#NFL Week in Review – Week 1 (2020)
Welcome to the Week in Review. Buckle up folks: it’s gonna be a weird one¹!
And remember, kids: Take everything said here as given “It’s just Week 1, but...” precedes it.
Before a "crowd" that looked more like the fourth quarter at a preseason game - a crowd that decided shows of unity and political awareness were for other people - Coach Boyardee and the Chefs took up where they left off in January: Spotting their opponent a lead, then burying them in an embarrassing onslaught of offense.
This was supposed to be the debut of the new improved Texans. Brandon Cooks and Randall Cobb were supposed to make up for the loss of Nuke Hopkins. And the addition of a rejuvenated David Johnson was supposed to take the Texans offense over the top. Not to mention the return of JJ Watt should shore up the defense.
All of those things may turn out to be true in the end, but on Thursday night, only Johnson (11-77, 1 TD, 3-32 receiving) was as advertised. Cobb and Cooks combined for 4 catches and 43 yards. And Watt made absolutely no difference as KC's newest addition, lead back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, gashed them for 138 rushing yards and a TD. Pat Hahomes did Mahomes things (24/32, 211 yds, 3 TDs, and not a single rush attempt) Thirteen garbage time points kept the final score within a respectable range, but KC dominated from the middle of the second quarter onward.
KC came out of the gate proclaiming themselves the true team to beat. Houston showed they still have some work to do.
Week 1 of Adam Gaze’s last HC stand starts pretty much like most of them: With his team getting whooped at all three aspects of the game. Sam Darnold looked bad and he got NO help from his skill positions. Which included a whopping twelve carries for 38 yards Frank Gore and Le’veon Bell combined.
Josh Allen (312 yards, 2 TDs, 104.6 rating) looked like me might be ready to take that next step. Though it’s A) Week 1 B) The J-E-T-S SAME-OLD-SUCK.
Fun Fact: Gore passed Emmitt Smith for third all-time for games played by a running back (227). He’s behind fullbacks Tony Richardson (234) and Lorenzo Neal (239)
Remember how, from the moment Darth Hoodie and the Pats signed Cam Newton, they tried to push the narrative that it was a QB competition? And how NOBODY bought that line?
Cam spent Week 1 showing how bullshit that really was: Throwing for a modest, but mistake-free 155 yards on 15-for-19 passing, and adding 75 rushing yards on 15 carries. The Pats played it conservative all day, relying on rushing for 217 total yards. That was more than enough to hold down the Fish.
The Amish Rifle was in midseason form: 3 INTs on 20/30 passing, 191 yards total. The Pats defense - a big question mark coming in - seemed to be up to the challenge at least this far.
But when Belichick and Josh McDaniel get enough confidence in Cam to turn him loose, watch the fuck out. Or it could be that Cam is back in MVP form, but is limited because the Pats’ receiver corps is ass, outside of Julian Edleman. We’ll see.
Fun Fact: Newton is the first QB not drafted by the Patriots to win a game for the team since Hugh Millen¹ in 1991.
And here it is! Step One of the true return of the Browns! This is the year they’re finally going to return to greatness!
Maybe next week!
This week? They got smoked. Which wasted pretty good rushing performances from Kareem Hunt (13-72) and Nick Chubb (10-60). But those numbers were mostly from Baltimore sitting back and daring Baker Mayfield to beat them with his arm.
He could not (21/39 for 189, 1 TD, 1 INT). His counterpart, Lamar Jackson, was a one-man show, putting up 275 and three TD passes, along with leading the team with 45 rushing yards.
In a weird, truncated year like this, teams with heavy continuity from last season are going to have huge advantages, especially early. Baltimore is a 14-win team that added All-Pro caliber Calais Campbell on defense (who basically did to the Browns on defense what Jackson did on offense) and rookie RB JK Dobbins on offense (who scored two on the ground).
This may well turn out to be the Browns’ year. But they should probably shoot for 14-2 at best.
I left in that little dig at the Jags because I am not convinced this isn’t a tank job that simply ran into a team more willing and able to lose.
Yes, I am on Team “Same Old Phillip Rivers”. I've heard people defending Marmalard - he put up 363 yards and didn’t get much help from the rest of the offense, especially once Marlon Mack got hurt¹. Yeah, and we heard that exact same thing (different names of course) at least twice a year for the last decade.
