Déjà vu.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/FQHZbpvdCH
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2018
Week 1 in the NFL started the way the NFC Divisional started in January – with the Philadelphia Eagles stopping the Atlanta Falcons in the red zone with the game on the line.
There was also a tie in Week 1! The Pittsburgh Steelers had a 21-7 fourth quarter lead against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns, infamously 0-16 in 2017 and 1-15 in 2016, forced overtime. The last time there was a tie in Week 1 was in 1971, when the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos finished a 10-10 decision at Mile High Stadium. The NFL did not introduce overtime in the regular season until 1974. Congrats to the Browns – first time they did not lose their season opener since 2004.
My last quick note goes to the seven new coaches that all failed to win their first game with their new teams, punctuated by Monday Night Football losses by Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia and Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. New coaches went 0-7 overall. It’s a long season, and there’s still time to turn things around this month for Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts), Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans), Pat Shurmur (New York Giants), Steve Wilks (Arizona Cardinals), Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears), Patricia, and Gruden. But considering the bad narrative for Patricia (background check) and Gruden (Khalil Mack) coming into kickoff weekend, the losses are under even more scrutiny.
Teams of the Week:
NE, CIN, JAX, KC
PHI, MIN, TB, LA
Winning units:
PHI pass rush (DE Chris Long)
BAL pass offense (WR Willie Snead)
PIT special teams (OLB T.J. Watt) tie CLE pass rush (DE Myles Garrett)
CIN offensive line (QB Andy Dalton)
MIA pass offense (WR Kenny Stills)
MIN run defense (FS Harrison Smith)
NE pass offense (TE Rob Gronkowski)
TB run offense (QB Ryan Fitzpatrick)
JAX pass rush (DE Calais Campbell)
KC special teams (WR Tyreek Hill)
WAS pass defense (CB Quinton Dunbar)
CAR run defense (DT Kawann Short)
DEN pass offense (WR Emmanuel Sanders)
GB pass defense (FS Jermaine Whitehead)
NYJ run offense (RB Isaiah Crowell)
LAR offensive line (QB Jared Goff)
Looking ahead to Week 2
Ravens at Cincinnati: The Ravens blew out a Bills team in Week 1 that was allowed to sneak into the postseason due to Baltimore’s failure to stop WR Tyler Boyd in Week 17. Dalton was quite comfortable in Indianapolis Week 1, so Week 2 will be a strong test for the Cincinnati offensive line.
Vikings at Green Bay: The last time Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers saw the Vikings, Minnesota OLB Anthony Barr ended his season. Rodgers is now nursing a knee injury, and while he led an unforgettable fourth quarter comeback against the Chicago Bears, it is clear that his mobility is compromised. The Vikings already made one quarterback look awful (San Francisco QB Jimmy Garoppolo), and things could get ugly if the Vikings get to see backup Green Bay QB DeShone Kizer.
Patriots at Jacksonville: AFC Championship rematch! I am just here for New England TE Rob Gronkowski against the entire Jacksonville defense – not just Jacksonville CB Jalen Ramsey.
Giants at Dallas: Both offenses looked gross in Week 1, especially when you exclude rookie New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley and Dallas RB Ezekiel Elliott.
Seahawks at Chicago: Tough logistics to start the season for the Seahawks, after they took a Week 1 loss in Denver. Seattle QB Russell Wilson won’t have WR Doug Baldwin to throw to, and the Seahawks offensive line couldn’t block Denver OLB Von Miller; now they get to deal with Chicago OLB Khalil Mack. Seattle’s biggest issue in Denver was containing WR Emmanuel Sanders, but Chicago QB Mitchell Trubisky gave little indication that he has the competency or supporting cast to take advantage of Seattle’s difficulties.