NFL Week 1 Recap: Super Bowl Hangover?

At long last, the NFL is back! We drink in the NFL season because it's the shortest of all of the main sports seasons, which results in the longest offseason--lasting from mid-February until early September. Though my main sport is hockey, I often find myself counting down the days until the the NFL does return, and because I play fantasy football, the eagerness increases. Nevertheless, the season is here, and what an opening week it truly was.

The season began in the same place that the 2021 season ended: at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. On that evening, the Los Angeles Rams celebrated their second Super Bowl championship (their first in LA), received their lavish and immensely expensive rings, and took the field to kick off the 2022 season against the Buffalo Bills. However, the celebration was the only positive for the Rams, as that game saw them totally dominated by the Bills defense, who intercepted Matthew Stafford three times. Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp did score his first touchdown of the season, but it would be the only end zone score for the Rams, who ended up losing 31-10 on what was supposed to be a night of celebration for the defending champions.

For the Bills, this was huge. They entered this season as the overall Super Bowl favorites, which means it's gut-check time for the team that keeps getting close, but doesn't get to the promised land. As for the Rams, we have a first for head coach Sean McVay, as this is the first time that McVay finds himself under .500 at any part of the season. This is McVay's sixth season as Rams head coach, and he had avoided being under .500 at any part of those years, but in 2022, he starts 0-1.

As for Super Bowl LVI's other team, the Cincinnati Bengals opened their defense of the American Football Conference Championship at home against their hated rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was a big game for the Steelers as well, as this was their first game following the retirement of their longtime legendary quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. It was Mitch Trubisky at the helm, but the story was Joe Burrow--as he was a complete mess. Apparently, Burrow saw his Super Bowl counterpart throw three interceptions, so he decided to top that by committing four turnovers in the first half. He ended up with five overall, but despite this, it was a close game throughout, and the Bengals had one last chance to win it in regulation.

After some hard luck, Ja'Marr Chase finally caught a touchdown pass in the final seconds, which tied the game at 20, but the extra point ended up blocked, leading to overtime. The Steelers' opening drive saw them go three and out, while Cincy reached deep in field goal range--only for Evan McPherson's 29-yard FG attempt to be badly hooked. It was the Steelers' turn, and they reached field goal range, but Chris Boswell's 55-yarder went off the upright. The game continues! However, on 3rd down, Burrow fumbled, resulting in Cincy punting--with 15 seconds left on the play clock. With five seconds left, Pittsburgh reached field goal range, and this time, Boswell's kick was good from 53 yards. The Steelers won 23-20 in overtime, but it might have cost them their best defensive player in TJ Watt, who suffered a torn pec late in the game and was done for the day--and most likely a lot longer.

Attention, Niners and their fans: Trey Lance is not the answer! I've said for months that starting Lance over a proven stud like Jimmy Garoppolo is a mistake. I also figured that the Niners would suffer in their first game of the season, but I swear, I did not have them losing. After all, even a scrub can beat the Chicago Bears. Apparently, however, not this scrub. The Niners lost, 19-10, and regarding Lance: 164 passing yards and one interception. That's it. Jimmy G couldn't do that?! Really? I'm going to be dead serious: if I'm Jimmy G, I am laughing out loud right now. I am not happy that the Bears won, I'm not supposed to be. But this is karma for disrespecting one of the best QBs in the league, as well as the QB who got that team to the Super Bowl. And if I'm the Niners, I start groveling and apologizing to Jimmy G, and begging him to return to the starting position, because if Lance remains the starter, the Niners are screwed. If you can't even beat the Bears, you shouldn't be in the league.

Steelers/Bengals wasn't the only game to go to OT; we also received overtime in the AFC South matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans. Similar to the other game, it was tied at 20, and the full OT was played--but in this case, the score remained 20-20. A game-winning field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship was missed with under two minutes left, the Texans ended up punting on their final possession with two seconds left, and the Colts' trick play was unsuccessful. This was the third opening week tie game in the last five seasons, and for the Texans, this was their first tie in franchise history.

