JIM LANG’S 10 NFL THINGS
Okay then, Week 1 of the new 17-week NFL season is in the books. As far as opening weeks go, this one had a little bit of everything, and then some.
With that in mind, here are 10 things I think from the past week.
1 – Brady and the Bucs: To be honest, that wasn’t close to the Buccaneers best effort. Too many turnovers and their defence gave up too many points. Yes, they still found a way to win, and the 44-year-old Brady still managed to throw four touchdowns. I was VERY impressed with Dak Prescott. Considering he hadn’t played a game in over 300 days, and he was nursing a sore shoulder in training camp, he looked excellent. The Cowboys have 99 problems, and Dak isn’t one of them. By the way, the Bucs and Cowboys game was the most watched NFL season opener (In America) since 2015 and the most watched TV show this year since the Super Bowl! No wonder networks hand Roger Goodell a blank check every time the TV rights come up for renewal.
2 – Russell Wilson: I know some find this hard to believe about a Super Bowl winning quarterback, but I believe that Russell Wilson is underrated, or at the very least, doesn’t get close to the recognition he deserves. If you look at Wilson’s career arc, it has been impressive. Wilson has grown from a quarterback who would average 20 touchdown passes a year, to one that can throw 30 to 40 a year with ease. Wilson started the year with a four-touchdown performance, including a 69-yard beauty to Tyler Lockett. When Wilson first arrived in the NFL, coach Pete Carroll kept a tight rein on him and how he ran the offence. Now, Wilson is running the show on offence, and he can throw a deep ball as well as any quarterback in the league.
3 – LaLa land: I knew Matt Stafford would be a good fit with the LA Rams, but I didn’t expect a debut like that! Stafford was awesome as the Rams pounded the Bears in LA’s new, multi-billion-dollar stadium. The addition of Stafford gives the Rams something they have been lacking, an explosive offence. That means Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey don’t have to worry about giving up points, because their new quarterback has the ability to put up points in a way the Jared Goff wasn’t able to. I have given up trying to figure out what Matt Nagy and the Bears are doing at quarterback. However, I am confident by week 4 when the Bears take on the Lions, Justin Fields will be their starting quarterback. With Stafford in LA, Sean McVay and the Rams have a chance to be one of the top scoring offensives in the NFC. Yes, I know Stafford played with Calvin Johnson for a number of years. But Stafford never had a chance to play with a team as deep on both sides of the ball as the Rams are.
4 – Zona: The Arizona Cardinals kicked off the season with a statement win over a very good Tennessee Titans team. Kyler Murray tossed four touchdowns and Chandler Jones had five (five!!!!) sacks as the Cardinals manhandled the Titans. The battles in the NFC West will be lots fun to watch this year. Yes, the Rams are a great team, but the Cardinals are a good team that is trending in the right direction, especially with Kyler Murray. You add in the Seahawks and the 49ers; watch out! By the way, do you think J.J. Watt is happy to be playing in Arizona?
5 – Steelers: Mike Tomlin’s favourite saying to reporters is, ‘the standard is the standard.’ The standards are very high in Pittsburgh and a lot of people were quick to write off the Steelers and their aging quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. So, what happens? The Bills jump out to a 10-0 lead, then Big Ben and the Steelers scored all of their 23 points in the second half to pick up a much-needed win on the road before those crazy Bills fans. One of the more remarkable traits for the Steelers franchise since the early 1970’s is their ability to assemble a great defence. They have done again this year with T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward as the backbone of another tough Steelers D.
6 – Patrick Mahomes: The Browns are a good team, but Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are better. Mahomes threw two touchdowns in the 4th quarter as the Chiefs secured a hard-fought win. It wouldn’t shock me at all to see these two teams battle it out in the post-season. If you are going to beat the Chiefs, you better not turn the ball over and you better find a way to score a ton of points. The Browns shouldn’t be too discouraged, looking at their schedule, watch for them to win their next three games.
7 – Who Dat?: Jameis Winston and the Saints laid a good old-fashioned beating on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. This win was notable for a number of reasons. One, because of recent weather events in New Orleans, the game was played in Jacksonville. Two, Winston completed 14 passes, five of them for touchdowns! And finally, Aaron Rodgers stunk. After the game Rodgers shouldered some of the blame, and then also questioned the coaching staff why they didn’t run the ball more. I am thinking it isn’t much fun in the Packers locker-room this week. On the flip side, the Saints have a good chance to be back home in a few weeks and Winston has the chance to put up big numbers this season.
8 – Joe Burrow: Coming off last year’s knee injury, Joe Burrow somehow survived the Viking defensive onslaught and led the Bengals to a gutsy over-time win. Burrow was sacked five times and still managed to give the Bengals a chance to win. Bengals’ fans will be seeing a lot of more of the Burrows to Ja’Marr Chase connection this season. One game doesn’t make a franchise, but this is the kind of win that should give Bengals fans hope that they are on the right track. Burrow has all the makings of a quarterback you can build a franchise around for years to come. The next step is fixing the holes along their offensive line.
9 – Hidden Gems: T.J. Watt isn’t the only great defensive player in the AFC, defensive end Joey Bosa put together a great game in the Chargers tight win over Washington. Bosa had a sack, four quarterback pressures and two quarterback hurries. 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel had himself a day in their win over the Lions, catching nine passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. Danny Amendola (who turns 36 in November) caught five passes for 34 yards and a touchdown in the Texans win over the Jaguars. By the way, it could be a LONG year in Jacksonville.
10 – Monday Night Mayhem: As is the custom in the NFL, Monday morning is the time list their injuries from the day before. The Washington Football Team lost quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for an extended period with a hip injury. That news paled in comparison to the mayhem that took place in Las Vegas later that night. In a wild, back-and-forth game, Derek Carr threw the game winning touchdown in over-time as the Raiders (Silver and Black baby!) beat the Ravens. Sunday evening Tony Dungy on NBC made a point that he felt that with so many teams not letting their starters take part in the pre-season, it made for some sloppy football. That was definitely the case Monday night. Yes, there were some great plays. But there were also some turnovers (hello Lamar Jackson) and mental mistakes that likely won’t happen in a couple of weeks. Not that anyone cares, because the result was a very entertaining game. I did like Jon Gruden’s admission after the game that they couldn’t find kicker Daniel Carson in over-time, because he was warming up into the net!
Week two in the NFL kicks off Thursday night at FedEx Field as the Washington Football Team (minus Ryan Fitzpatrick) take on their long-time NFC East rivals, the New York Giants. After that, there are some other key games in Week 2. I am looking forward to the Cowboys and Chargers, Ravens and Chiefs, Panthers and Saints, Dolphins and the Bills and what could be a very interesting game between the 49ers and the Eagles.
I will talk to you next week.
(Follow Jim on Twitter at @JimLangSports)
