Things change quickly week to week in the NFL. Last year after Week 1, Dallas was 0-1 and going to Tennessee, a team that had just beaten Kansas City handily at Arrowhead Stadium, a tough place to play. Dallas, though, easily won at the Titans. Point being, I'll probably have some different things to say in a week. But here are some thoughts on the early action.
Dallas looks good again as long as it doesn't shoot itself in the foot. Thanks to a Giants' mistake, the Cowboys stole a win at home Sunday night. New York was in control up 23-20 with under two minutes left and Dallas had no timeouts. On third-and-goal, however, Eli Manning threw out the back of the end zone. The clock stopped, New York kicked a field goal, but left plenty of time for Tony Romo and the Cowboys' offense to roll down the field with ease and throw a winning TD to Jason Witten, seemingly the millionth hookup between the pair over the course of their careers.
Despite getting some help for the win, the Cowboys seemed like the best team when they weren't turning the ball over. Dallas turned the ball over three times, one leading directly to a score (Cole Beasley fumble) and a second might as well have (Romo INT). The Giants had zero turnovers. Come to think of it, the same thing happened in the opener last year, also at home, against the 49ers. A DeMarco Murray fumble was scooped up for a TD and a Romo INT was returned all the way to the goal line before being turned into a touchdown. So two years in a row, multiple Dallas turnovers in Week 1 at home have turned into TDs. Weird. Not only that, but Joseph Randle fumbled (but recovered by him) on Dallas' second offensive play against the Giants. The Cowboys' second play last year against San Francisco? A fumble by Murray (not recovered by Dallas) returned for six. Creepy. Anyway, the way Dallas responded this year was very encouraging, whereas last year, the team fought back but still lost easily.
The defensive improvement, at least for one game, was apparent. Dallas gave up just 289 yards and Eli Manning was only 20 of 36 for 193 yards. He was sacked only once and the defense, as I said, didn't get a turnover, meaning the fact that it held the Giants down without any big, game-changing plays like that was even more impressive.
In Week 2, Dallas travels to Philadelphia, which will not want to be 0-2 and give an early two-game lead in the division to the Cowboys after starting with a loss to the Falcons on Monday night.
The Patriots started out the year on a nice note, and that might be a scary thing. Last year's Super Bowl-winning Patriots started out just 2-2, with double-digit losses to Miami and Kansas City and a near-loss to Oakland. This season, New England began with a solid victory over Pittsburgh in which Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski looked really, really good. That might not be good news for the rest of the AFC.
But, in the AFC East, every other team is 1-0, too. Miami downed Washington after struggling, the Jets, under new coach Todd Bowles, pounded the Browns, and the Bills made somewhat easy work of beating the Colts, easily the biggest surprise of the opening weekend. Buffalo, now led by old Jets coach Rex Ryan and at QB by Virginia Tech alum Tyrod Taylor, is of course the most interesting of that 1-0 bunch because its defense appears to be one of the best in the NFL. Also, the Bills get the Pats at home in Week 2 so they have a chance to make noise right away.
The John Fox-led Bears looked better, but still lost to the Packers. Last year was a disaster for Chicago at 5-11, and it fired coach Marc Trestman. Fox should turn around the defense, but Jay Cutler, who threw a key pick, could be another story. We will see. After getting blown out twice by Green Bay last year, Chicago held the halftime lead and lost by just eight Sunday, so things might be trending in the right direction. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers looked solid on offense after a slow start and should still be a frontrunner in the NFC even with the loss of WR Jordy Nelson for the season.
Can Kansas City challenge in the AFC West? The defense looks nasty and the offense has more weapons with the addition of WR Jeremy Maclin and the emergence of TE Travis Kelce. The Chiefs dominated the Texans on the road in Week 1, then on Thursday, had the Broncos on the ropes at Arrowhead but a late fumble by Jamaal Charles with the game headed to OT was picked up by the Broncos and returned for a touchdown. KC missed a key opportunity to take an early lead in the division, but they still could be a factor.
