Tyler’s PS4 Week 1 Recap

Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books. And boy, was it a doozy! I’m not here to waste your time, so without further adieu, here’s a recap of all 16 games. BUCS 38, SAINTS 13 The Buccaneers absolutely stunned the Saints in week 1 with a dominating 25-point win. The Saints were one of the best teams in the NFL last season, losing on a miracle final play to Minnesota in the playoffs. They were expected to repeat that success this year, but Jameis Winston and the Bus took the wind out of their sails. Winston threw for 298 yards on a very efficient 18-21 passing. Peyton Barber had breakout game to help Tampa Bay with 107 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. If the Bucs can continue to get this kind of production from Barber, they’ll be tough to beat in the NFC South this season. Titans 27, Dolphins 17 The new-look Miami Dolphins lost their inaugural game of the season to the Titans, 27-17. The Dolphins acquired Teddy Bridgewater and Bilal Powell from the Jets during the preseason. Bridgewater threw for 205 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions in his debut, while Powell had 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 13 carries. The Titans young guns had solid weeks. Marcus Mariota threw for 238 yards with 2 touchdowns, 1 rushing. Derrick Henry compiled over 100 total yards with a pair of scores. (INJRY REPORT: RB D.Lewis will miss a month with an elbow injury.) Panthers 37, Cowboys 15 Dak Prescott lost his two biggest targets in the passing game this off-season, and it showed on Sunday. The Quarterback of America’s team threw 4 interceptions in the team’s first game of the season, and the Cowboys were smothered by the Panthers. The absence of Zeke Elliott cost the ‘boys big-time, as they had little to no rushing attack. The Panthers were also without their main man out of the backfield, Christian McCaffrey. However, free agent acquisition CJ Anderson did more than enough to pick up the slack, rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown on the ground. If there was any positive for Dallas, new wideout Allen Hurns had over 150 yards and a touchdown receiving. Bears 44, Packers 13 Congratulations! If you had the Bears marching into Lambeau and thumping the Packers by 31 week 1, you win!! Any winners? No, no takers? Didn’t think so. Mitchell Trubisky channeled his inner Patrick the Star in this one. “MY NAME’S NOT MITCH!!!!” Mitchell threw for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns…on 11 completions!! Meanwhile, our old pal Aaron, the baaaad man, Rodgers was disaster. The former NFL MVP threw 5 interceptions to an apparently haunting Bears defense on Sunday in his return from last season’s injury. Not to mention he didn’t get much help from his running game. The Packers totaled 9 yards on 19 carries. Eagles 34, Falcons 17 Speaking of star quarterbacks throwing INT after INT, Matt Ryan threw 5 of them as well on Thursday night’s NFL season-opening game. The Eagles defense that lived in offensive coordinators’ nightmares last season picked up right where they left off on Thursday. Carson Wentz returned, and the Eagles did their best to ease him in slowly. He threw just 13 pass attempts, completing 10 for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. Maybe the most amazing stat of the first week is the fact that the Eagles scored 34 points with just 176 yards of offense! Ravens 50, Bills 6 I could write a recap, but I’m gonna take a quick break and let the score speak for itself. Patriots 24, Texans 20 Great NFL quarterbacks old and new treated the fans of Gillette Stadium to a week 1 treat on Sunday. The Patriots began their quest to make their 3rd-straight Super Bowl with a 24-20 win at home against Deshaun Watson’s Texans. Tom Brady was back, as he will be until the day he dies. Brady was 17-26 for 295 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Watson lit up the league at the beginning of last season, but did anything but that on Sunday, completing 11 of his 28 attempts with 4 interceptions. Despite that, the Texans managed to hang around, in part because of the return of Defensive end JJ Watt, who came back with a bang with 3 sacks. (INJURY REPORT: WR J.Edelman will miss a month with an elbow injury.) Colts 25, Bengals 9 This game was just as ugly as it seems- both from the score and the teams. Andrew Luck made his return to meaningful football, throwing for 140 yards and a touchdown on 13-24 passing. Dez Bryant scored a touchdown in his Colts debut, and Andy Dalton threw 5 interceptions. Consider yourself lucky if you missed this one on Sunday. Browns 20, Steelers 17 Cancel the parade! The Browns have already eclipsed their win total from last year through 1 week. They took down the 3 B’s of Pittsburgh in a 20-17 win on Sunday. The Browns decided to go for it, starting rookie QB Baker Mayfield, and it payed off. Mayfield threw for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns in his NFL debut. The Browns front-7 smothered possibly the best RB in the league in Le’Veon Bell. Bell totaled just 20 yards on 12 carries. While they held 1 B down, they couldn’t possibly hold down both. Antonio Brown had 7 receptions for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. But the only number that matters for the Browns on this day is 1. 