By Brandon Simmons
What did the Chiefs Loss Dictate for Their Season?
The Kansas City Chiefs opened their season with a nationally televised loss to the Detroit Lions. While this should focus on the Lions coming out with a win, after nobody gave them a chance, the bigger storylines remain to be around the bigger opponent. Chiefs QB Pat Mahomes looked pedestrian finishing the game with 226 yards and 2 touchdowns but also “threw” a pick 6. That latter play was the result of Xhiefs wide receiver Kadarious Toney dropping a pass and it deflecting into the defender’s hand. Toney’s hands weren’t the only culprit as other receivers either had drops or could not step up to make plays as well. However, it was the storylines outside of the game that made some rumblings. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was ruled out earlier in the day, leaving Mahomes without his best receiving option. Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones continued his contract holdout despite showing up to the game in one of the suites.
What does this all mean? It means that the Chiefs should be making a ton of personnel moves starting now. With Jones being out, that’s 2 of your best players out of the game against a scrappy squad in the Lions. The defense gave up 118 yards on the ground, including a 4th quarter rushing score by running back David Montgomery. KC doesn’t have a world-renowned defense but that unit can make stops when neeeded; the problem is that the person they needed to make some of those stops was not there. Chiefs knew this and went ahead and paid Jones sooner rather than later. With hat problem solved, go get Mike Evans. Yeah it’s only one game but this receiving group doesn’t really show anything to be desired. Evans will be a playmaker for outside of Kelce and can draw some double teams, which will leave other receivers open, should they decide to catch the ball. Chiefs already passed on Deandre Hopkins, don’t let this opportunity go by.
Bucs Hold on to Mike Evans?
Before the first kickoff of the year started, Mike Evans became the hottest name on this year’s trade deadline. The Tampa Bay wide receiver gave the team a September 9th deadline to get a long term deal worked and nothing got accomplished. Now the 10th year veteran has become the target of many teams looking to add some firepower to their receiving corps. A few teams that come to mind are the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams. The Chiefs’ case was already made in the previous segment and the Giants already made their case Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys in their shutout loss. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is currently dealing with an injury and there is little-to-no-playmaking outside of that. As the season goes on, more teams would step up to the plate, obviously a contender looking to get an edge for a postseason run.
What Will the New Offense Do for Lamar Jackson?
Lamar Jackson was gifted a new contract and a new offensive coordinator this past offseason. The Baltimore Ravens QB will now be running the scheme of offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, who previously held the same position for the NCAA national champion Georgia Bulldogs football team. Jackson will be stepping into an offense that isn’t reflective of the run heavy style of previous years. On top of that he will have total control of adjustments.
So how did he do in his first game in this offense and how good will he be? Jackson and the Ravens did win their season opener against the Houston Texans but it wasn’t a pretty stat line. Jackson finished the game with 17/22 for 169 yards an interception and sacked 4 times.
However, it did show the QB was able to get the ball to his wide receivers a lot more compared to how he usually targets tight end Mark Andrews. Andrews was ruled out for this game, so it might’ve prompted this direction. However it came about, this should be the way that he continues to play, especially with this receiver group. Rookie receiver Zay Flowers led the way with 9 catches for 78 yards and looked like an explosive fit for Jackson’s electrifying style. It’s only Week 1, but Sunday’s result could be the precursor of what heights Jackson can take this offense.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to the New York Jets for pulling off a comeback win without Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was set to make his regular season Jets debut after signing with the team this past offseason. However, he got injured in the first quarter and was replaced by backup QB Zach Wilson. While most of the game was a low scoring affair, the team really held their own throughout the entire game and never gave up even after falling 13-3. Jets free safety Jordan Whitehead’s 3 interceptions really kept the team in the game. Add that with Wilson’s touchdown pass to wide receiver Garret Wilson to tie the game and kicker Greg Zuerlien to take the lead late in the 4th quarter at 16-13. The Bills came back to tie the game, but went 3 and out on the first possession of overtime. Buffalo punts the ball to Jets wide receiver Xavier Gipson who returns it back for a touchdown. It was a huge win and moment for the Jets to pull this off on the date their star quarterback goes down and the anniversary of 9/11. Congrats to the Jets for starting the year off with a win of this magnitude.
Shut out to the other New York team that got shut out at home. The New York Giants got shut out 40-0 by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The lowlight of this Giants loss was quarterback Daniel Jones getting sacked 7 times. The Giants have had a rough preseason full of headlines and opened their season with an even rougher start.
Now that Week 1 is done, Week 2 has arrived. Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young will make his Monday Night Football debut against the New Orleans Saints. The Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles will be setting off the first Amazon Prime Thursday Night game of the season. With playmakers on both teams, it should be set to be a high scoring affair, even with Philly’s defense having a stout showing in Week 1. But until then…I’ll holla.