Sportz NFL Week 1 Recap

Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Chiefs over Ravens. Can we get that for the AFC Championship? There was buzz with the defending champs against the reigning MVP; this being the first game of the season; and the game was well played. And it all came down to a toe landing out of bounds in the endzone.

UPSET OF THE WEEK: Patriots over Bengals. This is a stunner, but signs were there. The Patriots were looked at as one of the worst teams in the NFL entering the season, while the Bengals ... with a healthy Joe Burrow ... were a possible challenger to the two-time defending champion Chiefs. Yet New England, with new head coach Jerod Mayo, went into Cincinnati and beat the Bengals. Cincinnati didn't have Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase played despite sitting all preseason. The concern comes from Burrow, who is coming back from wrist surgery and looked pretty uncomfortable on the sideline. 

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: Saints over Panthers. Look, Carolina isn't very good. We knew this. But, man, are they really this bad? Derek Carr looked like Drew Brees out there just picking the Panthers defense apart. Everybody ate with the Saints 47-10 win. The question now turns to if Bryce Young really is that guy for the Panthers. I feel it is a bit early for those types of conversations, but this organization is trending towards having the worst record in the NFL for the second straight season and this time they'll get to keep that No. 1 overall pick. 

DUD OF THE WEEK: 49ers over Jets. Honestly, this isn't my thinking. I'm high on the Niners and down on the Jets. I didn't expect Aaron Rodgers to walk into Santa Clara after playing just four snaps since January 2023 and light up one of the better defenses in the NFL. But a lot of people have big plans for New York and that didn't look promising. Not only was the Jets offense a bit off, their vaunted defense was pushed around by one of the most physical teams in the league. 

STORYLINE OF THE WEEK: Quarterback play was iffy. Preseason is down to just three games now and we rarely see starters play anymore -- especially quarterbacks. It seemed to show all over the league this weekend. Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins looked rusty after coming back from injuries. Rookies Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix struggled in their first games. But Deshaun Watson was horrible. Daniel Jones looked like his time in New York is over. Bryce Young's honeymoon is fading fast. Trevor Lawrence didn't look like he was worth the contract he signed this offseason. Jordan Love didn't look like the guy who dominated the second half of last season (then he got hurt). There certainly were some great performances by guys like Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr and CJ Stroud to name a few, but this was a soft start for some of the QBs.