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NFL Football is BACK! Damn does it feel good. We had K1 Murray lookin like Madden '04 Vick, Rodgers and The Pack s*ittin" the bed, and a slew of games bringin' ALL the electricity on the scoreboard, on the gridiron, and in the stands; it was pretty damn awesome.
Week 1 thundered down a ton of headlines and brought great action in most of the games. The fans being back added a mega-power to the potion, man. The atmospheres, in damn near every game was so electric, giving the players a motive to display the same electricity on the field. We also saw sloppiness and a boat-load of penalties; but hey it's week 1. There is a lot to talk about, but I will keep it a bit slim as you can prepare for POD episode to be loaded with Gridiron talk as we reflect off the opening week of the NFL; let's Break it Down!
Ballers Of The Week
Chandler freakin' Jones have a damn GAME. This man had Taylor Lewan, a 3x Pro Bowler lookin' like a damn fool all day long on Sunday and even had the offensive tackle apologizing on Twitter twenty minutes after the game. Someone give Taylor Lewan his body bag. Chandler Jones is a bad man and a easy winner for baller of the week. Chandler showed the same tenacity his bro does in the Octagon as he bullied Taylor Lewan all afternoon and also put Kendall Lamm in a body bag (3rd sack in video below). CJ55 put up 6 tackles, 5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. Jones' play was just as he put it to JJ Watt on the sideline; legendary. Chandler's 5 sacks are tied 4th most in a single NFL game. Chandler Jones was extraordinary versus the Titans as his play elevated the Arizona offense and helped K1 Murray have the confidence to follow suit on the offensive end. Great dub by the Cardinals and its mostly due-part to my NFC week one baller of the week in Chandler Jones. Check out the man FEAST against the Titans:
HM: DAL Amari Cooper & NO Jameis Winston
The AFC Baller of the Week can easily be Patrick Mahomes with no debate- but he doesn't have the dub and the elite passer rating without his ultimate weapon; Cheetah. Every season I always tend to believe that despite Hill's outer planet speed, defenses will eventually figure him out & stump his game-changing playmaking. It's week one and here I am, stumped by the "Cheetah's" greatness once again. Hill's route running and spacing helped spark the run the Chiefs needed to steal a dub from the Browns. The slant work, the acceleration, and just straight up; the playmaking in the open field is easily the best these two eyes have seen watching the NFL; Hill and DeSean Jackson... those are the two. Hill has the foot-speed of a world class boxer and we saw that once again, against a solid Browns cornerback room with potential All Pro Denzel Ward having the task of defending Cheetah most the game. What did Hill do? Exploit the zone and allow Mahomes the ability to find him on the run.
Being a Philly guy should assure you that I am a big Andy Reid guy. Being a football fan should assure me that you are a Andy Reid fan. One thing I adore about Reid's coaching brain is his will to go for it all on the first play of a drive; an important drive in the game. Reid did it in Philadelphia and he has been doing it relentlessly in KC. When needing a lead changing drive and the Browns-D expecting a slow approach; Reid trusted his superstar QB's playmaking to connect with a home-run hitting Tyreek Hill, and when they connected it changed the complete landscape of the game. That's what they do. That's why they are one of the best. On Sunday, Tyreek Hill was one of the BEST. Ya have to contain the Cheetah... or it will be a long flight home. Check out his mixtape from KC's week one dub: *NFL creds so you need the YouTube app or browser (click link in player)*
3 Takeaways
Week one sure brought the noise as we have several moments and headlines from the slew of games. I'll cut it down to a swift five; let's run it.
Pack Down:
The Packers got spanked in Jacksonville by the man that is Jameis Winston and his "Home" New Orleans Saints (heal up); I mean straight up SPANKED with Mr. Aaron Rodgers himself looking the worst... besides Kevin King. 15-28, 133 yards, and 2 INTs? Man-oh-man Rodgers! I'm glad Matt Lafleur was honest about being BAD against the Saints... because to be quite frank; that's an understatement. Packers played terrible, Rodgers played like trash, and Matt Lafleur once again forgot how to coach. Rodgers "confidently" tells everyone to relaaaax... how about first; you play better reigning MVP and diva king. That was bad on Sunday. Collectively the whole team looked terrible, but Rodgers and the corners need most the pointing. Jaire Alexander honestly might not be as good as the top 3 corner that Packer fans think he is.
