NFL week one Drama and fantasy tidbits...

The Eagles still got the W, 24-20, even without their star defensive tackle, and after waiting out a 65-minute lightning delay. Carter was handed down a suspension by the NFL. Probably because video shows Dak initially spitting towards Carter’s feet.

Ceedee Lamb had a good game from a stats and fantasy perspective (7 rec, 110 yds), but he also had two huge drops that likely cost Dallas a win.

For Philly, DeVonta Smith (3 rec, 16 yds) and A.J. Brown (1 rec, 8 yds) both had disappointing games, both from fantasy and actual game perspective. Jahan Dotson led the team in the air with 3 rec, 59 yds. All Eagles’ TDs were scored on the ground.

Break out the Vuvuzela’s

The NFL also played their first game in Brazil on Friday night with the Kansas City Chiefs and the L.A. Chargers. What stood out to me most is that I left Quentin Johnston and Justin Herbert on my fantasy team’s bench while they connected for 79 yards and two touchdowns enroute to ruining every Swifties day... Herbert himself had 318 yards and three touchdowns. If you see Johnston on the waiver wire, pick him up. He seems to have gotten over his early career struggles. The Chargers Samba’d their way home with a 27-21 victory over the dynastic Chiefs.

Black and yellow, black and yellow...

I mentioned last week how the Steelers and Jets basically traded QB’s with Aaron Rodgers heading to Pittsburgh and Justin Fields taking over the Jets QB1 spot. How fitting for that week one drama to have those two teams open up their seasons against each other. It was a damn close game with Steelers kicker, Chris Boswell making the game-winning field goal with one minute left in the game to give Pittsburgh the 34-32 dub. Aaron said after the game, “I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets”.

From a fantasy point of view, Boswell is THE kicker to have on your roster. You can bet he’s going to be in position to put up a lot of extra points and field goals this season, especially with Rodgers at the helm. And, he’s very accurate. Also, TE Jonnu Smith is coming off his best season ever, and that was with my lowly Miami Dolphins (I’ll tear into them some other time). He put up 5 rec, 15 yds, and 1 TD, picking up where he left off.

The I-75 Rivalry

The Tampa Bay Bucs got a hard-earned rivalry win over the Atlanta Falcons, 23-20. With an all new O-line, it was difficult for the Bay to get a ground game going, outside of Baker Mayfield scrambling like hell. However, it was enough to open up the passing game a little bit and connect on three touchdowns, two to rookie Emeka Egbuka. What a NFL debut! If you’re in a deep league, or especially if you’re in a dynasty league, pick him up ASAP if he’s still available.

Atlanta, on the other hand, looked like they were off to the races. Bijan Robinson took the second Michael Penix Jr. pass 50 yards to the house, but ATL couldn’t establish the run at any point after that. Robinson did secure 6 recs, 100 yds in the air, so from a fantasy perspective, to go along with his lone TD, he had a nice game. However, a running back needs to be effective in the run game to positively affect an actual football game. TE Kyle Pitts had 7 recs for 59 yds, a very decent performance. We’re still waiting on him to dominate the league though. Tight Ends are hard to come by in fantasy football, so if you have him, keep him.

The Battle of Ohio

The Cincinnati barely escaped from Cleveland, squeaking out a 17-16 grudge match. If it wasn’t for Cleveland’s lack of a competent kicker, they would have won that game. Andre Szmyt missed and extra point and a 36-yard field goal that would’ve given them the win.

From a fantasy point of view, even though Ja’Marr Chase only had 2 recs and 26 yds, if you have him, you start him every time.

For Cleveland, not many players stand out, but their defense is nothing to sneeze at. They just held one of the expected best offenses in the league, whom are mostly all healthy with full training camps under their belts, to 17 points.

Another Bay, Another Cat

The Green Bay Packers dominated the Detroit Lions. Micah Parsons made his presence felt with a limited snap count, showing Packers fans what they’re in for, already recording his first sack as a Packer. The Lions, with two new coordinators on both sides of the ball have a lot of catching up to do if they want to improve on last season’s success.

Sam LaPorta was the Lions’ only big time threat on offense. Although, Jahmyr Gibbs did have 10 recs, with only 31 yds, so if you’re in a full PPR league, consider picking him up for RB depth. Jared Goff loves him some check down to Gibbs.

Jordan Love spread the ball around so efficiently that it’s tough to see who his favorite receiver is, but Romeo Doubs is a likely candidate. He had 2 recs for 68 yds.

The week ended almost as dramatically as it began

There aren’t many things quite as exciting as a Lamar Jackson-led Ravens vs a Josh Allen-led Bills. All those usual suspects showed up to play.

Josh Allen was a madman... He put up 394 passing yards, two passing TDs, adding 30 rushing yards and two rushing TDs. He probably won you your fantasy week if you have him. If you don’t, try and pick up Keon Coleman, likely by trade. Coleman is becoming Allen’s preferred receiver. He had 11 targets on Sunday and he had 17 targets combined in weeks 17 & 18 of last season to close out his rookie regular season campaign.

Buffalo was down by 15 in 4th quarter and it was Coleman’s TD with 3:56 remaining that made it a one-possession game.

Let’s switch it up for second. Lamar was 14/19 with 209 passing yds and two passing TDs. He also had another 70 yds on the ground with a rushing TD. Jackson was the 6th leading rusher in the NFL for week one. The #1 leading rusher for week one was Derrick Henry. Henry had 123 yards and a TD by halftime... Sheesh. He finished with 169 yds and added another TD and a 13-yards reception. However, it was his fumble late in the 4th quarter, inside their own 40-yardline, in a one-possession game that gave Allen and the Bills the lifeline they needed to pull off the comeback.

After Terrel Bernard recovered the fumble at the Baltimore 30-yardline, the Bills took over and ran a two-play TD drive, capped off by a Josh Allen goal-line QB sneak. Baltimore would end up punting on their next possession with 1:26 left for Allen and the Bills to march down the field and get into field goal range for the last second kick. Comeback victory secured.

The week one drama is exactly why the NFL is the most popular league in the country.