Same. Old. Phillip. Rivers. Fight me.
(Call ‘em whatever else you want, they’ll always be the Fucknsyders to me.)
And these Eagles sure look like last year’s model: O-line is trash, no production from the WRs, defense is a mess.
You guys got beat by a rookie QB and a coach who had a (scheduled) IV run during halftime.
Good GAWD, this looks like the NFC East isn’t going to be a fight for the top, but a fight to stay out of the bottom. (More on that later).
(I had to write out the whole team name because I still can’t wrap my head around that.)
The NFL’s second desert team started off life with a road win over the new-look Panthers. Carolina’s young defense (with three rookie starters) was tested early and often, and came up wanting for the most part: The Raiders scored on six of their first eight possessions. But they still needed a defensive stop to seal the win: Stopping the Panthers on a 4th-and-1 with 1:11 left in the fourth. Curiously, the call went to FB Alex “Wait - they still use fullbacks?” Armah, instead of Run CMC, who had 134 total yards and 2 TDs on the game.
Rookie HC Matt Rhule took the blame for the failed play, rather than let OC Joe Brady take the hit. It was something of a wet fart ending for them, wasting the efforts of McCaffrey, new starting QB Teddy Bridgewater (22/34 for 270, 1 TD) and fellow newcomer, WR Robby Anderson (6-115, including a 75-yd TD).
The Raider home opener is gonna feel WEIRD. And that’s saying something for 2020.
Bears 27, Lions 23
And then there’s Matt Patricia, the Adam Gase of the NFC. His Lions performed another perfect nose dive, gagging on a 17-pt fourth quarter lead and letting Mitchell GODDAMNED Trubisky beat thim
And yet... They still had a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKlQCo_2rt4
Mark your calendars, folks: It’s gonna be a race between Good Value Josh McDaniels and Fratdouche Belichick to see who gets fired first.
On the plus side for Detroit, TAFKA Purple Jesus still has plenty in the tank: 14-93 rushing, long of 23.
On the minus side: The guy who’s 35 and a waiver wire pickup is your clear RB1.
Speaking of guys fighting off Father Time, Discount Double Check kicked off the season with a 364 yd, 4 TD gem, as the Pack picked up a big season-opening road win. The Vikes scored 24 in the fourth to keep the score respectable, but Green Bay was in total control throughout.
Though credit to the Vikes’ D, who acquitted themselves well early: Holding the Pack to two field goals and a Turnover on Downs in three Red Zone appearances in the first half.
MInus side: Those were three CONSECUTIVE appearances. And the floodgates opened after that. Other than the goal line stand, one single punt in the 3rd and a game-ending kneeldown by backup QB Tim Boyle, Green Bay scored on every possession. Not a takeaway or three-and-out to be found.
Standard Week 1 “Are the Packers this good or the Vikings that bad” disclaimers apply. But Minnesota has some work to do, it seems.
I should probably include Dan Quinn in the race to the guillotine. His luck has to run out sometime, right? If Jason Garrett can finally get the axe...
Unlike so many conservative approaches in this opening weekend, the Seahawks let Russell Wilson cut loose. And Mr. Ciara rewarded that freedom with 322 yards and 4 TDs. Matty Ice tried his best to keep pace (450/2 TDs/1 INT), but the Dirty Birds were no match for Wilson and Co.
On the plus side: Todd Gurley looked decent in his non-Rams debut: 14 for 56. He probably gets more work if Atlanta hadn’t been playing catch up the entire game.
Special shout-out to the Falcons and Seahawks for their shows of support for racial equality: Both teams took a knee after the opening kickoff
And while we’re speaking on matters of equally and honoring The Struggle, the season’s first Tall Glass of STFU goes to free agent safety and Ta Nehisi Coates-wannabee Eric Reid, for his ill-informed stand against the NFL referring to “Lift Every Voice And Sing” (played along with the national anthem at every game this week) as “The Black National Anthem”
Because as we all know, one’s personal experience is an unassailable truth and there’s no chance what you believe is just dead ass wrong. He says the song isn’t called “The Black National Anthem.” That he’s never called it that and never heard it called as such.
