After every NFL weekend, I will write a roundup of the action.  The column will come out on Tuesday’s, due to Monday Night Football.

What a weekend.  It’s so good to have the NFL back.  After a long week of school, it’s what you look forward to on Sunday.  The first game of the season though, didn’t quite live up to the hype.

Seattle-36 Green Bay-16

The rematch of the Fail Mary failed to prove itself.  The Seahawks completely dominated the Packers in all ways.  Honestly, the Seahawks are and look like champions.  They looked great.  I don’t believe this is anything significant to the worry about with the Packers, though injuries to Eddie Lacy and Bryan Bulaga will hurt.

Miami-33 New England-20

The Patriots have always had trouble down in Miami.  Maybe Tom Brady just doesn’t like the heat, even though his stat line was solid.  It came down to the Dolphins literally owning the second half.  The Pats had a ten point lead at halftime, and blew it down the stretch, giving up two long touchdown drives by Miami.  It was the first time the Patriots lost a home opener since 2003.

Tennessee-26 Kansas City-10

A game where after signing a massive extension, Alex Smith threw three interceptions and led no one to believe he deserved it.  The Titans dominated the game, and Jake Locker looked like he did before his injury last year.  The Chiefs lost LB Derrick Johnson to a torn Achilles, and he  is done for the year.  The Johnson loss is huge for a team with a defense already ravaged.  Dexter McCulster, playing his former team, didn’t make them feel bad, rushing for 29 yards, but caught a 17 yard pass.  The Titans looked great, but didn’t lead me to believe in them anymore than I do.

Houston-17 Washington-6

Ryan Fitzpatrick went into game manager mode as the Houston defense held Washington to six points.  Fitzpatrick handed the ball to Arian Foster 27 times as he ran for 107 yards.  RG3 fumbled twice, but threw the ball decently.  If he can’t learn to slide and hold on to the ball, trouble will emerge for the Redskins.  The No.1 overall pick in the Draft, Jadeveon Clowney, left the game with a knee injury, which will now keep him out 4-6 weeks.

Buffalo-23 Chicago-20 (OT)

If the speculation of the Bills front office problems and questions at QB in the preseason were true, they were certainly quieted after this game.  The Bills went into Soldier Field and broke the hearts of Bears fans by kicking a field goal in overtime.  Jay Culter threw two interceptions as the Bears defensive problems shined.  Fred Jackson ran for only 61 yards, but a huge 38 yard run by him set up the game winning field goal.  The Bills silenced their critics, but won’t continue to win games of this caliber.

Bengals-23 Ravens-16 

Concerns about the Ravens run game weren’t totally annihilated, but were definitely lowered after Justin Forrsett ran for 71 yards.  It still didn’t solve the Ravens offensive woes, as Joe Flacco completed only 35 of his 62 passes.  He put up 345 with a touchdown, but 62 passes is way to many.  The Ravens must of been deeply concerned with the run game.  The Bengals pass game looked mighty fine, as Andy Dalton threw for 301 yards and a touchdown.  AJ Green caught the 77 yard game winning bobbling catch with around five minutes left, which solidified the win after the Bengals blew a 15 point lead.

Jets-19 Raiders-14

The real reason I even laid eyes on this game was for Derek Carr.  Even though I’m not high on him and don’t think he the answer, he certainly played well.  Carr posted a 20/32, 152 yard and two touchdown line.  The Raiders run defense let them down, giving up large runs to Chris Ivory and others.  The Raiders have serious issues at running back, which wouldn’t even be considered giving who’s in their backfield.  They ran for 25 yards AS A TEAM! That’s the main issue in Oakland, but if Derek Carr can play well enough, it may not need that much attention.  The Jets, well, (boy they are boring to talk about) played a good game.  Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson ran all over the Raiders, and Geno Smith only had five incompletions.  Eric Decker had a nice debut for the Jets, catching five balls for 74 yards.

Philadelphia-34 Jacksonville-17

A day where their were many great games, this one probably proved to be the strangest.  Jacksonville pulled ahead to a 17 point lead, and had everyone in shock.

The Jaguars were up 17-0 at halftime, and Nick Foles had looked awful until then.

But once the 3rd quarter started, the Eagles offense took off, including a 49 yard TD run by Darren Sproles.  The Eagles scored 34 unanswered points to win.  Multiple mistakes by Jags helped, but Nick Foles got his mojo back and unloaded the ball.  He threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns.  Foles has to develop more, but definitely is on the right track.  As for the Jaguars, the late game collapse shows Chad Henne’s flaws.  He is not a full game starter.  He tricks with his magical plays, then breaks your heart later.  Blake Bortles needs a shot, soon.

Pittsburgh-30 Cleveland-27

First of all, congratulations to Cleveland for putting up 27 points.  That’s the real victory.

