Tag: Week 1

2025 NFL Stat Oddity: Week 1

~ Scott ~ 1 Comment

Earlier this week, I decided my Super Bowl LX pick is Ravens over Packers, and for about 10 hours on Sunday, that looked great. But the Ravens did what they do best by blowing their 8th multi-score lead in the second half of a game since 2022 – three more than any other team in that time.

That 41-40 finish in Buffalo will be the leading candidate for Game of the Year until something can even think of topping it. The game was also dramatically different from the rest of a Week 1 where no other team even scored 35 points until the Bills and Ravens both did it.

This was shaping up to be the lowest-scoring Week 1 in 15 years, though the 81 points here may have saved it from that claim. Still, we had a ton of low-scoring games, which meant a ton of close games as 12 of the 15 games so far (Vikings-Bears pending) had a comeback opportunity with four delivering comeback wins.

It was a fun start to the season, and we still have to see what J.J. McCarthy and Ben Johnson can bring to the NFC North race.

Ravens at Bills: Game of the Week Year with Familiar Ending

Well, I can no longer say we haven’t had a Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson game where both threw the ball really well. But what a massive letdown for the Ravens, who should have been able to get a tiebreaker for home-field advantage by winning this game over a Buffalo team that gets every big game at home this year.

They might get everyone at home in January too after this, and this loss could be the beginning of the end for John Harbaugh in Baltimore.

At some point, you can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. That’s the definition of insanity. For whatever reason, Harbaugh’s Ravens blow leads like this more than any team in the NFL, and it wasn’t always like this.

  • The Ravens lost four games with a 15-point lead from 1996-2021, but they have done so four times since 2022 alone (twice to Buffalo).
  • From 2008-17, Harbaugh’s Ravens (Joe Flacco era) were 84-13 (.866) when leading by at least 9 points at any point in the game.
  • From 2018-25, Harbaugh’s Ravens (Lamar Jackson era) are 69-15 (.821) when leading by at least 9 points any point in the game.

That may look like a modest decline, but it’s more pronounced since 2022 when the Ravens are 33-10 (.767) in such games despite being an annual Super Bowl contender each year with great defenses and an MVP-worthy quarterback.

I don’t have the time today to go through all the losses, but I know a common theme has been bad ball security coming back to bite the Ravens. This is what I struggled with when writing the Baltimore preview for 2025. Can we conclude coaching is at fault when players fumble the ball, throw interceptions, muff kicks, drop 2-point conversions, or drop game-sealing interceptions with such frequency in big spots?

No coach, let alone Harbaugh, can grip the ball for these players. There’s only so many ways you can preach ball security in practice, but that doesn’t mean a lick on game day if someone punches the ball out.

It’s not like Harbaugh had Rashod Bateman taking a jet sweep with the Ravens clinging to a one-score lead. That was Derrick Henry, on a monster night for him, who fumbled with 3:10 left, putting the Bills 30 yards away from the end zone and making this comeback doable.

Don’t forget rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed the extra point after Henry’s last touchdown run, which would have made it a 16-point game with 11:42 left. Don’t forget when Awuzie dropped an interception with 10:48 left while the Ravens led 40-25.

Those aren’t on the coach, and things like this happen so frequently to Baltimore in big spots. But Harbaugh is the coach, the common link between these games, so he is going to take the blame.

But you should try to put the blame on spots where coaching has an impact. The Ravens had a poor end of each half, calling a terrible play to Justice Hill out of a timeout in the second quarter that short-circuited a drive where the Ravens kicked a field goal a little sooner than they needed to, leaving some seconds on the play clock.

Buffalo got the ball back and made sure every single one of those last 25 seconds counted. Baltimore played a soft prevent and Allen was able to complete a pass to Kincaid for 22 yards, getting out of bounds with a generous one second left. The Bills kicked a 43-yard field goal, so that was a bad sign of things to come.

Then you go to the last two minutes. Henry fumbled, Buffalo scored, but the Ravens stopped the 2PC to keep a 40-38 lead. The Bills kicked deep, and the Ravens took over with 1:51 left. The Bills still had all three timeouts. In 2025, you have to treat this situation with a 2-point lead as if you were facing a 2-point deficit. That doesn’t mean you’re going to throw risky passes or hurry up to the line to snap it (opponent would use timeouts anyway). But you need to approach it like you need first downs, because the truth is you do.

The Ravens took a conservative approach and it cost them. The run to Zay Flowers on second down was most egregious. Then after a short completion brought up 4th-and-3 at the Baltimore 38, many thought Harbaugh should have gone for it with 1:33 left after Buffalo used its final timeout. It’s 3 yards and you win the game. It would have been the craziest example of this since Bill Belichick did 4th-and-2 at his own 28 in 2009, but is it really that crazy anymore in 2025?

I don’t care if you have the No. 1 defense in the league, which Baltimore clearly isn’t built for right now if this game is any indication. Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, and Ed Reed aren’t in that lineup. But even if you had that defense, you can’t rely on stopping a team from getting into field goal range anymore, and these kickers can make from 60-plus yards now. The game has changed.

Put the ball in Jackson’s hands and let him have a run-pass option. I’d probably give him a 60% chance to convert there, if not higher. Game over if he comes through. But even if he fails, you still have some advantages here with all three timeouts. Maybe you stop Buffalo after 3 snaps and they kick a field goal. Maybe they miss.

Granted, the same thing could have happened. The Bills use several plays to get a couple of first downs and kick a short field goal to win the game 41-40. But at least you would have had the chance on 4th-and-3 to end things on your own terms with the player you believe was robbed of a third MVP.

They didn’t do it, and Harbaugh said he trusted the defense, and he’s going to keep trusting his defense.

If that’s the case, why would we ever trust anything to change with the Ravens? They’re just going to keep making mistakes in big spots. Buffalo has their number. Josh Allen has 5 career wins that are either divisional round playoff games or comebacks of 15+ points, and four of those games are against Baltimore.

Never mind the Kansas City hurdle the Ravens haven’t solved save for one night in 2021 when CEH fumbled in game-winning field goal range. Speaking of fumbles, by recovering Henry’s, the Bills are now +18 in lost fumble recoveries since 2024 and they haven’t lost the turnover battle in 23 games (NFL record). Unreal streak that keeps defying all odds to continue.

Alas, guess what else was different about that 2021 Kansas City win? Harbaugh went for it that night, letting Lamar run on 4th-and-1 at his own 43 with just over a minute left to ice the game.

I guess 1 yard doesn’t scare him as much as 3 yards, but if you’re still coaching scared with Lamar as your quarterback in 2025, maybe someone else needs to be his coach in 2026.

Steelers at Jets: Have a Day, Aaron Rodgers

I thought for sure this would be an ugly game to watch as Steelers openers usually are in the last decade. Then when you consider all the new players, the way Aaron Rodgers and D.K. Metcalf didn’t get any work in the preseason in this new offense, and the revenge game factor for Justin Fields and the Jets, and I was expecting a field goal fest.

Well, it ended up being the shootout of the afternoon as the Steelers’ high-priced defense with several Hall of Fame candidates had no real answers for Fields, who had one of the best games of his career.

After Rodgers took a sack on his opening play, then watched Metcalf drop his first target, it felt like this was going to be a shit-tacular day. But Rodgers impressed me by converting multiple third-and-longs, he still showed great accuracy and arm strength, and he carried this offense on a day where the running game was marginal (54 yards) and the defense was of little help.

Metcalf finished with 83 yards, Jonnu Smith caught a touchdown on a push pass, and it ended up being Jalen Ramsey who delivered the hit stick on Garrett Wilson to secure the win after Chris Boswell drilled a 60-yard field goal that might have been good from 70. Ice cold kick, like a serial killer would make.

My two big stats on Fields have been 0-22 when the opponent scores more than 20 points and 2-18 at 4QC opportunities. Add another loss to each. In fact, I did a live bet on Steelers ML at +370 when they were down 26-17 because I saw them scoring again and keeping that streak alive. Sure enough, the Jets fumbled a kickoff and Rodgers and Boswell delivered.

Fields played very well and was about the last reason the Jets lost this game. But sure enough, when he’s got the ball in the final minute with a chance to go get a field goal to win the game, he can’t beat the pass rush and goes four-and-out. Par for the course for him.

The Jets have now blown 7 fourth-quarter leads going back to last year, the most in the NFL. The offense was far better than expected, but the defense was like nothing ever changed.

And they let Rodgers get the last laugh.

Lions at Packers: On Script

This game was more or less what I expected with Detroit trying to adjust to new coordinators and the Packers feeling hyped about the Micah Parsons trade. Still, I wouldn’t have counted on the Lions to only rush for 46 yards on 22 carries, or for Jared Goff to have one of the least effective 31-for-39 games you’ll ever see.

Jordan Love was strong early to build the lead, and the Packers basically just cruised the rest of the way. Parsons made his impact felt with a sack in the fourth quarter.

It’s a good statement win for the Packers in their quest to reclaim the NFC North. We’ll see where these teams are for the rematch on Thanksgiving (Week 13).

Bengals at Browns: Comical Regression

From my Bengals preview in July:

“However, I’m willing to bet things work out for the Bengals this year, even if it’s by pure, dumb luck. A random bounce going their way with a turnover on defense, a clutch kick going their way for a change, and maybe Burrow will even win a game or two that the Bengals trail in the closing minutes just to spite me.”

It only took one game for several of these things to happen:

  • After the Browns took a 16-14 lead in the third quarter, they were scoreless on their final six drives, never needing more than a field goal on any of them.
  • Joe Flacco’s pass to Battle was deflected off his hands into the Bengals for an interception that put Joe Burrow at the Cleveland 34 where he moved the ball 17 yards for a go-ahead field goal, after getting the offense’s only first down of the second half, and producing a precarious 17-16 lead.
  • At one point in the fourth quarter, Burrow took three consecutive sacks that each lost 6 yards.
  • That helped Cleveland start its ensuing drive at the Cincy 42 with 6:56 left, but kicker Andre Szmyt, in his NFL debut, missed a 36-yard field goal with 2:22 left. He missed the extra point in the third quarter, creating this situation.
  • The Bengals went three-and-out, then Flacco was intercepted again.
  • Flacco got one more chance from his 1-yard line with 19 seconds left, and the clock ran out on the Browns in a tough loss.

The Bengals needed a hotter September start, the defense needed to play better, but let’s hope they didn’t blow all their luck in Week 1 because what the fvck was this performance?

Burrow passed for 113 yards as the offense only finished with 141 yards. Cleveland had 327 yards but failed to score after a good start. The Bengals are the first team since the 2015 Raiders to win a game with under 150 yards of offense and not scoring more than 17 points. The day the pass rush killed Brock Osweiler in Denver.

The Jaguars played some solid defense against Carolina, so I’ll be curious to see how the Bengals fare next week after this absurd game.

49ers at Seahawks: The Catch IV?

Just think of how many great touchdown catches to win playoff games the 49ers have in their history from Dwight Clark to Terrell Owens to Vernon Davis. You’re probably not going to attach “The Catch IV” label to a Week 1 game, but what backup tight end Jake Tonges did in Seattle on Sunday was really cool and memorable.

The 49ers were hurting again. George Kittle, a Seattle serial killer, left the game after a touchdown with a hamstring injury. Jauan Jennings was injured again.  Brandon Aiyuk is still out. The 49ers needed someone to step up as kicker Jake Moody is a bum who missed more kicks in a tight game.

Insert Jake Tonges, who has been in the NFL since 2022 but never registered a receiving target before Sunday. Yet there he was on the game-winning drive, hauling in three passes for 15 yards and snagging away a touchdown with 1:34 left to take a 17-13 lead.

Sam Darnold led some nice comebacks last year for Minnesota, but he was tested here against an elite front. On the day, he managed to throw for 124 of his 150 yards to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the clear WR1 in Seattle with Tyler Lockett (Titans) and D.K. Metcalf (Steelers) gone.

But after finding JSN for 40 yards, Darnold was 9 yards away from the end zone before Nick Bosa stripped him of the ball and the 49ers recovered to seal it for new (but returning) defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. It’s exactly the kind of game the 49ers were losing last year, so it’s a positive sign they got this one in the win column.

Dolphins at Colts: Another Day Closer to Death Indeed

Yeah, Mike McDaniel isn’t seeing October at this rate. Falling behind 30-0 and allowing Daniel Jones to score on all seven of his possessions is nasty work. But it’d be different if the offense was at least competitive. Instead, Tua Tagovailoa had arguably the worst game of his career with three turnovers and a 2.7 QBR. He just had no success against a Colts defense that lacks stars.

Daniel Jones being this year’s Sam Darnold would be something, but until further notice, this probably had a lot to do with how inept the Dolphins are right now. But I did say the Colts had a solid roster, quarterback aside, and rookie tight end Tyler Warren came as advertised with 79 yards on 8 touches.

Buccaneers at Falcons: Is Michael Penix the MUPE (Most Unlucky Player Ever)?

When Bijan Robinson took that short pass 50 yards for a touchdown in the game’s opening minutes, I thought we’d be getting the shootout these teams had in Atlanta last year when Kirk Cousins threw for over 500 yards.

But this was a surprisingly defensive battle. The Atlanta pass rush showed it was improved and got after Baker Mayfield frequently, causing him to barely average over 5.0 yards per attempt. He even ended up leading the game in rushing (39 yards) after Bucky Irving (14 carries for 37 yards) and Robinson (12 for 24 yards) were contained on the ground. I’d say the Bucs missed Liam Coen calling the offense, but it’s also a tough division game.

Special teams were really feast or famine for both teams in this one. But the Falcons were down 17-13 in the fourth quarter when they went on an epic march of 91 yards in 18 plays with plenty of penalties, two replay reversals, and do-overs for an Atlanta offense that struggled to close drives. Eventually, Michal Penix showed great scrambling ability and athleticism to stretch out for a 4-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-goal with 2:17 left to take a 20-17 lead.

But Mayfield finally found a rhythm and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka with 59 seconds left for the rookie’s second score of the game. However, kicker Chase McLaughlin missed the extra point, a huge one that kept it a 23-20 game instead of making the Falcons need a touchdown in a minute. Just huge.

Penix, with his two timeouts, did a really nice job of getting the team in range, but the drive eventually stalled once he was out of timeouts and had to play against the clock in addition to the defense. Still, a 44-yard field goal should be very makeable for any kicker today, and Younghoe Koo has generally been a good kicker.

But to send this game to overtime, Koo was wide right with 0:02 left and that’s how the Bucs held on for this big NFC South win. Circle this one.

I’ve said for years how Tom Brady was never the GOAT but always the LOAT, the Luckiest of All Time. Well, we should try to figure out which quarterback deserves the title of the unluckiest of all time, and since UOAT is an ugly acronym, I was thinking we could use “MUPE” to stand for Most Unlucky Player Ever.

I’d also workshop these ideas:

  • DUP – Doomed Unluckiest Player
  • DUPE – Doomed Unluckiest Player Ever
  • MOAT – Misfortune of All Time

Penix has only started four games in the NFL, but he’s gone 0-3 in the last three starts with these things happening:

  • Led a game-tying touchdown drive vs. Washington before his kicker missed a 56-yard game-winning field goal and his defense allowed a game-winning touchdown drive in overtime where he never touched the ball.
  • Led two game-tying touchdown drives in fourth quarter vs. Carolina before his defense allowed game-winning touchdown in an overtime where he never saw the ball again.
  • Led a go-ahead touchdown drive with 2:17 left before the defense gave up the lead, then his kicker missed a 44-yard field goal that would have forced overtime.

This might be on brand for the Falcons as a franchise historically, but this is still a lot to take for a 3-game sample. We’ll see if Minnesota adds to Penix’s woes in prime time next week.

Texans at Rams: Puka Is Always Open

14-9? Okay, where’s the other half of scoring? That’s it?

It was a game where each team had nine possessions, but the Texans never found the end zone and the Rams had their share of struggles. But credit to the Rams for forcing some huge takeaways, including a late fumble by Houston’s Dare Ogunbowale just as he crossed into the red zone with 1:43 left.

One thing the Rams can always count on is Puka Nacua getting open and making the catch. He finished with 10 catches for 130 yards while Davante Adams had 4 catches for 51 yards in his team debut. It’s easy to see who is still clearly WR1 here.

