Well, I can't say that went the way I was hoping it would. The first week of NFL football is now in the books and the state of Michigan is a fractured mess. About one third of the Lions fans are saying to themselves "same old Lions" after their blowout loss to Green Bay on Sunday afternoon 27 to 13. Another third of Lions fans are lying to themselves saying everything is going to be okay and chastising the fans saying "same old Lions" for not being loyal enough.
Then we have the final third. Those who knew nothing of the history of the Lions, but jumped on the hype train because it's the cool thing to do. They are collectively scrambling like Jared Goff looking for the next bandwagon to jump on.
You might say that a 27 to 13 loss isn't really a blow out, but trust me, it was a miserable showing by the Lions. There was zero grit or excitement like we have seen in the past couple of seasons. I think it's a perfect example of just how important offensive and defensive line coaches are. I'm a Dan Campbell fan, but losing those two pieces in the off season definitely hurt.
I know it's only the first game of the season and we have a long way to go, but unless Detroit makes some big changes, I am afraid this is going to be more of a building season for them. Which I guess isn't that surprising given what I mentioned above about the coaching staff.
Honestly, I wouldn't be too sad if they struggled early, got their poop in a group, and then stormed the second half of the season into the playoffs and maybe a shot at the Superbowl finally. I'm skeptical though.
Philly got a close win against Dallas in the first week and the Chargers stunned Kansas City 27 to 21. Carolina haven't turned their fortunes around yet as they fell to Jacksonville 26 to 10. The Commanders beat the Giants 21 to 6, and Pittsburgh had a tight game win over the Jets 34 to 32. I was able to watch the end of that game and it was quite exciting.
Arizona beat New Orleans 20 to 13 adding to the Saints woes that carried over from last season. Vegas beat the Patriots 20 to 13, and Indianapolis hammered the Dolphins 33 to 8.
Probably the closest game in the NFL this past week was Cincinnati versus Cleveland with the Bengals taking the win 17 to 16 over their foe to the north. Tampa Bay took down the ATL 23 to 20 and San Francisco had a 17 to 13 win over Seattle. I can't say I am sad about that one. I've always been a big Joe Montana fan and I hate Seattle.
Denver bested Tennessee 20 to 12 and the Rams beat Houston 14 to 9. Yikes. Did they really only score three field goals? Does that say more about their offense or the Rams defense? As I said, the Lions lost to Green Bay, and Buffalo beat Baltimore 41 to 40 in a game that probably sits up there with the showdown in Ohio. In fact, this one might take the top honors simply for the fact there was obviously more offense!
Finally, Minnesota had a 27 to 24 win over a Chicago Bears team that struggled quite a bit last season. They had some flashes of greatness, but overall they were pretty disappointing. This shows that the NFC North might be a tough division this season.
All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or 
