The Shenoa Report
September 17, 2020
Regular Season Week 2
Week One is in the books. Man am I glad football is back! The NFL season kicked off with fans in the stands for the Chiefs home opener. There was a short ceremony before the game for the Super Bowl Champs.
There were protests across the board, at every game. For example in Kansas City when the anthem was over the Texans came onto the field and met the Chiefs, while a series of social justice messages were displayed on the big screen. It was really wonderful in my opinion. What a tactful, classy way to continue the conversation and awareness. The two teams locked arms and there was a moment of silence, a show of unity, dedicated to the fight for equality. You could hear boos from the stands during the moment of silence, it was very disappointing. It showed that America has a long way to go for equality, even after all of these years of fighting for it. I hope the NFL continues to make these demonstrations and educate those who disagree with equality.
I was surprised at how well the first week went considering there wasn’t a preseason. The penalties were not overwhelming nor were the injuries.
I went 11-5 in my picks and won in fantasy. Here’s the recap of week 1.
Texans @ Chiefs 20-34
The start of this game was a little rocky. The Chiefs had 2 touchdowns called back, which killed me in fantasy, but after that the team hit its stride. Patrick Mahomes threw 3 touchdown passes and Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 138 yards and another score. The Chiefs were unstoppable while Texans fans, as well as Deshaun Watson, really missed DeAndre Hopkins in the passing game. Houston never should have let him go. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Jets @ Bills 17-27
The Bills won their home opener while looking like their opponent was a JV team. They did, however self implode in the third quarter, but had enough of a lead that it didn’t hurt them in the end. Josh Allen had moments of brilliance but is still making stupid mistakes, he’ll learn, Bills fans hope. In other news the Jets are still terrible. Is that really news?
Seahawks @ Falcons 38-25
Both teams had a moment of unity, protesting racial injustice, on the first play of the game. As the ball sailed through the endzone on the opening kickoff all 22 players remained in place and took a knee. After a few seconds, they stood back up, and trotted off the field. The game continued as usual with the Seahawks taking an early lead and the Falcons were never able to catch up.
Bears @ Lions 27-23
The Lions dominated the first three quarters and it looked like they were going to easily win this game until Mitch Trubisky threw 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter, taking the lead and the game. I was stunned but I’m sure Lions fans are pretty used to it.
Packers @ Vikings 43-34
The final score made the game look a lot closer than it actually was. Aaron Rodgers was on fire with 364 yards and 4 touchdowns while Kirk Cousins didn’t really start clicking with his team until the fourth quarter so it was a little too late.
Dolphins @ Patriots 11-21
Cam Newton felt right at home in New England as he helped his team take the first win of the season with 2 rushing touchdowns. Belicheck was all like, “Brady who? Cam’s my favorite QB ever.” The Patriots defense was stellar picking off Fitzpatrick 3 times and not allowing any passing touchdowns. So, the Patriots are still winning without TB, I’m not surprised at all.
Eagles @ Washington 17-27
The Washington Football Team let the Eagles get a comfortable 17-0 lead and then unleashed the beast. I think this win was shocking on all fronts. I know I got this pick wrong, but who didn’t? The Football Team’s defense picked off Wentz twice and sacked him a bunch of times. After the first quarter jitters, Dwayne Haskins led his team down the field repeatedly and The Team scored 27 unanswered points. What’s in a name anyway?
Raiders @ Panthers 34-30
I know that games don’t come down to one play to determine the outcome, but when it’s late in the fourth and you need to convert on a 4th and inches to keep the ball to give you the go-ahead score you give the ball to Christian McCaffery… The Panthers new offensive coordinator Joe Brady did not make that call and instead called a handoff to fullback Alex Armah who got stuffed. Thereafter, the Las Vegas Raiders got their first win of the season, and their first win representing Sin City. Yeah, I got this pick wrong too.
Colts @ Jaguars 20-27
Got this pick wrong as well… uugh. Even though Philip Rivers is a veteran quarterback playing on a new team, he was the same ol’ guy, throwing 2 interceptions to one touchdown. The Colts need more help than once thought, meanwhile the Jags surprised me and didn’t seem to miss Leonard Fournette one little bit. Gardner Minshew had 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Browns @ Ravens 6-38
Yikes! The Browns are terrible. I mean, this game was hard to watch, especially when you need Nick Chubb and OBJ to put up some points in fantasy. The best thing for the team would be to trade Odell, because he seems to be bringing down the whole team with his tantrums and drama. Send him to the Patriots, Bill Belicheck could straighten him out. Yes, they did play the Ravens who are a force to be reckoned with on both offense and defense, but still… Lamar Jackson, Ravens quarterback, who clearly worked on his passing in the off season, had 275 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns and 45 rushing yards. That kid is a beast.
Chargers @ Bengals 16-13
Chargers kicker, Michael Badgley, was the star of the show making the majority of the points for the win, as well as ruining Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s NFL debut. Joe did run for 23 yards untouched for a touchdown but also had an interception on the day.
