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Kansas City vs Houston
The Question Prior to Week One
Will the Chiefs suffer from a Super Bowl Hangover? Or will they come out and dominate the Texans? Vegas odds have the chiefs at -9.5 with a game total of 54. Expect some fireworks in this game.
The Answer
The Chiefs dominated vs. the Texans covering the spread and continuing where they left off from a season ago. Mahomes was an efficient 24/32 for only 211 yds and two TD's. The story of the game, rookie RB Clyde Edwards Helaire who rushed for 138 yds on 25 carries and a TD. The Chief's offense showed that it does not need to rely on explosive plays in the passing game and that it can also play a physical brand of football.
It is safe to say that the Chiefs after one game are the leading contenders in the AFC.
As for the Texans, they will have a lot to figure out going into week two where they will be facing the Baltimore Ravens.
New England vs Miami
The Question Prior to Week One
Cam Newton's debut as a patriot. What will it look like?
The Answer
Cam Newton was Cam Newton again in his New England Patriots debut. Newton rushed for 75 yds and two TD's. Newton was physical and was having fun leading the new look Patriots offense. Newton adds the run game element that we discussed in the offseason and would prove to be the difference in their 21-11 win against the Dolphins. The Patriots appear to have a simple identity, they will play great defense, run the football, and control the clock. Newton didn't have to do much as a passer, but when he did throw it, he was efficient going 15-19 for 155 yds and 0 TD's. His longest completion went for 25 yds to TE Ryan Izzo.
I expect to see the Patriots offense evolve as the season goes on. They have a solid baseline scheme to build off. The remaining questions, who will be their downfield passing threat? Can Cam Newton sustain the pounding he took for a full season in the run game? Time will tell, but so far so good in week one.
Baltimore vs Cleveland
The Question Prior to Week One
Will Baltimore continue to use Lamar in the run game at the same rate as 2019? How will Cleveland's new offense look?
The Answer
The Ravens were very efficient on offense making very few mistakes. The Browns on the other hand were the opposite of the Ravens making a lot of drive stalling mistakes. Lamar carried the football 7 times for 45 yds and only ran it when needed. He threw the football an efficient 20-25 times, for 275 yds and 3 TD's. Hollywood Brown snagged 5 of Jacksons throws for 101 yds and was very crisp in his route running. TE Mark Andrews was phenomenal on the day grabbing five passes for 58 yds and 2 TD's.
The Backfield combination of Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins, and Gus Edwards was split up as follows, Ingram started the game and had 21 snaps, Gus Edwards came into the game as the 2nd RB finishing with 15 snaps and Dobbins came into the game as 3rd RB tallying 23 snaps. The story here is that Dobbins played well enough in the first half to be the starter in the 2nd half. We are going to continue to follow this because it may only be a matter of a few weeks before J.K. Dobbins is the starter. I expect a backfield share similar from week to week and that the Ravens will continue to ride the hot hand. A lot to still be sorted out in the coming weeks.
We are going to feature Cleveland in our next round of five questions so no need to dive into the dumpster fire today.
New Orleans vs Tampa Bay
The Question Prior to Week One
How does the Tampa Bay offense look with Tom Brady? Who is the true number one WR, TE, and how good is the Tampa Bay defense when it has a QB that protects the football?
The Answer (Still Need Answers)
Where to begin. Tampa is clearly talented, but they couldn't get out of their own way in this game. You could see Brady's frustration throughout for various reasons whether it was a drive stalling penalty a WR drop or a bad route. Brady committed errors of his own in this game including a pick 6. Brady's other INT was a bad route by Evans. The Bucs offensive line looked overwhelmed at times and it will need to improve if Tampa has Super Bowl aspirations of any kind. The overall scope was sloppy as both teams committed a larger number of penalties (TB 9, NO 6), but it was the Bucs who appeared to consistently shoot themselves in the football in key situations.
As for the Saints, they played well aside from the penalties, but not perfect. The Saints capitalized on the mental errors of the Bucs. You could tell the biggest difference between these two teams is continuity. The Saints have continuity vs the Bucs who are building their continuity. It will be interesting to see how both teams improve from week one to week two.
Jacksonville vs Indianapolis
The Question Prior to Week One
How does the Indy offense look with Philip Rivers? Who is the number one RB for the Colts?
The Answer (Still Need Answers)
The Colts lost their starting RB Marlon Mack for the season to an Achilles injury and will now need to rely on Rookie RB Jonathon Taylor and the now veteran Nyheim Hines to carry the load. The COlts were expected to be one of the most improved teams coming into the season boasting one of the top Offensive lines in the NFL. The Colts did not meet expectations in week one falling to the Jaguars a team that many have pegged the worst team in the NFL. Rivers attempted 46 passes for 376 yds 1 TD and 2 INT's. The COlts finished this game with more questions than answers. We plan to re-evaluate their week one to week two improvement and then circle back next week to discuss.
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