In a flash Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season has came and gone. It was wild and unpredictable to say the least.

Bills @ Rams

Week 1 kicked off with the defending Super Bowl 56 champions, the Los Angeles Rams taking on the Buffalo Bills in a clash of titans. That narrative didn’t last long. The final score ended in a Bills’ chokehold, 31-10. (Bills) To be frankly honest, the game was a disaster for Matthew Stafford and company. Stafford was hit 15 times, he threw three interceptions on the night, and he was sacked a whopping seven times. The Rams’ defense wasn’t much to look at either. Jalen Ramsey, the star cornerback for the Rams’ had a horrendous outing; allowing his first game where he gave up a perfect passer rating. The defensive unit did make a good showing sparingly, as they drug down Allen twice on five attempts.  The Bills’ as a team accumulated 292 receiving yards and rushed for 121. The Rams’ passing attack was weak as they on hauled in 191 yards receiving, and a pitiful 52 yards rushing.

Eagles @ Lions

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to say something I’ve never said in my 20 years on this planet; the Detroit Lions have a promising football future! Now I’m not gonna jump the gun on Dan Campbell and company, but they put up 35 points on the Eagles in a back and forth game. Philadelphia scored 24 in the second quarter and looked like they were going to extinguish the Lions’ spark, however, that Lions’ defense had other plans and buckled down in the second half. Jalen Hurts put up a decent 155 yard outing, no touchdowns or interceptions. He honestly deferred to the running game to score most of the day. That being said, new receiver A.J. Brown had a monster debut as he caught the ball ten times for 155 yards on the day. Jared Goff threw two touchdowns and 1 interception on the day. He had 215 yards in total. DeAndre Swift had a monster game as he carried the ball for 144 yards on 15 attempts with a 9.6 yard per carry average. Amon Ra St. Brown led the receiving core with a light 68 yards and one touchdown in the outing. Tracy Walker and Jeff Okudah led the way on defense with eight and seven tackles respectively.

49ers @ Bears 

The field wasn’t the only sloppy thing out at Soldier Field. The flooded field made for an interesting and drag-it-out game. Trey Lance got the nod at quarterback for the Niners and he did not inspire hope to the gold and red faithful. He threw for 164 yards with one interception on 13/28 efficiency. The field conditions are certainly a major factor for even the most experienced signal-caller so I will cut Lance slack there. The reason being is that second year quarterback Justin Fields was in the exact situation with arguably a worse offensive unit. Now statistically Fields threw for two touchdowns and one interception. Honestly, he deserves the credit for doing so, even on poor efficiency.

Steelers @ Bengals 

For the first time since 2004, the Steel City had a new quarterback. Mitch Trubisky got the start over hometown college star Kenny Pickett. In the game Trubisky threw for one touchdown on 21/38 efficiency for 194 yards. Well, Joe Shiesty, the self-proclaimed dominant alter ego for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow looked like he was seeing ghosts. The Super bowl runner up threw four interceptions on the day compared to only two interceptions. The biggest story of the game was the Steelers defense and kicking. While the Steelers played well on that side of the ball, an injury to generational talent, T.J. Watt scared the Steel City to its core. Luckily, it won’t be as long of a hiatus for Watt as he avoided serious injury and looks to hopefully be back in a month’s time. The final score in the strange game ended at 23-20 in favor of Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.

Patriots @ Dolphins

I can’t be the only one that thinks the Dolphins’ have some secret recipe to beat Billy B. The ‘Fins’ took the game 20-7. Tua Tagovailoa has arrived, all it took was the football equivalent to the Flash, Tyreek Hill to join the 305. Hill may have not had the major numbers from his KC days but his gravity alone was enough to help the Dolphins’ offense. Tua had a very efficient game going 23/33 through the air for one touchdown. The only bad thing about that Dolphins’ offense is the running game, only getting 65 rushing yards to go. Onto the Patriots’ side we go. I think it’s fairly obvious that Mac Jones is not the second-coming of Tom Brady. Even if those shoes were never able to be filled, the Pats’ stuck to their guns and trusted the offense to Jones. Jones threw for 193 yards on an efficient 21/30 attempts with only one interception.