Giants at Commanders: August Is Not Real

Yeah, I should have seen this one coming before still taking the over. The 2025 Giants had the most prolific passing offense of the 21st century in the preseason when they averaged 345.0 passing yards and 35.7 points per game.

But that’s August, that’s fool’s gold. Sure enough, in Week 1 of a game that counts, the Giants scored 6 points and had 157 net passing yards in Russell Wilson’s debut. Brian Daboll is already getting asked if he’s committing to Wilson as his starter for Week 2 after the Giants punted on six of their nine drives.

Throw in that brutal schedule and we’ll see rookie Jaxson Dart start games down the line. Maybe sooner than later.

But it could have been a little smoother for Washington, which botched the end-of-half drive where a grounding penalty ran out the clock in the red zone. Then they had to punt their first three drives in the second half. But Jayden Daniels still found his way to 21 points, keeping the scoring streak alive in Washington, after Deebo Samuel stamped off a great game with a touchdown run to give him 96 yards from scrimmage on eight touches.

We’ll get a real litmus test for Washington against the Packers this Thursday night. But clearly, the preseason is no litmus test for anything in the NFL. The Giants still stink offensively under Daboll.

Raiders at Patriots: Favored in 11 Games, Eh?

There were some bad performances in Week 1, but I think the Patriots have to rank among the worst because of what it does to expectations this season. This team was somehow favored to win 11 games when the betting lines came out in May. Their preseason win total was still O/U 8.5, but they were favored in 11 individual games, which always felt way too high for this team.

But if you can’t beat the Raiders at home, you might not be even sniffing 8 wins this year. Could anyone actually tell if Mike Vrabel was coaching the team on Sunday? Was that just Jerod Mayo with Druski’s excellent makeup team making him look like Vrabel?

This was a bad performance. The Patriots shut down Ashton Jeanty (19 carries for 38 yards and a short touchdown), but Geno Smith shredded them for 362 yards with many big completions. He converted a 3rd-and-20 late in the game while the Pats still trailed 20-10, which was a dagger.

New England’s offense put the ball in Drake Maye’s hands 54 times, but all he could produce was 13 points on 11 drives. One missed field goal isn’t doing that many favors. The Patriots are going to have to play much better than this or they won’t stray far from the 4-13 record they’ve had the last two years.

Titans at Broncos: Looked Like Two Rookie Debuts at Quarterback

It may not mean a thing, but I think Denver blew a golden opportunity to establish some fear in the AFC West that this could be the team’s year. They were an 8.5-point home favorite against a flawed Titans team starting rookie quarterback Cam Ward in his NFL debut.

But this was a dogfight for 60 minutes in large part because Bo Nix played like he was a rookie in his first game. The Nix who struggled last September showed up again as he threw a couple of picks and couldn’t sustain drives.

Fortunately, the Denver defense was legitimate. The Titans scored 12 points on four field goal drives that covered a grand total of 65 yards. That’s impressive defense. Even when Marvin Mims muffed a punt in the fourth quarter that gave the Titans a great chance to take the lead in a 13-12 game, the Denver defense sacked Ward for 27 yards on consecutive plays to knock them out of range.

That’s when the running backs took over with rookie R.J. Harvey showing off his speed on a 50-yard run, then veteran J.K. Dobbins scored from 19 yards out. I’m surprised Sean Payton later didn’t go for a 54-yard field goal to make it 23-12 and cover the spread. But he watched Nix throw incomplete on 4th-and-8 instead. Weird.

But the defense came up with one more stop, including a strip-sack on fourth down as Ward went down six times in an expectedly rough debut. Still, the scoreboard should have been much worse for the Titans.

Cardinals at Saints: Bland Jerseys Prevail Against Power Rangers

This was a bland game to look at with the Cardinals’ jerseys looking like they were waiting to be filled in with more red. I don’t know how much Kyler Murray was feeling under the weather with a reported illness, but he only threw for 163 yards and took 5 sacks as the Cardinals were never able to blow this one open against what is expected to be one of the worst teams this season.

But behind Spencer Rattler, the Saints found themselves in a 20-13 game late with a reasonable situation to tie or take the late lead on a 2-point conversion. But punching the ball in from the red zone was something Rattler struggled with on the final two drives. He ended up throwing three straight incompletions from the Arizona 18 to end the upset attempt.

The Saints actually finished with more first downs and yards than the Cardinals in a respectable debut for rookie coach Kellen Moore. But they’ll have to clean some things up after 13 penalties for 89 yards.

Panthers at Jaguars: Generational Weather Delay

You had a lot of “generational talent” on display in this game with two No. 1 picks at quarterback and Travis Hunter made his NFL debut. But Bryce Young might be in danger of getting benched after Week 2 for the second year in a row because this was bad just like much of his early career starts.

The 26-10 final doesn’t even do it justice because he tried to get the pass away on a fourth down in the fourth quarter that was returned 75 yards for a pick-six, but he got bailed out by a holding penalty and threw a touchdown on the next play. This could have easily been 30-3 with Jacksonville not even playing close to their best (or so it seems).

But the running game was strong (200 yards) for coach Liam Coen’s debut, and the defense obviously took care of business before and after the hour-long lightning delay. We’ll keep following the Travis Hunter story, but he finished playing 45 snaps (39 offense, 6 defense). That’s not a high number at all, but I guess they’re easing him in slowly.

Still, I would have thought him being a full-time corner and a part-time receiver in certain packages (hurry up, end of halves, third downs) made the most sense. Reportedly this is a fluid situation they’ll adjust for opponent. Guess we’ll just have to see what they’re cooking here for the coach I picked to win the AFC South and Coach of the Year award.

Next week: Really solid TNF with Commanders-Packers, but we’ll see Monday night how exciting Vikings-Falcons might be on SNF. Don’t like the MNF double-header happening (TB-HOU, LV-LAC), but at least it looks like the games aren’t overlapping this time. Sunday afternoon is really all about the Super Bowl rematch as Patrick Mahomes tries to avoid the first 3-game losing streak of his career.

NFL 2025 Week 1 Predictions: “Enjoy the Ride, He Said” Edition

~ Scott ~ Leave a comment

The 2025 NFL season is here, we’ve already had two one-score games where both teams scored 20+ points, and while my theme this year was to just enjoy the ride, I’m already dreading the next 5.5 months if these are the takes I’m going to end up reading and/or replying to on a daily basis.

EDIT: I literally posted this seconds before this tweet came in, which is such bullshit if you know I’ve defended Dak Prescott (and Tony Romo before him) for years and have been generally pro-Dak since 2016 when I said he had the best rookie QB season ever.

The Chiefs have obviously broken the brains of most NFL fans this decade, but I still think I liked it better when people disagreed with what I said rather than this 2025 tactic of constantly making up strawmen arguments about things you think I might say.

I simply call it like it is, and I wish more people would do the same. But it’s seemingly never been more important to cling to a side and stick to it no matter what. You’re not analyzing the game if you made your mind up before kickoff on how to spin it.

Let’s just take the Chiefs-Chargers game as a great example. I picked the Chargers to win 27-24 as part of my prediction of the Chiefs starting 0-2. I picked the Chargers to end Kansas City’s NFL-record streak of 17 straight wins in games decided by one score, which they did. I believe it also ended up ending Patrick Mahomes’ likely record of 9 straight wins in games without a team takeaway.

But how are we getting these conflicting views this week where “Dak Prescott was amazing and blameless” and “Mahomes was awful for 2.5 quarters”? One guy started slow, finished strong. One guy started strong, didn’t score anything after halftime, and had some receiver mistakes cost him. Both lost.

I’d say more but I would like to enjoy this Saturday evening by catching up on some TV, and I am planning to do my weekly QB rankings at 365Scores again this year, so I’ll go into more detail on Mahomes later this week.

But I do know I just hope to see a game tomorrow where a major player isn’t ejected or injured in the first minute. The loss of Jalen Carter and Xavier Worthy from these games definitely had a huge impact on how they played out. It is what it is.

I’ll be back Monday morning as usual with Stat Oddity, recapping the games and calling it like I see it. Things you should actually try quoting me on instead of speculating about what you think I might say.

NFL Week 1 Predictions

I knew the spread for Eagles-Cowboys was too high but still went with the home team to cover. Oh well. I called the Chargers upset, and there aren’t many more upsets I’m rolling with this week but I chose my spots.

2025 NFL Week 1 Predictions

I think the Colts win their first Week 1 game since 2013, and I’m trusting the Falcons and Bears at home in statement wins. I think the Steelers-Jets game will be ugly but trusting Rodgers to prevail in the end.

I’m banking on the Ravens to recover a non-Josh Allen fumble before the halftime, if not the first quarter, as turnover regression strikes back in BUF-BAL. Also, remember there’s never been a good passing game between Lamar and Allen. A game where both throw it well. I’d expect that to continue and I’m taking the Ravens to win 24-20.

Here’s my Week 1 betting picks at 365scores.

I posted my award predictions and full Super Bowl picture earlier this week.

Don’t forget to scroll down or click here to read my annual NFL predictions.

NFL Stat Oddity: Week 1

~ Scott ~ 1 Comment

My 2024 NFL season predictions featured “Making Offense Great Again” (MOGA) as the central theme to this season. Things got off to a solid start on Thursday and Friday night (bad field in Brazil withstanding), but Sunday was a kick in the nuts.

Most quarterbacks did not pass for over 200 yards, and we still might have Malik Willis to (not) look forward to with Green Bay next week after Jordan Love’s MCL injury.

I’m getting a late start on this, and I may do a story on it early this week, so I don’t want to get into all the details here. But the offensive revolution might be on hold again unless we let the Saints play the Panthers every week.

So far, 9-of-15 games featured a comeback opportunity, which is very normal. But it’s not so normal to only get one game with a true fourth-quarter lead change from an offense with time left in an entire week of games. It’s not like I expect another to come from Jets-49ers tomorrow night, but we’ll see.

Overall, I enjoyed Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. The prime-time games (mostly) delivered, which can make up for a rough Sunday afternoon.

Rams at Lions: Game of the Day

Our first overtime game of 2024 was not a classic, but it was a solid playoff rematch from last year with Matthew Stafford falling to 0-2 against his former team in Detroit.

This game had a lot of injuries as Puka Nacua didn’t play the second half, and the offensive line was banged up badly for the Rams. Not much room for Kyren Williams, who never broke a run longer than 9 yards. Cooper Kupp ended up with 14 catches on 21 targets to make up for the loss of Nacua, and it almost was enough for the night.

Jameson Williams had his breakout game for the Lions with 121 yards and a touchdown. But I’m going to say it’s not ideal when Amon-Ra St. Brown only has 3 catches for 13 yards, one of the least productive games of his career. Jared Goff was up and down, and he got away with a dropped interception in the fourth quarter.

It was a rough game, but credit to the Rams for coming back from a double-digit deficit to taking a late 20-17 lead on a Kupp touchdown. But with a chance to run out the clock the way the Lions did to them in the playoffs, the Rams failed. Goff got his second chance, and he didn’t waste it. The Lions settled for overtime with a 32-yard field goal, but that was the right call as we know Dan Campbell loves a fourth down attempt.

After the way Super Bowl 58 ended, you kind of long for the strategy and system there to return, but we’re stuck with the old modified format. Sure enough, the Lions turned into the most dominant rushing team in the world all of a sudden and ran it right down the Rams’ throat despite little success earlier in the game. The Lions had 7 carries for 60 yards on the 70-yard drive in overtime, finishing things off with a 1-yard touchdown run by David Montgomery to win it 26-20, which means they even covered the spread (Lions -4.5).

Tough loss for an undermanned Rams team that was right there again. But with Jordan Love injured in Green Bay, the Lions look to be in good shape relative to the rest of the NFC North right now.

Patriots at Bengals: Upset of the Week

I should have known better that this game was trouble when it had the biggest spread (Bengals by 8+) of Week 1 as the Bengals simply shit the bed to start the season more often than not. Blame Zac Taylor, blame Joe Burrow, but they keep doing this.

At some point, you have to acknowledge the facts. I don’t want to hear that Tee Higgins was out, or that they lost Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon in the offseason. What happened to “watch out for Iosivas” this season? I don’t even want to hear that Ja’Marr Chase had food poisoning this weekend. Chase played and he caught all 6 targets for 62 yards.

The real question should be why not more targets? We saw what Matthew Stafford, a real gamer, did on Sunday night with an absurdly injured offensive line, missing his tight end (Tyler Higbee), and Puka Nacua left with an injury suffered in the first half. He targeted Cooper Kupp 21 times and did what he could.

If Burrow is as good as people say he is, then he needs to overcome some of these shortcomings more often. This was another poor, lifeless Week 1 performance from the offense, which had 224 yards and 13 first downs.

Now there weren’t many possessions in this game, and Tanner Hudson blew points with a fumble inside the 3-yard line, which sounds like old-school New England defense to me.

The Patriots grinded things out on the ground with Rhamondre Stevenson rushing 25 times for 120 yards. Jacoby Brissett only passe for 121 yards, but he didn’t have turnovers and he only took a single sack. It was just enough

But even when the Bengals got the ball back in a 16-10 game with 3:04 left at their own 10, that was a great setup for a heroic Burrow drive. Instead, it was a three-and-out, and despite having four clock stoppages, the defense couldn’t get the ball back. The Patriots ran out the clock.

But you have to do better than a 3-and-out that deep in that spot. Just terrible, and now we’ll see if they can work their magic against the Chiefs next week to avoid starting 0-2.

Panthers at Saints: Rout of the Week

Statistically, the Saints were one of the most dominant teams on the scoreboard late in the 2023 season, and that’s a good trait for a team to make the playoffs the following year. I’m not taking any victory lap yet after they smashed the god damn Carolina Panthers, but on a Sunday where most NFL teams didn’t look great, the Saints’ utter dominance in every facet was impressive.

Remember, the Panthers were supposed to be improved this year with a new coach (Dave Canales), new weapons, and Bryce Young no longer being a rookie. But wow, Young may be heading down the path of all-time bust if this continues.

The Saints scored 17 points before Young even completed a pass. That’s hard to do. That also made it nearly impossible for him to succeed in this game, but he never settled in and the Saints continued blowing the Panthers out until it was 47-10.

Thankfully, we’ll see the Saints play in Dallas next week, so there’s a great chance to see where this team really is. As for Carolina, yikes, this is about the worst way to start after a 2-15 season where you never took a snap with a fourth-quarter lead.

Cowboys at Browns: The Only Way to Make Deshaun Watson Worse Is to Give Him Tom Brady’s Voice

Here’s what the Cowboys-Browns game featured:

  • Dak Prescott, the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history at $60 million per season after finally getting his extension Sunday morning despite never reaching the NFC Championship Game.
  • Deshaun Watson, who made the largest $230 million theft in NFL history when he fleeced the Browns in a 2022 trade for a fully-guaranteed contract despite more than two dozens accusations of sexual misconduct.
  • Tom Brady, the highest-paid broadcaster in NFL history at $37.5 million, more than double the next closest person despite zero experience in the broadcasting booth.

Is it any surprise the game turned out to be a piece of shit?

Prescott had one of his most forgettable games in the Mike McCarthy era. After a good start, his special teams basically put up the last 19 points with a punt return touchdown and four field goal drives that covered a whopping 42 yards between them.

And he was still easily the best quarterback on the field. The only way you could have made Watson worse was if you gave him Tom Brady’s voice. But I’m not going to get into why I think Brady has the completely wrong voice for this job that he stole from a more deserving Greg Olsen.

But Watson again looked terrible, and while you can respect a good Dallas front, the sack merchant was ever present with multiple turnovers and an inability to sustain offense. Even worse, Watson’s arm just looked shot. I don’t know how Kevin Stefanski doesn’t just bench him and go with Jameis Winston, but this continues to be the worst trade in NFL history and the biggest sunk cost you’ll ever see.

Ezekiel Elliott looked youthful and strong compared to washed-up Watson. It’s a miracle the Cowboys were ever a 2.5-point underdog in this one.

Jaguars at Dolphins: The One Where Tyreek Got Arrested First

You can’t make this stuff up. Tyreek Hill went from nearly going downtown with police officers, under arrest for a verbal altercation after a traffic violation, to catching the longest touchdown reception (80 yards) of his NFL career to spark a comeback win by Miami.

