The first week of NFL action is now all wrapped up, and it couldn’t have been filled with more excitement, shock and incredible performances across the board. We saw the defending champions return to their dominant ways beating the Baltimore Ravens at home, the Cincinnati Bengals losing in shock fashion to the Jacoby Brissett-led New England Patriots, and Josh Allen leading an incredible comeback against the Arizona Cardinals headlined by his four touchdown performance.
This week looks set to give us a number of great games again, starting with Thursday night football as the Miami Dolphins take on the Buffalo Bills and then moving to the weekend slate with premier matchups between some of the league’s elite. However, we should first take a quick look at some of the main highlights from last week’s games:
MVP of the week: Josh Allen vs. Arizona
Coming into the week, I thought that the Bills might have a difficult time adjusting to the loss of their star WR Stefon Diggs and could falter against the Cardinals. Through the first 27 minutes of play I was feeling very good about my prediction...
Then Josh Allen happened.
As with my prediction for last year’s AFC Championship game, I failed to take into account how important having one of the league’s elite QBs is — a group that Allen is undoubtedly a part of.
After the first offensive drive that ended with a fumble, Allen proceeded to convert five out of the next six drives into scores — including four touchdowns — that ultimately put them out of reach from Arizona. He finished the game with 271 total yards and four touchdowns — an incredibly impressive performance for a quarterback who has just lost his number one weapon, having to rely on a rookie to be his WR1.
Allen and the Bills will soon face a tough division rival in the Dolphins, but I have faith that he will be able to be the one-man wrecking crew that he has proved time and time again he can be.
Shock team performance: New England vs. Cincinnati
The clear choice for this was New England’s unexpected victory in Cincinnati, with head coach Jerod Mayo securing a win in his first game at the helm.
Stepping into impossibly large shoes to fill following the departure of the esteemed Bill Belichick, Mayo didn’t have many expectations coming up against Joe Burrow and the Bengals; however, Mayo and his team shocked the world and won what was a very close game in the end: 16–10.
It should be noted that the Bengals are notorious for their slow starts to seasons (Burrow is 6–8–1 in the month of September for his career); however, losing to the Patriots was certainly not expected.
I do ultimately believe that this will just be a blip on the year for the Bengals; however, time will only tell how costly it may be in what looks to be a tightly contested AFC North this season.
As for the Patriots, I find it unlikely that they continue such form for the rest of the year, but it most certainly is an impressive result, and their fans will be hoping that it sets the tone for the Mayo era that has descended upon New England.
Breakout player: Jayden Reed vs. Philadelphia
Despite the damper that was placed on the Packers’ first week game due to the injury to quarterback Jordan Love, Jayden Reed was certainly a bright spot in their Week 1 loss to the Eagles.
Coming off a solid rookie year, which saw the second round pick produce 793 yards and an impressive eight touchdowns, Reed looked primed to breakout this year alongside his QB who had just signed a brand new contract extension. The injury to Love may hamper expectations slightly; however all reports look positive towards a return hopefully within the next month or so.
Reed, however, produced phenomenally on the weekend, racking up four catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. Not only that though, but Reed led all wide receivers in separation when targeted at 5.3 yards per target. The culmination of all this represents a promising sight for Packers fans, and they may have found their slot WR of the future.
He may not keep up this production consistently for the rest of the year, but Reed is certainly a name to watch out for in the future. I think we may have just seen a glimpse into the potential he possesses to be one of the league’s top receivers one day.
What to watch out for this week:
This upcoming week will be interesting as it will present the league with an opportunity to either continue on the same trajectory as Week 1 or completely turn it around — for better or for worse. As they become more accustomed to the NFL, I expect some of the rookies to turn around their slow starts and some veterans who perhaps didn’t turn up to training camp (Brandon Aiyuk...) to get back on their feet and correct their course from a disappointing Week 1.
A stat to look out for is that Josh Allen has never lost on Thursday Night Football. He will be coming up against a difficult team in the Dolphins this week, but expect to see another hard-fought performance from the Bills that might see them go home winning.
I would also keep an eye out for the New Orleans Saints. Coming off an incredibly strong performance against Carolina, they’ll be facing a Dallas team riding high off of their domination of Cleveland, and it could prove a great matchup between two teams contending for NFC Wild Card spots come the end of the season.
Picks of the week:
With the craziness that inevitably comes with Week 1 of the NFL season, I’m pretty happy with how my predictions turned out last week. The dust is still settling, though, and we still aren’t even close to fully understanding how each team is going to perform this year. With this being the case, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a number of shocks again this week, just like the Patriots win last Sunday.
Overall Record: 10-6
Bills @ Dolphins (-2.5): Bills
49ers (-5) @ Vikings: 49ers
Seahawks (-3.5) @ Patriots: Seahawks
Giants @ Commanders (-2): Commanders
Chargers (-6) @ Panthers: Chargers
Saints @ Cowboys (-6): Saints
Colts (-2.5) @ Packers: Colts
Browns @ Jaguars (-3): Browns
Jets (-4) @ Titans: Jets
Buccaneers @ Lions (-7.5): Lions
Raiders @ Ravens (-8.5): Ravens
Rams @ Cardinals (-1.5): Rams
Bengals @ Chiefs (-5): Chiefs
Steelers (-2.5) @ Broncos: Steelers
Bears @ Texans (-6.5): Texans
Falcons @ Eagles (-6.5): Eagles
*All odds are sourced from DraftKings as of Sept. 12, 2024.
