Photo Credit: Giants Wire - USA Today
Can anybody make a damn kick?
What a WILD Week 1 in the NFL. Let's jump right into my "explosive observations" by team:
Buffalo Bills over Los Angeles Rams, 31-10
Frascella on Buffalo: The Bills beat the defending champs on the road, by 21 points... while turning the ball over 4 times! I don't believe I've ever heard of such a thing. Now, they are already -10.5 against the Titans - still a solid, respectable team - in Week 2. Buffalo may be on their way to dominating the entire league this season. Josh Allen's run/pass versatility seems totally indefensible right now. The velocity on his intermediate throws makes it impossible for defenders to close gaps quickly. Sean McDermott continues to be the most underrated head coach in the game.
Frascella on Los Angeles: Robert Woods got hurt and became Odell Beckham, Jr. Then OBJ got hurt. Now that spot, through roster changes, is occupied by Allen Robinson, who honestly might be washed. Robinson, shockingly, had just 1 reception for 12 yards in the Rams' Week 1 debacle. They need Van Jefferson back sooner rather than later. And... I warned people about Matthew Stafford's tendinitis in his throwing elbow:
Cam Akers is also an early disappointment for this club. They may need to make quick roster moves on the offensive side of the ball.
New Orleans Saints over Atlanta Falcons, 27-26
Frascella on New Orleans: Great comeback by Jameis Winston! He found his rhythm in the second half of a surprisingly-tough game, and Michael Thomas came to life for 5 receptions and 2 critical touchdowns. Jarvis Landry was MUCH better than I anticipated, popping off for 114 yards on 7 key receptions. Taysom Hill was an absolute monster on the ground (81 yards and a touchdown on just 4 totes).
Frascella on Atlanta: Brutal blown win by the Falcons, here. I had been talking Arthur Smith up going into the season, but up 27-10 after 3 quarters, you absolutely have to close that game out. Marcus Mariota's run/pass attack was decent, but Smith and the Atlanta defense HAD to be better in the 4th quarter.
Chicago Bears over San Francisco 49ers, 19-10
Frascella on Chicago: Those nasty weather conditions certainly favored the grinders from Chicago! Solid fight back from sophomore Justin Fields, 85.7 QB rating to Trey Lance's 50.3 in brutal conditions. Two touchdowns to just 1 interception was good enough given the circumstances, as well. Not surprisingly, young Khalil Herbert outplayed David Montgomery on the ground: 9/45/1 TD to 17/26/0 TD. I've written this about David, fairly recently:
Frascella on San Francisco: I just don't understand why they had to push Jimmy Garoppolo out. I mean, I get it on a hyper-specificity level - Garoppolo can get ya to the Super Bowl, but he can't win it for ya - but Kyle Shanahan forced his own hand when they drafted Trey Lance that high in the first place. If you weren't entirely sure about Jimmy G, why not wait and take a look at Davis Mills in the 2nd round of the 2021 NFL Draft? (Mills went 67th; the Niners had the 48th pick.) Regardless, it's too early to write Lance off after one horrific game in horrific weather conditions. Is WR2 Brandon Aiyuk ever going to become anything, by the way?
Pittsburgh Steelers over Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20
Frascella on Pittsburgh: For a short while there, when it mattered the most... nobody wanted to make a damn kick in this game! Chris Boswell reigned supreme in the end, but it was far from a "pretty" performance from Pittsburgh's offense in its opener. Mitchell Trubisky had 17 incomplete passes, and he'll certainly have to watch for Kenny Pickett nipping at his heels. Najee Harris went down - though his injury is "not considered a big deal" - and hype rookie George Pickens had just 1 catch for 3 yards.
Frascella on Cincinnati: If I had a dime for every time I wrote, "I'm worried about Joe Burrow's emergency appendectomy..."
Matt Stafford’s tendonitis worries me, and Joe Burrow’s appendectomy worries me. I can’t help it. I just can’t seem to go all-in on either star QB this fantasy season.
Appendectomy. What if he takes some shots in that region? Gonna be uncomfortable throwing vs middle pass rush
Appendectomy does have me worried about Joey B...