The Dolphins were very sluggish, down 14-0 to the Jaguars, before Hill took off for the end zone and even recreated the handcuffing incident he had in the morning. Watching that footage play out after watching the new Netflix movie Rebel Ridge (it’s great) the night before is crazy.

This is the third article tonight I’m writing about this incident, so I’m a little tongue-tied about it. But I really thought I was looking at AI images when I opened my phone Sunday morning and saw Hill handcuffed. Only the multiple videos and tweets from Adam Schefter clued me in this was real.

But what a major disappointment for the Jaguars, who went scoreless after halftime. They had a 17-7 lead and were 13 yards away from the end zone late in the third quarter. But Travis Etienne fumbled at the 3-yard line, one of the weekend’s biggest turnovers, and that completely changed the game. A play later, it was Tyreek for 80 yards.

The big plays won it for Miami, and kicker Jason Sanders redeemed himself for an earlier miss with a 52-yard field goal at the buzzer to win 20-17. Miami never led in the game before that final snap.

Curious to see where things go from here with the team’s biggest nemesis, Buffalo, coming into town Thursday night.

Titans at Bears: The Comeback Win I Sorta Predicted for Caleb Williams’ Debut

One of my favorite picks this week was Chicago getting a clutch, comeback win in Caleb Williams’ debut to start helping out Matt Eberflus’ league-worst record in such games.

Well, it happened. It didn’t happen in any way I imagined, but it was a classic throwback to the 2006 Bears and the way they came back to beat the Cardinals on Monday Night Football with multiple return touchdowns.

The Bears were awful offensively, trailed 17-0, and only finished with 148 yards of offense. The preseason is not the regular season, and Caleb was 14-of-29 for 93 yards. On the bright side, he only took two sacks and threw no picks. Jusitn Fields probably loses this game if given the chance.

But Williams was not doing much to help the comeback effort. The Bears blocked a punt for a touchdown. They also turned a strip-sack of Will Levis into a field goal drive that netted 1 yard.

But it ended up being one of the hardest games I’ve ever had to catalogue for 4QC/GWD purposes:

  • Chicago trailed 17-10 to start the fourth quarter and had a drive going with Williams.
  • The 44-yard drive ended with a 50-yard field goal to make it 17-13.
  • Levis coughed up the ball, setting up that 1-yard drive for a field goal to make it 17-16.
  • Technically, you just had two 4QC/GWD attempts, and the offense chipped in two field goals.
  • Four plays later, Will Levis forced a pick-six, and there goes the go-ahead score for Chicago at 22-17.
  • Williams completed a 2-point conversion pass to D’Andre Swift to make it 24-17, an important 7-point cushion.

It’s clearly a team fourth-quarter comeback. It’s clearly not a game-winning drive since the pick-six is not a drive. The 2PC was important though, and that makes me wonder if I should be counting it. But I’m not going to. At the same time, I’m giving Williams the 4QC win since without the two field goals from the offense, the pick-six doesn’t win the game for Chicago.

It’s a messy situation, and it’s all the fault of Levis. Why in the hell would you force this pass up on 3rd-and-6 with the lead? Just take the sack and live another drive.

That is seriously some 2001 or 2006 Bears bullshit. Also, of course Levis couldn’t make up for it on the final drive, getting picked again.

Williams did not impress, but Levis disappointed even more as he should be further along than this. I’m really not sure about that 2023 draft class outside of C.J. Stroud.

Texans at Colts: My MVP Gets It Done in Wild Week 1 Game

C.J. Stroud is my MVP pick this year, but how about those new additions in Houston? Stefon Diggs caught both of Stroud’s touchdowns, but it was running back Joe Mixon who had the huge game with 159 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Colts had few answers for this offense, especially in must-stop situations.

But the player I thought was the biggest wild card this year is Anthony Richardson, and he did not disappoint with his “boom-or-bust” playing label. He was only 9-of-19 passing, but he had three different completions for over 50 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce that was one of the longest and most impressive touchdown throws I’ve ever seen in the NFL:

He even slid before throwing it, so he didn’t fully step into it. Incredible play. Too bad he misses some of the easy ones, so if he can correct that with experience, then the Colts should have something here.

At least offensively. The defense could not stop Houston in the fourth quarter despite the offense making it a 2-point game twice. The Texans responded with touchdowns twice, including a play I loved the decision for from coach DeMeco Ryans.

The Texans were up 22-20 and faced 4th-and-2 at the 2-yard line with 4:45 left. Why kick the field goal to go up 5 points and risk losing on a touchdown in the final minute? Go for the jugular, which they did, and Diggs caught his second touchdown to make it a 2-score game again.

But even after Indy scored to again make it 29-27, the four-minute offense went to work with a couple of first downs, including a 3rd-and-11 conversion for 12 yards from Stroud to Nico Collins, a Colts killer.

It’s only one game, but again, this is why I’m big on the Texans to be a new rival to the Chiefs. If you get Stroud playing like this, he’s someone who could outduel Mahomes in a fourth quarter and keep the ball away from him in a one-score game.

Green Bay, my Super Bowl pick, almost broke my heart Friday night with the sloppy performance and Love injury. But the Texans, who were my Green Bay equivalent in the AFC to possibly derail Kansas City’s three-peat, gave me some confidence with this performance.

But let’s keep it going and get even better.

Steelers at Falcons: The Six Field Goal Mike Tomlin Special

I ended up (regrettably) watching most of this game. Basically, it was the kind of Chicago Bears win you would have thought Justin Fields could have enjoyed there. Pretty lousy offense, Fields flirting with disaster on fumbled snaps to start the game, bad third-down sacks as the coaching staff didn’t trust him, and the defense and special teams were fantastic for the Steelers.

T.J. Watt and kicker Chris Boswell basically won the game for them. We know the last Mike Tomlin playoff win was 18-16 on six field goals against the 2016 Chiefs. He kind of did it again as Boswell made six field goals and most of them were very long.

Watt was a beast again, and Kirk Cousins looked very rusty and slow in a new offense after his Achilles tear. Not a good debut at all for him, and it’s as if Arthur Smith never left. Hell, he was in the building calling multiple runs on 3rd-and-long in this game.

But this is how the Steelers win. Keep it close and hope that a fumble happens when a receiver is running in motion for Atlanta. That really did happen, and of course, Watt was the one there to pounce on the ball in a big moment.

But Cousins had his chances to be the hero as Fields – no shocker – couldn’t put the game away. But he was picked with 2:34 left and then sacked by Watt on the final snap to mercifully end this one.

The Steelers have some compensation incentives to not keep playing Fields, and I think we’ll see Russell Wilson eventually. But this kind of offense isn’t going to beat that many teams in the NFL without superhuman efforts from Watt.

He might be up to the task though, especially if the idea that linemen playing closer to the line instead of leaning back is a point of emphasis to cut down on those illegal formations.

However, I’m still puzzled as to why they traded Diontae Johnson. This passing game is George Pickens or bust right now.

Cardinals at Bills: The Almost Upset of the Week

I said in my Week 1 predictions that I could easily see Arizona winning this as an upset and referendum on Buffalo getting rid of Stefon Diggs. But even when the Cardinals went up 10, I wasn’t that worried as I noticed the Cardinals had the ball for 13 of the first 15 minutes. Buffalo just needed the ball.

Josh Allen was facing a no-name defense, so he didn’t need big-name receivers. He had plenty enough around him, but I was surprised that Dalton Kincaid only had an 11-yard catch. But I was confident in rookie Keon Coleman (51 yards led team in receiving) having an impressive debut against this secondary to alleviate some concerns after the team let the Chiefs get Xavier Worthy at No. 28. That could still be a huge regret, but Coleman was always going to produce this week.

By game’s end, Buffalo even pulled ahead in time of possession, so no big deal. But the Cardinals still made this interesting thanks to a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown in the fourth quarter. I’m not a big fan of the dynamic kickoff so far, but it is producing better field position and already a touchdown like that.

But in a 31-28 game, the Bills nearly botched this badly. They had a chance to put the game away but Allen was stuffed on a 3rd-and-2 run. Instead of going for the 4th-and-3 at the Arizona 21 at the 2-minute warning, they kicked the short field goal and settled for a 34-28 lead with Arizona having all three timeouts to drive for the winning touchdown.

To make it worse, the Bills’ kickoff went out of bounds, so Murray only needed 60 yards. He’s done far harder before, including against Buffalo in 2020 (“Hail Murray”). When you have Allen, you should be going for that fourth down. The 6-point lead is one of the worst places to be. At least if it was still a 31-28 game, you can count on Arizona to probably kick a field goal instead of go for a fourth down.

But the Cardinals had their chances, and it’s my understanding rookie wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. was left wide open on the drive for a potential touchdown, but Kyler didn’t see it or didn’t think to throw to him. The drive ended with Murray throwing incomplete on 4th-and-7 at the Buffalo 29 with 26 seconds left.

Crisis adverted – barely. But the Bills will need to clean some things up in Miami this week, and Allen reportedly has a left hand injury that he suffered on one of his touchdown runs. Let that sink in.

Vikings at Giants: Wrong Improbable New York QB Breakout Year

I expected both of these teams to be terrible this year, and I still believe that’s highly possible. But one of my worst picks this week was the Giants as the upset special at home. I got a little too focused on what happened in 2022, ignoring 2023, and the fact that Daniel Jones is just not the answer. At least with Darnold, we haven’t seen him fail as many times, and he has some solid talent around him in a pass-friendly offense.

Darnold started this game on fire, then the team had little reason to score more as Jones wasn’t getting the job done. But this pick-6, while a very athletic play by the defender, is a good example of why this season needs to be Jones’ last in New York.

And what the hell were those jerseys? Alas, Andrew Van Ginkel is apparently the master of the fast interception.

Raiders at Chargers: Can Jim Harbaugh Go 5-1 in the AFC West?

Coach Jim Harbaugh made his NFL return with a win, 22-10 over the Raiders. He came here to make Justin Herbert’s life easier, and so far, it worked. The Chargers had just 11 first downs, the fewest in the Herbert era. They gave Herbert 170 rushing yards while he only threw for 144, another rarity.

The passing game is a work in progress with these young receivers, but how about J.K. Dobbins rushing for 135 yards in his team debut? He even ripped off a 61-yard play. Great to see after injuries robbed him in Baltimore from more success.

But mission successful in not blowing a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. However, the Chargers got some help from new Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, a hire I was not supportive for. In his first game without the interim tag, he made a big mistake in a 16-10 game with 7:15 left. The Raiders faced a 4th-and-1 at the Los Angeles 43 and decided to punt.

I can understand the old-school philosophy there as that’s what you used to do in those situations. But with under half a quarter left, you’re looking at maybe one more possession before you start relying on all your timeouts. You also have to remember that converting 4th-and-1 is in your favor (> 50%). I think punting was a big mistake, and you have to think it won’t be the last time we see this from Pierce, the big flaw in hiring a defensive-minded coach who only sees the old ways of the game he played.

To make it worse, the defense he relies on gave up a 92-yard touchdown drive thanks to the big Dobbins run. Gardner Minshew was picked to end it, but he’s probably still their best choice for a quarterback for the rest of the year despite only 10 points in Los Angeles.

But with the way the Raiders and Broncos look, who says Harbaugh can’t steal a game against the Chiefs and possibly go 5-1 in the division to fuel a playoff berth as a wild card? That was one of my main thoughts on the Chargers all along, but after Week 1, I feel even better about it.

Broncos at Seahawks: Sean Payton on His Week 1 Shit Again

The Seahawks are going to have some elite defensive stats in this one, the debut and first win for coach Mike Macdonald. But for the second year in a row, Sean Payton went into a Week 1 and watched his quarterback put on a dink-and-dunk performance that was literally for the record books.

Fewest Passing Yards by Number of Completions in NFL history (1950-2024)

After Russell Wilson had a record-low 177 passing yards on 27 completions against the Raiders last year, rookie Bo Nix did him one better and had just 138 yards on 26 completions. That’s the fewest passing yards in a game with more than 25 completions in NFL history.

This was rough, and Nix could have easily had more than the two picks he threw as Seattle dropped several. But it’s not like he had any real help out there other than his defense coming up with a pair of safeties, something you almost never see. But Nix ended up leading the Broncos with 35 rushing yards, including a late touchdown that made it mildly interesting at 26-20.

Geno Smith had some mistakes, but he also had a 34-yard touchdown run that he couldn’t possibly have done last year when he was playing hurt. When it came to icing the game with a late third-down pass to deny Nix getting a shot at a game-winning drive, Smith found Tyler Lockett for 9 yards to end things.

Enough to be encouraged about for Seattle, but we really need to see this defense play a quarterback who knows what they’re doing. Granted, there may not be a ton of those in the league right now. But even Jacoby Brissett will be a step up in competition in New England next week.

Started to get a sense of how Nix completed over 77% of his passes at Oregon last year to set an NCAA single-season record. He’ll take literally any short completion you will give him no matter how fruitless the gain is. But you can’t end his career after one game. He’s just a rookie, albeit an older one.

Commanders at Buccaneers: It’s Probably Not 2012 in Washington Again

I guess the hope all along with Washington repeating its 2012 season success with Robert Griffin III would be a surprisingly good season from Jayden Daniels. While he did make me very happy in his debut with a 2-touchdown performance on the ground (+2200 odds), it wasn’t the kind of passing performance you wanted to see. Terry McLaurin (17 yards) barely did a thing. More than half of Daniels’ 184 passing yards went to running backs.

But he ran the ball 16 times for 88 yards and will be viable at the goal line. He just better tighten that helmet as it came loose a couple of times and nearly cost him that second touchdown. I’d be quite bitter right now if that happened.

But Dan Quinn’s defense was no real improvement on last year when they were the worst in the league under Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio. Baker Mayfield picked them apart with 24-of-30 for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns. Mike Evans caught two scores and still has WR1 skills.

Tampa had one of the most thorough and complete performances of any team this week. Not that it should be that surprising against a rebuilt Washington team with a long way to go. But it’s a very good start with Detroit up next.

Next week: Are we peaking early with Bills-Dolphins on Thursday night? Saints-Cowboys could be interesting, or it could be a blowout. Either way, we get to test the Saints right away against a non-Carolina opponent, so that’s great. Bengals-Chiefs loses some luster with the New England upset, but it’d be typical NFL for Cincinnati to win that one to avoid an 0-2 start. That Chicago offense isn’t ready for prime time, so good luck in Houston. Ditto with Kirk Cousins going to Philly on his least favorite day of the week.

NFL 2024 Week 1 Predictions: Home Favorites Edition

~ Scott ~ 1 Comment

It’s always one of the longest weeks of my year to get ready for Week 1 of a new NFL season. I thought I put together some well-reasoned 2024 season predictions with the Green Bay Packers becoming the latest NFC flash in the pan to reach the big game.

After one game last night in Brazil, I fear my vision might be cooked. Nothing’s getting me out of bed Saturday until I can get at least 6 hours of sleep after this long week, but I hate the thought of waking up to see “Jordan Love out for season”. He was injured (ankle or worse) in the final seconds of a 34-29 loss that didn’t make the Packers look ready for the next level.

It didn’t make the Eagles, my NFC East pick, look like much either. But I like to think the poor field conditions caused a lot of the bad plays by both teams. But even before he was injured, Love looked erratic and inaccurate like he did early in 2023. Hurts made some really boneheaded plays all night, and even the Tush Push failed multiple times as he struggled with his new center. I guess Jason Kelce was pretty damn important.

But again, you like to think both teams can move on and will play on better fields going forward. Just a sloppy Week 1 game on a soccer field in South America. But in Green Bay’s case, we don’t know if they have to move on with signing Ryan Tannehill or something like that, because they sure as shit aren’t going anywhere with Malik Willis starting games. I just hope it’s a high-ankle sprain and Love can be back in a couple of weeks.

Guess I’ll just have to wake up and face the dread of what the news will be there. Is this what happens when I finally pick the Packers for the first time in 14 years to win the Super Bowl? Yikes.

This Week’s Articles

NFL Week 1 Predictions

I’ve been doing this so many years that I should have been adding the year in the title as to not create so many dupes with the URL. Whoops. But here’s where I’m at for Week 1.

