In a division with Chris Jones, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory, a bad offensive line spells disaster. Los Angeles was led to this victory effortlessly by Justin Herbert. Everything he does in the pocket is smooth and the Thursday night matchup between him and Mahomes will be must-see TV.
New York Giants 21 Tennessee Titans 20
Congratulations to the New York Football Giants for their first winning record since the banana boat incident. Saquon Barkley said he was going to shut every critic up and he did just that. One reason to be leery of New York, Daniel Jones did not look good and 62% of Barkley’s rushing yards came on 2 of his 18 carries. Take those two out and he averaged less than 4 YPC. I don’t want to be hater, I just want to be realistic about what this team is. I do however want to be a hater on the Tennessee Titans. Tannehill obviously misses AJ Brown and Derrick Henry has not looked like his old self even before the injury last year. This is an average team that will have to rely heavily on their defense if they even want to sniff double digit wins.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19 Dallas Cowboys 3
Dallas looked awful and will now be without Dak Prescott for 6-8 weeks. They just don’t have any playmakers. Their running game was thought to be decent, but without Tyron Smith, Elliot and Pollard didn’t have many lanes. Dallas’ passing game was horrible as well. Dak didn’t have much time to throw and when he did nobody was open. Michael Gallup can’t come back fast enough. For Tampa Bay, this win was never in doubt. Leonard Fournette torched the Cowboys for 127 yards at a clip of 6 YPC. Julio Jones looked like his old self and that has to scare the entire league. The last thing opposing defenses need is to have to stop Jones, Evans, Godwin and Gage.
Seattle Seahawks 17 Denver Broncos 16
We have two takeaways in this game. The first being how much more prepared and ready Seattle was compared to Denver. Seattle was fired up from beginning to end. They were not going to let Russell get a win against his old team whatever the cost. Denver was outplayed. Second, what was Nathaniel Hackett thinking at the end of the game? I don’t know of a person alive who would risk the game on a 64-yard field goal compared to Russell Wilson getting 5 yards. I know the offense was struggling tonight, but you have to put the ball in the hands of the quarterback you just gave 211 million guaranteed, not hope for the best with your kicker. With the loss, Denver is 0-1 to start the year and might be kicking themselves come January knowing they let one get away Monday night.
Week 1 Betting Record 4-3 .for +0.22 Units
We started the year off with a winning record. If Blankenship would have had the correct prescription on Sunday, we’d be 5-2. Either way, not a bad start considering how crazy Week 1 turned out to be. We’re on to Week 2.
3 Star Players of The Week
Patrick Mahomes: Mahomes is arguably in a league of his own when he’s on. His performance against the Cardinals week 1 was a throwback to his MVP year in 2018. While the Cardinals were projected to be around .500 this year, Mahomes treated them like a bottom feeder. If he plays anywhere in the ballpark of this level moving forward, it will be a battle between he and Josh Allen for MVP and the AFC crown.
Justin Jefferson: He’s unstoppable. There’s no other words for it. This Packers defense was supposed to be much improved, and he put up 9 rec, 182 yds and 2TDs in the opening week against them. Teams will soon have to give him the Megatron treatment, as he can decide a game by himself.
Minkah Fitzpatrick: He does it all. He had a pick 6 of Joe Burrow and had 10 solo tackles along with 4 assists on tackles. Everyone knows the Steelers are a defensively lead team, but it is still amazing how guys like Fitzpatrick take over and flip a game upside down. The Steelers will count on him to continue with performances like this as TJ Watt will be out for over a month with a torn pec.
Fantasy MVP: Saquon Barkley
30.4 points – 194 all purpose yards, 6 receptions, 1 TD
Biggest Upset
Seattle over Denver 17-16 / Seattle was +220 ML