Punch “Black National Anthem” into Google and note what the very first result is.
Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Bro; Confident and wrong is still wrong.
Now, back to the games.
Well, this was an unsalted cracker of a game. Not good, not bad, just there.
The most notable things about this were the QBs on each side: We had the pro debut of #1 pick Joe Burrow, who put up pedestrian numbers overall (23-of-36, 193 yards), but was sharp on the Bengals’ failed drive (12/14 for 85, with a TD pass to AJ Green wiped by an Offensive PI call) and scored the Bengals’ only TD on a nifty QB draw.
On the other side, we had Tyrod Taylor, trying to stave off rookie Justin Herbert for the starting job. He did Tyrod Taylor things: Good, not great, mistake free ball (16-of-30 for 208, sacked twice). Win or no, he’s gonna need to do better than that to keep Herbert on the bench. Though the lack of crowds booing probably means he’ll get at least a week more than he would have in a normal season.
And not sure what to make of Randy Bullock shanking that gimmie FG at the end, then going down with a “calf injury.” Take the “L” with some dignity, son. (UPDATE: Cincy signed Austin Seibert off the waiver wire as “insurance”)
Side Note: I’ve maintained that black QBs will achieve true parity when there’s a black equivalent of a Ryan Fitzpatrick or Nick Foles: That guy who makes a LONG career of being a reliable backup/spot starter. I think Tyrod Taylor could be that guy, if he'd just embrace that status.
This Kyler Murray kid might be okay...
91 yards and a score on 13 carries and 230 and a TD through the air. And he looked like he’d been playing alongside newly acquired Nuke Hopkins (14-151) for years.
Incredibly premature prediction: This is going to be the best season in the desert since their Super Bowl run!
Though the team they beat will ultimately have a say in that outcome. Though if their performance in that final drive is any indication (When Jimmy G wasn’t misfiring, the Cardinal DBs were making big plays), the Niners might be a candidate for the dreaded “First-to-Worst” Super Bowl loser hangover.
Dreamboat Brady took up where he left off for his new team in Tampa. For those playing along at home: That’s not a good thing. He 239 yards and 2 scores on 23-of-36 passing. But he also threw two picks and often looked like he and his receivers weren’t on the same page.
Breesus (13-30, 160 yds, 2TDs) and the Saints (271 total yards offense) weren’t that much better. But the Saints’ defense took advantage of Tampa miscues and Alvin Kamara did his thing catching out of the backfield (5-58, 1 TD.) THat was more than enough.
Both teams look to get things in better sync later. Their Week 8 rematch should be one to watch.
*looks around*
*scans the sideline*
Are we sure Jason Garrett got fired? Because that had all earmarks of a Garrett-coached team: Little offensive creativity, no clear scheme to get the ball into their playmakers hands (unless forcing Zeke Elliot down their throat counts) a reluctance to blitz or use stunts on defense (despite the fact that the base defense clearly wasn’t working¹), the D getting repeatedly torched by one guy (In this case, WR Robert Woods [6-105]) And some questionable calls in crunch time.²
Benefit of the doubt is that Mike McCarthy was treating this somewhat like a preseason game: Playing things vanilla and seeing what he had, combined with a litany of injuries³ that hamstrung the offense.
And not, you know, that McCarthy hasn’t learned a goddamned thing and is running the same lackluster scheme that got him run out of Green Bay. All of which makes last year’s first three weeks of offensive creativity stick out as an anomaly even more.
Outside of Woods, the Rams’ offense was “meh” with a capital “MEH”, outside of Woods. Malcolm Brown scored two TDs on a 4.4 ypc. I defy you to recall a single standout run. Jared Cook continues to play at a “Not a bust, but not a #1” level (20/31, 275, 1 INT)
But seriously, that OPI call on Michael Gallop was horseshit: “letter of the law correct” be damned.
PS: Maybe you have to be there, but not feeling the hype on the new LA stadium. Just looks like a stadium on the inside and weird on the outside.
PPS: DT Dontari Poe (#GoTigersGo) was the only Cowboy who took a knee for the anthem. The media won’t stop asking Jerruh about it. Which I find hilarious.
