NFL Week One Reaction

Welcome to the Truda Report everybody. After Week One of NFL football, I'm ready to break down what I've seen from the thirty two teams so far. I'll be going through each game and providing a small analysis of what I saw, but if there are bigger games that people want discussed, I'll make a more in depth article about that too. Make sure to share this article as it helps TTR grow, and leave suggestions for topics down below.

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles:
This game was much more reminiscent of last year's divisional round match up between the two teams than I thought it would be. The defenses dominated the game, but the Eagles were able to fully shut down Atlanta's offense. The lack of Kyle Shanahan running that offense looks very apparent for the second straight year. On Philly's side of things, they can only be happy. With Nick Foles under center they just keep winning, even if they are winning ugly. Wentz will return soon, and then their own offense will return to form.

Tennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins:
This was the longest game in NFL history, lasting 7 hours and 10 minutes due to multiple weather related delays. Tennessee saw three starters get injured in that game due to the hard hitting mentality of the Miami defense. Marcus Mariota was hurt, Taylor Lewan was hurt, and Delanie Walker was carted off and out for the season. Miami just looked better all game long, as they made big plays on both sides of the ball, most notably a defensive stand on a 4th and goal from the 3 yard line, and a 75 yard dime from Ryan Tannehill to Kenny Stills. Tennessee should be concerned about those injuries and their lasting impact, while Miami should be focused on building off of what many called a surprise Week One win.

San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings:
Jimmy Garoppolo was sent back to Earth in this game, after what was a flawless start to his career. For the first time teams had a notable amount of tape on his play, and it was apparent as one of the best defenses in the league made him very uncomfortable and forced three interceptions. What the Niners should be happy about though was the play of the defense, as that unit kept them in the game. Minnesota WAYYYYYYYYY overpaid Kirk Cousins, but they should be satisfied that he kept the ball safe yesterday, and avoided turnovers. Both teams have a bright future as this season progresses.

Houston Texans @ New England Patriots:
I kept telling people to pump the brakes on Desean Watson, and nobody listened. He did not look good in this game, as he struggled to move the ball against a very average defense. Houston's defense was not satisfactory as they watched Rob Gronkowski torch them for over 120 yards and a score. Tom Brady's statistics looked good, but when you remove his throwing to Gronk, the production drops way off. This should be some cause for concern when they play teams that match up better with linebackers. Overall though, the Pats still look like the Pats, and Houston still has a lot to prove as every game is going to be important in their loaded division.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints:
FITZMAGIC BABY!!! Ryan Fitzpatrick is a first ballot Hall of Famer if a Hall of Fame existed for inconsistent backup QBs with legendary beards. The quarterback, filling in for a suspended Jameis Winston, threw for 4 touchdowns and added one on the ground (after which he did the Cam Newton Superman celebration which means I can now die happy). He posted a 156 passer rating, and lead a team I consider to be hot garbage to a huge win over many peoples Super Bowl favorites. The Saints defense, which was the key to their success last year, was awful, and everyone in NOLA should be concerned. It has only been one game, but that is not a good sign.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Giants:
I had the privilege of being at this game, and let me just say that what I saw is not going to show up in the box score. I watched Jalen Ramsey, who talked trash to everybody this offseason, encounter a real receiver. Odell not only had 11 receptions for over 100 yards, but he burned Ramsey and forced two huge pass interference calls to set up the Giants in scoring position. Luckily for the Jags, ​that wasn't too huge of an issue as they stopped the run outside of one amazing 68 yard touchdown scamper from rookie Saquon Barkley, and they consistently had pressure on Eli Manning. Bortles threw a pick early in the game, and Leonard Fournette hurt his hamstring (what a surprise!) which are not good signs for the Jags offense, but outside of that they still look really good. 
Side Note: Erik Flowers is the worst player in NFL history.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Indianapolis Colts:
What stood out to me about this game was the ineptitude of the Colts defense. Joe Mixon, a player I like, but definitely don't love, ran all over this team. Luck was able to keep this game close, but the Colts were eventually locked down, getting shut out in the fourth quarter. They still have a lot of work to do if they want to even think Playoffs in the near future. For Cincinnati, they should be satisfied with the performance, as this isn't a Playoff team but they showed some promise.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns:
It really bothers me that Ben Roethlisberger gets off easy with the media after this game. "He didn't play well, but he's still a good quarterback," they say, when I just watched something that told me the opposite of that. People say it's the absence of Le'Veon Bell that caused the poor performance, but James Conner, his replacement, was outstanding. The last two years we've seen Big Ben have games like this multiple times, where even his stars Antonio Brown and Bell can't save him from looking terrible. Luckily the Browns are too inept to win a game themselves, so after a full overtime the game ended in a 21-21 tie, which I think is ridiculous--play until somebody wins it's only a sixteen game season. This game I guess is a plus for the Browns as it ended a seventeen game losing streak, but it's definitely a negative for Pittsburgh as they did not look good down the stretch.

