By: Thomas Cunningham

Alrighty, football fans, after an exciting Week 1 showing of the 2021 season is officially in the books, we all need to start looking forward to Week 2. Some obvious over-hyped teams were coming in and out of the first week of the NFL season, but some teams flew underneath the radar.

Of course, most of the major teams viewed as contenders going into the start of the season remained in the same light (except for the Green Bay Packers), but some teams definitely had their stock risen to post their performance.

However, through the major players, big plays, and blowout wins, some team’s victories fell to the wayside of consideration of being competitive for the remainder of the season. The next few teams were not necessarily considered bottom feeders but have been looked down on or overlooked by more prominent rosters in the league. Who are they, you’re asking yourself? Well, let’s dive in. 

1.       Joe Burrow is back in action.

After an exciting start to the 2020 season, Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback, Joe Burrow, left the field and ended his season with a knee injury. The thought surrounding Burrow was that it was pretty much the end of the line, and the Bengals will be who they have always been.

Fast forward to Week 1 of the 2021 season, and Mr. Burrow had himself a day against the Minnesota Vikings. He threw for 261 yards, 2 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 74.1% completion rate in his sophomore debut. Say what you want about the Vikings offense, but their defense has added a lot of firepower this offseason and was a true test of what Burrow could do.

Let’s also not forget to mention running back Joe Mixon rushing for over 100 yards and wide receiver Jamar Chase having 5 catches for over 100 yards. The only real concern for the Bengals is their defense; if they can work on buttoning that aspect of their game up, they’re going to upset many teams.

2.       The other Los Angeles team should be the one you are watching.

That’s right, football fans, I am not talking about the L.A Rams, It is the Chargers that should be a team to look out for. As a first-year quarterback, Justin Herbert threw for over 4000 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in his rookie year. He was imposing in his ability to show his immediate command of the offense. The downfall of the Chargers last season had to do with protecting their new quarterback.

During this past offseason, the Chargers addressed this issue and bolstered their offensive line with free-agent signings and drafts. So far, it seems to have paid off. L.A was able to go up moderately and down the field on a Washington Football Team’s defense that is extremely stout.

Surviving against a defensive line like the Football Team’s is an impressive first start, let alone moving the ball efficiently. Obviously, the Chargers have high division competition, but I will not bet against them being in the hunt for a wild card spot if you are a betting person.

3.       Another AFC West challenger emerges

Last but not least, on this list of teams in the Denver Broncos. The Broncos, over the course of the past few seasons, have been, well, mostly a mess. Since their Super Bowl win back in 2015, Denver has only had one winning season. It seemed for a while that they were starting to vastly slip down the power rankings further and further each season.

There was some debut on the Broncos not selecting a quarterback in this year’s draft, but I am here to tell all Broncos’ fans, Partick Surtain will be just fine. In fact, adding a player like Surtain to your secondary has really increased the fact that Denver’s defense will be one of the better ones in this league, if not at least in the top 10.

They walked into Met-Life stadium and beat up the Giants for 4 quarters. It was a shaky start, but once they got rolling, with the help of a Daniel Jones fumble, they never looked back until the clock struck triple zeroes. They may not be as high power on offense, but their Von Miller-led defense will for sure keep them in the game.

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By: Thomas Cunningham

Okay, football fans, as week one of the 2021 NFL season has officially closed, it is time to reflect on those teams that were let down this past weekend. As teams do every year, there were many big-name signings, even bigger contract extensions made, and some future pillars of rosters drafted.

However, let’s first just all be thankful that football is officially back, regardless of the outcome of your team’s game. It is the time of year where you are wearing your favorite jersey, on the edge of your seat, just waiting for that next big play to be made. Speaking of big plays, as the title of this article suggests, we will break down some well-overhyped teams leading into week one that did not live up to expectations.

Now, some may find this list subjective or unfair due to it being the only week one, but the next few teams listed not only had fan base hype but national media hype and did not come close to living up to either expectation. So let’s get into shall we?

“America’s Team” could not pull out the win.

That’s right, folks; the Dallas Cowboys were on out in full scale during their Thursday night matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys have had a lot of hype coming out of training camp about their condition, how well wide receiver Ceedee Lamb and running back Ezekiel Elliot looked, and how improved their defense will be coming into this season.

Well, to say the least, “Dem Boys” will always be just “Dem Boyz.” Last year, putting points on the board was not the Cowboys’ problem; it was keeping opposing teams off the scoreboard that was ultimately Dallas’ downfall. Fast forward to this season, and that trend seems to have continued along with multiple stalled red zone drives after having multiple takeaways from an otherwise unprepared and injured Buccaneers team.

The good news for Cowboys fans is that quarterback Dak Prescott did have an impressive first outing, with over 400 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. However, just like the past few seasons, it looks like Prescott is once again left out on an island to defend himself. It truly seems that Dallas has picked up right where they left off last year.

Did “Who Dat” actually put the league on notice?

This past Sunday, the New Orleans Saints absolutely embarrassed the Green Bay Packers, winning handily 38-3. With such a dominant win, the thought would be that the Saints mean business this season; however, you have to place this game into context. Though Jamis Winston threw five touchdowns, he only threw for 148 yards. This game actually belongs to the Saints’ defense, which helped put their offense in great field position. It also has to be put into the minds of everyone; the Packers absolutely gave up in that game, especially on offense. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is regarded as one of the best QB’s of all time, looked as sloppy and uncaring as one player could.

This only made the Saints’ life easier as the game went on, especially after the Packers’ defense was completely gassed. The Saints will make some noise this season, but ultimately this “high powered” offense will lose steam, especially when they start facing top defenses.

We have all seen this from the Las Vegas Raiders before

Okay, sports fans, if this story sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The Raiders had a lot of hype surrounding them last season because they were able to beat teams like the Kansas City Cheifs and New Orleans Saints, but did all of this to only go 8 and 8 on the season and also lose to teams like the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots

The hype begins again after their victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Now the victory was earned, even if the Ravens fell flat on their face. However, it has to be said that as the season continues, the Raiders will seemingly fall into a similar pattern as last year, especially with their faith in Derek Carr possibly wavering.

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