“He’s healthy” is as far as I’m willing to go as far as Ben Rapelisberger’s return goes, given his opponent was the Gi-Aints. Daniel Jones continues to be left alone to fend for himself (26/41, 279, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 3 sacks, 8 hits overall) and Saquon Barkley was absolutely shut down (15 carries, 6 yards. #notatypo. Though he did add 10 catches for 60 yards)
Anyone counting on James Conner to chew up yards against a lackluster Giants D was surely disappointed, as he only had six carries for nine yards. The star of the show (outside of Big Ben) was Whodat All-Star Benny Snell, Jr, who had 19 carries for 113 yards).
Both teams are worth watching going forwards: The Steelers to see if Big Ben can stay healthy and productive and the Giants to see if they get better or worse¹.
“Fun” Fact: The Giants 19-play drive in the 3rd qtr was the 3rd drive by any team since 1999 to be 19+ plays and end in a turnover.
Vic Fangio is taking an odd amount of heat for not trying to ice Steven Goskowski on his game winning kick attempt, as Goskowski (playing his first game in over a year and first not in a Patriot uniform) was having a horrible night to that point (2 missed FGs and 1 block¹ and a missed XP)
My question: Why would he bother? Goskowski seemed to be icing himself just fine.
The loss wasted good efforts from Drew Lock (22/33 for 216, 1 TD) Noah Fant (5-81, 1 TD) and Melvin Gordon (15/78, 1 TD).
A thrilling last second finish to an unenthusiastic shrug of a game.
And remember, kids: Take everything said here as given “It’s just Week 1, but...” precedes it.
“Week” or “Season?” Yes.
Texans 20, Chiefs 34
Before a "crowd" that looked more like the fourth quarter at a preseason game - a crowd that decided shows of unity and political awareness were for other people - Coach Boyardee and the Chefs took up where they left off in January: Spotting their opponent a lead, then burying them in an embarrassing onslaught of offense.
This was supposed to be the debut of the new improved Texans. Brandon Cooks and Randall Cobb were supposed to make up for the loss of Nuke Hopkins. And the addition of a rejuvenated David Johnson was supposed to take the Texans offense over the top. Not to mention the return of JJ Watt should shore up the defense.
All of those things may turn out to be true in the end, but on Thursday night, only Johnson (11-77, 1 TD, 3-32 receiving) was as advertised. Cobb and Cooks combined for 4 catches and 43 yards. And Watt made absolutely no difference as KC's newest addition, lead back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, gashed them for 138 rushing yards and a TD. Pat Hahomes did Mahomes things (24/32, 211 yds, 3 TDs, and not a single rush attempt) Thirteen garbage time points kept the final score within a respectable range, but KC dominated from the middle of the second quarter onward.
KC came out of the gate proclaiming themselves the true team to beat. Houston showed they still have some work to do.
Jets 17 , Bills 27
Week 1 of Adam Gaze’s last HC stand starts pretty much like most of them: With his team getting whooped at all three aspects of the game. Sam Darnold looked bad and he got NO help from his skill positions. Which included a whopping twelve carries for 38 yards Frank Gore and Le’veon Bell combined.
Josh Allen (312 yards, 2 TDs, 104.6 rating) looked like me might be ready to take that next step. Though it’s A) Week 1 B) The J-E-T-S SAME-OLD-SUCK.
Fun Fact: Gore passed Emmitt Smith for third all-time for games played by a running back (227). He’s behind fullbacks Tony Richardson (234) and Lorenzo Neal (239)
Dolphins 11, ZOMG NO TOM BRADY 21
Remember how, from the moment Darth Hoodie and the Pats signed Cam Newton, they tried to push the narrative that it was a QB competition? And how NOBODY bought that line?
Cam spent Week 1 showing how bullshit that really was: Throwing for a modest, but mistake-free 155 yards on 15-for-19 passing, and adding 75 rushing yards on 15 carries. The Pats played it conservative all day, relying on rushing for 217 total yards. That was more than enough to hold down the Fish.
The Amish Rifle was in midseason form: 3 INTs on 20/30 passing, 191 yards total. The Pats defense - a big question mark coming in - seemed to be up to the challenge at least this far.
