2021-22 NFL (Week 2)

Games I saw (some of):

Bengals 17-20 Bears

Incredibly defensive battle for three quarters, non-stop weirdness for the 4th. Burrow at one point threw three consecutive interceptions and then two consecutive TDs. Justin Fields came in when Dalton tweaked his ankle, had good moments (looks good in the pocket, moves well, generally good reads) and bad moments (bails out a little too quick, definitely jittery--dude, I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen a QB called for False Start, Fields did it twice in one drive!), I suspect he won't really mature until next year but I think there's plenty of room for (long term) optimism. The Bengals got done in by their turnovers, I think they were probably the better team, though. The Bears defense looks old timey good, the offense...meh. I don't see either of these teams winning a lot of games this season. 

Raiders 26-17 Steelers

I'll say it again: Derek Carr is pretty good, man, not top tier but certainly better than the critcism he gets. And, again, the Raiders main problems is their dumb fuckin' penalties, they would be a much more competitive team if they would just get some discipline. As for the Steelers, meh. The defense is okay, Ben still has moments (but mostly lumbers around out there, could Derek Carr be their QB next season?), and after watching Najee Harris two weeks in a row, I'm not particularly impressed. The Steelers still have veteran smarts, so if you fuck around they'll beat you, but they're less talented that most every team they're going to play this year. The Raiders aren't bad and stealing two W's from the Ravens and Steelers to open the season is a good start. 

Cowboys 20-17 Chargers

OMG, did this game set a record for penalties--dude, I've never seen a personal foul get declined before--didn't even know it was possible! That's what kind of game this was. Every time the Chargers made a good play, you just knew it was coming back. Fun game, both teams moved the ball well, everyone was making plays and except for the penalties (Cowboys have plenty of 'em, too) this was a great game to watch from beginning to end. Felt like the Chargers were going to pull it out, but they shot themselves in the foot too many times to finish the game. Good W for the Cowboys, some nice defensive plays, consistently good offense in all phases. 

Chiefs 35-36 Ravens

Chiefs, man, *whew*! I thought Lamar Jackson looked as good as he's looked in a while--if he continues to play like this then the Ravens will be pretty dangerous. But when the Chiefs need a play, they just go to the play store and pick one up off the rack. Funny, then, that it was the Chiefs that fumbled away their last chance to win--and that was after getting spotted a pick-6 to start the game! The Ravens are pretty good and when Lamar brings his best game they can be really good; if he's MVP-level this year, then the Ravens vault up to the top tier in the AFC. The Chiefs let this one get away but they'll be all right, they actually played sloppy as hell as still could've won this game, so no worries for Chief fans. 

The rest of the slate: 

Giants 29-30 WTF

For football lovers, this is like watching a porno of nothing but ugly people.

Texans 21-31 Browns

I was surprised to see the Texans hanging in this game. Their offense is better than I would've thought possible. I doubt they'll be any good but they're not the easy W I figured they'd be. 

Rams 27-24 Colts

Feels like the Rams really should've scored more often and more confidently. Here it was the defense making big plays bailing out the offense's mistakes. The Colts are probably one of those bad-good teams: they kinda suck but they've got savvy.

Bills 35-0 Dolphins

The Bills D showed up today. Okay, wasn't sure they even had one. Without Tua, the Dolphins couldn't move the ball at all. 

Pats 25-6 Jets

Yeah. 

Niners 17-11 Eagles

I think the Eagles might actually be kinda good. The Niners seemed to be in control even if the offense wasn't overwhelming. 

Saints 7-26 Panthers

The Saints were decimated by Covid, but that said, the Panthers looked good. It's only been two weeks, but the Panthers so far to me are the biggest upside surprise, if the Saints stay this bad and the Falcons keep being the Falcons, the Panthers might be in line for a playoff spot. 

Broncos 23-13 Jags

Not the most impressive W but a win on the road is always a good thing. The Jags have a long way to go. 

Vikings 33-34 Cards

Kinda thought the Cards would handle the Vikings at home, instead they got lucky as hell the FG sailed wide. 

Falcons 25-48 Bucs

Yeah. 

Titans 33-30 (OT) Seahawks

The Seahawks puzzle me every year: good when it seems like they oughta suck, dropping home games to soft squads when it seems like they oughta roll. Oh well. 

Lions 17-35 Packers

Yeah, that sounds about right.