Remember, Week 1 is not the time to go crazy. So much uncertainty and new things to learn.

One thing I love this year is the overs, and they’re already 2-0. We’ve had unders being profitable 3 years in a row, and I think we see more scoring this year. It’ll help if teams are just going to do touchbacks on the dynamic kickoff and give up the 30-yard line to start most drives.

But what stood out to me with this schedule in Week 1 is that 14 of the 16 games have a home favorite. Granted, Packers-Eagles was played on a (shitty) neutral field, but the only road favorites are the Texans and Vikings, and I like the Giants to upset the Vikings since I’m not sure when else they’ll be able to win this year.

But this is a ton of home favorites in Week 1. The 2021 season only had 9 home favorites and they were 2-7 ATS. I wanted to pick more underdogs ATS, but here’s why I struggled to do so:

Justin Fields might start for the Steelers since Russell Wilson’s calf is acting up, and you know I think the worst of Fields. The Steelers may still lose by 3 points and cover, but I’m not trusting them this week in Atlanta to score enough.

I think Miami plays its best under Mike McDaniel in September, and they have better weapons than the Jaguars and I just expect them to cover 3.5.

I wanted to go Patriots +7.5 since I think Jacoby Brissett could surprise people with competitiveness, the Bengals are a bit overrated as usual, and they have injuries at WR. However, I also have my narrative that the Patriots are going to be terrible under Jerod Mayo this year, so even if the Bengals stumble to a 24-16 win, that’s good enough to cover.

Carolina is another team I’d like to pull the trigger on at +3.5 in New Orleans, but I need to see it first from Bryce Young and Dave Canales.

I absolutely can see the Cardinals upsetting Buffalo (-6.5) with the takes going wild about trading Diggs, letting the Chiefs get Worthy, leaving Josh Allen without weapons, etc. I can see it. But on the other hand, I see a weak Arizona roster on defense, the Bills should still play good defense, and we know Buffalo wins a lot of games in blowout fashion. So I can’t trust Arizona on the road yet.

A statement win for Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers instead of choking or barely hanging on against the Chargers is my expectation this week. Couldn’t go there even though we know the Chargers are always up for some Chargering. But hopefully that’s a new era starting.

Then I think the other rookie QBs are in tough spots on the road with Bo Nix facing a new Mike Macdonald defense and Jayden Daniels on the road against Todd Bowles. Not liking those matchups even if I don’t think either game is necessarily a blowout.

Can the Rams win in Detroit? Sure, it was 24-23 in January. But this is just my narrative that I think Detroit looks better defensively, they force Stafford into some mistakes, and they are up 5-8 late to get the cover.

Then on Monday night, who knows what to expect from Aaron Rodgers with the Jets? Try lasting a full drive for starters. But we know the 49ers have been a real nemesis in his career, especially when the 49ers are a great team, which they still should be this year. So, I just can’t trust the Jets in that one right now.

Definitely excited to see what happens this week. Not a ton of great games on Sunday, but a lot of interesting matchups to start figuring out what we’re going to see this year.

I’ll be posting a grid of picks for the last 14 games on Twitter late Saturday night.

NFL Stat Oddity: Week 1

~ Scott ~ 20 Comments

In framing the 2023 NFL season as the year of uncertainty, I at least thought there would be more points in Week 1. Only a fantastic, back-and-forth game between the Chargers and Dolphins saw both teams score more than 21 points this week. If the Jets-Bills game on Monday night does not do that, then it will be the first time since 2008 that Week 1 had just one game where both teams surpassed 21 points.

Forget points. What about seeing more teams with 200 net passing yards? Many quarterbacks failed to pass for 150 yards this week, making it feel like a trip back several decades on Sunday. The sacks in many games contributed heavily to the low yardage.

There were 18 teams that failed to hit 200 net passing yards in Week 1 with one game to go. That’s almost half the total from the last 4 seasons combined for Week 1 (35). It is the most since 19 teams did it in 2008.

There were 11 quarterbacks with a QBR under 30.0, which is more than the last two seasons combined (10) in Week 1.

These performances suddenly make Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (minus Travis Kelce) look not so bad in Thursday night’s loss against Detroit. Hell, the Bengals just lost 24-3 in Cleveland. If the Bills lose on Monday night, that would be 0-3 for the top teams in the conference.

While the AFC has the better quarterbacks and deeper pool of contenders, the NFC elite just may be the three best overall teams in the NFL. They were flexing early on Sunday too:

  • The 49ers led 20-0 in Pittsburgh before winning 30-7
  • The Eagles led 16-0 in New England before hanging on 25-20
  • The Cowboys routed the Giants 40-0 in New York

That was a combined 76-0 start for those teams before they allowed any points. We’ll see how the Jets and Bills look Monday night, but this was a great week for the NFC’s best teams and a lot of question marks for the many AFC contenders.

Maybe these teams need to start going back to playing more starters in the preseason games. Things were looking rather sloppy in a lot of these games. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni already said he’ll reevaluate their preseason approach next year.

Glad the NFL is back but this was not that memorable of an opening weekend. I predicted Chargers-Dolphins would be Sunday’s top game, so hopefully my prediction for Jets-Bills being an instant classic works out too. In all, 9 games this week had a comeback opportunity, which is pretty normal. However, not a single team came back from a double-digit deficit to win, which happened at least once every week last regular season when 50 teams did so (NFL record).

Dolphins at Chargers: Game of the Week

After writing 6,750 words for a week I just said wasn’t that memorable, I saved the best game for last, and yet I don’t have that much to say about it. What can you say about a shootout with so many lead changes where neither team ever led by more than 7 points? It’s great.

After arguably the worst passing game of his career against the Chargers last year, Tua Tagovailoa had what I think is the best passing game in his NFL career on Sunday. He passed for 466 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he made some really stellar throws in big spots.

Of course, Tyreek Hill was also spectacular with 215 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game winner on a perfect throw with 1:45 left. That put the Dolphins up 36-34 after the extra point failed, which should have been a huge deal, but new coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense made sure it wasn’t.

As for the Chargers, it was an odd game offensively that also reversed the script from last year’s 23-17 win over Miami when Justin Herbert had a career-high 39 completions. This time, Herbert only attempted 33 passes while the Chargers rushed for 234 yards, only the third time in the Herbert era they have rushed for 200 yards.

The first game with Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator produced great rushing results, which is exciting to think about the potential from when this team is not playing a passing game that can be as lethal as speedy Miami.

But for all the good things the Chargers did, there were some Chargering moments that caught up with them.

  • After tying the game with 9 seconds left in the first half, the Chargers let Miami get off two big passes, and J.C. Jackson was penalized 30 yards for defensive pass interference on the second one, leading to a 41-yard field goal with no time left as Miami took a 20-17 lead into the locker room.
  • Even when Jackson tried to redeem himself with his first interception in a Chargers uniform in the third quarter, he returned it from 5 yards deep in the end zone, sticking his offense at their own 4 instead of a touchback. That led to a three-and-out (nearly a safety on a Herbert sack) and set up a 35-yard field for Miami’s offense, which instantly struck with a Hill touchdown after he burned Jackson (eventful day).
  • Down 36-34 with 1:45 left, the game-winning drive attempt quickly went to waste after Herbert was penalized for intentional grounding on what looked like a busted play. He was then sacked to bring up 3rd-and-29, got a chunk, then took a game-ending sack on 4th-and-12 after Fangio sent heat.

Game over. The Chargers join the 1963 Vikings (against Johnny Unitas’ Colts) as the only teams in NFL history to score at least 34 points, rush for 200 yards, and have zero turnovers in a home loss. Teams are now 165-2 when they do those things in a game.

The Chargers technically blew another one, but Miami was worthy of winning this game. Tua and Hill were as good as ever. In a sea of bad games, this was a spectacle you had to see.

49ers at Steelers: The Preseason Is a Lie, Part I

While I did like the Steelers as an upset pick, there was a thought in my mind all week that their preseason results are going to blow up spectacularly in their face this September. Watch them go from scoring 5 touchdowns on 5 possessions with the starting offense in August to being one of September’s lowest-scoring teams.

Sure enough, the Steelers played awful football and only managed a touchdown drive before halftime in a 30-7 loss, the biggest margin of defeat at home in Mike Tomlin’s career.

It took the Steelers six possessions before they could even get their initial first down. By then, they were already down 20-0. Brock Purdy looked outstanding and had the week’s highest QBR (91.3). His chemistry with Brandon Aiyuk looked stronger than anything the Steelers had going with Kenny Pickett and his receivers.

This game also was a great reminder why no defensive player should ever seriously be in MVP consideration. T.J. Watt was an absolute beast with 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, nearly stealing a ball from Purdy in the first half. But his contributions aside, the Steelers were crushed on defense with Christian McCaffrey breaking a 65-yard touchdown run behind some key blocks just 2 plays into the third quarter. The Steelers never put up a real fight after that knockout punch.

Pickett was sacked 5 times and threw just 1 touchdown on 46 attempts as that continues to be a struggle for him. Watching Purdy make a cut on a 3rd-and-12 scramble to convert for a first down had me chuckling that this guy could go last in the draft and the other guy was the first quarterback off the board. It was a total mismatch from the first snap.

So, the burning question: Are the 49ers this good or are the Steelers this bad? Time will tell, but this should be a wake-up call for the Steelers at how far they have to go to get back to being Super Bowl contenders. Last year, the Steelers were annihilated 38-3 by Buffalo and 35-13 by Philadelphia, two Super Bowl contenders like the 49ers look to be again. Otherwise, the Steelers were in all other games last year. But when they face a legitimately elite team, they really don’t stand a chance yet.

The AFC North race can turn on its head next week when the Ravens face the Bengals and the Steelers host the Browns, who held Cincinnati to 3 points. These teams could do a 180 in those division games, but if the Steelers can’t score against Cleveland either, then the “Fire Matt Canada” chants will get louder and louder.

But on Sunday, the Steelers had far more issues than just their offensive coordinator. I wouldn’t push the panic button on the streak of non-losing seasons coming to an end, but the preseason is a lie, and we should really stop paying attention to it.

Eagles at Patriots: Good Enough to Lose Close

Similar to the Cowboys-Giants game later Sunday night, it looked like the Patriots were going to get run out of their building because they couldn’t stop turning the ball over in the rain. Mac Jones was off on a pass that was deflected and returned 70 yards for a touchdown. Then Ezekiel Elliott christened his New England debut with a fumble on the next play, giving the Eagles a short field and another touchdown for a quick 16-0 lead.

Didn’t it used to be the Patriots who took over games like this? But the weather improved, and so did Jones’ accuracy. He threw some of his better passes of his career in this game, and the Patriots were back in it, down 16-14 at halftime.

It was a strange game for the Eagles. It took a long time for Jalen Hurts to break 100 passing yards (finished with 170). The running game was nowhere near as dominant as it usually is in the first game without Miles Sanders. Dallas Goedert did not have a catch.

The Patriots mostly outplayed the Eagles (382-251 in yards, 24-17 in first downs), but those pesky turnovers that have hurt them in so many games like this since 2020 were decisive again.

Still, the Patriots continued to hang around even after the Eagles led 25-14 with 5:33 left. Jones threw another touchdown to Kendrick Bourne, but a crucial 2-point conversion run by Jones was wiped out for a holding penalty. The end of this game looks much different if it was 25-22 instead of 25-20, because the Eagles were not able to close things out. Hurts immediately fumbled on the next play, which sounds like the New England we used to know. But the Patriots went four-and-out after a sack blew up the drive.

The Eagles again failed to end it after Hurts was incomplete on a 4th-and-2 pass at the New England 44 with 1:57 left. That set the stage for Jones, who was doing well until rookie Jalen Carter recorded his first NFL sack. A failed completion set up a tough 4th-and-11 at the Philadelphia 20. Jones threw a solid pass to the sideline to sixth-round rookie Kayshon Boutte. The initial TV angle made it look like a conversion, but the instant replay showed he clearly did not get both feet down. I’m not sure how the sideline judge blew that one, but replay got it correct, and the game was over. Another one-score loss for Belichick against a team that is likely still a top contender.

Jones is 1-9 (.100) at 4QC/GWD opportunities, the worst record among active starters (min. 10 games). This was one of his better attempts, but the end result was still another loss. For the coach who could seemingly do no wrong in games like this – this is Belichick’s 100th career loss in a game with a game-winning drive opportunity – the Patriots are only good enough now to lose close games against teams like this.

Cowboys at Giants: The Walking Dead

When the Giants lose, they at least leave no doubt who the inferior team was. If you thought the 38-7 playoff loss to Philadelphia was bad, the Giants basically knocked themselves out with a 16-0 first quarter in the rain against Dallas on Sunday night.

It was so bad I took a power nap in the second quarter and started watching the Daryl Dixon spin-off series for The Walking Dead universe at halftime. The Giants were fine for about 5 minutes, then they were hit with a false start, a fumbled snap, and a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown.

Later, Daniel Jones tried a short pass to Saquon Barkley on a 3rd-and-19, and he was popped, releasing the ball and that too was returned for a pick-six. This meant light work for the Dallas offense as Dak Prescott, who is 11-0 against the Giants since 2017, only threw for 143 yards on 24 passes. Jones ended up taking 7 sacks as the Cowboys looked incredible on defense. The Giants had 5 fumbles in the rain but were fortunate to only lose 1. The Cowboys protected the ball much better.

I think we already knew from last year that there was a gulf between these teams with the Cowboys and Eagles outscoring the Giants 78-7 over the last 8 quarters of meaningful action. But this was still a shockingly one-sided performance. The Giants are just the 12th team in the Super Bowl era (1966-present) to lose by 40 points in Week 1. They are the 5th team to lose by a shutout of at least 40 points.

Dallas is my NFC Super Bowl team, so I’m cool with that after one game. But the Giants unfortunately will be in prime time in 3 more games by Week 6, including trips to the 49ers and Bills.

I guess I’ll just have to find more TV shows to watch at halftime.

Bengals at Browns: $500 Million for These Quarterbacks?

You have to love the battle of Ohio this decade:

  • Since 2020, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is now 6-1 against Bengals coach Zac Taylor, including a 5-1 record in games against Joe Burrow, who just signed the biggest contract in NFL history at $55 million per season ($275M total).
  • Stefanski always gets big quarterback production against the Bengals except for the last two games when Deshaun Watson was his starter, who is supposed to be his best quarterback after the Browns gave him a record deal worth $230M fully guaranteed.
  • On Sunday, these quarterbacks played in a game with 29 combined drives and just one drive gained more than 45 yards.

Burrow and the Bengals had a rough Week 1 loss against the Steelers last year too when he turned it over 5 times and took 7 sacks. But at least the Bengals eventually moved the ball in that one and would have won the game if not for an emergency long snapper situation botching two game-winning kicks from short distance.

This was just brutal as Burrow, who had a calf strain in preseason, finished 14-of-31 for 82 yards. He was sacked twice – Myles Garrett took him down on a 4th-and-4 in the fourth quarter – and the Bengals were 2-for-15 on third down. Cincinnati saw enough of Burrow and benched him with 5:15 left while still keeping Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Mixon in the game with the starters. Mixon’s 22-yard run in the second quarter was the only Cincinnati play that gained more than 12 yards. Burrow was 0-for-8 on passes to Tee Higgins.

Was the calf that bad, should Burrow have sat out and waited to face Baltimore next week, or does Cleveland just own him? Time will tell what exactly happened here, but this was a shockingly awful performance.

Burrow is just the 8th quarterback to throw more than 30 passes and gain no more than 82 yards:

  • Paul Christman (1945 Cardinals at Lions): 7/36 for 80 yards
  • Jack Concannon (1969 Bears vs. Lions): 12/35 for 79 yards
  • Dieter Brock (1985 Rams at Bears, playoff game): 10/31 for 66 yards
  • Stan Gelbaugh (1992 Seahawks vs. Eagles): 9/31 for 66 yards
  • Kordell Stewart (1998 Steelers at Dolphins): 11/35 for 82 yards
  • Chris Weinke (2001 Panthers vs. Jets): 12/34 for 76 yards
  • Ryan Lindley (2012 Cardinals at Jets): 10/31 for 72 yards

Rough company. The Browns did not fare great through the air themselves, but anything looked better than Cincinnati’s effort. The Browns rushed for 206 yards with Watson (45 yards and a score) doing some of his best work with his legs.

