Professional Football Wrap-Up

 

I am going to try and revive an old (from 2019) concept of a weekly NFL update.  I cannot promise that I can keep it up, but I do know that I accomplish more the busier I am, so why not add ANOTHER column into my weekly routine (See, The Ole College Try).  So, here are my thoughts from Week 1 of the NFL Season.

Game of the Week

Buffalo Bills 36 Houston Texans 31.  Two potential contenders for the AFC throne facing off against each other in Week 1, and this game is not disappoint!!!  Josh Allen was, well, Josh Allen, going 20-29 for 334 and 2 TDs while also rushing for 2 TDs to really shake-up our belief structure in the Texans' defense.  The Texans, forced to rely on its offense, kept pace with C.J. Stroud throwing for 274 yards and newcomer David Montgomery scored twice on the ground while gaining 30 yards  Nico Collins was Nico Collins, with 7 catches, 75 yards and 1 TD. 

Best Team Performance

San Francisco 49ers.  Thursday night game in Melbourne, Australia against the opening-season odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl LA Rams, and they actually made the Rams seem like they are contenders for the number 1 overall pick.  The 27-7 victory put the 49ers in the drivers' seat for the NFC West and put the league on notice that a healthy San Francisco is a force - especially with Dre Greenlaw being back!!!  

Least Impressive Team Performance

Tennessee Titans.  This team looked like it did not belong in the NFL in a 23-10 loss to the New York Jets.  And this is saying something because the Cleveland Browns looked downright dreadful.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Caleb Williams, QB - Chicago Bears.  21-29 for 269 yards and 2 TDs, and 65 yards rushing for 2 TDs, and led the Bears offense to 59 points.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Anthony Hill, LB, Tennessee Titans.  Hill had 16 tackles, and judging from the way the Titans' offense played, he is going to have more and more series to add to these tackle totals. 

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Tyler Owens, Gunner - Washington Commanders.  Because of THIS PLAY!!!  Note that any portion of this play would qualify for most impressive special teams performance!!!

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Brighton & Hove Albion.  A comfortable 5-0 victory over Coventry City, taking a 1-0 halftime lead and cruising to victory.  Five separate goalscorers show the team was really spreading around the ball on offense.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Kevin Schade, M - Brentford.  Scored a brace in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Goat of the Week

Drake Maye, QB - New England.  Drove the team into field-goal position late in the opening game down three, only to heave the ball into coverage in the end zone.  Guess what?  Intercepted.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

Phil Foden, Manchester City.  Earned a straight red for violent conduct after earning a free kick on a foul by Bruno Fernandes.  Could have been much worse if they were playing a team that was better than Manchester Unite.

Hit of the Week

Tyler Owens, Gunner - Washington Commanders.  See above post and video.

Breakthrough Performance

Isaiah Likely, TE - New York Giants.  Likely has flashed potential brilliance in the past, but he was stuck behind (or with on 2 TE sets) Mark Andrews in Baltimore on a run-heavy team.  Now he is on a pass-friendly team where he is one of the 2 best receiving threats.  Finished the game with 8 catches for 78 yards and 2 TDs.

Finally

Dre Greenlaw, LB - San Francisco 49ers.  Finally back from injury, and boy does Greenlaw make a HUGE difference in this defense.  Only formally credited with 6 total tackles, but he seemed to be everywhere, especially on important plays.

Impact Injury

Kyler Murray, QB - Minnesota Vikings.  Murray, who was supposed to save the Vikings offense from the dregs of J.J. McCarthyism.  Lucky for the Vikings, Carson Wentz may have some left in the tank.

Team Rising

New York Giants.  It looked like the Giants should be much improved as Jaxon Dart enters his second-year as QB and some of the other pieces fall-into place.  Isaiah Likely looks like a bona fide weapon, and with the three-headed pass-rushing monster of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thiebodeaux and Abdul Carte, with Arvell Reese added to the mix, could give a lot of quarterbacks problems, especially ones that Tremaine Edmunds can clear up as a solid MLB.  They defeated the Cowboys 28-20 in week 1, but it wasn't that close. 

Team Falling

New England Patriots.  Yes this is an early overreaction to week 1, but New England just looked lost and overwhelmed, by a Seahawks team that lost QB Sam Darnold early and replaced him with Drew Lock!!!

Best Teams

(All teams will be ranked by record, even if teams with more losses may be better than a team with fewer losses, since Bill Parcells always said that you are what your record says.  The inverse is true for the Worst Teams rankings.) (Yes, I know that you could have a worse record and be better, but we are working off record.)

1. San Francisco 49ers (1-0)

2. Buffalo Bills (1-0)

3. Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)

5. Baltimore Ravens (1-0)

Worst Teams

(All winless teams will be ranked here until all teams have at least 1 win, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think are the worst, regardless of record.)

