What can I say? I still cannot get used to the new name. It doesn’t feel natural to say Washington Commanders. Nevertheless, I’m a hardcore Washington, DC, area sports fanatic and will always be. Having said that, I will continue to support this team, hoping that one day, not too far in the future, this new name will roll out of my tongue naturally and effortlessly.
In any case, the season started with a win over Jacksonville. It wasn’t pretty; it was a tighter game than expected. But Carson Wentz showed exactly why Washington went out of their way to trade for him.
As a result, I expected our week 2 game to be a better showing, albeit against a much improved Detroit Lions team. But, I still felt good about our chances. Sadly, we ended up losing. It was a miserable experience watching our defense allow 22 unanswered points by halftime. We rallied back, scoring 27 points, but it was too late to catch up.
WASH 27 — LIONS 36
Here s the silver lining: our offense is on its way to becoming a top-10 offense; our defense is another story. Our defense is atrocious; they cannot stop the ground game, and the air defense is shaky at best.
I’m now officially concerned about our defense. Sure, not having Cam Kurl available to play was a problem. Not having Chase Young and a legit Middle Linebacker is also an issue. However, this unit has way too much talent to be this bad. So who or what is the problem? Is it Jack Del Rio? is it the players? The overall defensive scheme? Coaching? I really have no idea.
All of a sudden, crucial players are getting injured. Chase Roullier left the game injured and is now out for the season. Daniel Wise, James Smith-Williams, and Casey Toohill are banged up. Ultimately, at 1-1 is still pretty early to go into panic mode. Still, the next game against Philly will be really tough, especially trying to contain a dynamic and elusive Jalen Hurts. Not to mention how emotional it will be for Carson Wentz to return to the place that gave up on him.
I’m still picking Washington to upset Philadelphia.
EAGLES 24 — VIKINGS 7
Jalen Hurts looked like Michael Vick in this game. I was surprised how much room Minnesota gave Hurts to run around and extend plays. Next, Philadelphia hosts Washington. Advantage, Washington Commanders.
The Vikings looked like contenders in week 1 and pretenders in week 2. Kirk Cousins threw 3 picks and was awful against a young Eagles defense. Next, Minnesota hosts Detroit. Advantage, Detroit Lions.
NY GIANTS 19 — PANTHERS 16
I’m not impressed by this 2-0 NY Giants team. The Giants are all smoke and mirrors, and Daniel Jones sucks; they have gotten fortunate in the first two weeks of this very young football season. Nonetheless, I’m still going to root for them next week against Dallas.
The Panthers are awful, and Baker Mayfield is struggling to get them over the hump. Carolina needs a new offensive strategy. Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, and Robbie Anderson are being underutilized. If the losing continues, Matt Rhule might become the first head coach casualty this season. Next, Carolina Hosts New Orleans. Advantage, New Orleans Saints.
COWBOYS 20 — BENGALS 17
Man, did Dallas get lucky in this game. They took advantage of a suspect Cincinnati defense, went up 14-0 in the 1st quarter, and loaded up on Field Goals to edge out the Bengals. Next, Dallas visits the NY Giants. Advantage, NY Giants.
Joe Burrow needs lots of help and better protection. It is early, but it seems like it is going to be a long miserable season for Cincinnati. Next, Cincinnati visits the NY Jets. Advantage, NY Jets.
49ERS 27 — SEAHAWKS 7
Trey Lance injured his ankle during the early part of this game, and now he is out for the season. With that in mind, the whole premise of keeping Jimmy G as a backup looks like a genius move. Things are about to get super interesting in San Francisco. Next, San Francisco visits Denver. Advantage, San Francisco 49ers.
After winning an emotional game against Russell Wilson, Seattle struggled to get their offense going. Geno Smith also struggled with zero TDs and 1 pick. Their only score in 4 quarters came through a defensive play. Next, Seattle hosts Atlanta. Advantage, Seattle Seahawks.
RAMS 31 — FALCONS 27
The Rams were leading 31-10 in the 4th quarter, but Atlanta scored 17 unanswered points to make LA sweat their way to a victory. Sean McVay needs to figure out a way to tighten their defense. Next, the LA Rams visit a dangerous Arizona Cardinals team. Advantage, LA Rams.
Marcus Mariota needs to find Kyle Pitts more often and get a heavier dose of Cordarrelle Patterson involved in the running game. The Falcons will be better as the season progresses. Next, Atlanta visits Seattle. Advantage, Seattle Seahawks.
DOLPHINS 42 — RAVENS 38
Mike McDaniel might just be the type of coach Tua has always needed. The combination of Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill, and Mike Gesicki is pure fire. Miami might be legit. Next, Miami has a massive division game visiting Buffalo. Advantage, Buffalo Bills, but it should be an entertaining one.