Buffalo Bills @ Baltimore Ravens:
Nathan Peterman is the worst quarterback ever. These Bills are possibly the worst football team ever. The Ravens basically had an extra preseason game this week, because pretty much everyone on their roster got playing time this week due to their being up by so much. This game was a joke. Moving on...

Kansas City Chiefs @ Los Angeles Chargers:
Tyreek Hill is a god. I have zero knowledge of whether on not he's a fundamentally sound receiver, but it doesn't matter because his speed ruins games. He had 268 all purpose yards, seven catches, and 3 touchdowns. The Chiefs new QB might have the strongest arm in the NFL, and yet it's impossible for his to overthrow Hill since "the cheetah" can literally just run under the ball and make the catch. Kansas City's offense was spectacular, and their defense looked solid as well. The Chargers are going to have trouble making the Playoffs this year because they're in a very tough division and what I saw on Sunday was that Kansas City is going to win it.

Washington Redskins @ Arizona Cardinals:
The Cardinals offense looks like a division two college. They couldn't move the ball until the last two minutes of the game, and that allowed Washington to control the clock with the run game. Speaking of the run game, Adrian Peterson was vintage as he now is top 10 all time in rushing yards, and he has over 100 career touchdowns. Peterson spearheaded the run game for Washington, and he did a great job helping control the clock. Alex Smith was under the radar good too, as he didn't really make mistakes and moved the ball effectively. Washington should be happy with his play, and Arizona should be disappointed with theirs.

Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers:
I've been saying it for years: fire Jason Garrett. How are you a head coach for eight years, and you forget to do what your roster is built for--RUNNING THE BALL. Ezekiel Elliot was barely involved on Sunday, despite it being a low scoring game, which usually encourages the run game. Dak Prescott didn't look very good as in my short period watching the game he missed multiple throws. Carolina's defense is often overlooked, but they're very, very good. This is a good sign for the Panthers, as they'll be relying on great defensive performances all year long as their division is filled with great passing games. The Cowboys showed me that they aren't a Playoff team, and I'm sticking with that until they prove otherwise.

Seattle Seahawks @ Denver Broncos:
This was a good game I think for both teams, as they both showed that they improved in the areas that they needed improvement in. Denver's defense is even better, and they have a quarterback now! Case Keenum looked good, and backed by another good defense he could be comfortable all game long. Seattle needed running back help as Russell Wilson was literally 95% of their offense last year, and it looked like they got some of that yesterday. Certainly their ball carriers aren't elite, but Wilson was able to hit them out of the back field for decent pickups multiple times, and they had a solid ypc of 4.0. Both teams looked good, and it'll be interesting to see how their seasons progress after a good showing from both in Week One.

Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers:
Aaron Rodgers is the greatest player to ever touch a football. Words cannot do justice to what he pulled off on Sunday Night. When he was carted off of the field I thought I might as well call it a night, but I stayed up in hopes of seeing Khalil Mack continue to make ridiculous plays. Instead, I saw a one legged Aaron Rodgers come back onto the field and lead his team back from down 20-0. When Green Bay got the ball back with two minutes to go in the game, I closed my eyes and said, "I give it four plays," envisioning how easy Rodgers would make that final drive look. It only took three, as it was over on a 75 yard catch and run to Randal Cobb. The Bears have a lot to look forward to this year because they looked great in the first half, but the brilliance of Rodgers is unmatched.

New York Jets @ Detroit Lions:
Look at that everybody, it's another Bill Belichick coordinator who's not going to pan out on their own. Matt Patricia, a defensive mind, watched the Jets drop 48 on his team. Let me say that again--the Jets, a team with one of the least talented offenses in the NFL, dropped 48 on the Lions. Matthew Stafford threw four interceptions and was beaten up a lot which does not fare well for his outlook the rest of the season. The Lions have a lot of work to do, and the Jets now get to confirm their delusional fans' suspicions that "It's gonna be our year, I'm tellin ya. Super Bowl in New York!" (I don't like the Jets ridiculous fanbase very much, if you couldn't tell).

Los Angeles Rams @ Oakland Raiders:
The Rams are my Super Bowl favorites right now, and they showed why last night. The Khalil Mack-less Raiders headed up by Jon Gruden's offense looked great in the first half, leading 13-10 at the break. The Rams showed why their one of the best teams in football during the second half though, scoring at will, and sicking their defense on Derek Carr and the Oakland offense. I have to give credit to the Raiders, because I thought they were a five win team after the Mack trade, but they looked really good in the first half. The Rams though, clearly, have nothing to worry about as their offense stayed creative last night and they ran away with the game in the end.