Falcons 23, Bears 17 - Atlanta got the win, although they did not look spectacular in getting it. And Chicago, one of the very worst teams in the league last season, have to feel good about pushing the Falcons as seriously as they did in this game. Atlanta clearly did not storm out of the gate offensively, and looked nothing like the historically dominant offense that they enjoyed during last year's run to the Super Bowl. Still, a win is a win, and this is something for them to build on. As for the Bears, this was not quite the result that they wanted, but they can feel relatively good about how they played. Something positive for both teams to take away from this game. My prediction: Accurate
Raiders 26, Titans 16 - We all kind of knew that this one would be too tough to call, right? The Raiders and the Titans both enjoyed promising seasons last season, and both suffered disappointing ends to the season with season ending injuries to their star quarterbacks. But both want to bounce back in a big way this year. And this game more or less went as you could kind of expect it to. It seemed to close to call for a while, but in the end, Oakland, the better of these two teams, found a way to get the win. It was a good win to open the season with on the road, and the Raiders have to feel good after this one. My prediction: Accurate
Ravens 20, Bengals 0 - The Ravens feel that their defense might be historically good this season. Certainly, they played like they might be historically good in shutting down and shutting out the Bengals in Cincy yesterday. Baltimore's defense pitched a perfect game, while the Ravens offense, while not exactly explosive, nonetheless did more than enough to earn this very convincing win. They have to feel good about themselves right now, while Cincinnati has to be worried after getting blown out at home like this. My prediction: Accurate
Steelers 21, Browns 18 - The Browns actually played fairly well in this game, and very nearly pulled off an upset. Still, the Steelers did just enough to win, and this was both a road game and a divisional opponent, which means it was an important win for them. Cleveland fought hard, but they still fell short. Maybe it is a good sign that the Browns lost a tough one, but these near misses have got to be dispiriting. This is the 13th straight opening weekend loss for Cleveland, a new league record. My prediction: Accurate
Jaguars 29, Texans 7 - Jacksonville surprised many people in this contest! Running back Leonard Fournette had an exclamation point game in his Jaguar debut, hitting the century mark, and the Jaguars simply rocked the Texans in this one. Houston came out surprisingly flat, and the defense was not able to save them in this one. The offensive line looked questionable, and the Texans made a change at quarterback midway through this one. No real positive signs for Houston after this one. As for Jacksonville, what a start to the new season! My prediction: Inaccurate
Bills 21, Jets 12- The Bills looked like they were going to run away with this one early, enjoying a brilliant touchdown drive to open the game, and then seeming to be on the verge of breaking it open a couple of times thereafter. Yet, despite the early missed opportunities, and the Bills still got a convincing win, and can feel good about this one. As for the Jets, they fought hard, and hung in there to make this a closer game then perhaps it might have been. All you can ask for is the opportunity, and the Jets gave themselves that opportunity, although they fell short in the end. My prediction: Accurate
Lions 35, Cardinals 23 - The Lions had a statement kind of a game in this one. Their defense played well, while Matt Stafford, the NFL's most highly paid player, absolutely shined, tossing four touchdown passes in a come from behind victory here. Arizona was in this one for most of the game, but Detroit proved to be just too much towards the end. A very good and encouraging win for the Lions here, while the Cardinals need to regroup, because they are too good to get off to another dismal start like they did last season. My prediction: Inaccurate
Eagles 30, Redskins 17 - Washington wanted to win this one badly. This was a divisional game, and it was a home game for them. Yet, Philly did something here, frustrating Washington all game long. The Eagles put up 30 points on Washington in a convincing win, and the defense held Washington to a pedestrian 17 points. This was as good a start to the season as you could ask if you are an Eagles fan, as they go into a first place tie with Dallas for first place in the NFC East. My prediction: Inaccurate
Rams 46, Colts 9 - This one was the shocker for me! I had predicted the Colts to win, but Indy got absolutely blown out. Maybe they did not get shut out like the Bengals did, but they were humiliated nevertheless, suffering the most lopsided loss for the opening weekend, and doing so against one of the worst teams from last season. The Colts offense showed almost nothing, while their defensive effort was dismal. For the Rams, on the other hand, you could not ask for a better start to the young season than this game. They looked great on both sides of the ball, and have to have a little swagger in their step after this one! As for the Colts, this was a disaster of a game, where nothing went right for them. Luck threw two pick sixes, and they could not prevent the Rams from scoring either on offense or defense. Even the postgame went poorly for Indy, as Indy coach Chuck Pagano credited San Francisco for a great game plan and execution. The only problem was that the Colts were not playing the 49ers, who actually did not have such a great game yesterday (I'll cover that next). Whoops! Also, Yikes! My prediction: Wildly inaccurate!
Panthers 23, 49ers 3 - Carolina needed this win. I know, I know. Week one is usually not where you say that a team is playing in a must win game but for the Panthers, recovering from last season's disappointment meant that they had to get off to a better start. They also were playing one of the worst teams in the league, so it was especially important for them to take advantage. Thus, indeed, this was a must win situation for them. And win they did, and convincingly. The offense did not put on a fireworks show, but they scored plenty enough points, while the defense dominated, holding San Francisco to a pedestrian 3 points total. A solid win for Carolina, and likely this signals a taste of what's to come for both teams this season. My prediction: Accurate
Sunday Night Football Giants at Cowboys 19 Giants 3 - This was a tough loss for the Giants, and for fans like me. The Giants lost to a division rival and, once again, the offense looked inept, much like it did all of last season. Despite New York reaching the playoffs last season, the Giants offense was not very good at all, producing just a field goal. Dallas, in the meantime, got some measure of revenge for getting swept by the G-Men last season. They win their first game, a nationally televised game at that, and their defense looked very good in so doing, holding the Giants to 3 points and just over 200 total yards. Zeke had a solid game, running and catching as an all-purpose back. A solid win for the 'Boys, a worrying loss for the Giants. My prediction: Very inaccurate
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