1 win, 1 week in. Broncos 28, Seahawks 3 A rematch of Super Bowl 48 went down on Sunday. This one went the completely different way. This was a revenge game for Denver, and their defense had no mercy on the 12th man. Seattle failed to find the end zone in their season-opening game. Russell Wilson threw for 136 yards and 3 interceptions, disappointing fantasy owners everywhere. Case Keenum threw just 4 incompletions in his Broncos debut, but 2 of them were picked off. Unfortunately for Seattle fans, those picks didn’t get net them any points on the scoreboard. Rams 30, Raiders 24 (OT) A west-coast barn-burner was in store for fans on Sunday. The Rams squeaked out a win in OT over the veteran Raiders, 30-24. The Rams introduced a new pass-heavy offense during the game. Jared Goff and Sean Mannion combined for 52 pass attempts during the game. They completed 29 of them, for 354 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 picks. Todd Gurley had a surprisingly quiet game, compiling just 62 total yards. The Rams acquired WR Brandin Cooks from New England in the off-season, but it was young stars Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee stealing the show in this one. They combined for 18 receptions, 212 yards, and touchdown. Derek Carr threw for a touchdown and 3 picks during the game. Jordy Nelson had 5 receptions for 46 yards in his Raider debut. Jets 31, Lions 30 The Jets “took it easy” on the Lions on Sunday only beating the by 1. Sam Darnold had about as eventful an NFL debut as they come. He was 15-35 for 278 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Kenyan Drake struggled with his new club, totaling just 17 yards on 11 carries. The Lions were missing the presence of their starting QB, Matt Stafford. Matt Cassel got the start, throwing for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. Quincy Enunwa did his best Jerry Rice impression, totaling 132 yards on 6 receptions with a pair of scores. If the Jets continue to take it easy on folks, the results may not turn out in their favor very often. Vikings 30, 49ers 27 Kirk Cousins made his Vikings debut with 259 yards and 2 picks, while completing just half of his 44 attempts. Dalvin Cook returned from injury with 79 yards on 17 carries, but fantasy owners should take note that the Vikings showed Latavius Murray as their goal-line back–he scored twice. Jerrick McKinnon faced his former squad for the first time rushing for 39 yards on 12 carries in his team debut. Another player making his debut for San Fran was Pierre Garcon, and he made the most of it. 10 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown. I think Jimmy GQ may have found his new favorite target. The niners stayed in it step for step with a team coming off an NFC Championship game appearance, and that’s something to be proud of. Chargers 19, Chiefs 13 (OT) The Chargers, in front of a high-school sized crowd, knocked off their divisional rival in a low-scoring, OT game. Austin Ekeler won it in OT with a TD from about 30 yards out, following a Patrick Mahomes fumble. A late Pass interference call on safety Tre Boston allowed the Chargers to kick a game-tying field goal. That sent the game to OT, the rest was history. Phillip Rivers had his usual, efficient game. 18-24 for 200 yards. Patrick Mahomes was 16-27 for 155 yards and a pick in his first game as the Chiefs’ starting QB. Keenan Allen reiterated to the world that he’s Rivers’ top target. He caught 11 of the team’s 19 completions during the game. He also complied 141 yards. (INJURY REPORT: Offensive linemen Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Mitchell Shwartz will miss a month each with various injuries.) Cardinals 37, Redskins 34 (OT) Maybe the best game of the crazy first week was a crazy, high-scoring game between Arizona and Washington. The teams combined for 71 points, and Arizona won it on a field goal in overtime. Josh Rosen started the game, but left with an injury. He will miss a few weeks. He and Bradford combined to go 25-32 for 460 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Alex Smith threw for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns in his ‘Skins debut. David Johnson was an absolute workhorse, carrying the rock 27 times. Arizona WR JJ Nelson may have been the NFC OPOTW. He only had 6 receptions and a touchdown. Oh, did I mention he had 225 receiving yards?!?! Derrius Guice had 9 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown in his debut, but will likely miss the next couple weeks due to an injury. There you have it! If week 1 has anything to say about it, we’re in for a wild ride!