Matthew Ross
I was 3-1 against the spread in Week 1, a pretty good start to the season for my Selection Corner weekly feature. As will be customary all season, let’s take a look at what we learned from the first week of NFL football.
2017 NFL Week 1 Betting Recap
Odell Beckham Jr. is everything to the Giants – New York’s offense couldn’t move the ball downfield. Period. They desperately need his playmaking abilities.
Packers D is better than we thought – Green Bay shut down Russell Wilson and the Seahawks on the strength of what was an outstanding defensive performance. If this is the D that they will have in 2017 then they are Super Bowl favorites out of the NFC.
Yes, the 49ers and Jets will be that bad – These two teams will absolutely compete for the top pick in next spring’s NFL draft. It won’t even be close. They are the two worst teams, by far.
Andrew Luck better rebound for the Colts – Scott Tolzien is not a starting quarterback in the NFL. We knew it before Indy’s game against the Rams. If Andrew Luck doesn’t return quickly then the Colts will fall to the bottom of the league.
What happened in Houston on Sunday? – Was it a case of a mentally exhausted Texans team in light of the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey? Was Jacksonville just that good? Neither. Houston keeps forgetting that you need a viable starting QB to win in this league. They don’t have one and so it could be a disappointing season.
Bengals will be bad – I said that Cincy would be in a freefall this year and we saw the first step on Sunday. Marvin Lewis will not make it through the year. Mark my words.
The Titans are not yet ready for primetime – Tennessee looked very inconsistent in their game against legit contender Oakland. The key for them is to establish the run and they just couldn’t do it.
I can’t figure out the Cardinals – I thought that this was the year the Cards got it all back on track. It was supposed to be the year that Carson Palmer was healthy and ready to go out a winner. But what we saw on Sunday was a complete second half collapse. Bruce Arians can’t be happy with what we saw, and there might even be some worry even though it’s early in the season.
The Falcons will be fine – Everyone is praising the Bears for keeping it close with the Falcons. But the truth is that we are still in the Super Bowl loss hangover phase. Atlanta wants games to be meaningful against quality opponents. They weren’t bad in Week 1, they were bored.
Matthew Ross is a sports commentator and a radio host on TSN 690 Radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Follow him @MatthewWords.