But when Belichick and Josh McDaniel get enough confidence in Cam to turn him loose, watch the fuck out. Or it could be that Cam is back in MVP form, but is limited because the Pats’ receiver corps is ass, outside of Julian Edleman. We’ll see.
Fun Fact: Newton is the first QB not drafted by the Patriots to win a game for the team since Hugh Millen¹ in 1991.
He was a Plan B² free agent from Atlanta.
Remember Plan B free agency?
Browns 6, Ravens 38
And here it is! Step One of the true return of the Browns! This is the year they’re finally going to return to greatness!
Maybe next week!
This week? They got smoked. Which wasted pretty good rushing performances from Kareem Hunt (13-72) and Nick Chubb (10-60). But those numbers were mostly from Baltimore sitting back and daring Baker Mayfield to beat them with his arm.
He could not (21/39 for 189, 1 TD, 1 INT). His counterpart, Lamar Jackson, was a one-man show, putting up 275 and three TD passes, along with leading the team with 45 rushing yards.
In a weird, truncated year like this, teams with heavy continuity from last season are going to have huge advantages, especially early. Baltimore is a 14-win team that added All-Pro caliber Calais Campbell on defense (who basically did to the Browns on defense what Jackson did on offense) and rookie RB JK Dobbins on offense (who scored two on the ground).
This may well turn out to be the Browns’ year. But they should probably shoot for 14-2 at best.
Colts 20, Tanksonville 27
I left in that little dig at the Jags because I am not convinced this isn’t a tank job that simply ran into a team more willing and able to lose.
Yes, I am on Team “Same Old Phillip Rivers”. I've heard people defending Marmalard - he put up 363 yards and didn’t get much help from the rest of the offense, especially once Marlon Mack got hurt¹. Yeah, and we heard that exact same thing (different names of course) at least twice a year for the last decade.
Same. Old. Phillip. Rivers. Fight me.
Eagles 17, F*cksnyders 27
(Call ‘em whatever else you want, they’ll always be the Fucknsyders to me.)
And these Eagles sure look like last year’s model: O-line is trash, no production from the WRs, defense is a mess.
You guys got beat by a rookie QB and a coach who had a (scheduled) IV run during halftime.
Good GAWD, this looks like the NFC East isn’t going to be a fight for the top, but a fight to stay out of the bottom. (More on that later).
Las Vegas Raiders 34, ZOMG NO CAM 30
(I had to write out the whole team name because I still can’t wrap my head around that.)
The NFL’s second desert team started off life with a road win over the new-look Panthers. Carolina’s young defense (with three rookie starters) was tested early and often, and came up wanting for the most part: The Raiders scored on six of their first eight possessions. But they still needed a defensive stop to seal the win: Stopping the Panthers on a 4th-and-1 with 1:11 left in the fourth. Curiously, the call went to FB Alex “Wait - they still use fullbacks?” Armah, instead of Run CMC, who had 134 total yards and 2 TDs on the game.
Rookie HC Matt Rhule took the blame for the failed play, rather than let OC Joe Brady take the hit. It was something of a wet fart ending for them, wasting the efforts of McCaffrey, new starting QB Teddy Bridgewater (22/34 for 270, 1 TD) and fellow newcomer, WR Robby Anderson (6-115, including a 75-yd TD).
The Raider home opener is gonna feel WEIRD. And that’s saying something for 2020.
Bears 27, Lions 23
And then there’s Matt Patricia, the Adam Gase of the NFC. His Lions performed another perfect nose dive, gagging on a 17-pt fourth quarter lead and letting Mitchell GODDAMNED Trubisky beat thim
And yet... They still had a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKlQCo_2rt4
Mark your calendars, folks: It’s gonna be a race between Good Value Josh McDaniels and Fratdouche Belichick to see who gets fired first.
On the plus side for Detroit, TAFKA Purple Jesus still has plenty in the tank: 14-93 rushing, long of 23.
On the minus side: The guy who’s 35 and a waiver wire pickup is your clear RB1.
Packers 43, Vikings 34
Speaking of guys fighting off Father Time, Discount Double Check kicked off the season with a 364 yd, 4 TD gem, as the Pack picked up a big season-opening road win. The Vikes scored 24 in the fourth to keep the score respectable, but Green Bay was in total control throughout.