Elsewhere, Baker Mayfield couldn't get his payback on his former team, as the Cleveland Browns defeated the Carolina Panthers, 26-24. The New Orleans Saints pulled off a comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons (27-26), and the Washington Commanders picked up their first win under their current name, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was payback for Carson Wentz, as his last game as Colts QB was a season-ending loss to the Jags. The early window also saw victories from the Baltimore Ravens, the Miami Dolphins, and a close win from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Going back to the subject of star QBs being horrendously disrespected by their teams, let's mention Aaron Rodgers. As a Green Bay Packers fan, it upsets me how the upper office just flat out sabotages the greatest QB this team's ever had, with the latest act being getting rid of Davante Adams. As a result, Rodgers found himself in quite a similar position on opening week in Minnesota: completely surrounded by idiots. The Packers were defeated, 23-7, by the Minnesota Vikings, and as is the case in a Packers loss: Rodgers was the only competent player on the team.

You know, I've become very numb to how biased the NFL talking heads are against Rodgers. When the story broke that Rodgers was basically telling his receivers to do a better job catching passes, they slandered him and made him out to be a prick, when he was actually doing what QBs are supposed to do. If Tom Brady ever did this, he would be praised for showing "great leadership," but because it's Rodgers, "he's a bully." And let's face facts, Rodgers wouldn't be the only one getting slandered for this. God help any Black QB who does this, because QBs who look like me would be told to "know your place."

So how did Davante Adams fare in his first game with the Las Vegas Raiders? 10 receptions, 141 yards, and a touchdown. Even in non-PPR (points per reception) leagues, that's a lot of fantasy points--20.1 points to be exact. The Raiders, however, were defeated 24-19 by the Los Angeles Chargers--a rematch of the high-scoring and pivotal overtime thriller that ended the 2021 regular season. Elsewhere in the late window, the Kansas City Chiefs blasted the Arizona Cardinals, 44-21; with the game taking place in the Cardinals' place--which will host Super Bowl LVII. The New York Giants picked up a huge upset win over the Tennessee Titans, giving them their first opening week win in six years.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 19-3, on Sunday Night Football, but the story was Dak Prescott. His night ended early, as he ended up injuring his thumb--an injury that required surgery. The surgery was successful, but the Dallas Cowboys will be without their star quarterback for 6-8 weeks. The schedule for that period is brutal, though the eighth week (Week 9) is Dallas' bye week. Even so, three of their seven opponents are 2021 playoff teams, including both Super Bowl LVI participants. Prescott could return either Week 8 against the Bears, or Week 10, and that's a date I have circled, as that week sees the Cowboys in Lambeau--Mike McCarthy's first time in Lambeau as Cowboys coach.

The Monday Night Football season opener saw Russell Wilson make his return to Seattle, and surprisingly, it was not a welcome return. I wasn't expecting him to be booed as loudly as he was; I figured it would be about 80% cheers and 20% boos, but that was not the case. The Denver Broncos are expected to have a fantastic year with Wilson as their QB, but this year didn't start off like many thought. I myself had Russ and the Broncos blasting the Seahawks, but that didn't happen. The Broncos never led in the game, but it appeared that they would have a chance to win it...and then the clock kept running, running, running. I thought a timeout would be called so Russ could get a few more yards for closer FG range, but coach Nathaniel Hackett decided to kill a lot of the clock and have Brandon McManus attempt a 64-yard field goal. Not surprisingly, the kick was no good, and the Seahawks ended up winning, 17-16--the only NFC West team to win this week.

I have to mention this. Before Hackett took over as head coach of the Broncos, he was the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. This led me to a realization. Remember the 2020 NFC Championship? 4th and Goal late, the Packers were down by eight, but instead of having Rodgers go for it, Mason Crosby kicks a chip shot field goal. We Packers fans loudly blamed Matt LaFleur for that decision. What if it wasn't LaFleur? What if the decision to have Crosby kick that chip shot was Hackett's idea and not LaFleur's. Hackett's current decision to not have Russ get a few extra yards (because Russ could have done it) and have McManus kick a FG that would be two yards shy of the record led me to realize that he could have been the true dope behind that decision in the NFC Championship. We Packers fans definitely owe LaFleur a long overdue apology.

What an opening week it was! 15 teams went 1-0, 15 teams went 0-1, and two went 0-0-1. The Seahawks, Bears, Texans, and Commanders are first place teams. Let that sink in. If Week 1 is any indication, this will be an absolutely amazing season, and as for Week 2, it will kick off with Thursday Night Football--an AFC West matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Sunday Night Football will feature the latest chapter in the rivalry between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, and there will be two Monday Night Football games: the Buffalo Bills hosting the Tennessee Titans, and the Minnesota Vikings hosting the Philadelphia Eagles.

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