FOOTBALL IS BACK!!
The long wait for NFL is finally over and didn’t it come back to us with an explosion of great plays, strange results and just generally things that make you say ‘wow did that just happen!’
We start things off this week with the traditional season opener featuring the defending Superbowl Champions Seattle Seahawks. The season kicked off on Thursday night in Seattle as they played host to the NFC North powerhouse known as the Green Bay Packers.
In the first quarter it was Green Bay who had the better of things getting off to a 7-3 lead courtesy of a two yard touchdown run by John Kuhn. Now if like me you believe in the Madden cover curse you would quite easily think that this was a sign of what was to come for the Seahawks but we would be sadly mistaken.
In the second quarter we started to see the true defending champs as Seattle were making plays on both offense and defence. The scoring in the second quarter started with a 33 yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Ricardo Lockette. In response to this Green Bay could only muster up a field and again Seattle moved the ball efficiently down the field and capped off their 70 yard, six play drive with a nine yard touchdown run from Marshawn Lynch. At the half the defending champs were back in charge with a 17 – 10 lead.
Into the third quarter we go now and Green Bay got off to a good start by stopping Seattle on their first possession however this is really where their luck ran out. On their next play from scrimmage Aaron Rodgers went looking for Jordy Nelson with a pass but instead found Seattle cornerback Byron Maxwell.
Despite their great field position Seattle only managed to come away with three points but they did however manage to come up with a big stop as on Green Bay’s next possession they went for it on fourth and five just inside the Seattle half. This for me was the icing on the cake really as Seattle went on to score nine further points including a safety following a sack on Aaron Rodgers.
I shall leave this game here for now without boring you with the remaining scoring plays but let us just say it is scary just how well Seattle played in this game and it left me wondering if there is anyone in the league who can match their skill and intensity! You can check the highlights from this game by clicking on the picture below:
Now we move onto Sunday and where the vast majority of the league kicked off their season. I shall start in Philadelphia where they entertained the Jacksonville Jaguars. Based on last season you could quite easily think this would be a walk in the park for Philadelphia but as we all know, with the NFL, it just does not work like that!
Going into the game Jacksonville were without several key wide receivers due to injury and suspension and they have also parted ways with veteran running back Maurice Jones-Drew in the offseason. Not good signs at all for any Jaguars fans but when one person suffers a setback in the NFL that is usually just the spring board someone else needs to catapult their career into the mainstream.
This week it was the turn of young Jacksonville receiver Allen Hurns to show everyone just what he can do as in the first half alone he had two receiving touchdowns and burned several players in the process. In fact the whole Jaguars team was roasting the Eagles as they built up an impressive 17 – 0 half time lead. Major Shock alert I was thinking!
Now as you all know football is a game of two halves and I don’t know what was said to each team at halftime but I do know that the Eagles scored 34 unanswered points in the second half and ended up with a convincing score line despite such a rocky start to the game (no pun intended). To view the highlights from this one click on the picture below:
The last game I would like to talk about before we catch up on all of the scores is of course the mighty performance of my Buffalo Bills. Those familiar with the blog will know that whenever we have a great performance I scream about it from the rooftops but I soon become quiet as a mouse if we lose!!!
Going into the game against Chicago I was worried to say the least as our offensive line had barely managed to keep EJ Manual on his feet for the entire preseason and when they did he wasn't able to find any receivers.
The game itself started off in the usual Buffalo fashion which is going four and out swiftly followed by conceding a touchdown after just four plays. The writing appeared to be on the walls early doors I thought but still as a true fan you always remain ever hopeful. As the game continued the Bills managed to get themselves back in it and started matching the Bears score for score thanks to some amazing defending by Corey Graham and Co.
Now I could talk about the ins and outs of this game all night but I think you will all agree that it is best I don’t. All I will say is that when it came to the crunch in overtime Fred Jackson stepped up and just bulldozed Chicago defenders out of his way as he took the ball close to the Bears endzone to set up the game winning field goal. To see the highlights from this game click on the picture below:
Let us now take a look at all of the scores from week one in the NFL except for the two Monday night games to be played later today:
Green Bay 16 vs 36 Seattle
Jacksonville 17 vs 34 Philadelphia
Indianapolis 24 vs 31 Denver
San Francisco 28 vs 17 Dallas
Carolina 20 vs 14 Tampa Bay
New England 20 vs 33 Miami
Tennessee 26 vs 10 Kansas City
Washington 6 vs 17 Houston
Buffalo 23 vs 20 Chicago (OT)
Cincinnati 23 vs 16 Baltimore
Oakland 14 vs 19 New York Jets
Cleveland 27 vs 30 Pittsburgh
Minnesota 34 vs 6 St Louis
New Orleans 34 vs 37 Atlanta (OT)
(OT) = Overtime
To be played Monday 8th September:
New York Giants at Detroit
San Diego at Arizona
Green Bay 16 vs 36 Seattle
Jacksonville 17 vs 34 Philadelphia
Indianapolis 24 vs 31 Denver
San Francisco 28 vs 17 Dallas
Carolina 20 vs 14 Tampa Bay
New England 20 vs 33 Miami
Tennessee 26 vs 10 Kansas City
Washington 6 vs 17 Houston
Buffalo 23 vs 20 Chicago (OT)
Cincinnati 23 vs 16 Baltimore
Oakland 14 vs 19 New York Jets
Cleveland 27 vs 30 Pittsburgh
Minnesota 34 vs 6 St Louis
New Orleans 34 vs 37 Atlanta (OT)
(OT) = Overtime
To be played Monday 8th September:
New York Giants at Detroit
San Diego at Arizona
Now as you can see from the scores above there is so much to talk about that I cannot possibly fit it into a manageable blog so be sure to check out our podcast Spitball which will hit the airwaves later in the week. A wise man once said ‘always leave them wanting more’ so hopefully I have managed to wet your appetite for our podcast!
With that said I bid you farewell from the week one action and look forward to bringing you the big talking points from week two next week. Until next time football fans stay safe, take care and ‘Thanks for Stopping By’.