We’ll see how the Bengals respond to this, because things are not getting any easier with Baltimore coming to town for a big showdown.

Buccaneers at Vikings: Close-Game Regression Begins

And so, it begins. After going 11-0 in close games and 8-0 at 4QC/GWD opportunities in the 2022 regular season, things were going to catch up with Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings this year. It only took one game against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers, but they finally lost a close game in the regular season too under O’Connell.

Justin Jefferson was still great with 150 yards, and rookie teammate Jordan Addison had a 39-yard touchdown to make a name for himself early. But Alexander Mattison did not fare well in replacing Dalvin Cook as he was held to 44 yards on 14 touches. The offensive line had a rough start with Cousins losing a fumble on an aborted snap and strip-sack. Cousins also had a big red-zone pick before halftime in a 10-10 game, a sour note on a half where he threw for 273 yards.

As the Vikings showed us in 2022, the margins between winning and losing can be razor thin in the NFL. Last year, things usually went right for the Vikings in tight games. This time, they were offside on a field goal that led to a first down and a touchdown pass from Baker to take a 17-10 lead.

While the Vikings tied things up to put themselves in line for another 4QC, the offense went three-and-out on its last two drives. The last one was short-circuited quickly by a 4-yard loss on a completion to tight end T.J. Hockenson, who had 8 catches for only 35 yards.

Props to the Buccaneers for being aggressive. They went for a 4th-and-1 at their own 32 in a tied game, and Baker converted on a sneak. The drive eventually stalled, but Chase McLaughlin made a clutch 57-yard field goal to take a 20-17 lead with 5:10 left.

The Buccaneers scored 20 points on the road one time all last year, and that included a pick-six in New Orleans. In one start with Baker replacing Tom Brady, they did it Sunday in Minnesota. But it was Baker’s legs again finishing the game in the 4-minute offense after he scrambled for a first down on a 3rd-and-3. Three plays later, Chris Godwin made a nice catch to convert 3rd-and-10 and ice the win.

I’m not sure the Buccaneers can win many more games with this offensive output, but this remains the formula for the team. Just keep it close into the fourth quarter. This won’t be the last time the 2023 Vikings drop one of these games they would have won last year.

Raiders at Broncos: Sean Payton Matches Nathaniel Hackett’s Debut in Score But Not Hilarity

No teams played more close games (15 each) or blew more fourth-quarter leads last year than the Raiders (6) and Broncos (5). Sure enough, they were in another tight game as neither team led by more than 7 points.

But just like Nathaniel Hackett a year ago, Sean Payton lost his opener with Russell Wilson at quarterback by a 17-16 final. At least this time the offense was getting the plays in on time at the goal line, and they did not try to win the game on a 64-yard field goal.

However, the results and some execution were still underwhelming. If you can name the most famous call of Payton’s career in New Orleans, you would pick the surprise onside kick in Super Bowl 44. To make an immediate impression on the Denver crowd, the Broncos started the season with a surprise onside. It would have worked if not for an illegal touch penalty, so the Raiders had a short field to score a touchdown to start the game.

The reason this 17-16 score is way different from last year’s loss in Seattle is that this was a very offensive game with a combined 13 possessions between the two teams. One of those was a kneeldown by the Raiders with 12 seconds left to get to halftime, so it was really 6 possessions per team for a total of 12 drives, a massive outlier. In fact, it might be the fewest possessions in a game in NFL history. The one I used to always point to for that was 2006 Colts at Texans, but that had 13 total possessions that weren’t kneeldowns. Raiders at Browns in 2020 also had 13 possessions.

Mistakes get magnified in a game like this with so few possessions. The only two complete drives in the third quarter saw the Broncos miss a 55-yard field goal and Jimmy Garoppolo made his only big mistake with a red-zone pick as Denver led 13-10.

But the Broncos settled for another field goal to lead 16-10, and Garoppolo did his thing on a 75-yard touchdown drive to take the lead with 6:34 left. Jakobi Meyers caught his second score on the day.

Wilson was not terrible with the 6 drives he had, but usually when he completes 27-of-34 passes, you expect more than 177 yards. Fittingly, a failed completion ended up being the offense’s last snap as an 8-yard gain on 3rd-and-11 was not enough to convert. Denver punted and the Raiders had 5:08 to burn, hanging onto a 17-16 lead.

The Raiders blew these games time after time last year, but this could be an area where Josh McDaniels trusts Garoppolo more than he did Derek Carr. On a big 3rd-and-8, Garoppolo went back to the hot man in Meyers, and he was tackled short on a nasty hit that would have brought up 4th-and-1 at midfield.

I have to say I understood where the defender (Kareem Jackson) was coming from there. If he doesn’t hit Meyers hard, the Raiders convert, and the game is all but over. It had to be a significant hit to stop his force short, and it was just an unfortunate collision that left Meyers down for some time. But he was able to get up and should be okay, thankfully. I’m just not sure what the defender can do better in that split second as he was just trying to save the game, not injure anyone.

The penalty for the hit gave the Raiders a first down. On a 3rd-and-7, Garoppolo showed some good patience and scrambled for 8 yards to ice the game and hand Payton a 17-16 loss in his first game with Denver, possibly a game with the fewest possessions in NFL history.

The Broncos tie the Raiders for the most blown fourth-quarter leads since 2022 with 6 a piece. We’ll see how things go with Wilson going forward, but the lack of possessions did produce a misleading final score. Still, it was a case of Denver coming up short again with this quarterback (no pun intended).

Packers at Bears: The Old Familiar Sting

Silly me. I thought early in the week that the Bears and Packers would play a fun, exciting game where both young quarterbacks played well, signifying a new beginning after decades of the Packers walking over this team with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Then once I saw that Christian “String Cheese Ligaments” Watson was out and Romeo Doubs was questionable, I changed my pick to the Bears, the team I spent the most time researching why they likely won’t have a good year as some thought.

Sure enough, the Packers rolled them 38-20 in Chicago. Those big YAC plays the Bears had in the preseason that I said wouldn’t translate to the real games, the Packers had a few of them in this game as Aaron Jones went off for 86 receiving yards on 2 catches. He finished with 127 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns to lead the Packers.

Jordan Love was solid in his first Week 1 start, but I would say his stat line (15-of-27 for 245 yards, 3 TD) was one of the more misleading ones in Week 1 because of the YAC. But he did a good job.

Justin Fields technically had one of his better passing lines (24-of-37 for 216 yards), but he still took 4 sacks, and he threw a pick-six that was an awful throw turned into a touchdown by an incredible effort from Quay Walker on defense. The Bears were down 24-6 with a minute to go in the third quarter before they finally found the end zone, so it was not a good game for this unit again.

It was bad for both sides of the ball, which was my whole issue with Chicago. How does a team that ranked dead last in passing and defense get so much better without making a change at quarterback, head coach, or either coordinator? Oh, Fields was 2-of-2 for 25 yards to D.J. Moore. The question is why not more targets? Moore had as many targets as Chase Claypool, who finished without a catch.

Will be interesting to see where these teams go from here, but Sunday was that old familiar sting of the Packers beating the Bears and looking better off at quarterback in the process.

Jaguars at Colts: Encouraging Signs from Both Teams

For the first time in 12 meetings, the home team did not win in Jaguars vs. Colts. But division games can be unpredictable, especially in Week 1. My research early in the week on this game showed that since 2009, Week 1 road favorites in division games were 5-22 ATS and 9-16-2 SU – truly abysmal records.

But I still went with the Jaguars, and frankly, the Colts should have covered. It was not the kind of performance I would say is repeatable for the Colts, because they scored a ridiculous fumble touchdown after many players gave up on the play thinking it was an incomplete pass, and tall receiver Michael Pittman Jr. scored a 39-yard touchdown on a WR screen. Not the kind of play you’d expect from him.

But Anthony Richardson, the “raw” prospect in the draft behind more polished, accomplished passers Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, had the best debut among the three rookie quarterbacks on Sunday. Richardson was 24-of-37 for 223 yards and that screen touchdown. He did take 4 sacks but only lost 8 yards on them. He also rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown, and he probably would have ran for a second to cover the spread late in the game if he didn’t pull up injured. It will hopefully be nothing serious.

For the Jaguars, they had some shaky moments, but Trevor Lawrence was able to lead the game-winning drive after falling behind 21-17. Calvin Ridley lived up to the hype in his team debut, catching 8 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. But the teams were a combined 5-for-24 on 3rd down, keeping it a close game for most of the way.

Richardson threw his only pick right after the Colts fell behind in the fourth quarter, which is the kind of rookie mistake you expect. Without Jonathan Taylor, the Colts had no running game besides their rookie quarterback. Deon Jackson turned in an epic trash performance with 13 carries for 14 yards and a pair of lost fumbles. Even his 5 catches only produced 14 yards.

If they can work something out with Taylor and get Jelani Woods healthy at tight end, Richardson will have a more formidable offense around him. But I think after the season the Colts had with Jeff Saturday, looking semi-competent against the division favorite was a respectable job by coach Shane Steichen.

Let’s see how these Jaguars fare when they get a chance to drop the Chiefs to 0-2 next week.

Texans at Ravens: Pour One Out for J.K.

Not sure how much you can really say about Baltimore’s 25-9 workmanlike win over Houston. The defense only forced rookie C.J. Stroud into one turnover, but they also did not let him find the end zone. In his debut in Todd Monken’s new offense, Lamar Jackson did not have an MVP-caliber start to his season with 4 sacks and no touchdown passes or runs, but the connection to rookie Zay Flowers was already looking good (9-of-10 for 78 yards).

The Ravens avoided a close finish with a rebuilding Houston team, but injuries continue to be a problem. They already played this game without corner Marlon Humphrey and tight end Mark Andrews, and they lost top running back J.K. Dobbins to a torn Achilles. It is a brutal blow to a young back who already has a broken fibula (college) and torn ACL (2021) in his past. The Ravens also may have lost safety Marcus Williams to a torn pec (results pending).

This team, my Super Bowl pick, just needs to stay healthy because there is a path for them in this AFC. They will be in Cincinnati next Sunday in a big one with a chance to drop the Bengals to 0-2.

Rams at Seahawks: The Other Embarrassing NFC Wild Card Team Loss on Sunday

Just to recap, earlier this summer I was all in on picking the Rams and Seahawks to swap places in the NFC West this year. The Seahawks had to come back in the fourth quarter twice to sweep the Rams last year, Geno Smith is usually bad at comebacks, and the Rams did not have their 3 best players in either game. It was that close to both teams finishing 7-10.

But the Seahawks won those games, made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, and I still wasn’t feeling them this year and predicted a losing record. But the Rams’ roster shocked me when I realized how many people they were missing as it really is a team where Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp play catch while Aaron Donald lines up with 10 NPCs. Then Kupp landed on IR and I couldn’t even name the receiver Stafford ended up dominating with in one of the more surprising final scores this weekend.

I really thought this game was either Seahawks win by 17 or Rams win a close one this time. But the second half reversal was stunning as the Rams outscored Seattle 23-0 after halftime. It wasn’t a dominant ground game either as the backs finished with 37 carries for 81 yards (3 short touchdowns too).

Stafford looked healthy and vintage with 334 yards passing, including 119 yards each to two receivers you wouldn’t count on to do that (Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell). I never even heard of Nacua, a 5th-round rookie, until Sunday.

Almost as importantly, Stafford was never sacked. That was a huge problem for the Rams last year when they were dealing with elite fronts in bad losses to the Bills, 49ers, and Cowboys. But against the Seahawks, Stafford was clean and dealing. Meanwhile, Geno passed for 112 yards for the entire game, continuing the late-season slump from 2022.

Sean McVay has gotten the best of Pete Carroll for years now, but without a healthy Stafford last year, he couldn’t finish the job in those losses. I’m not sure the Rams can sustain this when they play non-division games, but it was an impressive road win to start the season when many felt this team was heading to a race with Arizona for the bottom of the league.

But Seattle may have its own share of issues to deal with this season.

Panthers at Falcons: Bijan Robinson’s OROY Campaign Starts Well

The top quarterback (Bryce Young) and top running back (Bijan Robinson) in this year’s draft met as rivals for the first time. Not surprisingly, the one playing the easier position had the better day in a 24-10 win as Robinson’s first touchdown saw him break 3 tackles. It was not a play many backs in this league would make, so again, I concede the Falcons for being one of the only teams in a league who could justify drafting him at No. 8. At least we know they’ll use him.

But were they already using him too much? Robinson had 13 touches on the team’s first 28 plays. He actually finished with fewer touches than Tyler Allgeier (18 to 16), who scored a pair of touchdowns and led the team with 75 rushing yards. But wide receiver Drake London had no catches on 1 target and tight end Kyle Pitts only had a couple of catches for 44 yards. Desmond Ridder was 15-of-18 passing but for only 115 yards. They seem to be hiding him just as much as they did Marcus Mariota last year.

We’ll give the young offense time to grow, but I think the reason you end up in a 10-10 game going into the fourth quarter with Carolina is the lack of passing and the points that come in the passing game. The Falcons were also 2-of-10 on third downs. But a 21-yard run by Bijan, by far his best running play, set up Allgeier for the game-winning touchdown to break a tie with 14:12 left.

The Panthers have now lost 51 straight games when trailing in the fourth quarter, including an 0-30 record at 4QC opportunities (down 1-8 points with the ball).

Young did not have a good debut, finishing 20-of-38 for 146 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. Safety Jessie Bates had a strong debut for Atlanta in making both picks. Young said after the game he needs to see the depth of the safety better, and hopefully that’s not an inference to his height being a factor in not seeing that. But he definitely had a tough job without DJ Chark available, and no passing offense in 2023 should be trying to go through tight end Hayden Hurst, who had a team-high 7 catches and caught Young’s first NFL touchdown pass.

A 16-yard scramble in the third quarter was Young’s longest play of the day. There should be better days ahead, but for now, this was the result Atlanta wanted. Bijan looking good and the defense taking advantage of a limited, inexperienced offense.

This is how they win in the NFC South this year.

Titans at Saints: Derek Carr Has a Defense, Take 1

This game and Broncos-Raiders were the easiest calls for games that were going to be decided by 1-8 points this week. But the expected low-scoring battle was even lower with the teams trading field goals.

Derek Carr made his Saints debut, and this really is the ideal setup for him. A soft division where he can be the best quarterback, solid weapons, a real defense for a change, and a shockingly easy schedule. Keep the games close and he can pull out several close wins to get this team a home playoff game in January.

The first test passed, but he did have some bad moments like a pick before halftime in scoring range, which maybe was karma for getting away with what looked like a fumble return touchdown on an earlier field goal drive.

But Ryan Tannehill was not doing himself many favors in keeping the calls for rookie Will Levis quiet. Not only did he toss 3 interceptions, but he missed some big plays down the field too.

Despite trailing 16-9 going into the fourth quarter, the Titans kept settling for field goals. You can definitely question Mike Vrabel on the last one as he went for a 29-yard field goal on a 4th-and-6 at the 11 with three timeouts left. With the offense struggling to move the ball, why not just take that chance for a 6-yard gain when you’re already deep in the red zone? Maybe you convert and go on to take the lead with a touchdown. If you fail, you still have the 4 clock stoppages to get the ball back, and even with the field goal, you still need to force a 3-and-out (or turnover) to get the ball back in a 16-15 game.

Vrabel is usually aggressive, but after going a league-worse 0-6 in 4QC/GWD attempts last year, maybe he is just getting conservative. All I know is the Titans remain a defense that is great at stopping the run and forces you to throw a lot against them. The Saints took advantage on a 3rd-and-6 when Carr had Rashid Shaheed, an underrated and underutilized weapon last year, running wide open for a big 41-yard gain. The throw and catch both could have been a little better as Shaheed’s momentum carried him out of bounds to stop the clock, and he almost didn’t control it with two feet in. But big play there.

On a 3rd-and-4 to ice it, the Saints broke one of their only good runs of the day, but Jamaal Williams had the ball knocked out after he was past the sticks. Fortunately, the bounce went the Saints’ way, and they were able to kneel out the clock.

