NFL week 1 Expected vs Unexpected

I’m seeing it in a lot of places in a bunch of different forms like your ‘Good, Bad, and Ugly’ or ‘Week 1 Winners/Losers’ but when I watched the NFL week 1 games what stood out to me was how much expectations going into week 1 games really seemed turned on their head. So I decided to cover this as things that went as expected vs the game that played out unexpected. And through my eyes there were many more results that didn’t go as they should have.

Let’s start with Expected

BUCCANEERS 31 Cowboys 29

Tom Brady does what Tom Brady does. On the night to celebrate the Super Bowl win Brady leading a great comeback, it’s a show we’ve seen countless times. However, having to comeback and their defense that is supposed to be really good let Dak Prescott shine in his return from injury. This game was a little to close

Eagles 32 FALCONS 6

Atlanta is not going to be very good this year. The Eagles pretty much had their way with them. Could this build some momentum for the Eagles to have a chance in a sort of wide open NFC East? They are the only 1-0 team in the East. Stay tuned. This division could be fun

49ers 41 LIONS 33

Detroit mounted a furious charge but it was a little to late. Things like that can be used to build on. Could the NFC North be looking a little open for a surprise team? Stay tuned again. San Francisco, pick a QB already. A team with 2 QBs actually has 0 QBs

RAMS 34 Bears 14

Matt Stanford leading a Greatest Show on Turf pt. 2? He’s is a gunslinger. Could be some very high scoring from the Rams this year. Each Bears loss with Andy Dalton as QB is making the calls for Justin Fields get louder. It’s simply a matter of time

 

Now for the Unexpected

Steelers 23 BILLS 16

Almost every preseason pick is for a Chiefs-Bills AFC title game. These week 1 Bills ain’t going to cut it. But was it because of their opponent? Those same preseason pick, mine included, want to write off the Steelers again. This story has been wrote for a few years, but the Steelers are a stable franchise that is well coached and with a great on his own QB in Ben Rothlisberger. Maybe we all quit trying to bury the Steelers before they give us the reason to

BENGALS 27 Vikings 24(OT)

I’ve said I think the Vikings have the pieces to win the NFC North. Offensively they can hang with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Defensively they are slightly above average. So to go up against perennial doormats in the Bengals and trail most of the game and need a field goal to tie it late forcing OT and to then lose as time expired, well that more on the pile of bad play in the NFC North. On week way to small sample but is Joe Burrow adding his name to the list of quality young QBs ready to usher in a new era in the NFL?

Cardinals 38 TITANS 13

I was positive this game was a lock for the Titans. Of the early games it played out the most unexpected.The Cardinals are an ok team but not ready against my pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Derrick Henry is a beast and was going to run right over the Cardinals. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Kylar Murray throwing 5 TDs seeming lot at will…I said watch these young QBs, it’s gonna be a theme

Chargers 20 WASHINGTON 16

Lots of strangeness played out in this one. I give then Chargers credit for holding off a great Washington defense. Relievers found seams and places to settle and Justin Herbert found them. Ryan Fitzpatrick going down late in the 2nd quarter could be the biggest story out of week 1. They put their hopes in him for a solid season to repeat win the NFC East. Now it’s Taylor Heinicke’s job, maybe. The fans love him, his teammates love him, unfortunately the coaching staff and management doesn’t seem to. I’m going to cover this more in depth later this week

TEXANS 37 Jaguars 21

This one goes in the unexpected column just because the Texans were supposed to be a dumpster fire. The DeShawn Watson mess, JJ Watt leaving. Just no expectations for them to do anything this season. I want Trevor Lawrence to do well in Jacksonville because he’s another young QB I want to lead the NFL in a new direction. Not a bad stat line except the 3 INTs. If that was a 0 INTs this could have been different

CHIEFS 33 Browns 29

Unexpected? For this reason, the Browns hung with the Chiefs in Arrowhead. Most everyone sees the AFC North to be between the Browns and Ravens and had the Browns pulled this out they would have had the first leg up in the entire AFC. Instead the Chiefs take it in come from behind fashion. Simply put the Chiefs are never out of a game. I said they will go 17-0 and that’s the first win down, 16 more to go

Dolphins 17 PATRIOTS 16

I expected more of the Patriots. They have had the Dolphins number for a while, but that was when they had Brady. Pendulum swinging away from the Pats? Maybe. I know it’s a reoccurring theme here but I really, really am excited for all the young QBs in the league and 2 matched up in this game. Mac Jones and Tua Tagoviola could give us some fun games down the line

SAINTS 38 Packers 3

What. The. Heck? The Saints no longer have Drew Brees. They end up going with Jameis Winston who can be effective but hasn’t ever had as much to work with as he does in New Orleans. Then the game had to be moved to Jacksonville because of Hurricane Ida. And they were facing Aaron Rogers and the Packers, a preseason pick to maybe challenge the Buccaneers. But Winston tosses 5 TD and the Packers looked like a mess. The off-season was full of stories of Rodgers not being happy with management but he seemed to say all the right things as training camp started. I’m sorry, but the Packers simply looked and played as if there is something else going on in that organization

RAIDERS 33 Ravens 27(OT)

Oh you thought we were done? So was I. The Ravens have been mentioned as AFC contenders as well, and the Raiders good but not so much. Ravens should have no problems at Las Vegas right? Take a 14 point lead in the 2nd quarter. Gonna be a Ravens night. Nope. Add another on the pile of things in week 1 that didn’t go as planned with a couple Ravens turnovers late and the Raiders refusing to quit, scoring a TD in OT to seal it and finish off week 1 in dramatic, electrifying fashion

 

Wow. To me it was just a pretty crazy NFL week 1. It’s always been said ‘any given Sunday’ and this was one of them. The first week can throw out some surprises. Could a lot of the strange goings on be attributed to just week 1 play?. Possibly. Is the new young QB era here and the game going through a big change? Possibly. Will week 2 see things balance out more toward what is expected? Possibly. Is this season just going to be wild and unexpected? Possibly. Really, after week 1 I think there are even more reasons to want to tune in to week 2 and see if some of those questions get answered.