Week 1 of the NFL season started very slow on Thursday night with the Green Bay Packers defeating the Chicago Bears 10-3. There wasn’t much offense and it was a rather slow game. However, the result didn’t shock many. It was a tightly contested game, with veteran Aaron Rodgers leading his team to victory. However, this was just the start of a wild week one of the NFL. Experts were stunned to see some of the most promising teams go down, including the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns Among Teams That Disappointed in Week One
1) Cleveland Browns
The very first drive of the season led to a touchdown for the Browns. They would miss the extra point. But, hey, a touchdown on the first drive? Cleveland fans weren’t mad. The next four drives would result in punts, and the fifth ended with a safety.
At halftime, the Browns were only down 12-6. The game was still competitive. However, in the second half, the Browns completely fell apart. The defense could not stop the Tennessee Titans at all and Baker Mayfield threw three interceptions. The Titans would then score three touchdowns in nine plays.
Marcus Mariota and the Titans would win the game by a score of 43-13. This was a very disappointing start for a team that many have predicted to win the AFC North. Is this another typical Browns season or can Odell Beckham Jr. help bring a spark to Cleveland?
2) Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers failed to score a single touchdown against the New England Patriots. Many thought with Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell officially gone from the Steel City, the Steelers would have a renewed energy and would have a strong offense. If this is the case, it wasn’t displayed Sunday night.
James Conner had 10 carries for 21 yards. Roethlisberger had an interception and a fumble. The offense had only run a total of 13 plays by the time the Patriots already had a 10-0 lead.
Tom Brady torched the defense of the Steelers for 341 passing yards and three touchdowns. No one expected the Patriots to be horrible, however, no one expected Pittsburgh to get so dominated in the first game of the season. Mike Tomlin may need to be concerned if this team doesn’t get going in week two against the Seahawks.
3) Atlanta Falcons
Ever since the 28-3 blown lead in Super Bowl LI, Falcons fans have waited to see this team succeed. This has not been the case in the past two years and it wasn’t the case in week one against the Minnesota Vikings. The entire team looked confused for three quarters of the game.
A blocked punt, two interceptions, and a fumble plagued the Falcons offense. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones never got into a rhythm. The defense could not stop Dalvin Cook and the coaching decisions were questionable throughout the entire game.
The Falcons had nine more first downs than the Vikings, ran eighteen more plays, and accumulated more total yardage. Yet, Atlanta couldn’t turn these stats into actual points on the scoreboard. The Vikings defense is strong; however, no one thought the Falcons would be down 28-0 in week one.
Moving Forward
The Browns, Steelers, and Falcons struggled on all sides of the ball in each of their games. The good news for these three teams? There are 15 games left to correct the mistakes from week one.
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