Browns @ Panthers 

I’ve never watched a soap opera, but I did tune into the Browns’-Panthers’ game Sunday. This matchup saw disgruntled quarterback Baker Mayfield, the former number one overall pick by the Browns’ looking for revenge after being cast aside by the Browns in favor of Deshaun Watson. Now we all know the fiasco Watson brought to light this offseason; will suit up for Cleveland after a 11 game suspension. From a purely football perspective, Watson is an upgrade over Mayfield. Now that I’ve set the stage, here’s what the game provided. It was a nail-biter with the Browns’ coming out on top after stopping the Panthers’ late-game comeback. You all know the saying “We didn’t lose, we just ran out of time” . Jacoby Brissett put a great game for what he was thrown into: throwing for 147 yards on 18/34 attempts. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt were Batman and Robin for Brown Town as Chubb rushed for 141 yards and Hunt got 46 yards and touchdown to his name. Baker had what I like to call a Baker performance. Good not great, 16/27 on passing attempts with one touchdown and one interception. The big take-away for Carolina has to be the great effort in the fourth quarter to try and climb back in the game with a 17-0 run.

Colts @ Texans 

Just when I thought the day wasn’t going to get weirder, the Colts’ and Texans’ had other ideas. Long story short, this game ended in a tie. Here’s how that happened: Matt Ryan threw for a respectable 32/50 for 352 yards. Jonathan Taylor had an okay day, 161 yards on 31 carries for one touchdown. Michael Pittman had a great day as he caught 9 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. For the Texans, Davis Mills is legit. He threw for 240 yards on 23/37 attempts and two touchdowns. This game would go to overtime- Blankenship would miss a go ahead field goal that would have given the Colts the lead.

Saints @ Falcons

This game was simply a defensive collapse for Atlanta. The Saints would squeeze by with the one point victory. Marcus Mariota is back as a starter after years as a backup in Raider Country. He threw for 20/33 for 215 yards. He alongside Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for a touchdown each. Patterson had 22 carries for 120 yards. Jameis Winston would dissect the Falcons’ defense in the game throwing for 269 yards on 23/34 completion attempts. Like I mentioned earlier, there were questionable play calls for the Falcons offense to end the game that have been picked apart by fans and media alike.

Ravens @ Jets

Joe Flacco takes the place of the injured Zach Wilson against his former team. Without Wilson the Jets’ struggled to score, only fairing nine points on the game. The Jets defense left a lot to be desired as they allowed 27 points. For a guy that turned down 250 million dollars to bet on himself, Lamar Jackson failed to impress critics. He only threw for 17/30 and 213 yards. While he did get three touchdowns hew threw a interception on the day. The rushing attack was non-existent as well.

Jaguars @ Commanders

Trevor Lawrence really didn’t impress me in their game Sunday. He threw for 275 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. My issue was his completion percentage, it was 24/42. Now, look I understand it wasn’t as bad on paper a I make it sound; there lies the problem. On paper it seems like a good performance but in gameplay it’s average. Give credit to Washington, their defense played well and held down the fort. Carson Wentz on the other hand was terrible. Throwing four touchdowns is good, truthfully it is. The problem was the consistency, only 27/41 and two interceptions tops it off. Now, I’m not ripping into Wentz because he had a bad game, he had a average game. My issue is that he struggled to be a standout against the Jags’ of all teams. Does that statement surprise me or the hardcore fan who have seen Wentz become a shell of what once looked promising, not in the slightest. The Jaguars’ defense is extremely young but they do have talent, I’ll be surprised what they can accomplish given the time, but they have a long way to go.

