Week 1 of the NFL Season is in the books!
What did we learn? Who disappointed us? And who stood out to us?
Best Game:
Broncos 24, Chargers 21 / This game turned out to be a great one. Thanks to two great defensive turnovers in the second half, the Chargers were just a blocked field goal away from pulling out the comeback. The same theme applies this week that applied last week in our college football preview and review—never give up. The Chargers went on a 14-0 run at the end of the game setting themselves up for the tie, but fell just short. It was still a great comeback. However, sometimes the obstacle is just too big to overcome.
Disappointment of the Week:
John’s pick of the New York Giants to beat the Dallas Cowboys comes to mind!! The lesson here is sometimes we make predictions in business (and sports) that don’t work out. That’s okay. Try another. So here’s a prediction for you. The Jets will lose this week!
Our Teams:
How did our teams do? Well, the highly anticipated New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills game was just as bad as advertised. Punt fest! The Jets offense showed no signs of life and the Bills were able to make the plays needed to beat the Jets. From the looks of it, the Jets looked primed to receive a top 5 draft pick. The Bills are likely not too far behind. I’ll say this. Like it or not, the Bills are building their business with culture. And as we talk about often, culture is number one. So while the Buffalo Bills might not win any titles this year, they may be onto something with their culture (may!).
Great Story:
Kareem Hunt, rookie running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, from the University of Toledo, fumbled on his first play. As a rookie who was thrown to the wolves as a starter had just made a huge mistake on the road against the defending champion, New England Patriots. All looked lost. The game was surely going to be a blowout win for the Pats. And then Kareem Hunt came back for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns! He led his team to victory. Talk about pulling yourself back up and making it happen. We love stories like that!
What else did we learn in Week 1: Down but not out: Yes many good teams lost in week 1 (Patriots, Cardinals, Titans, Seahawks, Giants) but that doesn’t mean their season is over. The Patriots are not used to losing in Foxborough, so expect them to bounce back in a big way. As for the other teams with a winning pedigree, they will be just fine. A week 1 loss is a good way to figure out a team’s weaknesses and fix them early in the season. Expect these teams to get past these losses and compete for playoff spots.
What will we learn in week 2 of the NFL?
Image of Broncos vs Chargers was taken by Jeffrey Beall under the Creative Commons 2.0 License