Though credit to the Vikes’ D, who acquitted themselves well early: Holding the Pack to two field goals and a Turnover on Downs in three Red Zone appearances in the first half.
MInus side: Those were three CONSECUTIVE appearances. And the floodgates opened after that. Other than the goal line stand, one single punt in the 3rd and a game-ending kneeldown by backup QB Tim Boyle, Green Bay scored on every possession. Not a takeaway or three-and-out to be found.
Standard Week 1 “Are the Packers this good or the Vikings that bad” disclaimers apply. But Minnesota has some work to do, it seems.
Seahawks 38, Falcons 25
I should probably include Dan Quinn in the race to the guillotine. His luck has to run out sometime, right? If Jason Garrett can finally get the axe...
Unlike so many conservative approaches in this opening weekend, the Seahawks let Russell Wilson cut loose. And Mr. Ciara rewarded that freedom with 322 yards and 4 TDs. Matty Ice tried his best to keep pace (450/2 TDs/1 INT), but the Dirty Birds were no match for Wilson and Co.
On the plus side: Todd Gurley looked decent in his non-Rams debut: 14 for 56. He probably gets more work if Atlanta hadn’t been playing catch up the entire game.
Special shout-out to the Falcons and Seahawks for their shows of support for racial equality: Both teams took a knee after the opening kickoff
And while we’re speaking on matters of equally and honoring The Struggle, the season’s first Tall Glass of STFU goes to free agent safety and Ta Nehisi Coates-wannabee Eric Reid, for his ill-informed stand against the NFL referring to “Lift Every Voice And Sing” (played along with the national anthem at every game this week) as “The Black National Anthem”
Because as we all know, one’s personal experience is an unassailable truth and there’s no chance what you believe is just dead ass wrong. He says the song isn’t called “The Black National Anthem.” That he’s never called it that and never heard it called as such.
Punch “Black National Anthem” into Google and note what the very first result is.
Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Bro; Confident and wrong is still wrong.
Now, back to the games.
ZOMG NO RIVERS 16, Bengals 13
Well, this was an unsalted cracker of a game. Not good, not bad, just there.
The most notable things about this were the QBs on each side: We had the pro debut of #1 pick Joe Burrow, who put up pedestrian numbers overall (23-of-36, 193 yards), but was sharp on the Bengals’ failed drive (12/14 for 85, with a TD pass to AJ Green wiped by an Offensive PI call) and scored the Bengals’ only TD on a nifty QB draw.
On the other side, we had Tyrod Taylor, trying to stave off rookie Justin Herbert for the starting job. He did Tyrod Taylor things: Good, not great, mistake free ball (16-of-30 for 208, sacked twice). Win or no, he’s gonna need to do better than that to keep Herbert on the bench. Though the lack of crowds booing probably means he’ll get at least a week more than he would have in a normal season.
And not sure what to make of Randy Bullock shanking that gimmie FG at the end, then going down with a “calf injury.” Take the “L” with some dignity, son. (UPDATE: Cincy signed Austin Seibert off the waiver wire as “insurance”)
Side Note: I’ve maintained that black QBs will achieve true parity when there’s a black equivalent of a Ryan Fitzpatrick or Nick Foles: That guy who makes a LONG career of being a reliable backup/spot starter. I think Tyrod Taylor could be that guy, if he'd just embrace that status.
Cardinals 27, Niners 20
This Kyler Murray kid might be okay...
91 yards and a score on 13 carries and 230 and a TD through the air. And he looked like he’d been playing alongside newly acquired Nuke Hopkins (14-151) for years.
Incredibly premature prediction: This is going to be the best season in the desert since their Super Bowl run!
Though the team they beat will ultimately have a say in that outcome. Though if their performance in that final drive is any indication (When Jimmy G wasn’t misfiring, the Cardinal DBs were making big plays), the Niners might be a candidate for the dreaded “First-to-Worst” Super Bowl loser hangover.
YAY NO JAMEIS 23, Saints 34
Dreamboat Brady took up where he left off for his new team in Tampa. For those playing along at home: That’s not a good thing. He 239 yards and 2 scores on 23-of-36 passing. But he also threw two picks and often looked like he and his receivers weren’t on the same page.
