Defense carry Broncos to a lackluster
win over Ravens
Baltimore Ravens 13 – 19 Denver Broncos
Rarely does a conversation veer too far
from Peyton Manning when discussing
the Denver Broncos and this game was
no exception but worryingly this time for the wrong reasons. I suppose, after Manning's trail blazing
season last term when he broke that many records that the late Roy Castle would have been on his
friends and family list, it was always going to be difficult for him to carry
on where he left off. It's far too early
to start making predictions but there is one thing for sure, Manning, for
whatever reason is out of sorts. If you
include preseason the stats are slightly more alarming as he has yet to find
the goal line in 21 drives.
Fortunate then, that for how spurious the
old gunslinger is at the moment, Denver's defense looks so solid and after this
first showing are going to make a real difference this year. Manning managed just 150 yards in his first
regular outing but even that was 50 yards more than Ravens QB Joe Flacco. In fact neither team ran a play in their
opposition's 20 until the last 4 minutes of the game.
Baltimore's
Jimmy Smith scored the only touchdown of the game
as the Ravens only gained 73 yards which was 4 more than Denver. If ever the description of a game being "ground and pound" was apt
this was it. Manning's take on it was "The
Broncos beat the Ravens - that’s your summary right there"
It really is too early to say whether
Manning is the one that is struggling or whether it's the new look offense he
is playing behind but grinding out games is something the Broncos have
struggled to do in recent years but if the defense can play like this
regularly, having that ability in their armory is going to be a real get out of
jail card this season.
This time last year, based on what they saw
in preseason I remember the naysayers gathering to write a certain Tom Brady off and "deflategate" aside look what happened there. Baltimore's Joe Flacco described the game as "an
ugly one and not fun to be part of". Trust me Joe, it wasn't much fun to watch
either.
The Chiefs make Houston pay for early
mistakes as Hoyer benched
Kansas City Chiefs 27 – 20 Houston
Texans
Another defense that worked hard Sunday was
that of the Chiefs. They hassled Houston
in to several early mistakes and Chiefs QB
Alex Smith was able to make them pay.
Smith threw for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first half as Kansas
built a big lead that was, ultimately, to prove unassailable.
Tight End Travis Kelce caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter, one
of which was after Kansas City intercepted Texans QB Brian Hoyer’s first ever pass as a Texan. Hoyer will want to put his Houston debut
behind him as quickly as possible given that he was swapped him for Ryan Mallet, amid a cacophony of boos
and jeers from the Texan fans six minutes from the end of the game. To make matters worse Mallet then led the
Texans on two scoring drives.
Hoyer said after the game “I
feel terrible – I feel I have let the organization down. Things just went from bad to worse" Personally I think he might be being a bit
too harsh on himself as more established QB's have had worse games and still go
on to prove themselves but only time will tell if he will start the game next
week.
Houston's warrior JJ Watt had two sacks and nine tackles, six of which were for
losses. The Chiefs, though had five of
their own, two of which were courtesy of Defensive End Allen Bailey.
A shining light for the Chiefs was the
return of Safety Eric Berry who had
two takes in his first regular season game back, Berry was given the green
light to resume playing after being declared clear of cancer in June just
before training camp started.
Chargers electrifying as they tame the
Lions
Detroit Lions 28 – 33 San Diego Chargers
Who was it that said big money doesn't mean
you get big players? On the back of a
massive $84m contract Chargers QB Philip
Rivers looks worth every cent after this showing. Down by 18 points in the second half, Rivers
helped San Diego to 30 straight points and ultimately the victory that at that
point seemed quite unlikely.
He completed 35 of 42 passes, overcame a 31
yard return interception for a touchdown and made 404 yards and two touchdowns
of his own. If the Chargers future in
San Diego looks uncertain with a move to the LA area on the cards for 2016, Rivers'
future looks anything but. Yesterday he
got in to his stride and looked composed, agile and fired up for the challenge
ahead.
Detroit Lions Matt Stafford had a decent game himself and threw an 18 yard
touchdown pass to Eric Ebron midway
through the second half but by then the game was all about San Diego. Detroit coach Jim Caldwell summed it up when he told reporters "We
didn't pressure him (Rivers) enough in the second half" and he
couldn't have been more right. In the
first half they were able to hassle Rivers as he threw two interceptions but in
the second half, inexplicably, they were content to let him off the hook and
let him get his game going and did they pay the price.
Oakland crumble as the Bengals roar
Cincinnati Bengals 33 – 13 Oakland
Raiders
While Philip Rivers was taming the Lions
over in San Diego, Andy Dalton was
writing his own season opening script in Oakland throwing two touchdown passes
to Tight End Tyler Eifet. If the NFL is the league of dreams this was
most definitely a nightmare, if not all too familiar start for the Raiders who
were never in the game to be honest. The
writing was on the wall for them from the start as they went three and out on
their first possession. A freak –
no. Alarmingly this was the 8th
straight season they've started with a three and out or a turnover.
It was all too much for the hapless Raiders
as Dalton took a stranglehold on the game, moving the ball around far too
easily. Much to his delight the middle
of the field was left open time after time by the Raiders defense and that’s
exactly where he made them pay.
After 12 straight years without a playoff
berth the Oakland fans really do deserve so much more but after losing Derek Carr to a hand injury in the
second quarter and such an ineffective overall display they can only fear the
worst yet again.
After just one game it is far too early to
tell whether they will be there at the end of the season or not but ominously
this game just felt oh so familiar.
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