Bears 23-24 Packers
Oh, man, what a game! Rodgers uber alles! That bomb TD to Allison was the turning point for me: hobbling around on one leg, I assumed that was precisely the pass he couldn't make. Nah, he made it just fine. I knew it was over for the Bears right there. That said, the Bears still had chances on both sides of the ball to finish out that game. The Bears had obstacles: first time coach, a QB still figuring it out, a defense that looked good but is still basically brand new, hostile environment in front of a national audience....but make no mistake Aaron Rodgers was the biggest impediment for the Bears. The Packers were--and still are--my Super Bowl pick, as long as that knee still works (and maybe even if it doesn't), the Packers should plan on going deep in the playoffs. As for the Bears, well this is hardly the first time they've ever lost at Lambeau Field and there's still plenty to build on--Mack was bananas and Smith just barely got his feet wet, that D may be the best in the league.
Cowboys 8-16 Panthers
These could be the two most boring offenses in the league this season. Cowboys just never got anything going for Dak (sprayed passes) or Zeke (didn't hit the holes with confidence) and the defense was fine but nothing special; I thought the Panther got more out of McCaffrey than anything I saw last year: as an underneath option, he really looked like he could be the escape valve that Cam needs. I think the Panthers can get better (if Cam would step up and lead, they'd be fine but he still looks like he's only half paying attention out there) but the Cowboys just looked like they're gonna be mediocre all season long.
Titans 20-27 Dolphins
Fun game, weird game, but a lot of fun. The 1pm game was delayed for lightning twice, so the game just kinda came and went all day long. Didn't get a feel for the action, except that the Dolphins offense impressed me more than the Titans, who suffered major injuries during the game but still never looked any better than the Dolphins. I was lukewarm on both teams (though I think I thought the Dolphins would be better than most people think), but now I'm a little more optimistic about the Dolphins and less so about the Titans.
Bengals 34-23 Colts
Really impressed with Andrew Luck but still totally unimpressed with the rest of the Colts roster. The Bengals were good enough on both sides, I still kinda think the Bengals will be okay. The Colts will go as far as Luck can carry them but I fear another injury coming for him, he has to do too much, no way he holds up for 16 games. If the Bengals can catch the Steelers slippin', they might hang around the playoff race all season long.
Falcons 12-18 Eagles
I picked the Falcons to pull it out in the end (just like last year in the playoffs) and they had their chance but couldn't get it done (just like last year in the playoffs). I thought the Falcons were the better team in the 1st half but they just couldn't get points on the board; Eagles turned it around in the 2nd half but I wasn't exactly blown away by that offense. I thought the Falcons would have a good year but I kinda thought the Eagles would struggle, I think I still think both of those things.
Other results (that surprised me):
Niners 16-24 Vikings
That score isn't a shock, this actually sounds about right...until you dig into the stats. Seems like the Vikings played a flawless game while the Niners struggled all over the place. So...why didn't the Vikings win by 400 points? If the Niners played well on the road I can imagine them still falling by a TD to the Vikings, but if Jimmy G struggled and Kirk Cousins dominated his debut...why was this game close?
Bucs 48-40 Saints
Okay, this is a shocker! Are the Bucs the Bucs that everyone always (used to) think they're gonna be? Are the Saints finally gonna lose a step and fall to pieces? "No" to the first, the Bucs just had a summer of flying under the radar and the (temporary?) switch to a veteran 2nd stringer seems to have been just the thing to kick off the season; "maybe" to the second question, that offense looked just fine but, yipes, that defense just gave up a gajillion yards to that dude that wasn't good enough for Buffalo or Houston. Okay, seems like the Saints are gonna be up and down all year but I still see them as a division winner and as for the Bucs, come on, man they are born to go 5-11.
Bills 3-47 Ravens
Not shocked that the Bills are awful but, damn, man, to get dropkicked by Joe Flacco has got to hurt. The Bills have a fading defense, a fading running game, no skill position talent, a rookie QB and don't even look to be above average on special teams. Oh, man, Bills fans can go ahead and start planning for that #1 pick. I had a feeling the Ravens might be kinda good this season, if the Steelers stay this unimpressive, the Ravens might sail into the post-season.
Jets 48-17 Lions
I had the Jets being flat awful this year, this result would suggest that they won't be awful, but I'm not sure this means they'll be any good. The Lions have been in the almost-good-enough-QB ghetto for a while now: when you're QB is better than average but not as good as the top tier QB's, ahhh, man, that's the worst place to be in all of sports. Another coupla years of playing out Stafford's contract (hmmmm, think Belichick can get W's out of Stafford in the post-Brady years?) and then they get to move on. *sigh* And now the Bears have a stout D...and Rodgers is winning games on one leg...and the Vikings are maybe the most complete team in the league....*sigh* As for the Jets, nice start for Savior Sam Darnold, that'll give the salty New Yorkers something to look forward to for a while, but not sure this means they'll actually be any good.
Other results (no surprise):
Steelers 21-21 Browns
Not a shock, really. Neither team was good enough to win, so they both lost (yeah, in football that's what a tie is). You may be surprised, but look back to Week One last season: Steelers had to come back and snatch the W late--against one of the worst teams in NFL history! The Browns have built some talent, they'll be in games this year--hell, they'll even win one or two--and they'll look most effective against division teams. The Steelers have plenty of talent and know-how but, man, Big Ben is deteriorating badly, not sure the Steelers will get better until they move at QB (there's a Nike poster boy just waiting for the call, even has a Ben-like style, no?).
Texans 20-27 Pats
The Pats won at home. It wasn't a blowout but no big deal. The Pats don't play for style points. The Texans have a lot of room to get better and putting up a good showing in Foxboro is hardly a bad start to the season but everybody knows that O line needs work; the Pats are the Pats, they'll be fine.
Jags 20-15 Giants
Yeah, that seems right. Jags are unspectacular but are probably good enough to sneak more W's than L's; the Giants are uninspiring but will bust out every once in a while.
Chiefs 38-28 Chargers
The Chiefs look like they might awesome (at least on offense), while the Chargers look like...the Chargers.
Seahawks 24-27 Broncos
The Broncos are another squad that I think might be kinda good--or at least good enough to squeak some W's. Yeah, this isn't that great a win but I can see them pulling out a few more so-so wins like this. The Seahawks look kinda awful and, yeah, I think that's gonna hold up (I'd go ahead and sit Russell Wilson, if I was them).
Redskins 24-6 Cards
The Cards look truly terrible, like they're gonna be dueling with the Bills for that #1 pick. On the other hand, I can see the Redskins being kinda good. For the last few years I've thought they looked good when they weren't shooting themselves in the foot and if we've learned anything about Alex Smith, it's that he doesn't shoot himself in the foot. They might not blow anyone away but I can see the Redskins being pretty not-bad all season long.
Rams 33-13 Raiders
Yeah, Rams are good, Raiders are not. Learned nothing from this result that I didn't already know.
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