The Ravens seemed to be running away with this game, but Miami had too much firepower and put up 28 points in the 4th quarter to shock Baltimore. Next, Baltimore visits New England. Advantage, Baltimore Ravens.
PATRIOTS 17 — STEELERS 14
The insanity continues in New England — Joe Judge, a special teams guy, and Matt Patricia, a defensive coach, are calling offensive plays. The Patriots got lucky against a wounded and depleted Pittsburgh team. Belicheater will get exposed this season. Next, New England hosts Baltimore. Advantage, Baltimore Ravens.
The Steelers are not in sync in all areas of the game. Their offense could not get anything positive; it took until the 4th quarter when they finally scored, but not much more offense after that. It doesn’t really matter who is at center, Mitch Trubisky or Drew Pickett; Pittsburgh needs to get Najee Harris more involved in running the ball. Next, Pittsburgh visits Cleveland. Advantage, Cleveland Browns.
JETS 31 — BROWNS 30
Joe Flacco threw 4 TDs and zero picks and even engineered a few drives to bring NY back from a two-score deficit late in the 4th quarter. This looks like a much improved NY Jets team. Next, NY hosts Cincinnati. Advantage, NY Jets.
The Browns took their feet off the pedal and paid the price. Cleveland is loaded with talent on all sides of the game; they shouldn’t lose games like this. Next, Cleveland hosts Pittsburgh. Advantage, Cleveland Browns.
PACKERS 27 — BEARS 10
Aaron Rodgers still owns Chicago. Green Bay recovered from the embarrassing loss to Minnesota and put up 24 points in the 2nd quarter, and Chicago folded. Next, Green Bay visits Tampa Bay. Advantage, Green Bay.
Chicago was embarrassed here, and Justin Fields was beyond ineffective. The Bears looked great on week 1 against San Francisco and looked awful on week 2. Next, Chicago hosts Houston. Advantage, Chicago Bears.
CARDINALS 29 — RAIDERS 23
All the talking heads on Sports media were writing Arizona off for the season. Nevertheless, Arizona overcame a 20-point deficit to shut them all up. Kyler Murray pulled off an unbelievable miracle ending to get this victory. Next up, Arizona Hosts the LA Rams. Advantage, LA Rams.
The Josh McDaniel era has not started well in Vegas. The Raiders have lost their first two games, putting them at a disadvantage in the highly competitive AFC WEST. Next, Las Vegas visits Tennessee. Advantage, Las Vegas Raiders.
BRONCOS 16 — TEXANS 9
Russell Wilson pulled off a tight win but has not looked good in the first two weeks of the season. No reason to panic; He will settle in with his new team soon enough. Next, Denver hosts San Francisco. Advantage, San Francisco 49ers.
The Texans are rebuilding, so there is no reason to expect much from Houston. Instead, this season will be a building block for 2023, like an extended training camp. Next, Houston visits Chicago. Advantage, Chicago Bears.
CHIEFS 27 — LA CHARGERS 24
Patrick Mahomes obviously doesn’t miss Tyreek Hill. Kansas City has massively improved its defense. Their week 3 matchup against the Colts should be a complete mismatch. Next, Kansas City visits Indianapolis. Advantage, Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chargers had a chance to take over this game, but a late Justin Herbert pick made a massive difference here. This LA Chargers team will be in contention this season. Next, LA hosts Jacksonville. Advantage, LA Chargers.
BUCCANEERS 20 — SAINTS 10
Tampa Bay got many lucky breaks to pull away from New Orleans. Tom Brady is starting to show his decline, and the issues in his personal life might be affecting his performance, but we will see how things play out in Tampa Bay. Next, Tampa Bay hosts Green Bay. Advantage, Green Bay Packers.
New Orleans lost momentum after the scuffle with Mike Evans. Sadly, for New Orleans, Winston is a turnover machine. This might be a long season for the Saints. Next, New Orleans visits Carolina. Advantage, New Orleans Saints.
JAGUARS 24 — COLTS 0
Trevor Lawrence looks better under Doug Petersen. We need to be patient with this team; there is a lot of work to undo and fix all the damage Urban Meyer caused in Jacksonville. Next, Jacksonville visits the LA Chargers. Advantage, LA Chargers.
The Matt Ryan experiment is not working out. Frank Reich is officially on the hot seat. The colts were in the Super Bowl conversation and now look like they are about to fall off a cliff. Next, Indianapolis hosts Kansas City. Advantage, Kansas City Chiefs.
BILLS 41 — TITANS 7
The Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen are officially the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Next, Buffalo hosts Miami. Advantage, Buffalo Bills.
Tennessee is an enigma; they were favorites to make some noise in the playoffs, and now their playoff chances do not look very promising. I think it is too soon to start Malik Wills. Next, Tennessee hosts Las Vegas. Advantage, Las Vegas Raiders.
Rod Rioja 