NFL Week 1 Recap: Southern Fried Mediocrity

There is always something extra special about that first Sunday of the NFL season. Yes, the season started with a Wednesday opener and a Thursday international game (check out the recap of both games here), but to football fans, the real start of the season is that first Sunday--the first of 18 in the regular season. Every one of the NFL's eight divisions will set the pace, but let's talk about the pace the NFC South is on, shall we?

All four NFC South teams played during Sunday's early window. The Atlanta Falcons, who ended 2025 playing the ultimate spoilers, were in Pittsburgh against the Steelers, who have a new head coach for the first time in 20 years. It was a tight game, as Steelers games usually are, but Aaron Rodgers (in his final year) and that Pitt defense got it done, winning 20-13. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in Cincinnati, and that game had more points, but it also had the Bengals taking the ball away a lot. A 33-27 win for Cincy. The Carolina Panthers, the defending division champs, went through the ringer; giving up nearly 60 points to an undermanned Bears team, and the New Orleans Saints came back from down 21-0 against the Lions to force OT, but fell just a hair short, losing 31-30.

You read that right, folks: nobody in the NFC South won. Just when you think this division can't get any more screwy, this happens. The crazy thing: the Saints had the best chance to be in first place by themselves. They didn't even have to win. If they had kicked the extra point and then stopped the Lions the rest of the way, the Saints could have been in first place at 0-0-1. So who is the first place team in this mess? It's actually the Buccaneers via net points (-6 to ATL's -7). Hey, first year without Mike Evans, and they're leading the division. Not bad.

Next week in the South, Bucs host Cleveland, Saints go to Baltimore, and the Panthers and Falcons face each other. Someone has to win in that division. Watch Carolina and Atlanta end up tied for first at 0-1-1.

It's a new season, but we are still seeing MVPs do MVP things. Case in point: Lamar Jackson. On the road in Indy, Lamar tore it up to the tune of 324 yards, a passing TD and a rushing TD, leading the Baltimore Ravens to a 41-23 victory. Meanwhile, Josh Allen was also crushing an AFC South team as well, throwing for 334 yards and two scores, while also scoring twice. The Bills defeated the Texans, 36-31, and elsewhere in the early window, the Jacksonville Jaguars grounded the Browns into dust, and the New York Jets won over the Tennessee Titans. The Jets are 1-0, folks. WOW!

Only four games took place in the late window, which saw the Las Vegas Raiders easily defeat the Miami Dolphins, 27-13. The Philadelphia Eagles narrowly survive the Washington Commanders, 24-22, in an NFC East battle, and the Arizona Cardinals soundly upset the Los Angeles Chargers on the road. The central game, however, was the Minnesota Vikings hosting the Green Bay Packers, and for the road team, this was our chance to dust ourselves off after a bad end to last year. We looked good. Jordan Love looked great. Christian Watson looked great. We had a 22-10 lead. It was 22-17, but we had the ball and we kicked a successful field goal. Vikings jumped offsides, but it was 4th and 6. Not enough for a first down. "Take the points, take the points, take the points," I said. The ref made the call, but added that we were taking the points off the board and going for it on 4th and 1.

Big mistake.

We didn't get it, and what followed was a Vikings drive that saw the refs bail them out every time they were stopped on third down. As a result, the Vikings took the lead, never looked back, and added on, resulting in a 39-22 victory for Minnesota. It happened again, folks, and all because LaFleur had a total brain fart. Even worse, idiots are trying to blame this on Jordan Love. 387 yards and two TDs, but it's Love's fault. If a White QB had that performance and lost, he'd get sympathy. The racist scapegoating against Black QBs needs to stop.

On Sunday Night Football, the New York Giants managed to win 28-20 over the Dallas Cowboys in another stunning opening week upset, but it's what happened on the following night that gained all of the attention. The 57th season of Monday Night Football began with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, two teams bringing back injured QBs, facing off. For the Chiefs, it was more than that. Last year, their long playoff stranglehold came to an end, and they were looking to make a statement. Boy, did they. A 31-10 victory over the AFC runners-up was enough for KC fan to say that they're back.

Hold the phone.

First off, Patrick Mahomes didn't do much of anything. If anything, the Chiefs were solely carried by their new acquisition, Kenneth Walker III, the MVP of Super Bowl LX. 191 all purpose yards--173 off them on the ground, and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). It's good, don't get me wrong, but that's the only reason why they won. Mahomes didn't have that good of a game, and while Travis Kelce climbed the TE ranks, he was a partial non-factor. It was the KW3 show, and if it continues to be that, expect no playoffs in KC again.

We are in a season where the NY teams, the Raiders, and the Cardinals are 1-0, while the LA teams, the Packers, and both halves of last year's AFC Championship are 0-1. And as I said before, out of the 16 winners, none are from the NFC South. And I have to mention this: all of my fantasy teams won in Week 1! So I have 10 fantasy teams who are 1-0, mainly thanks to the performances of Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, KW3, Christian Watson, Justin Jefferson, and the Seahawks and Steelers defenses.

Week 2 will begin with the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions kicking off Amazon Prime's fifth year airing Thursday Night Football. Sunday Night Football will see the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs go at it, and on Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams host the New York Giants.

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