Week One Thoughts

Week one brought a few surprises, plenty of controversy, and lots to talk about. My quick thoughts on each game:

Saints 14 Vikings 9: This sure wasn’t the high scoring affair we expected it to be. Good first win by the Saints who looked like they might blow Minnesota out early on. Credit the Vikings for hanging in there without top reliever Sidney Rice and considering Brett Favre missed most of the summer. The Saints still look like a favorite and Minnesota isn’t going to hand Green Bay the NFC Central without a fight.

Buccaneers 17 Browns 14: Both teams stink, but on this day Tampa stunk a little less. Jake Delhomme looked decent early on for Cleveland, but he still threw two interceptions. Tampa has to be encouraged by what it saw out of Josh Freeman.

Dolphins 15 Bills 10: Not a bad road win for the Dolphins who could surprise this year. The offense wasn’t explosive, but give the team time to click. Chad Henne is still new as a starter, Ronnie Brown could take a little time to bounce back from injury, and Brandon Marshall is still just thrilled to be away from Denver.

Patriots 38 Bengals 24: Nice opening salvo by New England. A healthy Wes Welker, happy Tom Brady, improved special teams, and decent defense combined to propel the Patriots to a big win. Many analysts liked Cincinnati this season but they seemed to lack a little toughness in week one. Still, it would have been very tough for the Bengals to beat the Pats on the road.

Texans 34 Colts 24: The story of the first weekend of the NFL season was Houston finally upending Indianapolis. The Texans seem to be on the cusp of the playoffs every year, and by knocking out Indy in Week One they just made that task a whole lot easier. Running back Arian Foster was excellent, and the Texans may be well on their way. Not a whole lot to worry about for the Colts, but they had better beat the Giants in Week Two.

Jaguars 24 Broncos 17: Solid victory for the Jags in Week One. Three touchdown passes by David Garrard paced Jacksonville. Denver got a big game out of Brandon Lloyd, but it’s clear the team lacks a true No. 1 receiver.

Steelers 15 Atlanta 9: Huge, huge win for the Roethlisberger-less Steelers. They have a tough test next week at Tennessee before taking on Tampa on the road and Baltimore at home. It might be tough to go better than 1-2 in those games, but Pittsburgh will certainly take a 2-2 overall record when Big Ben returns. The Pittsburgh defense was ferocious with Troy Polamalu healthy. Atlanta’s so-called high octane offense was mediocre, but that’s more a product of the Steelers defense than the Falcons offense.

Titan 38 Raiders 13: Chris Johnson’s quest for 2,500 yards got off to a good start against the hapless Raiders. Many thought Oakland might surprise this year, but so far, ugh. Still, Oakland has to be happy about getting a full game from Darren McFadden. He could be productive if he stays healthy.

Giants 31 Panthers 18: The Jimmy Clausen era could begin as soon as next week with Matt Moore’s concussion. This game was sloppy all the way around, but the Giants had more firepower on offense and were able to survive a good first half from Carolina. The losses of Kevin Boss, Will Beatty and Chase Blackburn could be costly though.

Bears 19 Lions 14: The Calvin Johnson play at the end of the game was ridiculous. This should have been a great road win for the Lions, who lost Matt Stafford in the second half. Instead, this cursed franchise handed over a game to the Matt Forte-led Bears. Forte looked great.

Cardinals 17 Rams 13: The Cardinals may miss Kurt Warner more than any team has missed any player in league history. They went from Super Bowl contender to possible cellar-dweller. Not a bad first performance for Sam Bradford, though he was asked to throw way too much. He’s got the talent, but boy does he need some receivers.

Packers 27 Eagles 20: The Pack should have rolled over Philly, but seemed to let up once they got a lead. Philly got nothing from Kevin Kolb, but forgotten man Mike Vick had an impressive second half. Green Bay seems to have let the expectations go to their heads a bit and need to focus on producing on the field instead of reading about how great they are.

Seahawks 31 49ers 6: Everyone’s NFC West favorite was trounced by Seattle. The Seahawks have more veteran presence than the other teams in the division and let everyone know it. Very good first win for Pete Carroll. San Francisco has the defense, but questions at quarterback may hold them down.

Redskins 13 Cowboys 7: Boring game. But Dallas looked awful offensively despite all its weapons. Marion Barber just isn’t as effective now that he’s slimmed down. Only Miles Austin looked like he came to play. The Redskins weren’t exactly on fire offensively, but good coaching and fewer mistakes gave them this game. Lessons here: Washington will no longer hand opponents games, and Dallas is just as confusing as ever.