Moving Forward and Bouncing Back
The NFL 2025 season is fully underway and of the 16 games played in season openers, I correctly picked 12 of the winners. I failed to get any final scores correct by both teams, but I did nail the Cowboys’ 20 points, Jacksonville’s 27, the Steelers’ 34 points, and San Francisco’s 17.
In the first week of the season, there were some expected results, some severe disappointments, and some very wild high scoring games. There are teams hoping to bounce back from a devastating loss while other teams that were impressive hope their successes will carry over for another week.
Knee Jerk Reactions to Week One
Cardinals 20 / Saints 13: Big year for Kyler Murray. He needs to prove he can be a consistent topflight quarterback. The Saints may be in for a long year.
Bills 41 / Ravens 40: A wild shootout and in what many are saying are the two teams that will be vying for the AFC title.
Bengals 17 / Browns 16: Same old Browns? When do we see Dillon Gabriel or Shadeur Sanders? You know Joe Burrow is better than this.
Broncos 20 / Titans12: Not the greatest debut for top draft pick Cam Ward but I’m sure he will have his moments this season. Denver is the dark horse favorite in the AFC.
Packers 27 / Lions 13: Is Micah Parsons the golden ticket for Green Bay to reach the Super Bowl? That remains to be seen. Detroit is coming off a great season but already has question marks.
Colts 33 / Dolphins 8: Just wow. Miami can’t be this bad, can they? How long can Daniel Jones play this well?
Jaguars 26 / Panthers 10: Has Trevor Lawrence turned the corner? He has no choice if he wants to remain a starter in the NFL. Carolina must be disappointed as their arrow was pointing up.
Chargers 27 / Chiefs 21: Some think this is the start of the downfall for the reigning AFC champion Chiefs. The Chargers always threaten during the season and then collapse.
Rams 14 / Texans 9: Has the CJ Stroud bubble burst? The talent rich AFC is a tough hill to climb, and Houston doesn’t have the tools to make that trek. Matthew Stafford, despite a bad back continues to play on.
Raiders 20 / Patriots 13: Mike Vrabel loses in his return to New England as head coach. Pete Carroll on the other hand returns to the NFL as the oldest head coach in history and wins his first game back.
Vikings 27 / Bears 24: Caleb Williams is on the hot seat which started in the offseason. Minnesota remains an NFC favorite even with JJ McCarthy under center.
Eagles 24 / Cowboys 20: All season long Dallas and Jerry Jones will be reminded of letting Micah Parsons walk. This could easily turn into a locker room cancer. Philadelphia didn’t look like barn burners, but they are still the champs and are 1-0.
Steelers 34 / Jets 32: Aaron Rodgers has Steelers Nation feeling particularly good. But the Pittsburgh defense has to be better. Hats off to Justin Fields showing he can play big time football.
49ers 17 / Seahawks 13: After his 2024 season Sam Darnold is not off to the greatest start. San Francisco wants to bounce back after a poor season in 2024, and this is a good start.
Buccaneers 23 / Falcons 20: While Baker Mayfield has been tearing it up the last two seasons, this is a slow start for him although he did toss three touchdown passes. Michael Penix Jr. also had a decent game.
Commanders 21 / Giants 6: When is Russell Wilson going to realize his prime has passed? Jaylen Daniels picks up where he left off last season.
It’s a long season and we are just getting started so not enough games have been played to really discover a team’s identity for this year. With that said…away we go!
