NFL officiating was pretty one sided in Week 1, particularly in favor of visiting teams. But it only made a difference in a few games The Cowboys, Panthers, Giants, Steelers, and Vikings got help at Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Washington, New York (Jets), and Chicago. Only Pittsburgh and Minnesota won. The Broncos received some home cooking in Denver against the Titans. Overall, the standard deviation on officiating was 6.23 points, which is huge.
Before Minnesota QB J.J. McCarthy ducked into a phone booth at the end of the third quarter and emerged as Superman in the fourth quarter to carry the Vikings to a 27-24 come-from-behind victory in Chicago to spoil new Bears’ HC Ben Johnson’s debut, Minnesota punt returner Myles Price kept the Vikings in the game. Price returned 4 punts for 68 yards, an average of 17 yards per return. His 22-yard return set up Minnesota at midfield and McCarthy’s second TD pass gave the Vikings the lead they would never relinquish. Kicker Will Reichard kept Minnesota in striking distance with a 59-yard field on the last play of the first half.
Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell lifted the Steelers over the Jets, 34-32, with a 60-yard field goal. New York lost because new HC Aaron Glenn went two-points on earlier touchdowns when there was no need to do so. It seems Glenn has brought The Campbler’s style from Detroit. It might have cost his better designed team a win.
Kicking was a problem for others. San Francisco kicker Jake Moody missed a field hold and had another blocked in the 49ers 17-13 win at Seattle. Moody is now looking for a job and Kyle Shannahan is looking for a new kicker. Tampa Bay’s usually reliable Chase McLaughlin missed a PAT and left the door open for Atlanta to get even on the last play of the game. But Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo returned the field goal and missed, and the Buccaneers escaped Atlanta with a 23-20. And about Szmyt in Cleveland….
Buffalo QB Josh Allen bested Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson, 41-40, in a battle of the top vote getters for the 2024 NFL MVP Award. They look like the players to beat again. But boy did Green Bay’s Jordan Love look great in the Packers’ not-as-close-as-the-final-score-looks 27-13 beat down of the Lions. Love looked like the textbook example of an NFL QB. He generated 27 points on only 14 first downs, did not commit a turnover, did not take a sack, threw 2 TD passes, and averaged 9.455 yards per pass attempt (QCYPA). His QBR was 92.1 and his passer rating was 128.6. If he keeps playing like this, he will be in the MVP discussion at the end of the year too.