Good grief, what a day. Week 1 got off to a brutal start personally. The Bills were getting destroyed and so was my fantasy team. (Those were not mutually exclusive. Thanks, Josh Allen.) Suddenly, everything changed in the literal and hypothetical fourth quarter and the Bills and my fantasy team both somehow came back to win! (Thanks, Josh Allen!) But enough about me and my defending-champion, undefeated fantasy team. (Suck it, Austin).
Answers to My Five Big Questions
I’m going to revisit my five biggest questions heading into each week and see if we got any answers.
What does “unleashing” Kliff Kingsbury’s offense look like?
Up and down. For the first three quarters, it could not have gone much worse. Suddenly, everything changed. Kyler Murray exploded for 214 yards, 2 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion in the 4th quarter and overtime to force a tie against Detroit.
Can the Colts or Chargers best withstand unparalleled adversity?
Apparently it was the Colts who had a kicker problem, not the Chargers. Austin Ekeler made up for a raggedy offensive line and Melvin Gordon in a big way. Ekeler exploded for 158 total yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime. Despite the kicking woes, Indianapolis looked rock solid in Week 1.
Can Patrick Mahomes replicate his incredible 2018 season?
Mahomes finished last season with 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns and is currently on pace for 6,048 yards and 48 touchdowns. He has some work to do in the touchdown department.
Falcons-Vikings: Win or Go Home?
Football Dad Kirk Cousins and the Vikings took care of business and secured the 6th and final playoff spot in the NFC due to winning the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Falcons. You heard it here first.
Are the Browns worth the hype?
Yes? The Titans absolutely smacked Cleveland. The Browns offensive lines issues were severely understated and Mayfield’s chemistry with Beckham isn’t quite there yet. Some of us, myself included, may have crowned them a bit prematurely, but I still think the hype was warranted.
Fact or Fiction
In this section, I’m going to take a look at a few of the top storylines of the day and decide if they are accurate or an overreaction.
Lamar Jackson is an MVP candidate.
Fiction… for now. Jackson was historically good in Week 1 against Miami, completing 17/20 passes for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns. Let’s not get carried away, though. They did play the freakin’ Dolphins. However, Baltimore is scheduled to play Arizona and Kansas City the next two weeks. Jackson should feast against those defenses as well. I need to see Jackson face a quality opponent before dethroning Mahomes.
Kellen Moore’s offense makes Dallas a Super Bowl contender.
Fact. Dak Prescott torched the Giants to the tune of 405 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Yes, the Giants are almost as bad as the Dolphins, but here’s the difference. The archaic offense was the only thing holding Dallas back from true Super Bowl contention and Moore’s new scheme is the solution.
Jameis Winston is done as a franchise quarterback.
Fact. It’s only Week 1, so it’s possible Bruce Arians’ new offense will take some time to gel. Let’s face the truth: San Francisco isn’t good, especially defensively. Plenty of new offenses exploded this week, while Winston threw three interceptions against a defense that generated two all of last season. Arians might be regretting coming out of retirement.
The Bears are toast with Mitch Trubisky.
Fiction. We literally saw this last season. The Packers beat the Bears in Week 1, we wrote them off, Trubisky heated up during the season and the Bears won 12 games. Now I’m highly doubtful this story ends exactly the same way as last season, but hope is not lost in Chicago. I’m actually more confident that what we saw from Green Bay on Thursday is the truth, while the Bears were just rusty.
Week 1 Awards
Player of the Week: Lamar Jackson
Anti-Player of the Week: Jameis Winston
Team of the Week: Baltimore Ravens
Anti-Team of the Week: Pittsburgh Steelers
Monday morning headline: New England emasculating Pittsburgh and officially signing Antonio Brown.
Play of the Week: Vernon Davis
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