Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

Let’s talk about the week one Sunday slate of games. Here’s a few short takes from teams and games around the league.

Scrappy Saints

I don’t know if I expected the Saints to look more flashy or if I just undervalued the Titans defence but the Saints win was just kind of ugly. Derek Carr went 23/33 for 305 yards a touchdown and interception. Jamaal Williams had 18 carries for 45 yards as the lead back.

The Saints got the job done 16-15 over the Titans and held Derrick Henry to 63 yards and no touchdowns averaging 4.2 yards per carry. The bright spot was the defence for the winning side but with the talent on both sides of the ball, I expected the Saints to have this win more in the bag.

Just a mess

I think I can put at least eight teams above the Titans in the AFC right now. Thankfully for them, seven of the eight are outside of their division so while the window is still open for a division title, they did not give much to get excited about in week one. Tannehill went 16/34 for 198 yards and three picks showing the addition of DeAndre Hopkins hasn’t kicked in yet for the flow of the offence.

They went field goal, field goal, punt, punt, interception in their first five drives of the game and if you expected it to get much better, it didn’t. Starting it off recovering a kickoff fumble on the Saints 24 yard line and not being able to get more than 2 yards before kicking a field goal, set the tone for the game, and that’s all to really mention for Tennessee in week one.

Bake a Viking

This is where I give credit to Baker Mayfield. The Buccaneers were in command of their game against the Vikings throughout and Baker’s connection to Mike Evans at the end of the first half propelled them to a win.

While most of the credit should go to the defence, Baker did enough not to cost the Buccaneers the win while throwing for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Combined with the Saints underwhelming result and the Falcons showcasing their running game, the NFC South may be more open than you may have thought and Baker may just lead the Buccaneers on a push.

1-5 vs the Browns

Something about Cleveland. Joe Burrow is now 1-5 versus the Cleveland Browns in his career, and we have a winner for biggest outlier stat of the year already. Do I think yesterday’s 24-3 loss to the Browns affects the Bengals chances of a playoff run? Not at all. Is it concerning? Sure, you can say putting them in the rain against a running team is a red flag now, but that’s a very specific set of conditions.

Joe had no connection with his receivers all game. Tee Higgins didn’t have a catch, Ja’Marr had 39 yards as the leading receiver. Ja’Marr Chase was upset after the game talking about losing to elves. It was a complete disaster while the Browns were licking their lips with Myles Garrett crossing up offensive lineman and Chubb taking full advantage of the stormy field to get 106 yards on the ground. Bengals just need to watch the tape and move on knowing this game probably won’t happen to them again.

Preseason merchants?

Did we overreact to the preseason? The Steelers got walked all over by the 49ers on Sunday and every part of their game, aside from TJ Watt, looked incredibly ugly. It’s been widely noted that the 0-16 Cleveland Browns went undefeated in the preseason, and I don’t think the Steelers are going to be on that level, but wow the offence looks ugly.

First week jitters or whatever you want to call it, they did nothing all afternoon and San Fran did whatever they wanted. Fred Warner looked like he was playing with his food and Christian McCaffrey actually devoured his food for 152 yards and a TD on the ground and 17 yards through the air. Steelers looked stale, completely outmatched and nowhere near the hard nosed team you’re used to from Pittsburgh.

Howell doesn’t care who’s down there

Sam Howell is a guy who can sling it, and isn’t afraid to. The Commanders may have a dude at QB and though he’s going to throw his interceptions with his confidence to get the ball anywhere on the field, he’s going to throw touchdowns and get some wins for this Washington team.

Their opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, had some fire in their gut but the Commanders lit theirs brighter for a 20-16 win. Against the defences of the Eagles and Cowboys in their division, it will be fun to see how Howell slings it and i’m sure he’s going to have to dial it back and realize that some windows just aren’t open, but it’s definitely fun football up there in Washington.

A shot of Ridley

The debut of Calvin Ridley for the Jaguars came in a win over the Colts. It was hard to dial it back and not get too excited over the preseason practice highlight videos that were being put up. He looked fast and like he was a step above everyone else on the field, and that translated to the field.

The Jaguars appear to be here. After a comeback against the Chargers in the playoffs last year, this first week showed that they are planning on being a contender again in the AFC, and Ridley may be that needed addition.

Rookie sensation

Yeah Bryce Young and Desmond RIdder were starting but can we talk about Bijan Robinson? Allgeier led the Falcons in rushing but Bijan, the rookie sensation, looked like he is going to be a problem in the NFL for the next few years.

The way he was sidestepping defenders and the physicality he ran with running through contact got me going through my TV screen, and as his NFL knowledge grows with more time in the league, I think the ceiling is incredibly high, and in this division, that may put the Falcons in the conversation to get back to their Matt Ryan greatness.

Not again Denver

All last year, if the Broncos could score 18 points, they would have had a much better year. As we found out at the end of the season, that would’ve most likely made them a playoff team and maybe some wouldn’t have been on as much of a hot seat. Well they didn’t, it was a disaster in the offseason with much changing over, and they started off the 2023 season by scoring 16 points and losing to a team who scored 17.

Once again, if the Broncos scored 18 points, they would’ve won the game and they didn’t. Sean Payton did a lot of talking in the offseason for wins to not start stacking, but this first game against the Las Vegas Raiders gave me at least, flashbacks to last season.

One last game in the week one slate, the Bills and Jets, then on to week two.