🏈 2021-22 NFL Opening Weekend Review 🏈

            

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What a first week in the NFL! I can only remember every team in a particular division winning on opening week happening once before. That was back in 1991, when every team in the NFC East won their first game of the season.              

Well, it happened twice, with two divisions, this season. And it was in the West for both the AFC and the NFC. Watch out for the West!              

Yeah, the NFC West is probably the best division in the league. Two teams, the Rams and the 49ers, played in recent Super Bowls, and the both have realistic expectations of getting back to the big game this season. Then, there are the Seattle Seahawks, who are themselves trying to return to Super Bowl form, ever since that infamous, disastrous 2nd and 1 that cost them that title against the Patriots. Like with the Falcons (although to a lesser degree), it feels like the Seahawks have yet to recover, although this season’s version of the ‘Hawks looks pretty good. Then, the Cardinals have been improving for a few seasons, but this weekend’s win in Nashville seems to signal that they are even more dangerous than expected this year. It seems like all four of those teams have realistic hopes of qualifying for the playoffs.              

Then, of course, there is the AFC West. The Kansas City Chiefs have been the class of the division and the entire AFC, if not arguably the NFL, for basically three seasons now. The Raiders have made some moves towards being competitive, and they earned an electrifying, come from behind win against the tough Ravens on Monday Night Football. The Chargers earned a tough win at Washington, while the Broncos earned one at the Meadowlands against the Giants. A mighty impressive start for the AFC West, as well.              

And that was just two divisions. Two divisions that sport perfect records combined for each team, which is quite impressive. But the rest of the league played some games, as well.  We had some surprises, some thrillers, and some truly exciting contests, like the first Monday Night Football game of the season last night. 

We had some surprises, some thrillers, and some truly exciting contests, like the first Monday Night Football game of the season last night.    

So, let’s take a closer look:              

San Francisco 41, Detroit 33 – This game, unfortunately, went pretty much the way I would have expected it to go. I would love to see the Lions become a winner, and even reach the Super Bowl someday. But year after year, it seems like they never quite do anything, and too often, it feels like they are going in the wrong direction. That is what it feels like in this one, as well. San Francisco, meanwhile, had a bad season last year, too, but they were in the Super Bowl the year before, so you sense that they were better than they appeared last year, when they were riddled with injuries. The 49ers played well, went up big early, and then held off a surprising comeback effort by the Lions. My pick: Accurate              

Carolina 19, NY Jets 14 – This was not a terrible performance by Gang Green, but it was also not one where they really exceeded expectations, either. This was more or less how this game figured to go. Two struggling teams matching up, trying to get off to decent starts. Not a game that highlighted much offense, but about what you would expect, right? The Panthers get the win, which has to feel good, especially for a certain quarterback who wore a green jersey until just a few months ago. My pick: Accurate              

Cincinnati 27, Minnesota 24 (OT) – An evenly fought contest. My assumption was that the Vikings were better, but they sure did not play like it. The Bengals proved tough, and they pull off the upset win, albeit after a very controversial call in overtime, when they recovered a Vikings turnover that really should not have been ruled a turnover. He was down before he lost the ball, but the ruling gave the Bengals the chance, and they made good on it. Good enough to earn the victory to start the season right. My pick: Inaccurate              

Seattle 28, Indianapolis 16 – The Seahawks looked very good. They were expected to be a serious playoff contender, and won the NFC West outright a season ago. But they looked even better than expected, as they handled the Colts convincingly on the road in Indianapolis to earn a win to start the season right. As for the Colts, they were expected to be good as well, but they have been riddled with inconsistency. This home loss to the start the season will do nothing to dispel concerns that this will not be a recurring problem for this new season, as well. They should have been tougher, played better. My pick: Inaccurate              

Philadelphia 32, Atlanta 6 – It looks like it’s going to be another disappointing, losing season in Atlanta again. They kept the game close for a little while, but once the Eagles took over, it was pretty much over. Getting blown out at home, and scoring six points when you have the kind of talent that they have on offense? Just not a good look, and an awful way to begin this new season. They changed their look and have new uniforms, but this looked a little too familiar for Atlanta fans. My pick: Very Inaccurate              

LA Chargers 20, Washington 16 – The Chargers pulled off what feels like a surprise win on the road against a team that was a division champion last season. It was a well-played game for them, and they just managed to upend the home team to earn an important win to start the season right. As for Washington, this one was a tough loss. My pick:  Inaccurate              

Pittsburgh 23, Buffalo 16 – Is anyone else as sick and tired of the Roethlisberger-led Steelers as I am? As far as I am concerned, this guy should be behind bars, and not making millions playing football. But, he’s still there, and Pittsburgh pulled off an unfortunate upset, to their credit. I like Buffalo, and would really like to see them enjoy some serious success. Like finally winning a Super Bowl. But this was a setback, obviously. They seemed to enjoying a comfortable margin through the first half, when they owned a 10-0 lead. But the second half was all Steelers. The Bills are going to have to get past their success from last season, and realize that this is a new year. They are good enough to recover, but they need to get back to following through for the full sixty minutes. It was a disappointing loss. Let’s hope that they can recover. My pick: Inaccurate              