We’ll need to see some more points on the board from this offense, but if Michael Thomas can stay healthy with Chris Olave, they seem to have a trio here now with Shaheed finishing with 89 yards and a touchdown.

Carr was 3-48 with the Raiders when he failed to score at least 17 points, so this 16-15 win is unfamiliar territory for him. We’ll see how often they do things like this in 2023, because the rest of the division did not show a lot of scoring prowess on Sunday either.

Cardinals at Commanders: The Preseason Is a Lie, Part II

To conclude the week and the reminder that the preseason is a lie, Washington was the other team I let myself get tricked by based on August results. Some of my favorite prop picks and parlay builders all week were Sam Howell over 1.5 touchdown passes (+154), Jahar Dotson touchdown, and Dotson going over 43.5 yards (or whatever it was) in a comfortable, 7-point cover for the Commanders at home against lowly Arizona.

But none of it worked out. The Commanders barely got the win, needing a strip-sack from Josh Dobbs – he seems to have an issue with these – to set up a short, 29-yard field going into the fourth quarter with the team down 16-10. Howell scrambled for the go-ahead touchdown, then the defense finished the job the rest of the way as Dobbs had 3 fumbles (2 lost) in the game.

But I thought this was setting up perfectly for Howell to shine against this defense and generate all those headlines about how the Chiefs miss Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator when the reality is they miss Travis Kelce and having any wide receiver who can catch a ball.

This was not good, because I thought they would attack Arizona with short, decisive passing, yet Howell showed his inexperience and took 6 sacks, including a brutal fumble for a touchdown where he was trying too hard. The run game only averaged 3.3 yards per carry too.

The Commanders got the 20-16 win, but this should have been a layup instead of a struggle. If this is how they are going to play Arizona, then I am already having some regrets going with 7 wins for Washington. Arizona may also win more than 2 games if that defense can keep up the pass rush.

But it is only Week 1 and teams shake off bad starts all the time. The only problem is we used to have some assurance that they would bounce back when it was Aaron Rodgers having a brutal game (2021 vs. Saints), the Patriots melting down in the Miami heat, or the Saints losing a shootout in the Superdome on opening day.

As the great Michael Irvin once said, we’re losing recipes.

We are dealing with a lot of new coaches and quarterbacks around the league. Rookie quarterbacks were 0-3 and new coaches were 0-5 on Sunday. Some of them are going to figure it out, and some showed their true colors on Sunday.

Strap in as this is going to be another odd season.

NFL Week 1 Predictions: The Brady vs. Mahomes Slander (Plus Awards) Edition

~ Scott ~ 2 Comments

For a yearly tradition, I dropped my super long NFL season predictions and forgot to make my award predictions until Saturday. So, you are getting season awards picks, Week 1 picks & betting analysis, and a quasi-Close Encounters recap of Lions-Chiefs with a factual retort of some Tom Brady nonsense that popped up one game into his retirement.

NFL 2023 Award Predictions

I am not going to let Thursday night change my choices as I have been on the record all summer of saying I’m not on Patrick Mahomes winning back-to-back MVPs nor do I like Jahmyr Gibbs for OROY. My Aidan Hutchinson darkhorse DPOY did however not get off to a great start. But these are the picks I’m feeling okay about:

  • MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Jets
  • OPOY: Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals
  • DPOY: T.J. Watt, Steelers
  • OROY: Bijan Robinson, Falcons
  • DROY: Jalen Carter, Eagles
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Lamar Jackson, Ravens
  • Coach of the Year: Sean Payton, Broncos
  • Assistant Coach of the Year: Todd Monken, Ravens OC

If you saw my Super Bowl pick of the Ravens, you’ll understand the Monken selection and hopefully the Lamar Jackson one, who I have staying healthy this year. We can have the Damar Hamlin discourse another day.

I think the MVP is going to an AFC quarterback for sure, but I also think the top trio of Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow may not be worth your bet. I’d sooner choose from Rodgers, Lamar, Justin Herbert, and even the Florida guys (Tua and Trevor Lawrence). Maybe this will start to make more sense when you see my Week 1 picks.

NFL Week 1 Predictions

Welp, already taking a loss after the Chiefs played one of their worst games of the Mahomes era. More on that one below.

I was going underdogs early before taking the favorites late. Again, I spent the 2023 preview intro talking about uncertainty this year, so we will start to learn things this weekend like if Sam Howell, Desmond Ridder, and Jordan Love are for real, if the Rams and Cardinals are going to be truly terrible in the NFC West, and if the Vikings are going to shit their pants in close games after going 11-0 last regular season.

But my surprise headline for Week 1, and this is cheating with 33.3% of the results in, is that Mahomes, Burrow, and Allen all lose in Week 1, signifying the deep AFC competition may be for real. The 2022 NFL season we were supposed to get is happening a year later in 2023.

I also love the Steelers as a Week 1 upset pick over the 49ers.

Sam Howell over 1.5 TD passes (+154 at FanDuel) is one of my favorite prop picks this week. He gets the awful Cardinals at home in a perfect Week 1 matchup. Plus, you can just see that headline of “Howell outshines Mahomes as Eric Bieniemy gets last laugh.” Just what we needed…

And while I know I’m the “Rodgers isn’t a good comeback QB” guy from over a decade ago, he has improved in that area, and I think he pulls one off against Buffalo to end a fun week.

In fact, here’s my new Friday column at 365Scores where I go over 7 picks I like for the weekend.

Just a couple notes before the Brady-Mahomes part.

Week 1 Rookie Quarterbacks

We get to see a trio of rookie quarterbacks start in Week 1 after there were none in 2022. Since 1998, rookie quarterbacks are just 12-20-1 in Week 1 starts. Even the list of winners, 2008 aside, is pretty uninspiring:

I would definitely bet against C.J. Stroud in Baltimore. Ravens -6.5 1H spread is one of my favorite picks this week. The other ones are division games, so there is always a chance there. In fact, that Jacksonville-Indy game has me shying away from that spread after uncovering some shocking research this week.

Week 1 Division Games

Maybe you noticed half the schedule is division games this week, but more interestingly, four teams are favored on the road (CIN at CLE, JAX at IND, DAL at NYG, and BUF at NYJ).

NFL Week 1 Road Favorites, 2009-2022:

  • Division games: 5-22 ATS (18.5%), 9-16-2 SU (37.0%)
  • Non-division games: 32-21 ATS (60.4%), 38-14-1 SU (72.6%)

Those records are shocking, but 5-22 for a spread record is insane. Now it is only 27 games over 14 seasons, so the fact that we have 4 that apply this weekend is also unusual. But in the season of uncertainty, embrace some weird shit going down. I would be very careful in leaning on those favorites this week. I think the Cowboys are the safest pick as Dak has not lost to them since his rookie season in 2016. Burrow is only 1-4 against Stefanski and has the calf injury. The AFC South has lost predictability, and you never know what a potentially volatile, high-variance player like Anthony Richardson might do in his debut. Then you have the Rodgers-Allen game on Monday night.

Should be fun stuff.

Even When the Chiefs Lose, Mahomes Looks Better Than Your Fake GOAT Did

If I can make it over 10,350 words of a season preview before mentioning Tom Brady’s name once, why can’t his cult-like following make it more than one game after his retirement before they have Patrick Mahomes’ name in their mouth again?

Insecure much?

In watching Kansas City lose 21-20 to the Lions on Thursday night, I certainly didn’t think it was the kind of game or performance that people would use to prop up Brady over Mahomes. The Lions deserved to win, especially after the horrible short-yardage calls the Chiefs had in the 2nd half. But it was a game where you’d make a mental note that Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, the team’s 2nd and 3rd-best players, were out. There is a considerable drop when you compare the top 3 Chiefs to the other 50 players. The defense was decent without Jones, but his presence could have did something to affect Goff on some of those clean, easy throws to his wideouts that drove the passing offense for the Lions. Kelce’s impact is even more obvious, and a Tuesday injury before a Thursday game was a tough break on short notice.

I said back in July that the Chiefs could have the worst receiver situation in the NFL if there is a Kelce injury or drop-off in his play and they have to rely on this WR group. I’ve been down on Kadarius Toney for months.

But it was still shocking how badly Toney played Thursday night. No one did more to lose that game than him. He dropped a perfect pass and turned it into a pick-six in the third quarter, Kansas City’s only turnover. He was unable to catch a 3rd-and-short pass in traffic that led to a FG. He lost a yard on a 2nd-and-1 run that led to another short FG. Then after the Lions went for a 4th down at midfield because they were still too worried to give Mahomes the ball back, Toney dropped another great throw that would have had the Chiefs near the 30 and in game-winning field goal range. At that point it would be on kicker Harrison Butker. But Toney dropped it as his confidence was already shot.

Almost as bad, Mahomes had another dagger on the very next play, but that was called back for holding. On 2nd-and-20, he threw a pass that should have got about half of what they needed, but Skyy Moore, the other bum of the night, dropped that one too. Then you get into desperate times on 3rd-and-20, then you end up with 4th-and-25 after Jawaan Taylor finally got a false start after flirting with penalties all night. At this point, the smartest thing the Chiefs could have did was quickly run out of bounds at their own 9, forcing the Lions to score 8 points to end the game, or give the Chiefs the ball back with time in a one-possession game. It’s the kind of situation no one’s ever really thought about, but this is what happens when you’re in no man’s land on 4th-and-20+ and know you can’t trust your defense to get that 3-and-out. Maybe we’ll see this come up later this season, but a team would have to be choking like a dog to get to 4th-and-25 with dropped passes and penalties.

Notice I didn’t say the quarterback taking sacks or throwing wild passes when a receiver was open. Mahomes even finished with a higher QBR (72.5) than Goff (64.2) according to ESPN. I didn’t even call out the direct snap to Blake Bell that led to rookie WR Rashee Rice losing 3 yards on a 3rd-and-1 on the next to last drive — the worst call of the night.

But if you watched this game and concluded that Mahomes lost a game someone like Tom Brady would have won, then you are admitting you didn’t actually watch this game. Is he going to make Toney and Moore suddenly catch passes? Toney left a solid 10-to-17 net points on the scoreboard out there by himself. Would Brady will his defense to only give up 3 points to Jared Goff like he did in Super Bowl 53? This is now the 2nd time Mahomes has been bested by Goff late in a game after Orlando Scandrick dropped a game-clinching interception in the 54-51 game in 2018.

Mahomes may not have been great Thursday night, but he did what he had to against a division title favorite on a night the team was shorthanded. He made the kind of dagger throw he makes look easy that would have led to another night with 250 passing yards, a couple touchdowns, and the game-winning drive in a 23-21 win. But egregious drops and penalties killed that idea this time.

You know the Mahomes fatigue is setting in when people are pouncing on a game like this. That also shows how the standard is so high for Mahomes after they kept it so low for Brady for two decades. All Brady ever had to do was win and he’d get the credit no matter how ugly it looked or how little part he played in it.

This game was barely in the books before I got this reply from a random I would happily never knew existed without social media:

Very few things irk me more than a “he did more with less” line. When someone drops that one on you, chances are they are full of shit. Most of the time, they pick an example that is neither someone doing more nor having less to do it.

Brady’s 2006 season is often brought up in this context, a year where the Patriots were led in receiving by Reche Caldwell and finished 12-4 and lost in the AFC Championship Game. But what they don’t tell you is the Patriots had an elite defense that allowed no more than 21 points in 16 games that year (playoffs included), tied with legendary Super Bowl-winning defenses like the 2002 Buccaneers and 2013 Seahawks for the most such games in a season since 2002 realignment. They also had a very strong offensive line, solid running game, and all the coaching tactics (legal or otherwise) of Bill Belichick.

Sure enough, someone had to bring back a clip from 2006 when the 5-1 Patriots were playing Minnesota on MNF. Just watch this clip where Tony Kornheiser spends a minute ball-washing Brady:

If you were not following the NFL back then, this is what all the mainstream NFL media sounded like in covering Brady. You couldn’t watch a game on CBS with Phil Simms and Jim Nantz without hearing the latest “Brady record” that was always something related to a team win-loss record or some long interception-less streak that only counted the regular season because he was too busy saving his multiple red-zone picks for the playoffs back then. Sean Salisbury and the ESPN talking heads would push the “Brady Just Wins” narrative daily. Kornheiser bought into it fully here.

Then there’s the “you can’t name a receiver he plays with” narrative that picked up steam here and followed him the rest of his career no matter how ridiculous it was. This team developed some of the best slot receivers, receiving backs, and tight ends in later years while targeting countless established free agents, and someone like Deion Sanders would still go gleefully on NFL Network to say “no one knows these receivers!” Dude, it’s your job to know them.

Tight end Ben Watson was a first-round pick. Do we not know him because his most memorable play was chasing down Champ Bailey on what should have been a 100-yard pick-six thrown by Brady in the 2005 AFC divisional? Instead, the Broncos scored a 1-yard touchdown so Brady fans can blame the defense for those points allowed. My favorite Watson stat is that he had a career-high 825 yards when he was 35 years old (ancient for a TE) and Drew Brees was his QB in New Orleans. Watson had 500 yards in a season 5 times in his career, but he only did it once with Brady.

And did we just forget New England legend Troy Brown and receiving back Kevin Faulk from the Super Bowl years? Sure, Brown first had his breakout under Drew Bledsoe, and Faulk had his most productive receiving season with Matt Cassel, a high school QB, in 2008. But they were smart, heady players for that team for many years.

Watson, Brown, and Faulk were 2nd-to-4th in targets for the 2006 Patriots, by the way. Reche Caldwell was No. 1. He was a mid-2nd round pick by the Chargers who should be best known there for fumbling away a potential game-winning drive for Drew Brees. Twice even (2002 Chiefs, 2005 Eagles games). Guess Brees should have willed him better. I’d take the 2006 version of Caldwell over Toney and Moore in a heartbeat right now.

There is plenty more I can say about how nauseating the historical coverage of Brady was in 2006, but we’re one game into the 2023 season. Let’s pace ourselves. The last thing I wanted to share was something I noticed after updating Mahomes’ failed game-winning drives for which he has 16 such losses now in his career. These are games where he had the ball with a tie or 1-8 point deficit in the fourth quarter or overtime.

Brady only had 16 failed GWDs through the 2009 season, his 10th year in the league thanks to how historically great the Patriots were at making clutch field goals and shutting offenses down on defense with the game on the line. Also an incredible amount of luck, but again, let’s pace ourselves.

When you compare Mahomes’ 16 failed GWD attempts to Brady’s first 16 failed GWD attempts, it shows you one quarterback has been clutch as they come even in defeat while the other was usually a huge reason why his team lost these games.

I highlighted in green each area where the quarterback either fared better or had the more adverse situation to overcome.

I can barely express how lopsided this is, presenting Mahomes as the much better quarterback in defeat. Keep in mind I’ve been tracking games like this for 20 years now, so I saw very early on that when the Patriots lost during this time, Brady usually had awful games. Since he rarely had to experience those losses where your kicker misses at the end or the defense gives up a late score, he was severely lacking in good statistical performances in team losses. He really didn’t start adding some of those until his final decade in the NFL.

So, when people say things like “when Brady loses, it’s his fault, and when Mahomes loses, it’s everyone else’s fault”” you show them this and tell them “yes, exactly.” Because that’s usually how it goes. Do you think a QB completing under 50% of his passes, barely scraping 5.0 YPA, and a 1 TD, 10 INT ratio was being clutch?

Meanwhile, you are looking at 16 of the 20 losses in Mahomes’ career so far. This table does not include the 29-28 loss to the 2018 Chargers where the defense blew a 14-point 4Q lead with 4 seconds left as the offense did not register a possession down 29-28. The Chiefs still had the late lead in 75% of these games. Mahomes led 10 game-tying or go-ahead drives compared to just 3 for Brady.

From this table, it’s not even close.

  • Brady had 25 more passing yards but on 34 more attempts.
  • He did have a lower sack rate.
  • He did have worse starting field position, which was surprising.
  • But in terms of drives where the QB turned it over or on downs, Brady more than doubles up Mahomes at 15-7.
  • Mahomes’ field goal unit failed him twice while that happened to Brady once in his 23-year career (2012 Cardinals).
  • Brady did not have enough time to beat the 2009 Colts, a game infamous for his failure on 4th-and-2 deep in his own end that set up that finish.