Yeah, my structure doesn’t make a lot of sense, anyway. I have a lot of Chase in exposure but not much Burrow. I’m just worried about Burrow because of the appendectomy and general rust. Just wanna see how he looks out the gate, first
I think I’m more worried about Joe Burrow for fantasy purposes than virtually everyone else.
— John Frascella (Football) (@LegendSports7) August 23, 2022
And... my friends... that was NOT a Joey B game in Cincy's opener. FOUR interceptions and a lost fumble? Yikes! He, along with mentally-shaken kicker Evan McPherson will simply have to "get right" as the Bengals move forward this season. Tee Higgins always seems to run into injury-related trouble, too.
Frascella on Philly: Well they can't be upset about their offensive performance, right? Jalen Hurts piled up 333 total yards, while A.J. Brown and Miles Sanders both looked particularly sharp. Philly will expect more out of its defense going forward, though.
Frascella on Detroit: Well, 35 points are encouraging, especially with 144 dominant rushing yards from D'Andre Swift and a "I'm not a fluke" performance from Amon-Ra St. Brown at the wide receiver position. But can Dan Campbell actually coach this team to stops... and wins... in the end?
Miami Dolphins over New England Patriots, 20-7
Frascella on Miami: Tua was slightly on the high end of what he's expected to do, tossing for 270 yards and a touchdown, without a pick vs. a well-respected defensive unit. Chase Edmonds did little to inspire confidence as a pure rusher, so he better watch his back with Raheem Mostert waiting in the wings. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both looked sharp in the passing game.
Frascella on New England: About as bad as we expected... or worse. I'm not gonna lie, as a Jets fan, I'm glad the Patriots have become one of the laughingstocks of the league. Join us at the bottom, Pats!
Baltimore Ravens over New York Jets, 24-9
Frascella on Baltimore: Lamar Jackson did NOT look like his explosive self. It seemed particularly difficult for him to get his legs churning. On the bright side, he connected on some nice, confident deep passes when Baltimore had to put its stamp on the game. Without JK Dobbins and "Gus The Bus", Kenyan Drake and Mike Davis both did nothing in the Ravens' backfield as expected. Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay looked similar in the passing game - not a lot of volume, but they kill you over the top with raw speed.
Frascella on the Jets: Ugh... haven't you heard enough from me about the shitty Jets?
Just read this article, I guess.
Washington Commanders over Jacksonville Jaguars, 28-22
Frascella on Washington: Wide receivers Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson brought the missing elements people weren't expecting from the Commanders' surprisingly-decent offense. Carson Wentz was fairly sharp with 313 yards and 4 TDs, but he could do without the 2 picks. That's where he needs to clean up his game, going forward. Logan Thomas returned from injury faster than anticipated, too.
Frascella on Jacksonville: Trevor Lawrence looked like a middling sophomore quarterback out the gate, and is Zay Jones really the No. 2 receiver for this team? Christian Kirk was fantastic - as expected due to his target dominance - with 117 explosive yards receiving. James Robinson was the big surprise - 6 yards per carry, plus a touchdown.
Cleveland Browns over Carolina Panthers, 26-24
Frascella on Cleveland: Jacoby Brissett was a grinder, as always. It was far, far from pretty out there. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt set a serious tone for this team, as they normally do in the trenches and on the ground. Amari Cooper was outplayed in the passing game by his younger counterpart, Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Frascella on Carolina: Baker Mayfield seems to be like Jameis Winston in that he tends to play his better football when his team falls behind and some of the pressure falls off. It's like, when the game seems to be slipping away, these guys use softer coverages to get their rhythm going. Christian McCaffrey averaged just 3.3 yards per carry - major yikes for fantasy owners. Robbie Anderson exploded for a surprisingly-good game in Carolina's passing attack.
Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, a 20-20 TIE?
Frascella on Indianapolis: I had been telling people all offseason that the Colts were overhyped because Matt Ryan was probably washed.
Sure, his final numbers were decent enough, but Indy was down 20-3 after 3 quarters vs. the lowly Texans. THREE points after 3 quarters vs the Texans D? Matty Ice's arm was ice cold. Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. led the way for this club, as anticipated.
