Week 1 is officially in the books, and to everyone’s surprise, I came out the gates with a (12-4) record. I dug through the archives and lo and behold — this is my best Week 1 ever. The only question is will I be able to maintain this fire, or will I fizzle out on the flames of overconfidence? Let’s check the board:
Just a few notes about the losses this week:
Ravens @ Chiefs – Never bet against Mahomes, especially at home. I never learn. And now they’ve got Xavier Worthy? These guys are a problem.
Packers @ Eagles – Eagles came out much stronger than I anticipated and sheesh, Saquon looked as dynamic as we’ve ever seen him. This will be a tough 3-4 week stretch for the Pack with Jordan Love out.
Steelers @ Falcons – The Steelers defense performed as expected, I just thought the Falcons offense would give them some more issues than they did. And despite looking awfully clunky, Justin Fields made some things happen to get Pittsburgh into field goal range 6 times. And when you only give up 10, that’s a winning formula.
Patriots @ Bengals – I know the Bengals suck in openers, I just really didn’t think they would lose this one. Maybe the Patriots are better than I’ve given them credit for. Or maybe it’s just Week 1. We’ll have to wait and see.
Other important notes (skip if you enjoy good writing, thoughtful analysis, and/or anything of substance):
Josh Allen found his form after struggling a bit early. The Cardinals will be in plenty of close games this year. Sam Darnold may be about to have a career-year with the Vikings. Or maybe not, they were playing the Giants, who, to no one’s surprise, are bad again.
The Titans and Bears both look like bottom-half teams. The Panthers may actually be worse than last year. I’m saving my Saints evaluation until they play a real team.
The Jaguars still haven’t figured out how to close a game. Tyreek Hill is still really fast. Too fast, some say. CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson can both sling it.
I don’t want to watch the Raiders or Chargers play any more games. Ditto for the Broncos and Seahawks (the Seahawks jerseys were pretty sick tho).
The Browns may actually be awful (at least Watson is, in more ways than one). I still hate the Cowboys. The Buccaneers are my favorites to win the NFC South. The Commanders offense has a lot of potential.
The Rams and Lions are both fun to watch. The Niners are still crispy, and the Jets had some nice moments.
An absolutely electric start to the season. Can’t wait to run it back for Week 2. Power Rankings will be out tomorrow, stay tuned.
Strong Side Sports 