But the other tied scenarios here further show how laughable this stuff really is. The 2002 Chargers loss is doing some heavy lifting for Brady with 2 appearances. In that first showdown with a young Brees, the Chargers took a 21-14 lead with 14:14 left in the 3rd quarter after LaDainian Tomlinson scored a 58-yard touchdown run.

Brady had 5 drives to answer that score and did this:

  • 3rd QT INT #1 (floated right to defender)
  • 3rd QT INT #2 in scoring range (clean pocket; didn’t even see the LB)
  • Marc Edwards stuffed on 4th & 1 at SD 39 w/12:33 left
  • A bad run call on 3rd & 10 (after 2 Brady INC) that led to a punt
  • After needing 96 yards with 1:51 and 1 timeout, Brady completed a pass to Faulk, who wanted to lateral, got blown up, fumbled, Chargers recovered ball at midfield with 8 seconds left. It was already over.

See for yourself. The funny thing is while Brady was throwing picks, his defense stopped LT on back-to-back runs with 1 yard to go on 3rd & 4th down, and blocked a 50-yd FG to keep him in a one-score game. Typical Patriots. But this was a bad game for him and the Faulk fumble was not that big.

It’s not like Faulk fumbled at the opponent’s 32 in a 36-35 game with 1:20 left, and the defense, which blew a 35-24 4Q lead, failed to get the ball back even after the opponent went for a 4th=and-1 in their own end because they were that afraid of giving Brady the ball back. That’s what Clyde Edwards-Helaire did on a fumble against the 2021 Ravens for Mahomes.

While Edwards getting stuffed on 4th & 1 hurt, there was still 12:33 left. Imagine waiting patiently for your defense to get Jacoby Brissett and the 2019 Colts off the field from a FG drive that took 8:34, and now you’re down 16-10 with 7:40 left. Your receiver gets a facemask penalty on a 1st-down catch, and now you’re in 1st-and-20, soon to be 3rd-and-28 after a shockingly bad 2-yd run on 2nd-and-30. But you find a receiver anyway and he gets 27 of the 28 yards, stopping short at the end instead of running with momentum for the first down. You hand off to the RB on 4th-and-1 and he gets stuffed. By the time you see the ball again, it’s 19-10 and you have 2:27 and no timeouts to pull off a miracle. You get the FG, but no onside kick recovery, so you lose 19-13 in one of the weirdest losses of your career.

Mahomes also threw for over 320 yards in both of those games and had one total turnover. At least that one didn’t go right off his receiver’s hands, so he is human and will make mistakes.

But if people would stop with the silly narratives and start calling these games out for what happened, start looking at how the quarterback played and how his teammates helped or hurt him, we would have a clear sense of who was the LOAT, and who was held back by his teammates from being the true GOAT.

Mahomes will be just fine, and the cult of Brady better hope the Chiefs keep making mistakes like drafting stiffs over DK Metcalf, Tee Higgins, Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, and Christian Watson. Cause when the Chiefs find the true successors to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce for the second phase of Mahomes’ career, the record books won’t be safe.

Right now, we only know the names of these Chiefs receivers because they were so spectacularly awful Thursday night. That’s the real takeaway from Game 1 of 285. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to share this link with people who will simultaneously tell me Julian Edelman was a nobody and he should easily be in the Hall of Fame.

NFL Stat Oddity: Week 1

~ Scott ~ 21 Comments

Ain’t that a kick in the head?

The first Sunday of the 2022 NFL season delivered on the drama, even if it unexpectedly came from the low-scoring early slate. But that fabled “Witching Hour” as RedZone’s Scott Hanson calls the 3:00-4:00 ET window extended well past that time with nearly two AFC games ending in 20-20 ties.

Yep, kickers were on their bullshit again, but only certain ones. You can’t trash the whole position on Sunday as kickers helped win games for Cleveland, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh. But they also did their part to dramatically not win games for Cincinnati, Tennessee, Indianapolis, and to some extent Atlanta. There also was some near Chargering going on in LA, but more on that later.

All I know is it’s good to be back talking about the oddities of the NFL.

Upsets and Unusual Suspects Winning Close Games

We’ll see what final number the lines close at, but Week 1 could have as many as seven games where the home team was an underdog of at least 5.5 points. The previous high was four games in 1978. You knew some upsets would happen, and so far, the 49ers lost in Chicago, and the Colts (-7.5) only got a tie in Houston. On the flip side, the Bengals and Titans lost at home as favorites of at least 5.5 points.

This week has had eight games with a comeback opportunity, which is almost average heading into MNF. But something that really stood out to me was that a lot of the quarterbacks and coaches known for losing close games came out winners on Sunday.

Of the five blown leads in the fourth quarter this week, four were against Carson Wentz, Jacoby Brissett, Jameis Winston, and Daniel Jones. See the bottom cluster here if you want to be surprised by that list. Brissett’s came against Mayfield’s team, which is probably fitting.

Meanwhile, rookie head coaches Matt Eberflus (Bears) and Brian Daboll (Giants) had big double-digit comeback wins with their teams in the first games of their careers. That means they’ve had a winning record in the NFL before Kyle Shanahan ever has. But take note of who is on the bottom here:

Eight of the nine coaches with a win percentage under 32% in 4QC/GWD opportunities were at it in close ones on Sunday. They finished a respectable 3-4-1. Let’s see how they did it.

Steelers at Bengals: When Pyrrhic Meets Pathetic

Where do I even start? I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a game go from:

  • ~95% Steelers win (after fourth-down stop at 1:51) to
  • ~99% Bengals win (after Ja’Marr Chase TD at 0:02) to
  • ~50/50 for either team to win (start of OT) to
  • ~99% Bengals win again (before 29-yard field goal attempt) to
  • ~70% Steelers win (before Boswell’s 55-yd FG hits upright) to
  • ~80% Bengals win (before sack knocks Cincy out of field goal range) to
  • ~90% ending in tie to
  • ~75% Steelers win (before Boswell’s 53-yd FG at 0:05) to
  • ~100% Steelers win (after he made it at 0:00)

Joe Burrow had maybe the wildest example of a Week 1 Super Bowl hangover game of all time. Four turnovers in the first half, finished with four interceptions, a pick-six, seven sacks, and two fumbles (one lost). Truly a sight to behold for the 21st century of NFL quarterback play.

And he probably should have won this game because the Steelers ran their same chickenshit offense they’ve been running since 2020. For 2.5 quarters, the Steelers basically had one trick play to their tight end as their only offensive credit. The immediately-stopped runs and immediately-tackled short throws were all still there. Mitch Trubisky couldn’t get the wide receivers involved.

Once the Bengals pulled to within 17-14, we had to see more of a real offensive approach from the Steelers. Not just relying on a pick-six, short field, and that one awesome trick play to Pat Freiermuth. Predictably, this meant a quarterback wearing #10, running for his life, and making inaccurate incompletions. My Kordell Stewart PTSD was triggered.

Meanwhile, CBS’ Charles Davis, who is usually solid, was calling the game. He said he’d rather have the quarterback who starts 17/42, but goes 6-of-6 on the last drive to win the game, then said Burrow is proven in the fourth quarter. For one, the quarterback who starts 17/42 is likely going 6/6 on a drive when he’s down 21 points in garbage time.

And Burrow is not proven in the fourth quarter. In fact, he’s now 2-10 (.167) at 4QC opportunities, the worst record among active starters. He’s thrown big picks against the Bears, Packers, Jets, and now Steelers in those spots the last two years. This is what happens when you conflate an AFC Championship Game comeback, where the Bengals never trailed in the fourth quarter, with success late in games of coming back to win.

Not even Burrow’s fifth pick or a fourth-and-goal at the 2 stop with 1:51 left could ice this one for Pittsburgh. Without Ben Roethlisberger, not only does the team miss his two-minute offense, but they miss his four-minute offense to ice games. The Steelers lost a timeout after an injured run by Najee Harris, then Trubisky threw a dangerous incompletion to stop the clock again, botching the situation.

Burrow had almost 90 seconds to drive 60 yards for the win. He did his part with Chase making a 6-yard touchdown catch with two seconds left. It looks like the Steelers blew another 14-point lead to the Bengals, one of the only teams to get them in that spot since the Bill Cowher era.

But with a shakeup at long snapper, the timing of the extra point was off, and Minkah Fitzpatrick came in for a huge blocked kick to send the game into overtime. Unbelievable.

Even when the Bengals had a 29-yard field goal attempt in overtime to win the game, you didn’t think it could happen again. But the snap by Mitchell Wilcox, the emergency snapper, was high this time, and the kick was wide left. For a team that had made a 59-yard field goal in the first half that was as straight and awesome as any 59-yard kick I’ve ever seen, this game highlighted just how important the snap and hold are to the kicking process. This loss wasn’t kicker Evan McPherson’s fault.

Fully expecting a tie with 56 seconds to go when the Steelers got the ball back, I was surprised to see Trubisky step up with two big completions to Freiermuth to set up Boswell again. This time, Boswell was good from 53 yards to seal the unbelievable 23-20 win.

Few games in Week 1 will seemingly define a team’s season as much as this one could for both of these teams. And frankly, I don’t think either team should feel good after this. Burrow was terrible and full of mistakes, but he still had them in position to win. Tee Higgins going down with a concussion wasn’t good either. He’ll be back soon most likely.

But what about T.J. Watt and Najee Harris? Both left this game for Pittsburgh, and a torn pec is the fear with Watt. He’s so dominant when he is healthy, but that is becoming increasingly rare like his older brother post-2014. It would be a huge blow to lose someone capable of winning Defensive Player of the Year again.

The Steelers can’t live on takeaways like this. I know they somehow average 0.7 more takeaways per game (and rising) in games without Roethlisberger, but they were an extra point away from losing despite a 5-0 edge in turnovers.

Experiencing this game was insane. But in the end, I think it just makes me glad I picked Baltimore to win the AFC North this year.

Raiders at Chargers: McDaniels Not Starting 6-0 This Time

If this is the Derek Carr that’s going to show up in big AFC West games this season, then I am glad I picked them to finish last. Carr tied his career high with three interceptions and took five sacks, including a strip-sack by former Raider Khalil Mack with 1:52 left on a huge fourth down.

Carr was locked on so much to Davante Adams (10/17 for 141 yards, TD) that he seemed to forget Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow existed for the first three quarters. Josh McDaniels also did not show out well in this debut with a trick play that saw Adams get sacked by Joey Bosa. Save that cutesy stuff when you’re trying to win with the talent the Patriots had since their last Super Bowl win. The Raiders have a hell of a trio that you can create mismatches with, and Carr only seemed interested in getting the ball to Adams.

Meanwhile, Justin Herbert was razor sharp and played great, spreading the ball around to nine receivers with multiple receptions. But without much on the ground and too many drives stalling for field goals, this got into the danger zone for the Chargers late.

It did not help that the Chargers missed a 49-yard field goal not long after the Raiders made one from 55 yards. That led to a 24-19 game, and Carr was getting the ball back with 3:30 left.

If Carr could play like ass for 57 minutes, then hog all the glory for a penalty flag-aided game-winning drive after his team kept him in it, then McDaniels truly can make him his Brady.

But it was not to be this time. Last year, the Chargers blew numerous games just like this one. But this time, they had Mack on defense and he delivered in the big spot, getting to Carr on fourth down for the sack and loose ball.

Sony Michel ended up icing the game with a 3-yard run on a third-and-2. No blowing a 14-point lead at home, and the Chargers even covered the 3.5-point spread. Herbert finally seeing some of the defensive help he needed the last two years.

Now we will see how the Chargers fare in a huge road test on a short week in Kansas City. They won there last September in another wild game. The Week 15 rematch was my No. 1 game of the 2021 regular season. High expectations here.

Chiefs at Cardinals: I Fvcking Love Patrick Mahomes…

Do I bring back the weekly segment? The Chiefs came out on fire to start another season. No Tyreek Hill? No problem if Arizona is going to blitz so much when the smart move should have been to double Travis Kelce and drop 7-8 into coverage. They never even sacked Patrick Mahomes for all that trouble.

Kelce had 121 yards and the first of six touchdowns for the offense. Even with JuJu Smith-Schuster committing the obligatory Chiefs fumble, he looked good and useful in his debut with 79 yards.

On nine drives, Patrick Mahomes led six touchdowns, one field goal to close the first half, the aforementioned JuJu fumble, and just one punt forced by Arizona. He threw five touchdown passes, already doing so for the eighth time in his career, which only trails the big three you could guess.

I really thought Arizona would take this as an opportunity to show us something more after a bad finish to 2021 and an embarrassing offseason. But Kyler Murray was nothing special, and something called Greg Dortch kept getting all the targets. The offense isn’t whole with Rondale Moore injured and DeAndre Hopkins suspended, but that’s still no excuse to see Murray throw a pass away on a fourth down.

I’d say I already hate my Arizona playoff pick, but the whole NFC West looks pretty bad at the moment. Arizona just seems to have the worst coaching of all the teams.

As for the Chiefs, we already get one of the best games on the schedule with the Chargers coming to town this Thursday. Can’t wait for that one.

Buccaneers at Cowboys: Spare Us Anymore Sequels

On the plus side, we’ll probably never have to see Tom Brady play America’s Team again, especially not in prime-time setting. This was a great game to open the 2021 season, but it was easy to see this was going to be a rough one with Dallas losing Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson Jr., La’el Collins, Tyron Smith, James Washington, and Michael Gallup.

This was never going to be the same offense this year. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers were a bit different too without Rob Gronkowski and Ali Marpet, but they still have Mike Evans, who caught the game’s only touchdown, and Leonard Fournette, who rushed for 127 yards. Even Julio Jones showed up and made a spectacular 48-yard catch for the game’s only 25-yard play.

It figures, the Cowboys step up on defense and hold Brady to one touchdown while sacking him twice and limiting Tampa to numerous field goal attempts. And it did not matter one bit as the offense was as inept as we’ve seen in the Prescott era in the 19-3 loss.

Worse, Prescott left the game with a thumb injury that could keep him out 6-8 weeks. This suddenly looks like a team that could start 0-6. I knew things were going to be disappointing for Dallas, but this was far worse to watch. And it’s about to get bleaker.

Packers at Vikings: Green Bay Should Just Forfeit Week 1 Next Year

Remember when the Packers were blown out 38-3 in Week 1 last year against the Saints, and we just chalked it up to playing in Jacksonville unexpectedly, and joked that aging Aaron Rodgers does poorly in Florida? That game really did not matter in the end.

Well, they did something similarly lifeless in Minnesota on Sunday, and this time it may be a lingering issue. What better game to showcase how an elite wide receiver talent can help an offense? Justin Jefferson was arguably at his best with a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns. He did half that damage from the slot, half from outside the numbers, and he can challenge for the first 2,000-yard season if Kevin O’Connell is going to use him like Cooper Kupp last year.

It also will happen if defenses leave him all alone as no Packer was within 10 yards on Jefferson’s 64-yard grab. But the fact is Jefferson had two long gains in this game that gained 100 yards and a touchdown. Two plays. Meanwhile, the Packers struggled without Davante Adams, finishing with one 25-yard pass play: a meaningless 25-yard completion from backup Jordan Love to rookie Christian Watson, who dropped a would-be 75-yard touchdown on the first offensive snap of the day.

I know there’s some “if Watson catches that ball, it’s a different day” energy with that one, but the fact is second-round rookies are not expected to be stars in Week 1 for good reason. Maybe by the rematch Watson is a big factor, but the Packers did not have the answers in Week 1. Only running back A.J. Dillon (46 yards), who got stopped cold at the goal line on a fourth-down stand, broke 40 receiving yards for Green Bay.

We have gotten so used to Minnesota splitting with Green Bay that this was not a surprise, but 23-7? It was 34-31 last year and 28-22 in 2020. Kirk Cousins is now 5-4-1 against the Packers with Rodgers at quarterback. Maybe he’ll do his .500 thing and blow the rematch, but this just might be the first move in Minnesota taking the NFC North from Green Bay.

Colts at Texans: Just Missing the Rosencopter

Nothing says throwback to the late 00s like the Texans blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to the Colts. How great would that storyline have been? On a day where his old team blows a 16-point lead at home in the fourth quarter, Matt Ryan leads 17-point rally in Indy debut.