Buccaneers @ Saints 23-34
Tom Brady has a new, new name after this game.. Tom Terrible. He was intercepted twice in his Tampa Bay debut and was full of pouts. It was a glorious sight. The Saints didn’t need fans in the stands to win this game, which they did pretty easily. Alvin Kamara scored touchdowns both rushing and receiving, Drew Brees was in his element as well, and the defense, well, as I said before, had a pick six and another interception on Brady.
Cardinals @ 49ers 24-20
DeAndre Hopkins seems to like his new team as a Cardinal. He had a career-high game with 14 catches and 151 yards. Big mistake, big huge mistake Houston. His play-making led to scores which won the game for Arizona. Yeah, I got this pick wrong for sure. 49ers Super Bowl hangover starts now.
Cowboys @ Rams 17-20
The Rams were able to christen their new stadium with a win over the Cowboys. Malcolm Brown had a career-high 79 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams. The Cowboys were in the game the entire time but the Rams came out on top.
Steelers @ NY Giants 26-16
Well, the Giants looked good in the first quarter and the Steelers looked terrible, and then everything switched. Danny Jones had two touchdowns and two costly interceptions.
The Giants defense did really well on the first and second downs most of the time while failing to stop the Steelers on 3rd down 97% of the time (I made up that number but you get the point). The Giants have a long road ahead… As for the Steelers, talking heads think they are the best thing since sliced bread with their dominance in this game. A little advice, slow your roll, they were playing the Giants…
Titans @ Broncos 16-14
I didn’t stay up for this game but I heard it was a doozy. Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski had 3 missed field goals and one missed extra point before drilling the game winner with 25 seconds left in regulation. Talk about redemption.
WEEK 2
Thursday, September 17th
Bengals (0-1) @ Browns (0-1) (8:20pm NFL Network)
The Browns will allow up to 6,000 fans to be at their game tonight. I’d really like to see the Browns get their stuff together and pull out a win over the Bengals but I don’t think it's going to happen. Joe Burrow looked good last week and I think he’ll bring the Bengals to their first victory of the season. I’m picking the Bengals for the win.
Sunday, September 20th
NY Giants (0-1) @ Bears (1-0) (1pm CBS)
I’ll be rooting for the Giants and want them to win but I won’t pick them. I’m picking the Bears for the win. This will be the first time in a few years that we will not be watching this game with our Bears friends. Thanks Covid-19, better to be safe than sorry. If the trend continues this year the Giants should win. We’ll see.
Falcons (0-1) @ Cowboys (0-1) (1pm FOX)
Dallas is expected to allow 25% capacity for their home opener. I think that the Cowboys will bounce back and win this game but I won’t be sad if I’m wrong. I love it when another team spoils their home opener. Go Todd Gurley!!!
Lions (0-1) @ Packers (1-0) (1pm FOX)
I’m picking the Packers to win this divisional matchup.
Vikings (0-1) @ Colts (0-1) (1pm FOX)
The Colts will allow a maximum of 2,500 fans at their game, but I don’t think it will help them win. I’m picking the Vikings to win this game.
Jaguars (1-0) @ Titans (1-0) (1pm CBS)
The Titans are pretty beat up after week one but I’m still going to pick them to win this game.
49ers (0-1) @ Jets (0-1) (1pm FOX)
I think that the 49ers will bounce back and get their first win of the season. It should be an easy win, though I thought last week would be an easy win for them too.
Bills (1-0) @ Dolphins (0-1) (1pm CBS)
The Dolphins will allow a maximum of 13,000 spectators at this game, I wonder how many of them will be Bills fans. It may be one of the only games Bills fans will be able to see in person. I’m sure it’ll be totally worth it to break the travel ban in NY. This is a divisional matchup in which I think that the Bills will win.
Rams (1-0) @ Eagles (0-1) (1pm FOX)
I am going to pick the Rams for the win. The Eagles looked horrible last week and I’m hoping the trend continues.
Broncos (0-1) @ Steelers (1-0) (1pm CBS)
I’d like to see the Broncos win with Noah Fant putting up big numbers due to Philip Lindsay not playing, but I think that the Steelers are going to win their home opener.
Panthers (0-1) @ Buccaneers (0-1) (1pm FOX)
I think that the Bucs are going to bounce back and beat the Panthers.
Washington (1-0) @ Cardinals (1-0) (4:05pm FOX)
Two unlikely wins last week, someone is going to lose this week. I’m picking the Cardinals for the win.
Chiefs (1-0) @ Chargers (1-0) (4:25pm CBS)
I am picking the Chiefs for the win and am thinking about playing the Chiefs defense in fantasy. Thoughts?
Ravens (1-0) @ Texans (0-1) (4:25pm CBS)
I think that the Texans are going to be 0-2 after this game is over. I’m picking the Ravens for the win.
Patriots (1-0) @ Seahawks (1-0) (8:20pm NBC)
My opponent has Cam Newton as his QB so I’m hoping that the Seahawks pick him off 5 times and sack him another 10 times. I’m picking the Seahawks for the win.
Monday September 21st
Saints (1-0) @ Raiders (1-0) (8:15pm ESPN)
This will be the Raiders first game at their new home and stadium in Las Vegas. I don’t think it’s going to go well. I think the Saints are going to get the win.
GO GMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the edit Eric!
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