Football fans rejoice! The regular season is here. The preseason is finally over and now teams will play games that actually matter.<\/p>\n
Below are some NFL Week one takeaways after the Thursday night matchup and Sunday’s full slate of games. Some teams fared well while others, like the Miami Dolphins<\/a>, got trounced by the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>.<\/p>\n The New England Patriots<\/a> opened up the season with the, what seems like, annual raising of their Super Bowl championship banner on Sunday Night against the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>. In Patriots fashion, they once again manhandled a Steelers team that has had absolutely no luck in Foxboro against Tom Brady<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even at 42-years old, Brady showed no signs of slowing down in his 20th season in the NFL. And the Patriots performance Sunday was sans some important playmakers. The newly acquired Antonio Brown<\/a><\/strong> is expected to make his debut with the team next week against the Miami Dolphins and Demaryius Thomas<\/a><\/strong> is expected back during the season.<\/p>\n The duo of Bill Belichick<\/strong> and Brady continue to be unmatched in terms of game planning and execution and it showed on Sunday as the Pats outscored the Steelers, 33-3, in a game that was pretty much over after the first quarter. If the Patriots are going to sustain this kind of dominance over the season it will be difficult to bet against them winning their seventh Lombardi Trophy.<\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Steelers will most likely bounce back from this thrashing as they’re still a highly talented team that’s well-coached. JuJu Smith-Schuster<\/a><\/strong> will show whether or not he’s capable of being a number one receiver and their defense will show whether or they’re for real.<\/p>\n It’ll be up to the Steelers to silence their critics as the season moves forward in Week two and beyond.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/Patriots\/status\/1170887769637314560<\/p>\n Ever since Aaron Rodgers<\/a><\/strong> took over for Brett Favre<\/a><\/strong> back in 2008, the Green Bay Packers<\/a> have been an offensive-minded team. And rightfully so, as Rodgers has dominated the NFL by making absurd throw after absurd throw during his time in the league. However, one thing Green Bay has not consistently had in his era is a quality defense.<\/p>\n In fact, the Packers have only had a top-10 defense once during Rodgers’ career and that came back in 2010 under Dom Capers<\/strong> and they won Super Bowl XLV because of it. Great offensive teams have come out of Green Bay over the years, but now they could have something special brewing at the Frozen Tundra.<\/p>\n New general manager Brian Gutekunst<\/strong> went out and brought in defensive studs like Preston Smith<\/a><\/strong>, Za’Darius Smith<\/a><\/strong>, and Adrian Amos<\/a><\/strong>, while drafting Darnell Savage<\/a><\/strong> to solidify the safety position. Throw in ball-hawking cornerback Jaire Alexander<\/strong><\/a> on the outside, tackling machine Blake Martinez<\/a><\/strong> and this Green Bay defense has stars oozing at nearly every position.<\/p>\n They played extremely well for defensive coordinator Mike Pettine<\/strong> Thursday night and earned rookie head coach Matt LeFleur<\/strong> career win number one as the Packers bottled the Chicago Bears offense<\/a> in the latest chapter of the NFL’s oldest rivalry. Rodgers and company struggled all night long, but they were able to rely on their defense all game. All those years spent on fixing the defense through the draft looks to have finally come full circle.<\/p>\n The new-look #Packers<\/a> defense came out \ud83d\udcaa on opening night. #GBvsCHI<\/a> #GoPackGo<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/nceweSP8Me<\/a><\/p>\n — Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nNFL Week One Takeaways<\/h2>\n
The Super Bowl Champs Continue to Dominate<\/h3>\n
Green Bay Has a Defense<\/h3>\n
\n