Anyways, the Browns were down 27-3 at halftime, which didn’t surprise me one bit.  The second victory of the loss was the fact they came BACK from the deficit.  The running game found itself, even though it was Terrence West who had the load.  Cleveland lost in a very Cleveland way, losing on a field goal as time expired.  The worst part about it (for Browns fans) was watching Ben Roethlisberger drive down the field with the clock under 2:00 minutes.  Cleveland just can’t win down the stretch.  It’s always been their problem.  Honestly,  Brian Hoyer played fine,  but not well enough to write more about it.  I’m not sure with Johnny Manziel in this team would be any better.

Minnesota-34 St.Louis-6

Boy, who would’ve thought?  The Vikings destroyed the Rams.  This game was completely lopsided.  Though, I’m not sure this is a statement win for Minnesota.

See, the Rams were playing Shaun Hill at QB.  Then he got hurt.  It was the absolute worst case for the Rams.  This team was already in trouble before Week 1, and now it’s possible Austin Davis is starting next week.  Austin Davis played the second half, threw a pick, but did complete 16/23 passes.  It’s nothing to celebrate, especially since they Rams didn’t score a touchdown.  Minnesota had it easy.  This Vikings defense should and will be good this season, but this game isn’t making a statement.  Austin Davis was the opposing QB.  The Rams are in trouble, but they did sign….

Wait for it…..

CASE KEENUM!

I’m still on this bandwagon.  I haven’t lost hope for him.  He has flaws, yes, but he did show flashes last year.  He did!  Start him, Rams.

Atlanta-37 New Orleans-34 (OT)

The shootout that we anticipated took place, and man, this game was fun to watch.  Matt Ryan threw for 448 yards, a franchise record.  Devin Hester looked like one of the best free agents acquisitions, catching five balls for 99 yards.  The game went to OT, and the Falcons came out on top, due to a Saints fumble.  These two teams looked great, and I don’t think this game is a judge mark for both teams.

Denver-31 Indianapolis-24

Another game that didn’t live up to it potential.  By looking at the score, you wouldn’t of thought so.  The Broncos were up 24-0 at one point, and led 24-7 at halftime.  The Broncos looked absolutely dominating, and they did that first half.  Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes to Julius Thomas, in the first half.  Yes, you that right.  It looked like the Colts were going to get completely demolished.  I couldn’t believe how bad the Colts looked. Andrew Luck is  Andrew Luck, but the rest of the teams, especially the defense, was awful.  The Colts, like they do though, came back, and made this a ball game in the second.  I made the mistake of going to bed after the the Broncos went up 31-10 in the 4th, then got worried that something crazy was happening.  Checked my phone, and tracked the game from my bed.  Smart move, huh?  Anyways, the Broncos look like a Super Bowl team, and so does Seattle.  I’m really concerned about the Colts defense, and now that Robert Mathis is done for year, it raises my doubts.  However, if the offense shows up, then that can switch things.

Detroit-35 New York Giants-14

I wasn’t shocked by the score here.  I was shocked, however, by Matthew Stafford’s performance.  His first quarter was incredible.  He passed for over 100 yards in the first quarter, and threw two touchdowns to Calvin Johnson.  The Detroit offense played outstanding, and had 417 yards of offense in the game.  However, I don’t think this defense is so hot.  The Giants can’t score.  That’s the bottom line!  The can not score, at all. 14 points in a game won’t cut it!  Eli Manning threw for only 163 yards, and threw his typical two interceptions.  They had no running game either.  It could be a really bad year for Giants, and for that to happen, they’re on the right track.

 

Arizona-19 San Diego-18

(Homerism possible)

Boy, I couldn’t of been happier walking into school Tuesday morning after the Cardinals beat the Chargers on a game winning touchdown with 2:25 left.  I won’t say much more on that besides that the Cardinals were down 11 points in the quarter, and the San Diego defense let themselves down again, which leads into…

San Diego had one the worst secondaries in the league last year.  It was terrible.  It’s not about that anymore though.  It’s about the fact that when in close game or meaningful moments, they will not play good football.  It’s that simple!  They have done it over and over.  San Diego’s defense didn’t the ability to hold a 11 point lead in the 4th quarter to a very average (that, I can admit, the Cardinal’s offense is average) offense.  That’s their problem, and honestly, there is no way to fix that.

I observed a lot of changes in this Cardinals team last night.  First off, the offensive line is so much better.  I would of never thought that Carson Palmer would be scrambling around the pocket without getting sacked.  He did lose a fumble, but that had to with his problems of holding on the ball to long.  The Cardinals also nailed it on John Brown, who caught the game winning pass in what had to be a awesome first touchdown.  He was taken in the 3rd round out of Pittsburgh State, and man, he looks like he could be great.  The best comparison-Marvin Harrison.  I am, and this is definitely not being a homer, concerned about the Cardinals running game.  Andre Ellington is great.  I just don’t know if he is the every-down back they hoped.  He is a big time situation back, and didn’t look great last night.  I say that when he did break a 18 yards run, but still, 13 carries and 53 yards isn’t what the Cardinals, I think, had in mind.

On to Week 2..