Houston 37, Jacksonville 21 – The Texans jumped out ahead of the Jaguars early, and pretty much just never let up. Trevor Lawrence looked solid during the preseason, at least showing some serious glimpses, but this was his first real game. He was not bad, throwing for 332 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions. Also, the Jaguars were already very far behind by the time that he threw those touchdowns, so this game, while a decisive win for Houston, was not even as close as the final score would suggest. Neither team appears to be on their way to a dominant season, but this was a solid win for the Texans. As for the Jaguars, there are some positives to take away from this one nevertheless. My pick: Accurate              

Arizona 38, Tennessee 13 – Wow! The Cardinals really looked fantastic in this one, didn’t they? They jumped ahead early, and just kept it going. The Titans were expected by most to find a way to win this one. After all, they have been one of the better teams in the past few seasons, reaching the AFC title game in 2019, and taking the division title a season ago. They will probably recover and be competitive, but they sure did not look good in this home loss to open the new season. Whew! My pick: Inaccurate              

Miami 17, New England 16 – Well, the Fins needed to find a way to win up in New England, and they managed, albeit narrowly. The Pats were tough, but Miami still got the better of them, albeit narrowly. An important win for the Fins, especially since everyone else in the division lost. As for the Pats, I still think that they will improve from what they did last season, although this clearly would not help their playoff hopes. My pick: Inaccurate              

Kansas City 33, Cleveland 29 – A heartbreaking loss for a franchise that is trying to overcome a history of heartbreaks. I was actually watching this game, at least towards the end, and was pulling for the Browns. In fact, I had assumed for a while that they most likely would find a way to win, although clearly not counting the Chiefs out, since they are the masters of big time comebacks. You can never count the Chiefs out, really, and they proved that again today. My pick: Accurate     

Denver 27, NY Giants 13 – As a fan of the G-Men, I found the result of this game to be both entirely unsurprising and a worrying sign of what this season might be like. Namely, more of the same. Big Blue has some terrific amounts of talent on offense, and should be explosive, frankly. Yet, they sure did not show that on Sunday in a convincing home loss that was not as close as the score would indicate.  

New Orleans 38, Green Bay 3 – Yikes! The Packers ranked among the favorites to reach, and perhaps win, the Super Bowl this year, despite all of the off-season drama surrounding Aaron Rodgers, who actively flirted with retirement and who also, at some points, seemed to have put Green Bay in the rearviewmirror. They came into this game solid favorites, but the two teams seemed to exchange roles. You would have thought that the Packers were the team that should be overlooked, and that the Saints defense was one of the most dominant units, forcing Rodgers into one of his worst games of his career. The Saints also scored plenty, and enjoyed a dominating win in this “home” game played in Jacksonville. My pick: Inaccurate  

SNF – LA Rams 34, Chicago 14 – Here is one weird thing that I noticed: it felt disappointing that the Bears would be the team involved in the Sunday night game, on a night when I was off from work, and could actually watch the game. Why? Because it feels like their games tend to be boring, somehow. Don’t get me wrong: I like the Bears. As a fan of the older, more historical teams, there really is only one NFL franchise that can compete with how old, and how storied, the Bears are. Yet, watching them can be tough, and this proved to be the case on Sunday night as well. Being tired, this game felt predictable, with the Rams dominating early, and pretty much throughout. I kept nodding off, and finding the Bears continually being pushed around and seemingly a bit overwhelmed. The Rams defense looks as good as their billing, and newly acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford really looked fantastic. They could be a team to watch this season. Now, if they could only go back to the old uniforms that they had through the eighties and nineties. My pick: Accurate  

MNF - Las Vegas 33, Baltimore 27 – It’s still hard to think of the silver and black as playing in Las Vegas. Yet, they played yesterday in front of their home fans in their glittering new stadium for the first time. And what a memorable game it wound up being! The Ravens appeared to be in control, jumping out to a 14-0 lead. Lamar Jackson seemed to be killing the Raiders D with both his arms and his legs, as promised. But then, the Raiders came storing back. By the fourth quarter, it seemed that the Ravens could no longer control, or even slow down, the momentum of the  Raiders offense. They scored two touchdowns and a field goal in their final three possessions of regulation. In overtime, it appeared that the Raiders had won with an apparent touchdown that was called back after everyone from both sides had already flooded the field in what appeared to be the postgame and walking off the field. But the touchdown was reversed, and the Raiders could not punch the ball in from just a few feet from the end zone. A penalty moved them a bit further, and they then turned the ball over, which gave the Ravens a perfect opportunity to steal a win. But after returning the favor with a turnover themselves, the Raiders finally managed to score the clinching touchdown to complete their comeback. Every team in the AFC West started this season with a win, something that I can only remember happening once before, with the NFC East back in 1991. An impressive win for the Raiders, a shocking and disheartening loss for the Ravens. My pick: Inaccurate