Jameis Winston was damn near flawless in the onslaught on neutral ground. Winston is ready to take this second chance and elevate to the moon. Outside of his flawless performance- the best thing was his comment on working with former Saints' captain Drew Brees: “One of the great things I learned from playing with Drew last year was decisions over results. Sometimes the right decision is a play that gains nothing. Just keep making good decision after good decision, and the game’s going to go okay.” Now that is growth and the exact mindset he needed to conquer the flaws he had in Tampa Bay. Winston was sharp and so was the coaching of Sean Payton. Despite the whole "it's only the first week" narrative; Saints fans need to be excited about the poise Winston showed against the Packers and the potential of the team in the NFC South moving forward. Packer fans? I'm not saying they should be running around with their pants on fire, but the performance on Sunday showed the effect of Rodgers and other Packers not being together/growing together in the offseason and in preseason.
Chargers finally close out:
The Chargers win a close game! Most are aware of the Charger's struggles to close out games last season (most if all losses by 1-2 scores), but they were able to fight back and topple a well-rounded Washington team. Justin Herbert started slow but carved out a good performance and was stellar in the clutch & when the team needed to rely on him the most in the second half. Herbert now has the most completions and the second most (behind Mahomes) passing yards through a QB's first 16 career games in NFL history. This was a big win for Herbert's confidence.
Derwin James returned from his injury and was SPECIAL, as he once again proves; when James is on the field he is a superstar defender in the NFL. Derwin was all over the field and showed great quickness and acceleration after his injury. The Chargers have a lot of speed and talent on defense that will elevate the team even more when the offense is rolling. If both sides of the ball are clicking for LA, then they will cause a BIG problem for the rest of the NFL as I have predicted.
Washington lost Fitzpatrick early on in the game but they played well despite getting toppled in the second half. Antonio Gibson rushed for 90 yards and showed the same spark he had in his breakout- rookie season. I don't expect this L to hold a stranglehold on Washington; I assume they will eat it and grow from it. Very good game this was.
It's hot out west:
For the first time since the 1970 merger, the NFL had a week with two divisions having all their teams win postin' a perfect 8-0 record. Those divisions? The NFC West and AFC West. They brought the NOISE and left week one with a dub. The Raiders won in perhaps the wildest OTs in the history of an opening Monday Night Football game, the Rams have a party, and the 49ers escaped an epic comeback attempt in Motown. Broncos didn't look crazy good in their win versus the Giants but had some real bright spots. Run game and offensive play-call was outstanding and they played well on defense besides giving up a few big plays.
Chiefs showed their elite ability to flip a switch and score at will as they came from behind to stump the Browns. Cleveland had Arrowhead on their heels as they went up 9 in the 4th and felt destined to close it out... until the very next play and Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes found his favorite target as he answered the Browns right back and changed the tide for the remainder of the 4th, check out the deep bomb to Cheetah:
Tyreek Hill was a problem all game as he exploded for 197 yards and that game changing toudy. Big win for the Chiefs in the home opener. Unlike Kansas City being able to see their boys light up the board at home, the Chargers, Cardinals, and Seahawks all got their dubs on the road in some tough environments. Cardinals looked the best as they embarrass the Titans with a montage of highlights and dominance against what was a sure fire team to be in the AFC Super Bowl hunt. Kyler Murray had the Titans defense on ice shakes and had them shakin'. Russell Wilson unleashed that moonshot deep ball as he connected with his star deep threat, Tyler Lockett; not once but twice in their win in Indianapolis. Justin Herbert showed his growth as he battled past a tough Washington team on the road behind his defense's resurgence and the return of Derwin James.
All around the NFC West and AFC West going 8-0 individually is a big takeaway from the first week of action. All teams played well and put the rest of the league on some notices. Lets see which teams can do it again in week 2 and which teams fall down.
Gridiron Talk has dropped! Listen to us breakdown each game from the opening week of NFL
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