News of Peyton Manning's demise might have been premature. The Broncos didn't score an offensive TD last week in beating Baltimore and Manning was looking old and worn out. But after a rough start Thursday against Kansas City, including a pick-six, Manning turned things around and completed 26 of 45 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns against a very game Chiefs defense.
Will the Redskins be any better with Kirk Cousins under center? He won the starting job over Robert Griffin III, but was not very good in losing to the Dolphins. He threw two picks and is now just 3-8 as a starter in the NFL.
The Rams beat the Seahawks in St. Louis, but that's nothing new. For the third time in four years, the Rams won at home over Seattle. Who knows if it will translate into a change atop the NFC West. Arizona beat New Orleans and San Francisco took care of Minnesota, so Seattle could have its work cut out for it this year. And an opening-week loss isn't the Seahawks only issue. Safety Kam Chancellor, perhaps their best defensive player, is still holding out and the offense is dealing with the lingering aftereffects of the strange play call to end last year's Super Bowl. But the Rams, Cardinals, and 49ers all still have to play games in Seattle, and until Seattle loses more than one home game per year, it will be a tough out.
Titans rookie QB Marcus Mariota could not have had a much better start. And Bucs rookie QB Jameis Winston, Mariota's counterpart Sunday, could not have had a more forgettable one. Mariota finished with the best QBR of the weekend (13 of 16 and four TDs) while Winston completed less than 50 percent of his passes, threw two picks (including a pick-six), and was sacked four times in front of his home crowd. Tennessee, which won just two games last year, crushed Tampa Bay, which also won just two games last year and hasn't won a home game since 2013.
How will Chip Kelly use all his new toys? The Eagles didn't look that polished yet on offense in a loss to the Falcons, but there's a long way to go. DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, and Darren Sproles combined for just 63 yards rushing and Sam Bradford threw two picks in Philadelphia's somewhat disappointing opener. The Falcons looked improved, especially on defense, under new head coach Dan Quinn, who was Seattle's defensive coordinator.
Adrian Peterson got off to a slow start. Playing for the first time since Week 1 of last year, AP got off to a slow start with the Vikings against the 49ers, carrying the ball just 10 times for 31 yards. If the Vikings are going to be successful on offense this year, they need Peterson to look more like his old self, because I don't think QB Teddy Bridgewater is capable of carrying the team.
Dallas looks good again as long as it doesn't shoot itself in the foot. Thanks to a Giants' mistake, the Cowboys stole a win at home Sunday night. New York was in control up 23-20 with under two minutes left and Dallas had no timeouts. On third-and-goal, however, Eli Manning threw out the back of the end zone. The clock stopped, New York kicked a field goal, but left plenty of time for Tony Romo and the Cowboys' offense to roll down the field with ease and throw a winning TD to Jason Witten, seemingly the millionth hookup between the pair over the course of their careers.
Despite getting some help for the win, the Cowboys seemed like the best team when they weren't turning the ball over. Dallas turned the ball over three times, one leading directly to a score (Cole Beasley fumble) and a second might as well have (Romo INT). The Giants had zero turnovers. Come to think of it, the same thing happened in the opener last year, also at home, against the 49ers. A DeMarco Murray fumble was scooped up for a TD and a Romo INT was returned all the way to the goal line before being turned into a touchdown. So two years in a row, multiple Dallas turnovers in Week 1 at home have turned into TDs. Weird. Not only that, but Joseph Randle fumbled (but recovered by him) on Dallas' second offensive play against the Giants. The Cowboys' second play last year against San Francisco? A fumble by Murray (not recovered by Dallas) returned for six. Creepy. Anyway, the way Dallas responded this year was very encouraging, whereas last year, the team fought back but still lost easily.
The defensive improvement, at least for one game, was apparent. Dallas gave up just 289 yards and Eli Manning was only 20 of 36 for 193 yards. He was sacked only once and the defense, as I said, didn't get a turnover, meaning the fact that it held the Giants down without any big, game-changing plays like that was even more impressive.
In Week 2, Dallas travels to Philadelphia, which will not want to be 0-2 and give an early two-game lead in the division to the Cowboys after starting with a loss to the Falcons on Monday night.
