It’s always a good idea to reflect on the events on an NFL weekend. Certainly our view on many teams has changed since, say, last Thursday afternoon. We should talk about it, you and I. Here’s what I think we learned from Week 1 of the NFL season.
Ben McAdoo learned from Tom Coughlin’s failures
Last season the New York Giants had one single problem and it not only knocked them out of playoff contention, but out of an NFC East title. New York lost nine games by a touchdown or less and virtually all of them were the direct result of a blow, late, fourth-quarter lead. New head coach Ben McAdoo faced that same situation potentially Sunday afternoon.
Congratulations to Ben McAdoo on winning his first game; A redemption from last year's debacle in Dallas. Well deserved.
— Giants Daily (@NYGDaily) September 12, 2016
Leading 20-19 over the Dallas Cowboys with 2:52 left in the game, McAdoo did absolutely nothing fancy. He called two up the gut running plays, got a first down, then called five more of the same. McAdoo’s thoughts were transparent. Either the Giants were going to pick up first downs and run out the clock or they were going to punt with as little time left on the clock as they could manage. That’s exactly what happened.
Dallas got the ball back with 1:05 left and, thanks to McAdoo’s choice to actually run time off the clock, the Cowboys were out of time outs. Dallas got the ball on the 20 and with a little help from a bonehead choice from Terrance Williams, the Giants escaped with the victory and exorcised 2015’s ghost at the same time.
Jameis Winston and the Bucs could make the playoffs
And the thing is, after the way they wrapped up last season and started this one with a solid 31-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons, no one would be surprised. Tampa Bay’s defense was fantastic against the Falcons, especially in the run game. Devonta Freeman averaged just 1.8 yards per carry and his longest run of the day was 10 yards. This likely killed a lot of daily fantasy players’ chances at fabulous cash and prizes, but it all but guaranteed a victory for the Buccaneers. Second-year linebacker Kwon Alexander out of LSU was an unstoppable tackling machine, recording 17, with 15 solos tackles, two for a loss and a sack.
Perfect throw from @jaboowins.
CRAZY @aesj88 catch.@tbbuccaneers TD! #TBvsATL https://t.co/GmTK0qWUH0— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2016
The Bucs showing up on defense was a shock, but the offense wasn’t. Any worry of a sophomore slump for Winston is out the window after he opened the season 23-of-32 for 281 yards and four touchdowns with one pick. Winston did that by spreading the ball around too. Only Mike Evans and running back Doug Martin caught more than three passes in the game.
If the Broncos can hold the Panthers to 20 points, they can beat anybody
I’ve been a firm believer that you need a relatively balanced team to compete for a championship in the NFL, but the Denver Broncos are out to prove me wrong. Their style of defense, coupled with their home field advantage at Mile High Stadium, open up the possibility of another Super Bowl run, even with Trevor Siemian at quarterback. I don’t think it will happen, but it doesn’t seem as crazy as it sounded just a week ago.
The #Broncos fines are coming in: More than $18K for S Darian Stewart & more than $24K for LB Brandon Marshall for hits on Cam Newton
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2016
The key for the Broncos, just like last season, is to get home field advantage. I can easily see this team going 8-0 at home now. That means they need to pick up at least four wins on the road. It won’t be easy. After another home game against the Colts, Denver travels to Cincinnati and then Tampa Bay. That looks like 2-2 to me.
Dead Head Coach Walking
We’ve got five real contenders for our “first coach fired of the 2016 season” trophy and four of them really put on a show this weekend, making a real push for the title. Only the Detroit Lions’ Jim Caldwell seems eager to stay employed, leading his Lions team to a fourth-quarter 39-35 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The other four competitors (the Bills’ Rex Ryan, the Titans’ Mike Mularkey, the Chargers’ Mike McCoy and the Rams’ Jeff Fisher) all did their part to stay in the hunt by losing, sometimes badly.
I know I made the bold prediction that Mike McCoy wouldn’t be the first coach fired in the preseason, but as of Week 1, I’ve got to say he’s probably in the top spot right now. You could argue Fisher, but I think the fact that his contract is up at the end of the season works in his favor.
