Kind of a rough week, only 2 games were within 3 points (Steelers and Broncos), otherwise every other matchup was at least a TD difference. But Week 1 is always about getting the kinks out, and we’ve got some good divisional matchups coming up as well as an NFC Championship rematch.
Quick Hits:
- Carson Wentz’ evasion of the sack and TD toss to Nelson Agholor was insane.
- Watching Matt Ryan slip, nearly get sacked, and toss an 88 yd TD to slow as molasses Austin Hooper was also insane.
- Get ready to see more Tarik Cohen in Chicago, wow was he impressive!
- The Bears really hung in there against a Super Bowl caliber team. In fact they should have won
- Felt like I noticed the Cardinals were handling the Lions, and then the next time I looked the Lions had scored 28 points
- Feel bad for Houston, so much energy to start the game, but they fell completely flat
- Cole Beasley’s catch behind back. Not catch of the year material, but still have never seen anything like it before
For the Record:
- Had the Bears completed their comeback against the Falcons, the media would have had a field day!
- The look in Adrian Peterson’s eyes behind Sean Payton. Scary
- For all the talk the Patriots had about their Super Bowl comeback, they sure emptied the stadium quick with the game not out of hand.
- On the same wavelength, there sure was a lot of 19-0 talks about the Patriots this offseason, that was quieted in less than 3 hours.
- 3 points for offensive genius Kyle Shanahan’s debut.
NFL Ratings:
It is unfathomable to imagine a world without the NFL, but there have been whispers of it ending albeit 20+ years down the road. However…
- For opening night this year, TV ratings were down 11.5% compared to last year. This is particularly worrisome figuring last year’s hyped game, a rematch of the Super Bowl, also posted ratings down 6.8% from the year before.
- Seeing how many (or how few) Rams fans showed up on Sunday was disheartening. Hard for Stan Kroenke to say “LA has been dying for a team” when you see 20,000 people in a stadium that sits 100,000.
- Watch the Chargers game this week, if they can’t
Stat of the Week:
Ben Roethlisberger has more wins in the Cleveland stadium since 1999 than any other QB. Including Cleveland QB’s…
Stat of the Week #2:
The Rams scored 27 points in the first half, they only hit that mark twice in the entire game last season.
Stat of the Week #3:
Kareem Hunt 3rd player in NFL history with 3 TD’s and 180+ yards in debut. He also fumbled on first carry. He didn’t lose a fumble in all of college, which was 856 attempts.
Stat of the Week #4:
TJ Watt looks all about as good as his brother JJ. He became the 3rd player in NFL history to record that 2 sacks and 1 INT during his NFL debut. Best part about it? He was quoted in saying that it wasn’t “good enough” in his opinion.
Stat of the Week #5:
Sam Bradford is leading the league in completion percentage (just like last year), while Tom Brady is in last place.
Stat of the Week #6:
The Top 3 QB’s in Passer Rating? Alex Smith, Sam Bradford, Jared Goff
Stat of the Week #7:
42 points is the most allowed by Bill Belichick’s 17 year stint with the Patriots
*Hums* R.E.M’s “It’s the End of the World”
As if 2 hurricanes, an 8.0 earthquake, and North Korea isn’t enough proof that the world is coming to an end, the Bills, Jaguars and Rams are alone in 1st place in their divisions. Also for 65 hours, the New England Patriots had the worst record in the league. Oh, and Alex Smith is leading the league in Passing Yards, TD’s, and Passer Rating. Should throw in that Jared Goff is top 5 in yards and Rating as well.
Salary Comparison
Dak Prescott is earning $540K this year, which means that every 10 minutes (of game time), Matthew Stafford earns that same amount. Mike Glennon is every 32 minutes. There’s a nifty little calculator that shows QB salaries in comparison to Dak Prescott, but I’m absolutely shocked to see that Jared Goff, the #1 overall draft pick makes $1M less than Deshone Kizer, a 2nd round and 52nd overall pick this year. How does that work?
Record Watch:
Jason Witten is the all time leading receiver for the Cowboys, beating out some impressive names and hall of famers. I distinctly remember 14 years ago opening up a pack of football cards to find a signed rookie card from a Tight End from Tennessee. I said to myself “who the heck is this?” Now I know.
Quote of the Week:
“San Diego Chargers”- Everybody. I made fun of the refs and announcers during Monday Night’s game until I was talking and blurted out the same thing
Quote of the Week #2:
“We got our asses kicked, credit the 49ers” Chuck Pagano, head coach of the Colts. Who just got done playing the Rams…
Announcer Check-In:
Check out this crazy video of Tony Romo predicting plays! It’s pretty cool to see, although it might get kind of annoying to watch an entire game this way. Either way, cool new perspective for fans. http://www.totalprosports.com/2017/09/11/tony-romo-calling-plays-before-they-even-happened-in-broadcasting-debut-is-unbelievable-video/
Non NFL Stat of the Week:
Louisiana Tech faced a 3rd and 93.
Sports Blunder of the Week:
When the Atlanta Braves hosted the Miami Marlins, they offered anybody displaced by the hurricane free tickets to the game. Awesome gesture until their DJ played “Rock you like a Hurricane.” Oy vey
Photo credit- Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
FMQB 