NFL Week 1 Reactions: Andy Reid Wins In Debut With Chiefs

Andy Reid Wins In Debut With Chiefs

Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid won his first game with the Chiefs, guiding Kansas City to a 28-2 dismantling of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Reid called a pretty balanced game, with 34 passes and 28 runs. Quarterback Alex Smith spread the ball around to nine different receivers. When the Eagles were at their best under Reid, the playcalling was usually pretty balanced and a high number of receivers would be involved. Andy has always loved to involve as many wideouts as possible.

But were the Chiefs actually impressive at all?

Not really.

Alex Smith generated only 173 yards on his 34 pass attempts. The defense had the pleasure of going up against Blaine Gabbert, who may be the worst starting quarterback in the league, and intercepted him two times (including one that was returned 10 yards for a score by Tamba Hali).

Much stiffer challenges await Reid’s Chiefs, beginning next Sunday when Andy takes on a team he is very familiar with, the Dallas Cowboys.

True Elite Teams: San Francisco Edges Green Bay In A Thriller

If you want see what true Super Bowl contenders look like, look no further than Sunday’s Green Bay-San Francisco game.

The Niners edged the Packers 34-28 in a wild game that featured an excellent quarterback duel between Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick was absolutely sensational, throwing for over 400 yards and three touchdowns. The talented quarterback used almost none of the read-option, and did all of his damage from the pocket. He hooked up with his new top receiver Anquan Boldin 13 times for 208 yards and a touchdown.

Kaepernick’s game is extremely impressive, and I think he only showed off a little bit of what he’s capable of today. He used his legs only sparingly, and protected the football very well, giving Green Bay almost no turnover opportunities.  He did his damage with a depleted receiving corp. and his running backs only managed 68 yards on 28 carries. The former second-round pick is the engine of the San Francisco offense, and he’s poised for a tremendous season.

Dallas Edges New York

In my preseason projections, one of the teams that I liked as a surprise team was the Dallas Cowboys. One of the major reasons being the presence of new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Kiffin has been working to rejuvenate the Dallas defense, and put a much greater emphasis on creating turnovers. The Cowboys did exactly that during their Sunday Night game against the New York Giants, creating six turnovers (three interceptions, three fumble recoveries, two defensive touchdowns) to help the Cowboys prevail over New York.

The Cowboys forced Tom Coughlin to bench talented running back David Wilson, who lost two fumbles early in the game.

Quick Thoughts

• Should New England be concerned at all after barely escaping Buffalo with a 23-21 win? Tom Brady was just 29 of 52, and his offense didn’t seem click as easily as it has in the past. Brady has lost a lot of talented receivers. Top target Wes Welker left to sign with the Broncos. Brandon Lloyd and Deon Branch were not brought back. Aaron Hernandez was seized by the authorities. That’s a lot of talent to replace, and I’m not sure that Danny Amendola, Kenbrell Thompkins, and Julian Edelman will be good enough to replace the production of those who are now gone.
• Russell Wilson has such a knack for winning ugly games. The Seahawks and Panthers were involved in a tight, low scoring affair that was decided when Wilson found Jermaine Kearse for a 43-yard strike in the fourth quarter.
• In Chicago, the Bears rallied to beat the Bengals on a late touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall. It really speaks to how great a receiver Marshall is. The entire league knows that Cutler wants to throw it to Marshall and Marshall alone. They know he’s going to force as many passes as he can towards his direction. And yet, Marshall just fights through double teams and puts up great numbers year after year. He finished with eight grabs for 104 yards and a touchdown today.
• Reggie Bush may be just what the doctor ordered for the Detroit Lions. Bush finished with 191 total yards, including a 77-yard touchdown reception, playing a major role in the Lions’ 34-24 win over the Vikings. If the Lions have that explosive threat from the running back position, it’s going to make their offense as dynamic as it was two years ago when Jahvid Best was healthy.
• The Oakland Raiders actually played the Indianapolis Colts pretty tough today, briefly leading the game 17-14 in the fourth quarter before the Colts rallied on an Andrew Luck touchdown run. Quarterback Terrell Pryor threw two interceptions, but also threw for over 200 yards with a touchdown and added over 100 more yards with his legs.
• The second most entertaining game of the weekend had to Atlanta-New Orleans. The two division rivals put on a show that went down to the wire, but surprisingly it was the Saints’ defense that really made the difference. The Saints sacked Matt Ryan three times, and forced two turnovers, including an interception on the goalline during the final seconds to preserve the win.
• No player in the league feels more foolish than Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David. The Bucs seemingly had a win wrapped up against the Jets, but David made an absolutely foolish play that set up the game-winning field goal for New York. The Jets were down by two with less than 25 seconds left on the clock and no timeouts. Rookie quarterback Geno Smith was on his way out of bounds, and David gave him a hard shove after he was out of bounds, drawing a 15-yard penalty.