The Patriots started out the year on a nice note, and that might be a scary thing. Last year's Super Bowl-winning Patriots started out just 2-2, with double-digit losses to Miami and Kansas City and a near-loss to Oakland. This season, New England began with a solid victory over Pittsburgh in which Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski looked really, really good. That might not be good news for the rest of the AFC.
But, in the AFC East, every other team is 1-0, too. Miami downed Washington after struggling, the Jets, under new coach Todd Bowles, pounded the Browns, and the Bills made somewhat easy work of beating the Colts, easily the biggest surprise of the opening weekend. Buffalo, now led by old Jets coach Rex Ryan and at QB by Virginia Tech alum Tyrod Taylor, is of course the most interesting of that 1-0 bunch because its defense appears to be one of the best in the NFL. Also, the Bills get the Pats at home in Week 2 so they have a chance to make noise right away.
The John Fox-led Bears looked better, but still lost to the Packers. Last year was a disaster for Chicago at 5-11, and it fired coach Marc Trestman. Fox should turn around the defense, but Jay Cutler, who threw a key pick, could be another story. We will see. After getting blown out twice by Green Bay last year, Chicago held the halftime lead and lost by just eight Sunday, so things might be trending in the right direction. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers looked solid on offense after a slow start and should still be a frontrunner in the NFC even with the loss of WR Jordy Nelson for the season.
Can Kansas City challenge in the AFC West? The defense looks nasty and the offense has more weapons with the addition of WR Jeremy Maclin and the emergence of TE Travis Kelce. The Chiefs dominated the Texans on the road in Week 1, then on Thursday, had the Broncos on the ropes at Arrowhead but a late fumble by Jamaal Charles with the game headed to OT was picked up by the Broncos and returned for a touchdown. KC missed a key opportunity to take an early lead in the division, but they still could be a factor.
News of Peyton Manning's demise might have been premature. The Broncos didn't score an offensive TD last week in beating Baltimore and Manning was looking old and worn out. But after a rough start Thursday against Kansas City, including a pick-six, Manning turned things around and completed 26 of 45 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns against a very game Chiefs defense.
Will the Redskins be any better with Kirk Cousins under center? He won the starting job over Robert Griffin III, but was not very good in losing to the Dolphins. He threw two picks and is now just 3-8 as a starter in the NFL.
The Rams beat the Seahawks in St. Louis, but that's nothing new. For the third time in four years, the Rams won at home over Seattle. Who knows if it will translate into a change atop the NFC West. Arizona beat New Orleans and San Francisco took care of Minnesota, so Seattle could have its work cut out for it this year. And an opening-week loss isn't the Seahawks only issue. Safety Kam Chancellor, perhaps their best defensive player, is still holding out and the offense is dealing with the lingering aftereffects of the strange play call to end last year's Super Bowl. But the Rams, Cardinals, and 49ers all still have to play games in Seattle, and until Seattle loses more than one home game per year, it will be a tough out.
Titans rookie QB Marcus Mariota could not have had a much better start. And Bucs rookie QB Jameis Winston, Mariota's counterpart Sunday, could not have had a more forgettable one. Mariota finished with the best QBR of the weekend (13 of 16 and four TDs) while Winston completed less than 50 percent of his passes, threw two picks (including a pick-six), and was sacked four times in front of his home crowd. Tennessee, which won just two games last year, crushed Tampa Bay, which also won just two games last year and hasn't won a home game since 2013.
How will Chip Kelly use all his new toys? The Eagles didn't look that polished yet on offense in a loss to the Falcons, but there's a long way to go. DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, and Darren Sproles combined for just 63 yards rushing and Sam Bradford threw two picks in Philadelphia's somewhat disappointing opener. The Falcons looked improved, especially on defense, under new head coach Dan Quinn, who was Seattle's defensive coordinator.
Adrian Peterson got off to a slow start. Playing for the first time since Week 1 of last year, AP got off to a slow start with the Vikings against the 49ers, carrying the ball just 10 times for 31 yards. If the Vikings are going to be successful on offense this year, they need Peterson to look more like his old self, because I don't think QB Teddy Bridgewater is capable of carrying the team.
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