32. Cleveland Browns (0-1)

31. Tennessee Titans (0-1)

30. Miami Dolphins (0-1)

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)

28. Dallas Cowboys (0-1)

Middle Teams

15. Arizona Cardinals (1-0)
16. New York Jets (1-0)
17. Houston Texans (0-1)

18. New Orleans Saints (0-1)

Last Week's Trivia Question/Answer

Last Entry's Trivia Question was (From 2019!!!):

As the lone remaining winless team, the Cincinnati Bengals have the inside track to selecting first in the 2020 NFL Draft. Name the three players in Bengals history that were selected with the number 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.  (Hint:  There were 3).  [Ed. Note:  There were three at the time of asking the question - there are currently 4!)

Answer:  Dan Wilkinson (DT Ohio State 1994); Ki-Jana Carter (RB Penn State 1995); Carson Palmer (QB USC 2003); Joe Burrow (QB LSU 2020)

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

6.  Cincinnati Bengals v. Houston Texans - With the Texans defense giving up a lot of yards and points to the Bills, but keeping pace offensively, could this be an exciting shootout for the fans?  Burrow's back is something upon which to keep an eye.

5.  New Orleans Saints v. Baltimore Ravens - Both teams looked really, really good in week 1.  We know about the Ravens offense, but Tyler Shough to Chris Olave might be ridiculously unstoppable.

4.  Jacksonville Jaguars v. Denver Broncos - Jacksonville looks to cement itself early as an AFC team to watch for the remainder of the season.

3.  Brighton & Hove Albion v. Arsenal - The prevailing champions and current number 1 in the standings versus the upstart BHA in 5th place team coming off a 5-goal game against Coventry.  Could be really exciting.

2.  Minnesota Vikings v. Chicago Bears - A team whose offense looked unstoppable hosting a team whose defense looks incredible.  Which one will be able to assert its will in this early intra-divisional battle?

1.  Detroit Lions v. Buffalo Bills - An amazing Thursday night game that we hope lives up to its billing!

Trivia

In week 1, each of the 16 NFL contests was decided by a different margin of victory.  When was the last time this occurred during a 16-game schedule?

Professional Football Weekly Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 3 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  For the first time this season (thanks Irma) I watched a lot of football, so I have a pretty good sample size.

Game of the Week

Seattle Seahawks 30 v. Los Angeles Rams 29 - Wow, an exciting Thursday night game.  We hardly ever get those.  Russell Wilson threw the last of his four TDs to Chris Carson on 4th and goal to take a one-point lead over the Rams.  Jared Goff (and his 395 yards passing) then leads the march downfield until usually reliable Greg Zeuerlein missed a game-winning field goal from essentially extra-point distance.  Fun back-and-forth game wherein both teams played well on both sides of the football.

Best Team Performance

Green Bay Packers - A masterful 34-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on the road cements Green Bay as true contender in the NFC.  It also pushes the Cowboys down a peg, as they suffer their second-straight loss, despite Dak Prescott throwing for 463 yards.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Cleveland Browns - I would love to say the New York Jets, but they are still missing Sam Darnold.  Likewise, the Washington Racists are contenders, but they did play the juggernaut that is the New England Patriots.  So, Cleveland, which was absolutely decimated by the San Francisco 49ers 31-3, especially coming off two pretty good performances.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Christian McCaffrey, RB - Carolina Panthers.  Mr. Do-Everything for the Panthers had a stellar day, gaining 176 yards and 2 TDs on the ground, and 61 yards and a TD on 6 receptions in Carolina's 34-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

AND

DeShaun Watson, QB and Will Fuller, V, WR - Houston Texans - This is a joint award because we cannot have one without the other. Watson finished with 426 yards passing and 5 TDs, 217 yards and 3 TDs of which were hauled in by Fuller.  This prolific passing attack led to Houston's 52-23 victory over the hapless Atlanta Falcons.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Nick Bosa, DE, San Francisco 49ers - Continuously harassed Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield and it showed up in the stat line.  Bosa finished with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss and 5 quarterback hits.  The San Francisco defensive line was the single most potent position on the field throughout the entire game.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Zane Gonzalez, K - Arizona Cardinals.  The Arizona kicker confidently and easily kicked a game-winning 31 yard field goal as time expired to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals for their first victory on the season, and the first victory in Kyler Murray's short career.

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Wolverhampton - The Wolves went on the road to the Etihad and defeated Manchester City 2-0 behind a brace from Adama Traore, ending the scoreless draw in the 80th minute and putting the game on ice in the 94th minute.

Brighton & Hove Albion - The Seagulls share the honor with the Wolves as they soundly defeated the struggling Tottenhom Hotspurs 3-0 at home behind a brace from Aaron Connolly and an opening goal from Neal Maupay.  Albion was decidedly the better team throughout, and earned their three points.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Matthew Longstaff, M - Newcastle United.  The 19 year old wunderkind made his English Premier League debut against perennial power Manchester United and scored the winning (and only) goal in Newcastle's 1-0 upset win.

Goat of the Week

Freddie Kitchens, Coach - Cleveland Browns.  No game plan at all to try to protect Baker Mayfield as the Browns' quarterback was annihilated by San Francisco's swarming defense.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

Marc Albrighton, M - Leicester City.  Albrighton fouled Liverpool's Sadio Mane in the penalty area (confirmed by VAR), in the 90th minute allowing James Milner to score the game winner on the resulting penalty kick.

