Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Glennon (8) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Chicago. The Falcons won 23-17. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Week one of the NFL season came and went; from New England to Jacksonville, we’re left with a few surprises.
One of the most shocking events of the week came last Thursday in Foxboro when the Patriots unveiled Super Bowl banner number five with commissioner Roger Goodell in attendance. New England had the best chance of going 16-0 since…well, New England back in 2007. Instead, the Kansas City Chiefs rolled into Gillette Stadium and upset the defending champions by a score of 42-27.
Thursday night didn’t look like the Patriots team that had an 18 percent chance of winning the Super Bowl before week one, according to FiveThirtyEight. Quarterback Tom Brady went 16-36 for just 267 yards and no touchdown passes. The New England’s secondary, the supposed strength of the defense, gave up scoring plays of 78 and 75 yards. The Patriots were favored by nine points in Las Vegas and lost by 15. It won’t get any easier in week two with an opening line for New England at -4 against New Orleans. Don’t be surprised with a 0-2 start.
Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars were a pleasant surprise this weekend. The quarterback threw for over 100 yards with a touchdown and most importantly, didn’t throw an interception. Rookie Leonard Fournette ran for 100 yards and a score as the Jags blew out the Houston Texans in Houston. Are the Jaguars as good as a 29-7 win on the road? No. But ten sacks on Houston quarterbacks and zero turnovers speak for itself. It’s a young team that certainly got better in the offseason and it looks like they’re finally trending in the right direction, although the season-ending injury to Allen Robinson will most definitely hurt their cause.
What wasn’t a surprise this weekend? Scott Tolzein isn’t a very good quarterback. The Los Angeles Rams, behind last year’s first overall pick Jared Goff, blew out Tolzein and the Indianapolis Colts out this weekend by a score of 46-9.
Some other notable storylines from this weekend. The Chicago Bears hung with the defending NFC champion Atlanta Hawks right up until the end. Other than the loss, the Bears suffered bad news when receiver Kevin White went out with a broken collarbone. The Cleveland Browns played a close game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer looked impressive in his rookie debut.
Connor Donahue is the digital editor for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at connor.f.donahue@uconn.edu. He tweets @conn_donahue.