There is nothing like waking up on a Monday and having basically a full slate of NFL action to review. If yesterday was Christmas, then today is more akin to New Year’s Day. You have a lot to talk about from the day before, and there are still a couple of football games to watch later on. Since yesterday wasn’t the sharpest day of football ever let’s stick to what we learned yesterday and we’ll finish up with previews for the Monday Night Football double-header.

Depending on how your team (or fantasy team) faired, yesterday was either really good or really bad. Either way there was a lot of sloppy football but that is to be expected since this was the first real game for everyone. However, there were plenty of lessons that we learned about a few teams in the NFL. No one is winning the Super Bowl in Week 1, but we all got a sense of where certain teams are in the hierarchy. Here are some of the things we learned from our first NFL Sunday of the season.

 1) The Giants, Seahawks, and Texans Won’t Be Able to Rely on Great Defense

Typically when you are talking good and bad, there always tends to be an “ugly” in the mix. The last thing these three potential playoff teams needed to realize yesterday was there was a big problem with their offensive lines. Each o-lines for New York, Seattle, and Houston looked downright ugly yesterday, leading to big losses for all three teams to open the season.

The entire country got a first-hand look at the biggest reason people were worried about the Giants this season. Without Odell Beckham to keep the Cowboys defense honest, New York got the kitchen sink thrown at its offensive line last night. It was no surprise that they folded like a house of cards. With no running game to speak of, the Giants were forced to just check down to the running backs to get anything going on early downs.

Even more alarming was the effect this offensive line had on Eli Manning. He might have two Super Bowl rings, but we were treated to “Bad Eli” last night due in large part to the failings of this offensive line. For example, in a key moment in the fourth quarter last night, Manning had a chance to find Brandon Marshall ALL ALONE on a crossing route. Instead of a game-changing touchdown, Manning short-armed the throw, leading to a poor throw behind Marshall and an incomplete pass.

There was something that really caught my attention last night and should illustrate just how bad this offense looked last night. It took the Giants almost two and a half quarters to get past their own 35-yard line. Yikes.

Seattle found themselves in a barnburner for much of yesterday’s big matchup against the Packers. Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall with how this game would inevitably play out for them. The Seahawks offense couldn’t get anything going for much of this game. Holding Aaron Rodgers to three points in a half on the road should mean good things for any team, unless you’re down 3-0.

Rodgers eventually got things going against the Legion of Boom. The same can’t be said for Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense. This offensive line eventually fell apart, giving us an all too familiar image of Wilson running for his life on passing plays. Last season the Seahawks were able to get by playing poorly on offense, but against top-tier opponents that doesn’t seem to be the case. It will be another season of trying to fix a problem they’ve known about for too long.

Houston got steamrolled by the Jacksonville defense in what many thought would be a huge emotional win for the Texans. The Jags defensive line, led by Calais Campbell, feasted on the porous Houston offensive line for a franchise record ten sacks. Texans coach Bill O’Brien may have wanted to let Tom Savage run this offense while rookie DeShaun Watson learned the ropes for a little bit, he quickly realized that it was time to throw Watson into the fire.

The rookie out of Clemson isn’t a seasoned vet yet, but his has the athletic ability to at least give this offense a chance. Savage, a traditional pocket-passer, never had a chance yesterday with his offensive line routinely collapsing around him. There is no word yet on whom the starter will be next week, but if yesterday was any indication it will be Watson who will literally need to learn on the run if Houston has any chance to right the ship on the offensive side of the ball.

2) The Top Spot in the League is Up For Grabs

New England’s shocking loss on Thursday opened a door for another team to assert themselves as a potential usurper to the throne. Kansas City would have gotten that nod, but a season-ending injury to Eric Berry might hurt them in the long run. So did anyone ascend on Sunday? Not really.

All 32 teams are far from perfect, but the only thing we can glean from the first week so far is that we still have a lot to learn about these teams. The word “impressive” is one that is lacking from the vocabulary for most experts today. No team really stood out and told us to “watch out for them.”

Green Bay looked good, but we don’t know how good this defense is just yet. Atlanta squeaked by a Chicago team that many expect to finish last in the NFC North. Oakland won a conservative game against Tennessee and Philadelphia won a sloppy game against Washington. Dallas took full advantage of New York’s offensive issues to win in pretty boring fashion but we still have questions about this defense going forward.

Two teams who no one expects to be there at the end turned in the performances that really turned heads. The LA Rams defense dominated a short-handed Colts offense, turning that game into a blowout quickly. Jared Goff just had to manage the game, leaving many of the real questions we have about him relatively unanswered. We already talked about the Jaguars, but what they did bordered on “impressive.” However, this allowed them to hide their biggest problem (Blake Bortles) and lost their most explosive offensive weapon (Allen Robinson).

Maybe one of the four teams we will see tonight will rise up and leave everyone around the league wondering “maybe this is the team to watch this season.”

Let’s Play Two (MNF Double-Header Preview)

 

One of my favorite things about Week 1 is that there are two games on Monday night. Double your pleasure, double your fun, am I right?

Our first game of the night brings a very intriguing clash at the site of Super Bowl LII. New Orleans brings its high-powered offense up north to take on the tough Minnesota Vikings. If we are being honest with each other, there is one aspect of the game we all are going to be watching for.

Drew Brees and this Saints offense will have their hands full with this stout Minnesota defense tonight. If it weren’t for an injury to Harrison Smith last season, this Vikings defense could have ranked as the best in the league. This will be an interesting battle tonight. Brees will have to be sharp because not only can Minnesota take the ball away, they have the ability to take the ball to the house as well.

Sean Payton is a smart guy, so look for the Saints to mix things up a little bit on offense. Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson should be leaned on to keep the Vikings honest. It will be interesting to see how the carries are split between these two though and how they are used. Ball control will be a key factor if the Saints want to get this season started off on the right foot.

The other thing I’m looking for in this game is how the Minnesota offense will look with Dalvin Cook as the lead back. Last season the Vikings clearly had issues running the ball without AP, but Cook has looked pretty good so far. It’s been a great week for the rookie running backs and we could be in for another solid performance from the class of 2017.

As for my pick tonight, give me the Vikings (-3) tonight. This defense is really good and I think this offense will surprise some people.

Now we turn to the nightcap between the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos. Once again, we have a compelling matchup between the top units of each team. The Chargers have the pieces to be a great offensive team, but face potentially the best pass defense in the entire league.

Phillip Rivers has a bunch of fast receivers, who can turn a short catch into a long game. He also has a running back in Melvin Gordon who can do it all. Bad offensive line play has been a theme this week and Denver is not the team to have that problem against. Von Miller and this Broncos pass rush will devour any mistake that the opposing offense makes. Even if Rivers has time to throw, he will have to be careful because Aqib Talib and Chris Harris are the best cornerback tandem in the entire league. Expect this matchup to be a serious chess match all night long.

The Chargers will be able take some of the pressure off its offense if its defense steps up like many think it can. Joey Bosa is being seen as someone who can reach the status of Von Miller, and Melvin Ingram is a terrific pass rusher in his own right. They will have a prime opportunity to attack against an average Denver offensive line and keep the Chargers in control of this ball game.

In a game that could be dominated by defenses, you have to ask yourself where the difference maker is? Well, that could be the quarterback matchup between Rivers and Trevor Siemian. That should bode well for the Chargers to possibly score a big win to close out Week 1. So with that said I’ll take Los Angeles (+3) for my final pick of the week.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow to recap tonight’s action and reveal my first set of power rankings in the NFL. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.