Breesus (13-30, 160 yds, 2TDs) and the Saints (271 total yards offense) weren’t that much better. But the Saints’ defense took advantage of Tampa miscues and Alvin Kamara did his thing catching out of the backfield (5-58, 1 TD.) THat was more than enough.
Both teams look to get things in better sync later. Their Week 8 rematch should be one to watch.
Cowboys 17, Rams 20
*looks around*
*scans the sideline*
Are we sure Jason Garrett got fired? Because that had all earmarks of a Garrett-coached team: Little offensive creativity, no clear scheme to get the ball into their playmakers hands (unless forcing Zeke Elliot down their throat counts) a reluctance to blitz or use stunts on defense (despite the fact that the base defense clearly wasn’t working¹), the D getting repeatedly torched by one guy (In this case, WR Robert Woods [6-105]) And some questionable calls in crunch time.²
Benefit of the doubt is that Mike McCarthy was treating this somewhat like a preseason game: Playing things vanilla and seeing what he had, combined with a litany of injuries³ that hamstrung the offense.
And not, you know, that McCarthy hasn’t learned a goddamned thing and is running the same lackluster scheme that got him run out of Green Bay. All of which makes last year’s first three weeks of offensive creativity stick out as an anomaly even more.
Outside of Woods, the Rams’ offense was “meh” with a capital “MEH”, outside of Woods. Malcolm Brown scored two TDs on a 4.4 ypc. I defy you to recall a single standout run. Jared Cook continues to play at a “Not a bust, but not a #1” level (20/31, 275, 1 INT)
But seriously, that OPI call on Michael Gallop was horseshit: “letter of the law correct” be damned.
PS: Maybe you have to be there, but not feeling the hype on the new LA stadium. Just looks like a stadium on the inside and weird on the outside.
PPS: DT Dontari Poe (#GoTigersGo) was the only Cowboy who took a knee for the anthem. The media won’t stop asking Jerruh about it. Which I find hilarious.
When Aldon Smith - who literally has not played in an NFL game in five seasons - is the clear best player on the field, something is wrong with the rest of your crew.
Going for it on 4th-and-2 was less a head scratcher than the play that preceded it: A 3rd-and-6 run up the middle, towards Aaron Donald, who was treating first time starter Terence Steele like a turnstile.
In particular: TE Blake Jarwin is done for the season. Leaning on him was an iffy decision from the start, and Dalton Shultz showed that putting all their eggs in the Jarwin basket was a HUGE mistake.
Steelers 26, Giants 16
“He’s healthy” is as far as I’m willing to go as far as Ben Rapelisberger’s return goes, given his opponent was the Gi-Aints. Daniel Jones continues to be left alone to fend for himself (26/41, 279, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 3 sacks, 8 hits overall) and Saquon Barkley was absolutely shut down (15 carries, 6 yards. #notatypo. Though he did add 10 catches for 60 yards)
Anyone counting on James Conner to chew up yards against a lackluster Giants D was surely disappointed, as he only had six carries for nine yards. The star of the show (outside of Big Ben) was Whodat All-Star Benny Snell, Jr, who had 19 carries for 113 yards).
Both teams are worth watching going forwards: The Steelers to see if Big Ben can stay healthy and productive and the Giants to see if they get better or worse¹.
“Fun” Fact: The Giants 19-play drive in the 3rd qtr was the 3rd drive by any team since 1999 to be 19+ plays and end in a turnover.
This Giants team getting worse would be 2008 Lions-level bad.
Titans 16, Broncos 14
Vic Fangio is taking an odd amount of heat for not trying to ice Steven Goskowski on his game winning kick attempt, as Goskowski (playing his first game in over a year and first not in a Patriot uniform) was having a horrible night to that point (2 missed FGs and 1 block¹ and a missed XP)
My question: Why would he bother? Goskowski seemed to be icing himself just fine.
The loss wasted good efforts from Drew Lock (22/33 for 216, 1 TD) Noah Fant (5-81, 1 TD) and Melvin Gordon (15/78, 1 TD).
A thrilling last second finish to an unenthusiastic shrug of a game.
Goskowski’s previous three misses occurred over seven seasons.
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