Best & Worst NFL Week One

We are off and running for the 2020 NFL Season. We saw a little bit of everything in the opening week of the season. Only two teams, Kansas City and Jacksonville, had fans in the building and it was limited attendance at that. It did have a bit of a weird vibe to it seeing games without fans, but it added a new level of intrigue to the start of the season. We had Brady's debut in the NFC South, which didn't end well, and his replacement in New England did a pretty good job first day at the new office. Some familiar faces doing familiar things on the field. All in all, a pretty good opening weekend for the league. Lets take a look at some of the best and worst from the week that was in the NFL.

Best:

Aaron Rogers, Quarterback Green Bay Packers

If there was any more proof needed that Rogers is still one of the very best to ever play the position, look at his week one performance. Green Bay knocked off Minnesota 43-34 and Rogers was the driving force for the Pack to do so. He finished the day going 33 of 44 for 364 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to Davante Adams. Rogers controlled the game in a way that few can in this league, and the Vikings got the brunt of it to start the season off. Green Bay is off and running at the top of the North because of this performance.

Worst:

Sam Darnold, Quarterback New York Jets

This could be a very long year for the Jets and their 3rd year QB. He has very little to work with in the weapons department. Sam Darnold looked a little out of sorts on Sunday in an opening day 27-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He had one big play to Jamieson Crowder for a 69-Yard touchdown. But by the time the touchdown was already scored, the game was a tad out of reach. Sam at times looked hurried and his timing with his receivers was off most of the day. This was supposed to be, in theory, a big stepping stone year for Sam. Yes I realize its only one game, and there's still fifteen more to go for Sam, but if things don't turn around then who knows what the future really holds for the young QB.

Best:

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Running Back Kansas City Chiefs

Talk about making an impact on opening night. Its well documented how good the Kansas City passing attack is. On opening night, in the KC 34-20 win over the Texans, it was the running game that was on full display. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the man on this night, as he finished with 25 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown. He's powerful running was able to open things up a little more with the pass attack, but Edwards-Helaire was on point in the opener.

Worst:

D’Andre Swift Running Back, Detroit Lions

Detroit fell short in their opener against the Bears, a 27-23 win for Chicago. Swift, who is a second round pick out of Georgia, had a rough go of it in his first NFL game. He got a total of six touches on the day: three carries for eight yards and three catches for fifteen yards. He gets put here, though, for the pass that wasn't. Matt Stafford found him wide open on the goal line with ten seconds left, a pass that was right on the money. IF the pass had been completed, it would have been a walk in, go ahead score for Detroit. Instead, it hit Swift right on the hands and fell incomplete. Tough break to start your NFL career kid.

Best:

Cam Newton, Quarterback New England Patriots

OK so Cam's passing numbers weren't off the charts. He went 15 of 19 for 155 yards no passing TD's and no picks. He was sacked twice. What stuck out to me for Cam was the running game. He and his legs powered the Patriots to a 21-11 win over a very game Dolphins team. Cam had 15 carries for 75 yards and a pair of scores. There had been some concern going into the year as to how well Cam was going to play. Between coming off last year's injury and adjusting to the new system in New England, there was a tad level of concern, but now it appears, at least after the opening game, that he looks to be just fune.

Worst:
Philadelphia Eagles

17-0 lead over the Washington Football Team and it slipped right through your fingers. Your up big halfway through the 2nd quarter and let it get away. Wentz was sacked eight times as the game went on, which meant the line wasn't much help. Could be a point of interest for the Eagles as the season goes on. It all kind of just fell apart from there for the Eagles, as Washington stormed back, walking away with a 2717 win. Hey I'll give all the credit where it is do to Washington for being able to come back in the football game like this, but at the same time, it looks pretty bad for an Eagles team to fall flat on their faces like this.

Best:
Julio Jones, Wide Receiver Atlanta Falcons

yes I realize that this is coming up on the short end of the stick here for the Falcons. Atlanta fell 38-25 at the hands of the Seahawks, but it wasn't for lack of effort on Julio Jones part. Or any of the Falcons top three targets for that matter. Three Atlanta receivers had over 100 yards on the day. Russel Gage had 114, Calvin Ridley had 130 and Julio topped them all at 157. Those are eye popping numbers, as is the fact that Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards. Yes, it was all for nothing in a losing effort, but still, if somehow Atlanta can keep putting up these kinds of numbers, they could make a lot of noise in that NFC South

Worst:

Randy Bullock, Kicker Cincinnati Bengals

Seven seconds left in the game, your down three to the Chargers. Joe Burrow has lead you down the field on an impressive drive to try and win the game. It looked like they had on the pass to AJ Green right near the goal line, only to have it called back on offensive pass interference. That's OK, it can be shaken off, because here comes the field goal unit to try and tie the game. Out trots Randy Bullock, the Bengals kicker. It was a 31-yard attempt to try and send the game to overtime. Not only did Bullock miss wide right, but he appeared as if he pulled a muscle in his leg in the process. Not a great day for him. 

Best:

Baltimore Ravens

To be fair, there had been some sense of nervousness over the Ravens, at least in my mind, given how they were knocked out of the playoffs last year. They were on a tear going into the post season and were rudely knocked out. They looked to get back on the right foot this year and did so, beating the Browns 38-6. Lamar Jackson did, well, Lamar Jackson things. The Ravens had a balanced attack from both sides of the ball and made Cleveland, who could have a decent team in their own right, look silly. Going to be a tough team to beat in Baltimore again this year.

Worst:
Kansas City Chiefs Fans

This is nothing that the Chiefs did, oh no. KC was off to a strong start in defense of their title on opening night, KC played a complete football game in a 34-20 win over Houston. I'm putting them here because of the fans that were in attendance. They booed the players for making a stand against social injustice. I mean come on. They trying to make the world a better place and this was the way they wanted to do it and the fans booed it. Its a bit much for my taste.