The first week of the NFL season is complete. Thanks to the proliferation of Thursday night games throughout the season, there isn't a whole lot of time to process what went on before the next week begins.
I'm not a fan of Thursday games, personally, and this week's entry will undoubtedly be a "defensive" struggle that is unpleasant to watch.
Could this Thursday's Broncos/Chiefs match-up be worse than last night's Vikings/49ers debacle? Who knows...it's possible.
At any rate, I pick all the games straight up, but thanks to going a little overboard on road teams, I went 12-4. A solid start, but it definitely could have been better.
Here are the Rankings for Week 1, with the usual caveat that they are descriptive rather than prescriptive in effect:
1.) New England (1-0)
Starting off the week last Thursday, New England looked fairly sharp on offense and led most of the game by a comfortable margin. The defense is not quite up to snuff, but there's plenty of time to improve. The division may yet be better than it has been the last few years.
Next opponent: at Buffalo (9/20)
2.) Green Bay (1-0)
Like a few other teams, the Packers had trouble putting their opponent away. But with Aaron Rodgers under center, the result was never seriously in doubt. He single-handedly restored WR James Jones to his former level of prominence and found Randall Cobb for a nice TD as well. RB Eddie Lacy did his usual solid running, and the defense, while far from exemplary, was good enough.
Next opponent: vs. Seattle (9/20)
3.) Dallas (1-0)
It took a crazy comeback late, but the Cowboys outlasted the Giants. Despite all the running and the successful first drive, the Cowboys weren't really that great on offense. The WR's didn't get a lot of work down the field and the red zone was dominated by TE's (one TD for Escobar and two for Witten). Now without superstar Dez Bryant for ...some amount of time, Romo and his four-headed RB by committee might find it a little more difficult to get enough space to make plays. Either that or somebody will step up and Bryant's absence will be palpable, but not soul-crushing.
Next opponent: at Philadelphia (9/20)
4.) Arizona (1-0)
With a healthy Carson Palmer, the Cardinals actually look like a threat to win the NFC West. I had my doubts, and while I can't say they were totally wiped away by beating New Orleans (a crappy road team on the best day), I can feel more confident about them than say, Minnesota.
Next opponent: at Chicago (9/20)
5.) Denver (1-0)
I have to wonder what the point of installing a "new" offense is. The offense that Peyton and co. ran for the last few years in Denver worked just fine and led to plenty of success. Instead, new coach Kubiak comes in and starts meddling; predictably, Peyton looked terrible and the offense gained squat all day. If Peyton keeps getting hit, well, good luck with Osweiler. I'm sure he'll be great.
Next opponent: at Kansas City (9/17)
6.) St. Louis (1-0)
Going to OT probably wasn't in the plan, especially at home. But St. Louis managed to get the win when they stopped Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch on 4th down. The play of the game, of course, was the pass from Foles to Kendricks that tied it at 31 and allowed OT to occur in the first place. The defense is legit and the offense appears to be making strides. It helps to have a decent starting QB, of course.
Next opponent: at Washington (9/20)
7.) Kansas City (1-0)
Travis Kelce was awesome and the defense feasted on Brian Hoyer. Then Ryan Mallett came in and took advantage of a satisfied team to make a blowout look respectable. In other words, the Chiefs are probably going to be good. I'm not sure about their WR's, but they have plenty of talent at the other skill positions.
Next opponent: vs. Denver (9/17)
8.) Buffalo (1-0)
Shutting down opposing QB's seems to be a thing Buffalo does. They also got a solid performance from new starter Tyrod Taylor. And while they did let down a little in the 2nd half, it wasn't as bad as Atlanta, so that's something.
Next opponent: vs. New England (9/20)
9.) San Diego (1-0)
After a slow start, the Chargers got it rolling. Rivers continues to show that he's not really an "elite" QB, mostly dinking-and-dunking his way to a win when he finally got around to playing not terribly. I've never been a fan of Rivers per se, and his renaissance in the last two or three years has yet to convince me that he really has the stuff to win a Super Bowl. But for this week, he was good enough.
Next opponent: at Cincinnati (9/20)
10.) Atlanta (1-0)
"Lucky" isn't a word I care to use all that much when analyzing NFL games. Let's say then that the Falcons were fortunate that Philly made two crucial errors, a missed FG and an INT, late in last night's contest. An exceptional first half devolved into a pretty terrible second half. That will need to be corrected, but then again, most teams aren't like Philly, so it may not be a huge concern.
Next opponent: at NY Giants (9/20)