Frascella on Houston: The Texans and Falcons really can't be blowing leads like this in Week 1. If you are going to salvage a "tank" season, you gotta start fast and capitalize on the wins that are sitting on the table for you. Davis Mills was solid - as he tends to be, without people really realizing - and SURPRISE! Veteran Rex Burkhead outplayed and outworked hype rookie Dameon Pierce within Houston's rushing game.
New York Giants over Tennessee Titans, 21-20
Frascella on the Giants: See what a difference a REAL head coach makes? Brian Daboll was in total command, chewing out Daniel Jones and forcing the issue with a game-winning two-point conversion from Saquon Barkley. Barkley played out of his mind, and I have to credit Daboll for providing better schemes and standing behind Saquon as his superstar and primary playmaker. Somehow, "Danny Dimes" only had 4 incomplete passes. Kadarius Toney was a ghost in the passing game.
Frascella on Tennessee: I'm not gonna lie to ya... I told my father-in-law to take either the Ravens or Titans in his Survivor Pool! And of course he went with Tennessee - my bad, Pop! Things looked awfully easy when the Titans were up 13-0 at half, but head coach Mike Vrabel had a rare terrible game as he blew the clock management and game-winning FG setup at the very end. Ryan Tannehill was pretty solid, but RB2 Dontrell Hilliard was the Titans' surprise offensive star.
Minnesota Vikings over Green Bay Packers, 23-7
Frascella on Minnesota: Justin Jefferson was even better than advertised. He singlehandedly crushed the Packers' defensive hopes and dreams. Kirk Cousins was sharp and clean.
Frascella on Green Bay: First thoughts on life without Davante Adams? Seems like an absolute fuckin' nightmare for Aaron Rodgers. Christian Watson already had the drop of the year:
Everything is hinging on Rodgers, AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones.
Kansas City Chiefs over Arizona Cardinals, 44-21
Frascella on KC: This one was all about Andy Reid and Eric Bienemy. Ya lose Tyreek Hill? Who cares? With our schemes and Pat Mahomes, we throw for 360 yards and 5 touchdowns without a single interception. Travis Kelce goes HAM - even though you KNOW we're going to him. An all-around thing of beauty from KC's players and coaches.
Frascella on Arizona: NFL Week 1 was all about teams missing certain players or coaches. See my tweet, here:
I mean... Greg Dortch had to lead the way for Arizona? Who?
Los Angeles Chargers over Las Vegas Raiders, 24-19
Frascella on the Chargers: Obviously, going forward, we gotta keep a sharp eye on that Keenan Allen injury. Austin Ekeler was quiet and superstar Justin Herbert spread the ball around nicely as per usual.
Frascella on Las Vegas: Three picks from Derek Carr despite a MONSTER first game from Davante Adams. 141 yards and a touchdown on... SEVENTEEN targets? Lolololol
Tampa Bay Bucs over Dallas Cowboys, 19-3
Frascella on Tampa: This became a Todd Bowles team awfully quickly, didn't it? Grinder game, holding a depleted Dallas team to just 3 points. Tom Brady looked old and rusty, and Chris Godwin went down yet again. Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans were the offensive standouts for this club.
Frascella on Dallas: Season is toast without Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. End of story. Niners won't trade Jimmy G, in case Lance is a complete and utter bust.
Seattle Seahawks over Denver Broncos, 17-16
Frascella on Seattle: Helluva performance from my former Jets' quarterback Geno Smith! By his standards, at least. Rashaad Penny should have gotten more touches in the running game; he looked solid. Metcalf and Lockett were quiet despite Geno's good-for-him performance.
Frascella on Denver: This one is all on head coach Nathaniel Hackett and Denver's pass catchers. Russell Wilson certainly made enough on-target throws to get this "W". Drop in the endzone. Bad first down drops, and some of the worst head coaching you will ever see at the very end of this debacle of a loss.
See ya next week, ya'll! I wonder if Nathaniel Hackett will still have his job by then...
John Frascella is a published sports author who has been covering the NFL for 18 years. Follow him on Twitter @LegendSports7 for all things football throughout this incredibly wild season.
