Tuesday, September 11, 2012

NFL Week 1 Pick Results

Winning team in bold.

Unanimous Picks (10-3)

Right:

Falcons @ Chiefs
Eagles @ Browns
Patriots @ Titans
Chargers @ Raiders
Rams @ Lions
Colts @ Bears
Dolphins @ Texans
Bills @ Jets
Jaguars @ Vikings
Bengals @ Ravens

Wrong:

Redskins @ Saints
Even for what has been a pretty unremarkable Saints' defense, this was a bad game, giving up 464 yards and 8 scores. But probably the Saints' biggest problem was their offensive line. Every time I looked at the game, it seemed like Drew Brees was running away from the Redskins' pass rush, and (usually) throwing the ball away. As a result, Brees had 28 incompletions (including 2 interceptions), and the Saints posted a measly 32 yards rushing.
Panthers @ Buccaneers
In 2010, the Buccaneers made it to 10 wins, largely on the strength of their defense (and an easy schedule). Sunday, it sure looked like they were back. The Buccaneers' defense had 3 sacks, two interceptions, and held Cam Newton and the rest of the Panthers to an astonishing 10 yards rushing.
Seahawks @ Cardinals
As I speculated in my preseason notes post, Russel Wilson looked a lot more like a rookie quarterback facing a regular-season NFL defense. And this game was like a lot of last year's games for the Cardinals. The defense played well, and left the door open for the offense to secure a win with some late-game heroics.

Split Picks: (Pythag: 2-1, Line: 1-2)

Steelers (Pythag) @ Broncos (Line)
Hard to call this anything except Manning being Manning. After 3 unproductive drives, the Broncos' offense scored on their next 4 drives (not counting a 1-play kneel-down at the end of the first half). And the Broncos' defense found out how much easier it is to play with a lead, and be able to assume their offense is probably going to score the next time they have the ball.
Cowboys (Pythag) @ Giants (Line)
This was really not a good game for the Giants on either side of the ball. They haven't had a game with fewer than 270 yards of offense since 2010 (and not at home since 2008). They weren't good on defense, either. The Giants' defense has allowed their share of 433+ yard games (again mostly on the road). But besides the Packers @ Giants game last year, you have to go back to 2005 to find the last time the Giants allowed that many yards at home.
Unless this game was a major fluke on the part of the Giants, they're going to need a big-time turnaround to avoid the mother of all Super Bowl hang-overs.
49ers (Pythag) @ Packers (Line)
As noted in the power rankings, this was just a terrible day for the Packers' defense. They didn't force the 49ers to punt for a second time until the end of the 3rd quarter. In the mean time, the 49ers scored on 5 consecutive drives. The Packers' defense seemed to get some traction late in the game, but by then it was too little, too late.

Totals

RW
Pythagorean124
Line 115