And it all was set up to happen if kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was worth his roster spot. He missed the game-winning kick against the Ravens last season, and he contributed to a tie in this one after missing from 42 yards out in overtime with 1:57 left. The Texans basically wimped out and played for the tie, as new coach Lovie Smith confirmed.

But I will say, Blankenship and moreso head coach Frank Reich, who has had some brutal Week 1s, deserve some credit for the game getting this far. While I did not read any actual criticism on Twitter as I was too busy following Steelers-Bengals, I imagine some took offense to Reich kicking a field goal from the 4-yard line while the Colts were down 20-3 with 10:47 left.

There always seems to be this disconnect with crunching numbers to win the game vs. what NFL teams actually do in this spot and what makes logical sense. Teams down 17 are thinking about the tie before the win. If you are down 17 and crunched for time, a field goal is going to factor in at some point. After three straight incompletions by Ryan from the 4, you may as well get your high % three now or else the game is already over with 10:44 left since you’d need to manufacture three more scoring drives after getting the ball back.

Kick the field goal, extend the game, because teams in this league do crazy, dumb shit. Just two plays later, Davis Mills took a strip-sack and the Colts were 20 yards away from a touchdown. Shades of 2008.

It is definitely worrisome that it took the Colts that long to get their first touchdown against Houston on a short field, but Ryan delivered later with the game-tying drive. But I will also say Reich did his kicker no favors in overtime with a 3-yard loss on a Jonathan Taylor run and a 5-yard sack taken by Ryan. After a Taylor run on first down put the ball at the Houston 16, it is easy to say just kick the 34-yard field goal and end this. But there is a counter argument to burning more clock and leaving Houston less time if the kick is no good. I see that argument, but we’re talking about a 34-yard field goal. That should be 95% at least.

The Colts only coming away with a 20-20 tie is disappointing as many tougher games wait on the schedule. I knew that -7.5 spread was a trap in Week 1, and division games are often tough, but I would have liked to see something better out of a team I have winning 11 games this year.

49ers at Bears: Jimmy G Would Have At Least…

Is it too soon to point out that Kyle Shanahan is 8-29 when he starts a quarterback not named Jimmy Garoppolo? The one excuse I really don’t want to hear about this game is that George Kittle didn’t play. He didn’t play last year, and the 49ers shredded Chicago, which looks no better on defense going into this season.

Now, the wet conditions from the weather and the in-game injury to running back Elijah Mitchell are a bit different. That had an impact on the offense, but this is now three starts where Trey Lance just hasn’t efficiently led the team to many points. You have to have concerns here.

That proper balance between Deebo Samuel being a runner (8-52-1) and a receiver (2-of-8 for 14 yards) was totally off this week. Lance’s 13 runs only produced 54 yards. He was outplayed by Justin Fields, who had less to work with but threw the game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

I said Lance was the league’s big wild card this season, with getting benched for Garoppolo in October as his lowest limit. Keep playing like this and it might happen.

Saints at Falcons: On Brand

The very first Falcons game in the post-Matt Ryan era sees them blow a 16-point fourth-quarter lead at home to the hated Saints. You can’t make this stuff up, but that’s Atlanta and the art of losing.

Even if division games are tough, this was shaping up to be one of the wildest outcomes of the week. I had Atlanta finishing 3-14 this year. But this team was running wild (201 yards) on the New Orleans defense and Marcus Mariota was playing adequately with rookie WR Drake London his only dominant target on the day.

The Saints had minus-2 net passing yards at halftime. What has this team become? Maybe the second half will wake Dennis Allen and Jameis Winston up and remind them that they can still be an offense that throws for 250 yards a week.

A Mariota fumble late in the third quarter when the Falcons could have gone up three touchdowns was a big turning point, but even then the Falcons still led 26-10 with 12:41 left. Winston does not have many comebacks on his resume, but this will go down as the best I imagine. He thew two touchdowns to Michael Thomas (welcome back), but the game-tying two-point conversion failed with 3:38 left.

But the Falcons screwed up when they just needed 1 yard to ice the game. Mariota had trouble with the snap and nearly fumbled. The Falcons punted and Winston had 48 seconds to get a go-ahead field goal.

I needed to see the next sequence with my own eyes, because the play-by-play made no damn sense. After Jarvis Landry made a great catch (terrible DB play) for 40 yards, Winston got to the line and spiked the ball. But he was penalized for intentional grounding since the clock wasn’t running when he spiked it. Odd moment. Then after another completion brought up third-and-3 with the clock moving under 25 seconds, Winston hurried the offense to the line for another spike to bring up fourth down with 23 seconds left.

Sean Payton and Drew Brees would never fuck this up so badly. This incompetence will come back to bite this team, but Atlanta is just snakebitten as a franchise. Sure enough, Wil Lutz was good on the 51-yard field goal, but it left Mariota 19 seconds and three timeouts. We know what can be achieved in 13 seconds…

With the help of a 15-yard penalty by Marshon Lattimore tacked on to the end of a catch, the Falcons had a shot at 63-yard field goal with Younghoe Koo. It would have been one of the longest field goals of all time, so he knew he had to hit it low. But it was blocked and the Falcons add another classic choke to their collection.

But remember, last season the Falcons blew a 24-6 lead in the fourth quarter to these Saints. Matt Ryan was still there to right the ship and get the offense down the field for a game-winning field goal. No such luck this year.

While it’s going to be a long season for Atlanta, I do not see much to get excited about with these Saints. This was a bad performance against what could be the worst team in the NFL.

Browns at Panthers: Sour Revenge

On one hand, you can say Baker Mayfield’s hyped revenge game against Cleveland was a failure. He lost, he threw a pick, took four sacks, and he had to recover four of his own fumbles (or at least that’s the early statistical credit).

On the other hand, you could say he led a spirited rally from a 20-7 deficit in the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run, a 75-yard touchdown pass to Robbie Anderson, and a go-ahead field goal drive with 1:13 left.

The Panthers just had to stop Jacoby Brissett from getting into field-goal range without a timeout in the last minute. Instead, they started the drive with a roughing the passer penalty, which ended up being Cleveland’s longest gain on the drive.

After the second-worst spike on a third down on Sunday afternoon, the best Cleveland could do was a 58-yard field goal attempt. But fourth-round rookie kicker Cade York, who was three years old the last time the Browns won an opener in 2004, delivered a memorable debut with a successful kick. The Panthers did not have enough time to answer in the 26-24 loss.

Matt Rhule’s Panthers are now 0-14 at 4QC/GWD opportunities and 1-24 when allowing 17 or more points in a game.

Patriots at Dolphins: Tua Is 4-0 vs. Belichick

Talk about a stat worth a literal LOL: Tua Tagovailoa just joined John Elway as the only quarterbacks to start 4-0 against Bill Belichick as a head coach. Elway beat the Browns four years in a row in 1991-94. Tua is the first quarterback to beat Belichick’s Patriots four games in a row at any time.

This may have been his best game of the four, which might not sound like much when the Miami offense scored 13 points. A strip-sack recovered for a touchdown early set the tone for this one, another meltdown by the Patriots in the Miami heat.

But that scoring number is a bit misleading. The Dolphins only had eight drives, and they spent their eighth one running out the final five minutes of their 20-7 wire-to-wire win. They reached the New England 11 on that last drive, so if they had finished it with a touchdown, that would be 20 points on eight drives, or 2.5 points per drive. That is a top 8-10 type of number for a season, which you’d be more than content with from this offense.

The Dolphins avoided any turnovers and five of their eight drives netted at least 45 yards. Tyreek Hill was heavily involved with eight catches for 94 yards, and Jaylen Waddle made his presence felt with a 42-yard touchdown. The run game never really took off, but it should come eventually.

Mike McDaniel’s debut won’t blow the doors off the NFL or even shock the way the Dolphins shocked New England with the Wildcat in 2008, but this was a solid win. And how can you not adore a coach who gets a 42-yard touchdown (Waddle play) against Belichick by going for it on a 4th-an-7 before halftime?

Finally, the AFC East has some teeth to it.

Giants at Titans: Daboll-Do

You might as well give Brian Daboll the Coach of the Year award right now if he’s going to unlock Daniel Jones (115.9 PR) and Saquon Barkley (168 rushing yards) in the NFL.

Jokes aside, this was a tough game to evaluate. On the one hand, the Giants were down 13-0 at halftime, something Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, or Joe Judge could have done easily. But Barkley hit that 68-yard run on the first offensive snap out of halftime and the comeback was on. Jones took five sacks and had plenty of big mistakes, but he also completed 17-of-21 passes, scrambled for a game-deciding 4th down in the red zone, and threw the go-ahead passes for the touchdown and two-point conversion.

Remember, this was the quarterback who was 2-14 at 4QC opportunities before Sunday. And this one wouldn’t have been his fault (much) if they lost like they probably should have, because I did not love Daboll’s decision to go for two and the 21-20 lead.

This came with 1:06 left and the Titans having a timeout, or plenty of time to drive for the game-wining field goal that you just forced them into by converting. I like to see that clock under 20 seconds when you go for two and the late lead. Maybe 30 seconds if they are out of timeouts. Sixty-six seconds is a lot, and it should have been enough for Tennessee.

Ryan Tannehill avoided interceptions on the day and delivered a great pass to the 27 that put the team in field-goal range with 18 seconds left. But having to burn the final timeout was bad, and the decision to kneel and spike and lose a couple more yards was not great either.

Randy Bullock can make a 47-yard field goal, but no one is going to convince the guy for Adam Vinatieri or Justin Tucker. His kick was wide left, and the Titans lost by a single point at home.

Kicker has been a problem for this team under Mike Vrabel. But allowing the Giants to have two 65-yard plays in the same half is inexcusable. Good for Daboll to get the first win, but I’d bet against this being your strategy for wins going forward.

Eagles at Lions: Behold, Nick Sirianni’s Decision

Last season, Dan Campbell’s Lions were down 24 points in the final minutes of Week 1 against the 49ers before rallying to a 41-33 deficit. They were inside the 30 and two scoring plays away from overtime before losing. It was a wild, unexpected rally attempt against a clearly superior team.

On Sunday, the Lions did something similar against the Eagles after trailing 38-21 to start the fourth quarter. Jared Goff shook off a horrific start to lead a touchdown drive that pulled the team to within 38-35 with 3:51 left. This was a game again despite the brilliant 155-yard debut by A.J. Brown, but the Eagles executed their run game for a couple key first downs to ice the game.

We need to highlight the fourth-and-1 decision. The ball was at the Detroit 40 with 1:06 left in a 38-35 game. The Lions were out of timeouts, so a first down ices the game. But a stop, and Detroit is nearly at midfield in a 3-point game with a minute left. That’s a huge moment.

As far as I can tell, Philadelphia is just the second team since 1994 to go for a fourth down with its offense in the final 90 seconds, leading by 1-to-3 points, and with the ball no deeper than the opponent 40. This excludes any plays with seconds left where a team just threw the ball deep and out of bounds to run out the clock.

The Ravens did this last year against the Chiefs in a more dire situation. Baltimore was ahead 36-35 with 1:05 left at their own 43. But Lamar Jackson converted with a 2-yard run and the Ravens beat the Chiefs.

Like the Ravens, the Eagles kept the ball in Jalen Hurts’ hands, and he ran for a yard to end the game. You like to see the Eagles hold onto that big lead and not have it come down to this, but good call to wrap it up and start 1-0.

Between the Pistons and Lions, Detroit is getting very good at fielding underdog teams who can cover a spread but not win the game.

Jaguars at Commanders: New Name, New Identity?

I owe someone in this game an apology. I have ridiculed this player for years. I said he was not a legit franchise star or leader. He didn’t deserve his big contract. He’s just going to disappoint you in the end. Then all he did was ball out in Week 1, perhaps showing he is ready to step up to a higher tier.

So, Christian Kirk, I am sorry for not believing in you getting this big opportunity in Jacksonville. You had 117 yards and might be a legit No. 1 this year.

But in all seriousness, this was going to be an excellent game to showcase the full Carson Wentz experience. Two fourth-quarter interceptions turned a 14-12 lead into a 22-14 deficit for Washington. Just when you thought Wentz would further fall apart, he has one of the best fourth quarters of his career with two touchdown drives covering 168 yards.

Trevor Lawrence was intercepted with 1:10 left in a 28-22 loss. An improvement over where he was Week 1 last year, but still not good enough. The Jaguars have lost 36 straight games when allowing more than 20 points.

Maybe Wentz feels a little personal revenge was achieved against the Jaguars for sending him out of Indy, and for Doug Pederson preferring Nick Foles in his offense. Maybe this is the best he’ll play all year as Jacksonville, masters of the double-digit loss season, still looks like a work in progress.

But for at least one Sunday, I can’t say Wentz failed.

Ravens at Jets: The Flacco Revenge Game That Wasn’t

Why should Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson have all the headlines for revenge games? Joe Flacco’s first game against Baltimore went about as expected. He rejoined this list for having the fewest passing yards (307) on exactly 37 completions in NFL history.

Baltimore led 24-3 late before a little garbage-time score to make it 24-9, but I’m more interested that Lamar Jackson spread the ball around to three different 50-yard receivers, and the Ravens only ran the ball 21 times for 63 yards, including six runs for 17 yards by Jackson. That’s not a typical Baltimore result, but you take the comfortable win any time you can get it after last year’s heartbreak.

NFL Week 1 Predictions and Writing Recap

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Near the end of each week I will be posting my NFL game picks and summarizing the week’s articles. It’s simply a way to show a track record of how I wind up just picking the winners in the 60-65% range.

This Week’s Articles

San Francisco 49ers Destined For Big Fall – Cold, Hard Football Facts

Review the unique factors that led to a 13-3 season and near Super Bowl appearance for Jim Harbaugh’s team, and why they will unlikely repeat themselves in 2012.

Andrew Luck: What Have We Learned About Colts’ QB Entering the 2012 Season? – Bleacher Report

My review of what I saw from Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck. Hint: it was very impressive.

Career Records in the Clutch for Active QBs – Cold, Hard Football Facts

You’ve been asking for 37 months, and finally I deliver a table of 41 active quarterbacks with their career records in 4th quarter and OT comeback/game-winning drive opportunities.

NFL offenses won’t feature same fireworks as 2011 – NBC Sports

Believe in 6,000-yard passers? Not so fast. Read about the unique factors that went into making 2011 such an explosive passing season, and why defenses should be a bit more resistant in 2012.

The Thinking Man’s Guide to NFL Week 1 – Bleacher Report

This is a new column I will be doing every Thursday where I preview the upcoming week’s most interesting stats, records, facts, and provide the in-depth analysis & context behind the numbers. Any topic is on the table, and this week was a look at some major QB records that could be broken on Sunday, the expectations for Luck’s debut, New England’s opening-day winning streak, and whether or not the Cincinnati Bengals can step up against the better competition in 2012.

Is Peyton the Greatest Comeback QB Ever? – NBC Sports

Taking the comeback crusade big time on NBC Sports. Peyton Manning’s next comeback could be extra historic as a 4th quarter comeback over Pittsburgh would tie him with Dan Marino for the all-time record.

Captain Comeback: Tony Romo And The NFL’s Four-Minute Offense – Cold, Hard Football Facts

Ever wonder about the NFL’s four-minute offense? I break down the 2011 season to see the results, and they are full of rushes, and offenses relying on their defense and clock to win the game. That’s why Tony Romo’s game-ending dagger on third down to put away the Giants on Wednesday night was so rare and crucial.

2012 NFL Week 1 Predictions

I start off 0-1 after going with the Giants, but at least my prediction of Dallas winning the Super Bowl is off to a good start.

Winners in bold:

  • Colts at Bears
  • Eagles at Browns
  • Rams at Lions
  • Dolphins at Texans
  • Falcons at Chiefs
  • Jaguars at Vikings
  • Redskins at Saints
  • Bills at Jets
  • Patriots at Titans
  • Seahawks at Cardinals
  • 49ers at Packers
  • Panthers at Buccaneers
  • Steelers at Broncos
  • Bengals at Ravens
  • Chargers at Raiders

I will bust out a Christopher Walken-like dance from King of New York if Al Michaels drops the line “You know Cris, John Elway never actually had 47 fourth quarter comebacks in his career” on Sunday night.