NFL Week One Surprises

Part of the excitement of football is that on any given game day, any team could pull off the win. This was very relevant this Sunday as many teams that were projected to win, fell short of starting their season with a win. One of the biggest surprises today was seeing Robert Griffin III lead the underdog Washington Redskins to a big 40-32 win against the favored New Orleans Saints. With a solid performance on the ground, as well as in the air, Griffin proved that he can be a very dangerous rookie in the NFL this season.

Another game that was a bit of a shock was the Green Bay Packers vs. the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers jumped on the Packers early and never let up. It was very apparent that the Packers defense was struggling on pass coverage, as well as with the penalties. The Packers’ defense often got called for pass interference, or they gave up plays that should have been stopped. After such a great season last year, it was surprising to see the Packers come out as flat as they did. However, I’m not trying to take away from the San Francisco 49ers. Last year the 49ers were ranked as the 2^nd seed in the NFC playoffs. They have a very stout defense as well as a great quarterback in Alex Smith. Smith began picking away at the Packers defense and did a very fine job of it. Smith was 20/26 with 200 yards passing, which was enough to top the packers by a score of 30-22.

As of now, I am intrigued in the Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburg Steelers game. With Peyton Manning playing with a new team for the first time in 13 years it is interesting to see what he can do after his season ending neck injury that he suffered last year. Currently it looks as if Manning is still fully capable of putting together magical drives with little time left. Meanwhile his former team (Indianapolis Colts) suffered a 41-21 lost today against the Chicago Bears. It will be interesting to see what turns up after next weekend full of NFL games. (WC 363)