NFL WEEK 1: Initial reactions from a crazy week of football
I, like many others, was ecstatic for NFL football to begin.
That feeling of ecstasy would soon be replaced by anger, confusion, and disappointment, however.
I myself am a Tennessee Titans fan. Go ahead and get your jokes in. But to be fair, the team received massive hype this off-season, with some going so far as to say the Titans would be Super Bowl contenders. I, stupidly, bought into the hype and was expecting utter domination yesterday.
Instead, I got to witness firsthand what a beat down looks like. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of other football games to talk about, so let’s do that instead. We had a wild week 1, and I’m going to leave you all with 5 notes from the first week of action.
- Underdog Domination
If you’re the person who always bets on the underdog, you probably ended this weekend elated. Underdogs went 11–4 against the spread in Week 1- the best mark in almost two decades. The Eagles, Saints, Cardinals, and Texans we’re all at least 3 point underdogs who ended up blowing out their favored opponents. Is this a sign that preseason predictions were wrong? Or is it simply a sign that some of the better teams suffered due to their stats not playing in the preseason?
The thing is, these things tend to correct themselves. There will assuredly be a few teams who way underperform preseason predictions and vice versa, but 1 week is by no means a viable sample size. Or maybe I’m just being optimistic because my team is one of those favorites that got blown out.
- Star Players underperformed
Davante Adams, Najee Harris, Justin Jefferson, Aaron Rodgers, Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, and several other stars had subpar games, at least by their lofty standards. Once again, I believe this is more a product of a shorter preseason and less reps for starters. For fantasy football sake, let’s hope these guys rebound fast.
- The West reigns supreme
The Niners, Rams, Seahawks, and Cardinals all won yesterday. As did the Broncos, Chargers, and Chiefs, while the Raiders are currently in a tight game with the Ravens. I don’t think the AFC West is actually that great, but the NFC West might be the toughest division in football.
- Tom Brady is amazing
On Thursday night, the Bucs took down the Cowboys. While this was expected, it continues to amaze me how ageless Brady looks season after season. 379 yards and 4 TD’s as a 44 year old passer. Just absurd. Credit to Dak and the Cowboys for playing a much tougher game than many anticipated, however.
- Christian McCaffrey is still elite
Not only did McCaffrey look like his normal amazing self rushing, he also led the team in receptions, with 9 catches for 89 yards. McCaffrey is just amazing , and I feel that his injury last season made people forget just how dominant he is.
