Are you still surprised? About what? It was the typical Week 1 of the NFL, full of surprises and the occasional disappointment.
It was also a debut Sunday, with three of the five quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2021 Draft in their first games as starters.
None of them won, by the way. Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick, threw three touchdown passes, but was also intercepted three times., in the loss of the Jaguars, 37-21 in Houston.
Zach Wilson, second pick in the draft, had two touchdown passes and one interception, and the Jets fell 19-14 at Carolina., in what is probably the sweetest win for Sam Darnold, now with Panthers after leaving the back door of the Jets’ offices.
Finally, from the rookies, Mac Jones was best viewed on his NFL debut: 29 of 39, 281 yards and a touchdown, but a fumble on his last offense. deprived the Patriots of their first win it’s from the season.
The other two rookie quarterbacks, Trey Lance and Justin Fields, they were not starters, but they helped put points on the scoreboard.
In his roles as “situation player”, Lance threw a touchdown pass five yards and Fields scored on the run three yards on a read-option play.
They lost, but I’m sure the Patriots are going to qualify for the Playoffs with the rookie.
MONDAY OF OVERREACTION
Don’t be surprised if you read or hear something like this:
“Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are finished.”
Yes, Rodgers played one of his worst games, but even MVPs are entitled to a bad Sunday.. Last season, at Tampa Bay, he finished with 160 passing yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 35.4 rating, numbers very similar to yesterday’s in Jacksonville. As Rodgers himself once said: RELAX… it’s just Week 1.
Special mention deserves Jameis Winston, who again showed why he is a much better quarterback than Taysom Hill and tore Green Bay’s defense to pieces with five touchdown passes.
“The Steelers beat a contender and they are from the Super Bowl.”
The Pittsburgh defense, particularly TJ Watt (two sacks and a force fumble), played on the note at Buffalo. Josh Allen he was under pressure all afternoon (he was hit 8 times) and missed 21 of his 51 attempts. But lThe Steelers didn’t show much on offense and it’s obvious that the running game is a problem that will take time to remedy.; yesterday they generated just 75 yards, the eighth game in a row that Pittsburgh has not added more than 85 yards rushing. Rookie Najee Harris, by the way, averaged just 2.8 yards per attempt.
“Matthew Stafford is for MVP”.
Stafford had a superb presentation as a quarterback for the Rams, with 321 yards and three throws to the end zone. in the easy win over Chicago.
However, of his 26 passes, 10 were targets to Cooper Kupp, who finished with 7 receptions and 108 yards, including a touchdown of 56 early in the third quarter.
Stafford can’t rely on just one wide receiver And I suppose the Colts will have a plan to limit Kupp in Week 2.
If that happens, let’s see who Stafford depends on.
STATUS OF THE WEEK
The defeat by 35 points of the Packers it was the worst for Green Bay in a season-opening game since 1970, when they were shut out 40-0 by the Lions, according to Stathead.