Packers @ Vikings

The Packers are severely lost on offense without Davante Adams, if it wasn’t obvious already. Rodgers couldn’t buy a touchdown, throwing for 195 yards and an interception on the day. Kirk Cousins did Kirk Cousins things going for a good two touchdowns on 23/32 attempts. The story on offense for Minnesota is Justin Jefferson solidifying himself as a superstar. He caught nine receptions for a whopping 184 yards, averaging 20.4 yards a touch, while snagging two touchdowns. The Vikings defense was a stonewall and relegated the Packers’ running game to crumbs. My worry is that Green Bay is going to once again regret their decisions in failing to get Rodgers’ the adequate weapons. If they don’t it’s going to be a long season for the cheeseheads.

Giants @ Titans

What a disappointing first game for the Titans. The fact that the Giants kept it that close of a game is saddening to the two-tone blue and its’ fanbase. Daniel Jones looked to make a statement with his game involving 17/21 for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Other that the INT, Jones had a stellar game. Saquon Barkley also stood out looking to prove that he is still the guy New York drafted No. 2 overall just a few years ago. He rushed for 18 carries and 164 yards and a touchdown. Onto the Titans side, Ryan Tannehill played well; 20 on 33 on the day with two touchdowns. Derrick Henry looked abysmal, on getting a simple 3.9 yards a carry on 21 rushes. Rookie wide-outs Treylon Burks and Kyle Phillips played well for what they have been asked, but I believe relying on rookies can only get the Titans’ so far and I hope Vrabel has other plans and schemes to help the predictability of the offense that they tend to fall into.

Raiders @ Chargers

It was a battle in the AFC West as the Raiders squared off against the retooled Chargers in a very close game. Derek Carr had a weak outing with 295 yards and three interceptions. The Las Vegas defense looked strong compared to the offense. Three Raiders had 6+ tackles. On the Chargers end, Justin Herbert is trying to make a case for himself to be the best quarterback in the league. He threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns. The Chargers defense looked good, not great. On paper the Chargers look like they are pushing for a divisional title, we will see how that ends up.

Chiefs @ Cardinals

Well the Chiefs look as they haven’t skipped a beat offensively, scoring a week 1 league-high 44 points. I was never doubtful with Kansas City, the Cardinals are a different story. With Deandre Hopkins out six games, the Cards’ have to find better options on offense. Kyler Murray threw for two touchdowns on 22 of 34 attempts. The concern is can the Redbirds’ keep up with the league as the only gets stronger throughout the season.

Buccaneers @ Cowboys

The story here has nothing to do with the on-field play as much as is does off. Dak Prescott went down with a thumb injury which will possibly sideline him for six to eight weeks. Once he went down, the game was firmly out of the Cowboys’ hands. The final was 19-3. Bucs’ take the win.

Broncos @ Seahawks

Wrapping up Week 1 was Monday Night’s Broncos’ and Seahawks’ game. This game saw the inevitable return of Russell Wilson to Seattle after he was traded earlier this year. Russ had a good game throwing for 340 yards on 29/42 attempts. for one touchdown. Jerry Jeudy had a great game even with minimal targets, catching four targets for 102 yards. However, this game was decided in an easy fashion. This game was decided with a missed 64 yard field goal by Brandon McManus. Russ and company marched down the fields but with questionable clock management, the Broncos’ had to settle for a very uneasy kick. Seattle played out of their mind to be fair. no one including me, saw this upset coming. Geno Smith came to play, throwing a consistent 23/28 on the night for 195 yards and two touchdowns. The story for the ‘Hawks was the defense. Eight players had three or more tackles in the game. Does this change my opinion of the team for the year? Not really. Are they going to hoist the Lombardi? I very much doubt it. Have they proven all other 31 team, critics, and media wrong. Absolutely.

Week 2 kicks off with a heavyweight brawl as the Chargers take on the Kansas City Chiefs, Thursday September 15th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15p.m.