First of all, congratulations everyone. We made it through a LONG summer and have made it to week one of the NFL season. Here are some of BK and I's biggest takeaways from Sunday's slate.
1) The Dolphins are a RB away from 1999 St Louis Rams
Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill ignited the Dolphins to a 36-34 victory over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Tua finished with 466 yards and three touchdowns through the air, 215 yards and two touchdowns going to Tyreek Hill. Jaylen Waddle followed Hill with four receptions for 78 yards. The talent around this team is undeniable. Strong-armed Tua as no problem hitting the fastest receiver in the league on deep-balls, and Waddle is a more than capable receiver on his own. The issue on this offense falls in the backfield with the running back position. Raheem Mostert led the Phins attack with 37 yards on ten carries. We'll see if youngsters Slavon Ahmed or De'Von Achane can break through with a big-time season, but I'm thinking Miami will be kicking themselves for not getting a deal done with the Colts for Jonathan Taylor.
2) Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers looked good, but don't jump on the bandwagon yet.
Don't get me wrong, Jordan Love showed up big time in his debut as the leader of the Green Bay Packers post-Aaron Rodgers. Love threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant 38-20 victory over their divisional opponent Chicago Bears. He looked good, but I just don't know if we can put all of our trust in the Packers as a force to reckon with. I said it weeks ago, I wouldn't be surprised if the packers are 4-1 going into their bye week in week 6. The Packers first half of the year is favorable - especially for Jordan Love.
Last season, the Bears allowed the 4th most yards of any defense in the NFL and had a league-low 20 sacks. It's a favorable matchup for a young quarterback making his second start of his career. Let's take a look how the Packers upcoming opponents ranked in those statistics - total yards allowed per game and total QB sacks.
- WEEK 2: Atlanta Falcons: 326.1 YPG (26th), 21 sacks (31st)
- WEEK 3: New Orleans Saints: 314.8 YPG (5th), 48 sacks (5th)
- Best defense he will play, questionable / fresh offense.
- WEEK 4: Detroit Lions: 392 YPG (32nd), 39 sacks (17th)
- Aiden Hutchinson is the only premiere player on this defensive unit, but new addition C.J. Gardner-Johnson certainly elevated the Lions' secondary and the group played well vs Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. If the Packers are 4-1 going into week 6, this is the game I see them losing.
- WEEK 5: Las Vegas Raiders: 365.6 YPG(26th), 27 sacks (29th).
3) The Bengals will be okay.
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals have high hopes for this season, hoping to get back to the Super Bowl as they did in the 21-22 season. The Bengals are off to a rocky start, losing their opener in Cleveland to the Browns 24-3. BK and I both predicted the Browns to come out on top, due to the fact that Burrow was just 1-4 vs the Browns heading into the game, but 157 total yards from what should be one of the most explosive offenses in the league was a shocker. My projection of the Bengals this season canges very little based on this game, but they don't have any time to spare. The Ravens come to town at 1 o'clock on Sunday.
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