Although there are two games remaining this evening, with Pittsburgh vs Washington in the early game and the Rams vs the 49ers in the nightcap, week 1 is almost in the books and not many surprises really.
I thought Garopollo did a nice job filling in for Brady, coming away with a huge win on the road against a very dangerous Arizona team. Suddenly it doesn't seem so inconceivable that the Pats could potentially go 4-0 with Brady out of the picture, and once again - the Pats find a way to win despite not having their best team on the field. They are clearly, yet again, the team to beat in the AFC. So that much hasn't changed. They will face a tough game next week at home against Miami, but I don't anticipate them losing at home.
Dak Prescott did just about everything that was expected of him, but the same can't be said Monday morning about Terrance Williams, who made a boneheaded play to pick up more yards in the waning seconds of a game where a field goal would've likely won the game. It'll be interesting to see how Dez Bryant reacts to not being the star receiver in Dallas, as he wasn't targeted very often Sunday with a rookie QB preferring to not force the issue in tight coverage situations. Nevertheless, Prescott did well overall against a decent Giants defense. It'll be interesting to see how he progresses in the coming weeks with so much drama that has come to typify the Dallas organization.
In the "my balls are bigger than your balls" play call of the week, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio wins hands-down. With everything on the line, an extra point attempt awaiting to tie the game with only seconds left in regulation, Del Rio decided to throw all of the chips on the table with a 2-point conversion attempt to win outright. And it paid off. This was a big win for Oakland, and although the season has just started - there's a lot of reason for Oakland fans to be optimistic moving forward. But had Del Rio's play call backfired... totally different mindset this morning in Oakland, to be sure. But it was a ballsy move and kudos to a head coach who believed in his team enough to snatch a great victory away from the Saints.
And finally... the Chip Kelly era is officially behind us. Carson Wentz was arguably the standout starting rookie QB on Sunday, although it is indeed worth noting that however well he played - it was nevertheless against a struggling Cleveland Browns defense. We Eagles fans tend to be cautious for numerous and obvious reasons before ordaining a new star in Philadelphia. That said, Wentz took advantage of some excellent play-calling from the sidelines and enjoyed about as close to a fairy-tale start to his career as a rookie QB could hope for. Most of us aren't expecting greatness, we know there are some tough games coming up. But at the same time - we have reason to believe now that better days are ahead of us, if Wentz can stay healthy and our O-line can continue giving him sufficient protection in the pocket. I thought the defense played well enough, but will need to see marked improvements as the season progresses.
I think the 49ers will win a close one tonight against the Rams, and I expect the Steelers to dominate against the Redskins.