Hit of the Week

Daniel Snyder, Owner - Washington Racists.  Fires head coach Jay Gruden on Monday after the Racists fell to 0-5 after their Sunday loss to the New England Patriots.  The hit? Calling Gruden into the office to fire him at 5:00 a.m.

Breakthrough Performance

Aaron Jones, RB - Green Bay Packers.  In a very important intra-NFC game, Aaron Jones controlled the game with 107 yards rushing and 4 TDs, to go with 75 yards receiving.

Finally

Kirk Cousins, QB - Minnesota Vikings.  Just one week after being called out by both of his star receivers, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, Cousins goes 22-27 for 306 yards and 2 TDs, both to Thielen.  But, as we all know, consistency has always been Cousins' problem

Impact Injury

Kyle Juszczyk, RBT - San Francisco 49ers.  The perennial Pro-Bowl fullback dominated this game as the lead blocker for Matt Breida (114 yards on 11 carries, including an opening play 83 yard touchdown), Tevin Coleman (97 yards on 16 carries), and even Raheem Mostart (34 yards on 7 carries).  Juszczyk even contributed in the box score with 2 catches for 20 yards (both first downs).  His presence will be missed for the next 4 to 6 weeks. 

Team Rising

Indianapolis Colts - The Colts, despite the late preseason retirement of Andrew Luck, have started 3-2, including this week's 19-13 defeat of the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.  The Colts are definite contenders in the AFC South, if not the AFC itself.

Team Falling

Cleveland Browns - I could have put the Chicago Bears here after their 24-21 loss to the Oakland Raiders in London, but that was an organizational problem, deciding to travel to London on Thursday.  The Bears did not wake up until the second half, which they then dominated, so it will have to go to the Cleveland Browns after being annihilated 31-3 by San Francisco on Monday Night Football to fall to 2-3 on the season.  Plus, their offensive line, which was already a known weakness, became even more exposed.

Best Teams

(All teams will be ranked ahead by record, even if teams with more losses may be better than a team with fewer losses, since Bill Parcells always said that you are what your record says.  The inverse is true for the Worst Teams rankings.)

1. New England Patriots

2. San Francisco 49ers

3. New Orleans Saints

4. Green Bay Packers

5. Seattle Seahawks

Worst Teams

(All winless teams will be ranked here until all teams have at least 1 win, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think are the worst, regardless of record.)

32. Washington Racists

31. Cincinnati Bengals

30. Miami Dolphins*

29. New York Jets

28. Atlanta Falcons

*Please note that the Dolphins are the worst team so far this year, but they have the luxury of a bye already, so their record is slightly better than Cincinnati and the Racists.

Middle Teams

15. Oakland Raiders

16. Minnesota Vikings

17. Carolina Panthers

18. Detroit Lions

Last Week's Trivia Question/Answer

Last Entry's Trivia Question was:  Tom Brady begins his 20th season with the New England Patriots.  How many players have played at least 20 years with only one team throughout their careers, and out of those players, who has played the most years (and with which team)?

Answer:  3 Players - Darrell Green (Washington Racists) and Jackie Slater (Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams) 20 years; Jason Hanson (Detroit Lions) 21 years.

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

6. Washington Racists v. Miami Dolphins - The two actual worst teams in the league battle for the choice to choose Tua Tagavailoa (or Jake Fromm, or Justin Herbert, whomever they want), as the tanking continues.

5. Detroit Lions v. Green Bay Packers - Ranked this highly primarily because not a lot of exciting games are taking place this week, but this is Monday Night Football, and it is for the NFC North division lead.  

4. Premier League is off on national team duty this weekend.

3. Philadelphia Eagles v. Minnesota Vikings - Two teams that may have flaws, but are generally playing pretty well and are both definite playoff contenders.  This head-to-head matchup could have big playoff implications either as the first playoff tiebreaker or as a common NFC opponents

2. San Francisco 49ers v. Los Angeles Rams - I am matchup between two exciting teams, one on offense with great players on defense (the Rams) versus one with a great defense with some really good players on offense (the 49ers).  This game should be a fun one to watch, and is one that the Los Angeles would need to keep from falling 3 games behind San Francisco.

1. Houston Texans v. Kansas City Chiefs - Two high-flying, exciting offenses orchestrated by young quarterbacks (not named Mitchell Trubisky).  This is easily the matchup to watch this week, and it comes at 1:00 on Sunday.

Trivia

Since I missed a couple of weeks, there are multiple questions today.

1.  With Josh Rosen now starting for the Miami Dolphins, there are now 3 quarterbacks to make starts for 2 different teams in their first two seasons in the NFL.  Who are the other two?

2.  With New England's most recent victory over Buffalo in Buffalo, Tom Brady now has the most wins of any quarterback in the NFL in Buffalo this century (since 2001).  Who has the next most?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

I watched this week's games from the same place as week 1, so no new review, other than to say our server Michael was amazing, and they took away the stupid games that took up perfect bar-top table space, and we sat at the new bar-top tables.  Thanks Ariel!

Duffys' Sports Grill
225 Clematis Street
West Palm Beach, FL
561/249-1682