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Okay, so let's just say this up front. My two favorite teams are the New York Giants and the New York Jets. And the fans of those two franchises suffered two of the most crushing disappointments ever to open up a new season on opening weekend, albeit for very different reasons. One of those two teams actually won their game, yest suffered a loss in a very real sense that is more than a little sobering, and hugely tempers all of the huge enthusiasm that the team seemed to have going into the new season.
There were other teams who suffered disappointments, as well. Three of the favorites and traditional powerhouses in recent seasons on the AFC side all suffered very disappointing losses for the new season. The Chiefs dropped their game to the Lions, the Bengals got beaten badly in Cleveland, and the Bills lost to the aforementioned Jets after a very mistake prone game.
Some other teams enjoyed very promising wins, including the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, LA Rams, Miami Dolphins, and New Orleans Saints.
Let's review the outcomes from this weekend's opening games for this new NFL season::
San Francisco 30, Pittsburgh 7 - The 49ers were expected to win. But they absolutely crushed the Steelers in this one. A road win against an opponent who many expect to be of playoff caliber. The defense looked very tough, and the offense efficient. Everything that they could have expected to start the season off right. My pick: Accurate
Tampa Bay 20, Minnesota 17 - The Bucs surprised many people, including me, with this road win. This was unforeseen, coming as it did against one of the relative elites last season. A solid win for them, and a pretty big disappointment for the Vikings, who start this season by losing at home to a team that figures to be mediocre. Not the way that you want to begin a new season, especially with Detroit looking so good thus far this year. My pick: Inaccurate
Washington 20, Arizona 16 - The Cardinals kept this game closer than I had expected them to. But Washington still nevertheless managed to grind out a solid win, while Arizona will look for their first win of the season elsewhere. My pick: Accurate
Baltimore 25, Houston 9 - Baltimore won their opening game exactly the way most people figured they would. It was not spectacular, and did not have fireworks. But a win is a win, nevertheless, and they'll take it. My pick: Accurate
Cleveland 24, Cincinnati 3 - The Browns always seem to have the Bengals' number. And they not only managed to pull off a win over their division rival Bengals in this one, but they did it very convincingly, with a blowout. Great way for Cleveland to start the season, and they have a chance to get off to a 2-0 start if they beat their hated rival Steelers in Pittsburgh next week. As for the Bengals, they sure are going to have to play a whole lot better than this if they are to continue to be one of the AFC's elite teams and contend in January. My pick: Accurate
Atlanta 24, Carolina 10 - The Falcons managed to get a solid win against the Panthers, who did not show as much life as expected. Meanwhile, Atlanta looked better than I had expected, and earned a solid divisional win to start their season off right. My pick: Inaccurate
Jacksonville 31, Indianapolis 21 - The Jaguars went back and forth with the Colts in this one. Yet, Jax managed to pull through and get strong right when it counted the most at the end. They get off to a solid start with a solid divisional road win. My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 16, Tennessee 15 - Difficult game to project is how I described this one. And it remained tight and unpredictable to the end. It came down to the wire, but the Saints defense did not allow a touchdown, and managed to squeak by the Titans for an opening day win. My pick: Inaccurate
LA Rams 30, Seattle 13 - The Rams got a big, divisional road win right off the bat. Given how tough the 49ers are looking this season, this was an important win if the Rams even hope to challenge them in the division this season. My pick: Inaccurate
Las Vegas 17, Denver 16 - The Raiders jumped out ahead of the rest of the AFC West by earning a tough but solid win over the Broncos on the road. That coupled with losses by KC and the LA Chargers means that the Raiders got off to a better and more solid start than they could have imagined. As for the Broncos....it feels a bit like you might as well say, "Here we go again....." My pick: Accurate
Miami 36, Los Angeles Chargers 34 - Both of these teams figure to be playoff contenders. And both have explosive offenses. I just did not think that the Fins would be quite this explosive! What a great win, and damn, Tyreek Hill is a killer, man! My pick: Inaccurate
Philadelphia 25, New England 20 - The Eagles did not win this one quite as convincingly as I had assumed that they would. Still, a win is a win, and they got the job done against a tough Pats team that gave them a run for their money. My pick: Accurate
Green Bay 38, Chicago 20 - More or less what was to be expected. A good road win for the Pack, a tough opening game loss for Da Bears. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night: Dallas 40, NY Giants 0 - Yikes! Man, was I ever wrong with this pick, eh? Not only did the Cowboys win, but they handed the G-Men their worst ever shut oiut loss, 40-0. It also was ranks as the biggest shutout win for Dallas - in fact, apparently their largest margin of victory on the road ever. The last time that the Giants suffered a home loss nearly this bad was also to the Cowboys, when they lost the home opener to Dallas, 35-0. Also, this was generally one of the most lopsided losses that I have ever seen the G-Men suffer, with the 44-3 playoff loss to the 49ers in 1993 being the only game that exceeds this margin of victory by the Cowboys that comes to mind. Just embarrassing. . My pick: Way off
Monday Night: NY Jets 22, Buffalo 16 (OT) - Yikes, Part 2. Yes, the Jets won. But I mean, they built pretty much their entire identity going into this season around Aaron Rodgers. He was going to be the guy who not only would lead this team back to the playoffs for the first time in well over a decade, but might just get them back to the Super Bowl. Then on opening day - after just four snaps in the Jets uniform! - he goes down with a season ending injury. Some are even speculating that this might effectively end his career! So yes, the Jets won, but I mean.....well, let's just be clear that they received a lot of help from the Buffalo Bills, particularly from quarterback Josh Allen, who threw three picks and made some bad decisions. Now, there is all sorts of talk about whether the Jets will have a chance with Zach Wilson at the helm, or if they should pursue another quarterback. Some of the names mentioned: Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Carson Wntz, Nick Foles, Matthew Stafford, Colt McKoy, and a few others. Not sure what they are going to do. This lineup for Gang Green was supposed to make them a contender, particularly with the tough defense, and an offense led by a veteran QB, who also happened to be a four time league MVP, and a one-time Super Bowl MVP. Now, the future seems very much in doubts. My pick: Accurate, But Obviously Not the Main Story
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