Written By: Jamil King
The NFL quickly reminded audiences why everyone tunes in worldwide because the excitement was second to none early. From last-second heroics, all the way to blowouts, the first week had it all, yes, even a tie. So now that the dust has settled, overreactions can occur and here are a few winners and losers for week 1.
Winner - Super Bowl Favorites
The Buffalo Bills kicked the season off on Thursday night in Los Angles as the Rams kicked off their title defense. The Bills dominated the entire game from all areas of the game. Josh Allen showed why he is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. Allen started the game 10/10 finishing with 297 yards, three touchdowns through the air, and another score on the ground. Von Miller came to Buffalo by way of LA and quickly showed his old team what they were missing. He provided constant pressure leading to 2 sacks for himself while the team combined for 7. It was a game to forget for the Rams as Mathew Stafford couldn't find a rhythm and fantasy managers wondered where Allen Robinson and Cam Akers were.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were also in primetime ending Sunday night at Dallas. The Bucs made easy work of the Cowboys by not allowing them to score a touchdown. The defense caused fits for Dak Prescott, who was dealing with a beat-up offensive line and a patchwork wide receiver unit that couldn't make anything happen vs. Tampa's secondary. The Bucs' offense also struggled to find the endzone, only reaching pay dirt one time. Third downs were tough to convert for Tom Brady and the offense. Leonard Fournette was the most prominent bright spot for the team as he carved up the Cowboys for 127 yards on the ground and a big hit on the blitzing Micah Parsons - who sacked Brady twice and was a headache for the Bucs tackles all night. Overall it was a game that the Bucs were in control of from start to finish.
Loser - Arizona Cardinals
It wasn't a good game at all for the boys in red. Pat Mahomes diced up Arizona's secondary for over 350 yards and five touchdown passes. On the other side, Kyler Murray played his first game since inking his five-year extension…and it wasn't a good one. Without Deandre Hopkins, the offense never got going. The leading receiver was, backup slot, Greg Dortch. The Cards were outclassed in this one and will head to Vegas next week hoping to avoid going 0-2. After starting 7-0 last year and fizzling out, this was not the start they hoped for.
Winner - Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings came into this game with a prime opportunity while the divisional powerhouse Green Bay Packers came to their dome in Week 1 with a new offense. That new offense never got going. Aaron Rodgers’ first game without Davante Adams, and still no David Bakhtiari, was one to forget. Christian Watson dropped an easy 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the game and the rest was downhill from there. The new look offense for the Vikings was firing on all cylinders - Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson cooked the Green Bay secondary all game long. Jefferson ended the day with 184 yards receiving and two touchdowns. The Vikings take an early step up in the division after one week as they look to end Green Bay’s 3 year run at the top.
Loser - Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are a team many expect to be in the playoff hunt this year and potentially take back the division from the Tennessee Titans. After week 1, however, the Colts need to be better. Jonathan Taylor did Jonathan Taylor things as he does against the Houston Texans. He had 161 yards on the ground and a touchdown, yet it took 17 unanswered points for the Colts to even make it to overtime. The Texans were outscored 62-3 last season versus the Colts and this year they don't want to have that again. Davis Mills is trying to show the Houston front office he can be the Franchise QB and the second-year trigger man had a great Week 1 with two touchdown passes. For the Colts, however, too many mistakes were made - from dropped passes to penalties. More is expected from this team andeven though they didn't lose the game, this one is still disappointing.
Winner - New York Giants
Who saw this one coming? The Giants were dominated in the first half, but the defense kept the team in the game long enough for Saquon Barkley to have a performance we haven't seen from him in a long time. The Titans made a questionable decision late in the 4th quarter to give the ball to the tight end on an end-around instead of handing the ball to Derrick Henry. They would then punt the ball to the Giants, who would take the lead with a touchdown and two-point conversion. The win was the first opening week win for the G-Men in six seasons.
Loser - Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys had a rough Sunday. Not only did Dallas get dominated by the Bucs on Sunday night, but they also lost their star QB, Dak Prescott, for 6-8 weeks. This team was already thin at wide receiver and on the offensive line so this makes things go from bad to worse to ugly. The icing onto this disgusting cake for the Cowboys? Their entire division won. The Commanders, Giants, and Eagles are all starting 1-0 while the Cowboys have many questions to answer.
Honorable Mention Winners: Carson Wentz, Pittsburgh Steelers defense, Lamar Jackson, and the Chicago Bears
Honorable Mentions Losers: All of the missed game-winning field goals, the entire AFC south, everyone except Seattle in the NFC West, the Green Bay Packers, and Derek Carr
Comentários