Colts 16-20 Eagles
I've been more impressed with the Colts than perhaps any other team in the league, in terms of my preconceptions at the beginning of the season. I thought they'd be brutally bad and they are not, they look pretty good, Andrew Luck has more to work with than I anticipated and they look to be in the hunt for their division, I'd say. I thought the Eagles would struggle to be consistent but still be the class of their division and so far I think I'm right about that one. So the fact that the Colts were still in this game late is a testament to how good the Colts actually are and less an indictment on the Eagles, who look just fine right now. Good W for the Eagles, not a bad L for the Colts.
Bengals 21-31 Panthers
These teams are actually pretty similar in the sense that when they show up and run their offense with confidence, they're both pretty good. The Panthers controlled the ball well, especially in the 1st half, and while the Bengals were out of the game kinda quick, they hung around and had their moments, too; pretty good showing considering they didn't have Mixon. I thought the Bengals would keep it close and probably pull it out, but the Panthers played well--and they've finally got McCaffrey where they want him. Good W at home for the Panthers, not a bad L for the Bengals.
Cowboys 13-24 Seahawks
That Cowboy offense is....dull. The O-line doesn't push people around the way they used to and Elliot and Dak both seem tentative out there. I think that offense is gonna struggle all year long (wouldn't be surprised to see them get hot late). The Seahawks still have all the same problems they had last year--namely the D is not the classic squad it used to be and the offense is much too reliant on Russell Wilson by himself--but they look to be a team that will have their moments. The Cowboys just couldn't put up enough of a roadblock to keep themselves in the game.
I kinda thought the Pats would struggle in this game. The Pats always kinda suck in September and this September looks even tougher than usual. As for the Lions, well, you know they've had this game circled on the schedule for a while. That said, I was kinda shocked at how overpowering the Lions ofeense was early on; on that first drive, they came up with 4th and inches at the 20 yard line and took the FG--why? I would've gone for it, that offense had the Pats on their heels all the way downfield and if you miss there, so be it, at least you've announced that you're coming out hard. As for the Pats, man, Brady has no one to throw to, the running game is non-existent, the defense looks slow, even the special teams look off-kilter. It's September Brady-Belichick always make it work out but they look a little deeper in the hole than usual. Good W for the Lions, lesson learning L for the Pats.
Surprising results:
Bills 27-6 Vikings
Okay, it's easy to say that the Vikings just rolled out of bed Sunday morning, smoked a cigarette, and said, 'Be back in a coupla hours, babe, gotta go kill Buffalo.' But think of this way: in the first two weeks of the season the Bills were so poor that they gave the Vikings absolutely nothing to prepare for. So if Buffalo plays even the slightest bit hard and gets off to a good start, the Vikings would kinda be stuck just trying to figure out what's going on and that's pretty much what happened. The Vikings were clearly looking ahead to the next game against the Rams, figured they could finish the sorry ass Bills without much effort, but this is the NFL. Everybody's got world class athletes. Also, Buffalo's coach was quite impressive to me last year and despite the poor start, I still believe McDermott is for real. So, for the Vikings this is a lesson learned (although that may not be so apparent after they got throttled by the Rams this week), and for the Bills it is a recognition that they aren't as bad as they previously looked. I still believe the Vikings are one of the better teams in the league and that the Bills are mediocre but probably not horrible. We'll see.
Packers 17-31 Redskins
Aaron Rodgers clearly doesn't look 100% out there and that means the Packers will not look very good until he is. The Redskins didn't bring their best effort last week against the Colts, looks like they were saving it up for the Packers. I still believe the Packers can be really good (although not necessarily) and that the Redskins are probably pretty good.
Titans 9-6 Jags
If you told me the Titans scored 9 points at Jacksonvile, I would think, 'Oh, okay, Jags won 21-9.' For some reason the Titans have the Jags bedeviled, that happens among division rivals, I don't think this result means the Jags aren't good or that the Titans are. I wouldn't be surprised, for example, if the Jags win in Tennessee later on this year.
Giants 27-22 Texans
Okay, I'm officially off the Texans bandwagon. Just felt like getting back their hot young QB and the badass defenders that were out last year was gonna usher in good times in Houston--and that stay may be true. But for now they've got to find their legs. Don't be surprised if the Texans look like crap til November then get hot at the end of the season. As for the Giants, I still subscribe to the Eli Principal: he makes good teams bad and bad teams good. A win in Houston suggests to me that NYG are not good.
Other results (not so surprising):
Jets 17-21 Browns
The Browns have talent now and turning the program over to Baker Mayfield is probably the best thing for them right now: let the new guy do what he can with the talent that's been accrued. I still don't think they'll win much but they won't be as awful as recent years. I'm skeptical of the Jets and was not won over by that big win in Detroit. I still think they suck and I never had any reason to think they were better than Cleveland.
Saints 43-37 (ot) Falcons
Division games can always go either way. Throw in that the Saints have a proclivity for waiting til the last second to win games and it should come as no surprise that the pulled it out in OT in Atlanta, even though it seemed like the Falcons had this game in hand. The Falcons will struggle on D thanks to the bevy of early injuries they suffered but I still think that offense can win games. Just not against Drew Brees.
Niners 27-38 Chiefs
Considering the Niners lost Jimmy G for the year, they did well to drop 27 in KC. That said, that Chiefs D is troublingly bad. But Mahomes is still the man and that offense is humming.
Raiders 20-28 Dolphins
Yeah, this seems about right. The Dolphins are a year in/year out 'okay' squad. The Raiders have decent talent but are still a supremely sloppy side.
Broncos 14-27 Ravens
The Ravens are good at home, the Broncos suck on the road. I kinda thought this game would be closer but this isn't a shock.
Chargers 23-35 Rams
Yeah, as predictable a result as I've seen all year. The Rams are crushing right now on both sides, while the Chargers are the Chargers, man.
Bears 16-14 Cards
Hmmmm, that Bears D is so good that it makes you overlook how downright mediocre that offense is. The Cards are struggling but that's what they were built to do.
Steelers 30-27 Bucs
Both teams can score, feels like neither team is particularly good on defense. If the Bucs just make one or two more plays, they would've won this game.
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