2024-25 NFL (Week 1)

Games I saw (some of):

Ravens 20-27 Chiefs

Nail biter, went down to the wire, just a toe over the line kept this one from going to OT (not unlike the KD Nets going down to the on-their-way to being champion Bucks a few years back, no?). The Chiefs look like a slightly degraded version of what they were last season: an okay defense and Patrick Mahomes making magic and not much else (which was actually a slightly degraded version of what they were the season before). Is that good enough to win the Super Bowl? Well, its worked for 3 of the last 4 years, so you can't count 'em out yet. As for the Ravens, the announcers were constantly pointing out their spotty O-line play and I think I agree: the D is good, Lamar Jackson is good, the skill players are good, but that O-line could be the Achilles' heel. If they figure that out, they should probably be on pace to win this match against the Chiefs if/when they meet again in the post-season. These are clearly two of the better teams in the AFC, wouldn't be shocked if the AFC Championship was a re-match (which the Ravens really should've won, if you think back to January).

Titans 17-24 Bears

Ugh, this was not the game I wanted to sit through. Coming in I thought the Titans would be one of the worst teams in the league this year and that the Bears should be way better than last year, though still rather middle of the pack overall. Well, for most of the game the Titans looked solid on both sides and the Bears looked like they couldn't move the ball at all.  But throw in a big kick return, a blocked punt and one of the lamest pick-6's you will ever see, and the Titans are going home with an L and QB Caleb is the first #1 pick QB to win his debut since David Carr a coupla decades ago. This is a tough game, man, the Bears did not look good but they got the W and that's all that matters. As for my initial takes, well, the Titans might not be awful--but, then again, they might be--and the Bears should get better as the season goes on, so perhaps they will be middle of the pack, which would be pretty good for a rookie QB. 

Pats 16-10 Bengals

The Bengals start slow, so no need to panic over this result. But, man, if the Bengals are gonna win any games this season, the Pats are the kind of team they need to beat. The Pats ran the ball well and their pass rush wasn't bad, so they might not be a disaster, but they don't have a great deal of depth and they do have a rookie head coach and rookie QB waiting in the wings. As for the Bengals, I dunno, they seems to be way short of weapons on offense and the defense was not impressive going up against QB Brissett, so....where are they going? I still believe in QB Burrow, but he needs to step up and win the winnable games (like this one). 

Rams 20-26 (OT) Lions

Fun game! For the 1st half, Lions felt like the superior team. But in the 2nd half, the Rams pulled it together, mixed up their attack, got the right stops on D and almost stole this one on the road from the Lions. Man, I gotta say: I loved QB Stafford in this game. The way he picked his spots and knew exactly what to expect from his O-line was masterful, it was like watching prime Peyton Manning. I always thought Stafford was pretty good but he is mellowing into a really top class veteran slinger that knows how to move the ball, protect his teammates and win games. If I was a Rams fan, I'd already be in love with this team and even though they didn't pull out the W, I'd keep an eye on the Rams because they might end up winning games they're not supposed to win. As for the Lions, in the OT they ran the ball all the way down the field and into the end zone--an option that was totally available to them all through the 2nd half! They relied too heavily on QB Goff, instead of sticking with a balanced attack to run some clock and preserve the lead. So, they got the W, they played well for the most part, but they came real close to fumbling this one away for no reason. 

The rest of the slate:

Packers 29-34 Eagles. Saw none of this game, the real takeaway is that QB Love is gonna be out for several weeks with a knee sprain and that is bad bad bad bad bad news for the Packers. We'll see what their backup QB situation is like (hello, Ryan Tannehill?) but this a bad way to open the season. As for the Eagles, good win, good way to open the season. 

Steelers 18-10 Falcons. QB Cousins did not have an impressive showing in his debut with the Falcons, are we chalking that up to a vicious Steelers pass rush or Cousins just done? No idea.

Cards 28-34 Bills. Took the Bills a while to get going, is it a bad sign that started slow or a good sign that they finished strong? Are the Cards actually a capable offense or did they just catch the Bills hibernating?

Texans 29-27 Colts. (Seems like this was the game to see this weekend) I think both of these teams are gonna be good this year. We'll see.

Jaguars 17-20 Dolphins. Feels like the Jags let this one get away, about to build on their big lead when they fumbled in the end zone and gave it away. Feels like the Dolphins got a gift and they made it hold up. The big news was Tyreke Hill getting arrested before the game (not a good look for the Miami PD). 

Panthers 10-47 Saints. So are the Saints gonna be good? (jk) Oh, the Panthers....

Vikings 28-6 Giants. Interested to see where the post-Cousins Vikings go from here, but they won't get to play NYG every week, so the uphill climb starts now. Oh, the Giants.....

Raiders 10-22 Chargers. Raiders look spunky (if untalented), the Chargers look like...well, the Chargers: tons of talent but are they any good?

Broncos 20-26 Seahawks. Close match, the Broncos actually impressed going to a hostile stadium with a rookie QB and holding their own. Not sure about the Seahawks, another year with QB Geno, a new head coach and a schizophrenic defense. 

Cowboys 33-17 Browns. The Browns had one nice drive, otherwise this was all Cowboys. The Cowboys look like the Cowboys, the Browns gotta be pretty worried about QB Watson, if he doesn't pull it together this will be a long, awful, expensive season. 

Commanders 20-37 Bucs. I like the Commanders to be kinda good this year but they did not get off to a good start as the Bucs made their defense look pretty Swiss cheese-y. I like the Falcons to pull it together but if not, the Bucs might romp through this division.