One week in the books, and already we can see some surprises and unpredictably. Next week, we will have some legitimate trends underway. Let’s look back before we look forward to choices for Week 2.
Week 1 Results
Cincinnati (vs New England) - 1 sack
This was disappointing to say the least. The Bengals offense sputtered and allowed the Patriots to nurse a lead and play it safe, relying on a lot of Rhamondre Stevenson to win this one.
A Look Ahead: @KC WAS @CAR - We won’t go back to the Bengals until they awake from their cat nap.
Seattle (vs Denver) - 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INT
This was an even more impressive defensive performance than the stat line indicates. Bo Nix was almost completely unsuccessful throwing downfield. We’re going to target him going forward with our rent-a-defense choices, although this week, his opponent - Pittsburgh - is probably rostered already.
A Look Ahead: @NE MIA @DET - Targeting the Patriots was a bad idea last week, so we may pivot to another D/ST this week despite Seattle’s quality Week 1 output.
Tampa Bay (vs Washington) - 2 sacks
The Washington offense wasn’t that productive until the game got out of hand, but it wasn’t because Jayden Daniels didn’t take care of the ball.
A Look Ahead: @DET DEN PHI - We will come back to the Bucs in Week 3.
Chicago (vs Tennessee) - 3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INT, 1 DEF TD, 1 ST TD.
The Bears' D/ST singlehandedly won this game (with some help from Will Levis), and they probably won some fantasy matchups, too. They were the best D/ST of the week despite their team falling behind 17-0.
A Look Ahead: @HOU @IND LAR - We’ll avoid the Texans with our D/ST picks, and there’s no low-hanging fruit here, but the Bears will be a mainstay in this column over the course of the season.
New Orleans (vs Carolina) - 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INT
If this was a prizefight, the referee would have stopped the game by halftime. The Saints D/ST landed some blows early, and the Panthers never recovered.
A Look Ahead: @DAL PHI @ATL - If Kirk Cousins still looks like a candidate for the Senior NFL Tour going into Week 4, we’ll use the Saints again.
LA Chargers (vs Las Vegas) - 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT
You knew the defense was going to lead this team, but you didn’t know they would be this good against an opponent who also wants to win with defense and the running game.
A Look Ahead: @CAR @PIT KC - Yeah, we’re sticking with the Chargers this week
Minnesota (at NY Giants) - 5 sacks, 2 INT, 1 DEF TD
If you didn’t land the Bears, hopefully, you got the Vikings in your Week 1 lineup. Daniel Jones was even worse than this stat line would lead you to believe. This is going to be a good D/ST to use in lineups in the second year of Brian Flores directing the chaos.
A Look Ahead: SF HOU @GB - The Vikings should be a good play in Week 4 unless Jordan Love returns to the lineup.
Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda
Denver (at Seattle) - 2 safeties, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT
The defense kept the Broncos in the game. We did not have two safeties on our Week 1 bingo card
Arizona (at Buffalo) - 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 ST TD
DeeJay Dallas became the first player to return a new rule kickoff for a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the road upset
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