Life as a Houston Texans fan isn't getting any
better in 2015. Alex Smith and the Chiefs destroyed the vaunted Texans defence.
Brian Hoyer started this season continuing the poor play that saw him deemed
replaceable in Cleveland. Hoyer was sacked four times and failed to show any
signs of life, eventually being replaced by Ryan Mallet who finally sparked
some offence. It could be a very long year in Houston! The Chiefs didn't have
things all their own way as
Travis Kelce underlined his amazing promise, grabbing
two TDs, before getting knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury.
Speaking of Cleveland Johnny Manziel was beaten
out by Josh McCown but didn't have to wait long to get under centre. After
McCown was knocked out of the game with a concussion Manziel took the field on
Cleveland's subsequent possession and looked a different player as he completed
two passes for 67 yards, the second of which was a 54-yard completion to Travis
Benjamin. His play after that promising start was questionable as he scrambled
around and turned the ball over three times. With McCown facing a delayed
return Manziel could finally get a prolonged look.
That St Louis Rams defence appeared the real
deal, stifling Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offence in the first half. Once
Seattle found their feet on defence newly acquired Nick Foles had very little
time to get the ball away and another former Eagle Cary Williams got a strip
sack and fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. In the end some questionable calls from Pete
Carroll saw Seattle suffer a shock defeat to St Louis.
Tyrod Taylor rewarded Buffalo coach Rex Ryan's
faith by sparking the Bills offence, both with his legs and from the pocket.
Bills rookie Karlos Williams showed why
the Bills were so comfortable parting company with Fred Jackson in the offence
as he had an impressive first game. But the real story of the game was the
Bills defence that gave the Colts nothing as they had no answer for the Bills running game and
stingy defence - in fact Buffalo took a 24-0 lead and eventually ran out 27 -
14 winners. Taylor provides hope for the Wembley bound Bills.
After last year's wholly anaemic performance on
offence, Brandon Marshall showed why the Jets chased him after he caught 6
passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Chris Ivory rumbled away for 91 yards and
two touchdowns. It was no doubt a relief for the Jets as they demolished the
Browns. If Geno Smith continues to improve like he did at the tail end of last
year they could make the AFC East very competitive down the stretch.
Lions running back Ameer Abdulah started his
career with a TD on his first carry. One of the undoubted stars of the
pre-season, Abdulah, continued his impressive form and looks to make the Detroit
offence truly two dimensional as he combines with all pro receiver Calvin
Johnson. The paring could be bad news for opposing defences.
In a battle of the top two picks in the NFL
draft, Marcus Mariota saw his first pass go for a touchdown whilst Jameis Winston's
first regular season pass was picked off and returned for a touchdown. It's far
too early to predict careers as divergent as Manning and Leaf but it wasn't the
best start for Winston.
Time and time again we see teams letting their
opponents hang around until late in the game and then trying to hold on rather
than putting the final nail in the coffin. It happened to the Giants against
the Cowboys. They played poorly, Romo made mistakes and the Giants defence made
plays to keep the Giants ahead until the dying minutes when the Cowboys drove
down the field. Both teams may struggle down the stretch, especially the
Cowboys, who lost Dez Bryant for a significant period.
The Raiders certainly appear to have regressed
this season as they couldn't produce an offence. Starting quarterback Derek
Carr, left with a hand injury in the second quarter and things were no better
when backup Matt McGloin took over, in fact they were scoreless at the half. The complete lack of impact from Kahlil Mack
and Aldon Smith must be a concern.
The Falcons defence, one of the worst in the
NFL last season, was the surprise of Monday Night football as they kept the
high powered Eagles offence off the field for the majority of the first half.
Falcons rookie Vic Beasley lived up to his first round billing both against the
pass and run. For new Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford it looked like the first
half was a warm up as he looked out of sync with his receivers. The second half
was a different story as Bradford and the Eagles offence found its stride and
came to within a botched field goal of winning, losing 24-26. The worrying side
of the Eagles play was the HUGE number of penalty yards.
In the 49ers match against the Vikings two
things stood out - Kaepernick playing from the pocket and Adrian Peterson
barely making an impact after his suspension. The 49ers defence, and indeed the
team as a whole, looked better than I expected given the amount of turmoil they
faced.
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