Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com posits that Dome Defenses are the big losers with no fans and a constant level of noise:

For what it’s worth, keep an eye on dome teams, now with no fans, having their defenses struggle mightily. There were notable collapses by the defenses of the Lions, Vikings and Falcons in the early games. Now, part of it might be that all three defenses stink (two probably do and the Vikings continue to decline rapidly from where they were a few years ago), but they combined to give up 108 points, with opposing QBs having no concerns about crowd noise or hand signals or silent counts.

Frankly, it was ugly. Even Mitchell Trubisky got off under these circumstances, leading a wild fourth quarter comeback that will have the hot seat under Matt Patricia cranking again (wasn’t buying the Lions as a playoff team narrative before this game; definitely ain’t now). Might be a trend worth tracking after Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Trubisky combined to go 83 of 115 (72 percent) for 928 yards, 11 TDs and no interceptions. Wow …

NFC EAST

NEW YORK GIANTS

Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com on the poor start of RB SAQUON BARKLEY on Monday night:

uld help if it actually worked.

Saquon Barkley was remarkably ineffective in last night’s loss to the Steelers, with just 6 yards on 15 carries.

The Giants aren’t ashamed to buck the trend and build around their running game. It wo

According to Tom Rock of Newsday, that makes him just the sixth player since the 1970 merger to rush for single-digit yards on 15 or more carries.

“I have to do better,” Barkley said. “I have to do better for the team. We have to find a way to get the running game going.”

It’s hard to pin it all on Barkley, as he was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 11 of those carries — part of a general offensive line problem for the Giants. And the fantasy points didn’t bother him as much as being 0-1.

The Steelers made no secret of the fact they were trying to limit Barkley, and coach Mike Tomlin praised his team for meeting the physical challenge.

“We had a commitment and we weren’t going to be bashful about that commitment,” Tomlin said. “We thought that guy was a catalyst for whatever that they were going to do offensively. We put our secondary in harm’s way some in an effort to do so. It’s a team game. They embraced that challenge. We needed to stack the line of scrimmage. . . . We did what we thought was necessary to minimize his impact on the game.”

Barkley did make some plays in the passing game (six catches for 60 yards, including a 38-yarder), but the pressure on him will not lessen as the year goes on — from other teams or his own.

PHILADELPHIA

The Eagles have lost veteran DE VINNY CURRY for a while.  Tom Pelissaro of NFL.com:

@TomPelissero

#Eagles DL Vinny Curry, who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, is expected to miss four weeks, source said. A hit to Philadelphia’s depth up front.

– – –

The media, in this case Tim McManus of ESPN.com, is starting to wonder about QB CARSON WENTZ after the Eagles were over-run by the Redskins:

For much of quarterback Michael Vick’s scintillating stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, a major area of focus was the amount of hits he was taking and how to fix it.

– – –

Which brings us to Eagles starting quarterback Carson Wentz, whose performance in a distressing 27-17 loss to Washington on Sunday furthers the question: Is he capable of finding the balance that will provide the Eagles’ offense with the adaptability and consistency or will his tenure be an endless roller coaster? The success of the Eagles’ 2020 season appears glued to that answer.

Like Vick, one of Wentz’s greatest attributes can also be a weakness when applied too liberally. Wentz loves the big play. He’ll stand in there and give a route time to develop, as he did on the 55-yard heave to rookie Jalen Reagor early in the game, and is exceptional at navigating the initial rush and creating off-schedule plays with his arm and his legs. The flip side is he gets himself — and the team — in trouble by not always knowing when to say when.

This offseason was largely about making the offense more explosive and tailoring it to Wentz’s big-play preferences, and it was clear the coaching staff and quarterback were hell-bent on starting with a bang. Wentz averaged 12.26 air yards per attempt Sunday, per ESPN Stats & Information research, far and away the league’s highest number in Week 1. (Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins was next at 10.56.) Nineteen percent of Wentz’s throws were downfield 20 yards or more, second only to Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers (20.5%).

That was fine early on when the Eagles’ patchwork offensive line was holding up and Philly blazed to a 17-0 lead. But the unwavering methodology proved disastrous once Washington turned up the heat, overwhelming an offensive front that was down three starters. Wentz was sacked a career-high eight times — double the amount of the second-closest quarterback (Deshaun Watson and Gardner Minshew II were each sacked four times) — en route to two interceptions and a loss to what is supposed to be one of the league’s worst teams. Next up is Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams (1-0), who are coming off a win against the much-hyped Dallas Cowboys (0-1).

Playcalling and protection issues were a factor in how Wentz played, but on multiple occasions the responsibility for the negative plays fell on the quarterback.

“That’s just the mentality I have: I’m always trying to make a play and extend a play when it’s there to be made,” Wentz said. “Sometimes you make ’em, sometimes you don’t, sometimes bad things happen, you take a sack. I have to be better and get rid of the ball when I can, but my mentality on that front doesn’t change within a game or within a week. But I’ve just got to know better and know when just to get rid of the ball.”

Wentz has talked about the “fine line” between being aggressive and reckless for much of his four-plus seasons in Philadelphia. His attack mindset helped him to a near-MVP season in 2017. It’s also left him vulnerable to injury and to bouts of uneven play. His coaches urged him last season to play within the system more and let the big moments develop organically.

When asked whether Wentz is listening to advice on being aggressive but also keeping the play alive, the Eagles coach Doug Pederson says it’s something he’s working on with his quarterback.

“We still have to continue to address him and to address those issues. It’s part of the football game. We just have to keep talking that it’s OK to throw the ball away. It’s OK to dirt the ball on a screen pass or something of that nature,” Pederson said.

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY

Bruce Arians did not see “Tom Brady” on Sunday in New Orleans.  Jenna Laine of ESPN.com:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said Monday that he was a bit surprised by quarterback Tom Brady’s struggles in his Bucs debut Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, a game in which Brady threw two interceptions in a 34-23 loss.

“He looked like Tom Brady in practice all the time, so it’s kind of unusual to see that in a ballgame because they didn’t do things that we didn’t get ready for. Everything they did, we thought we were ready for,” Arians said. “Some wide receivers have to do a better job of winning one-on-one when he decides to go their way. He put us in the right run checks a couple times. It was a learning experience that way.

“You can’t say that we weren’t in sync because we started out as good as you can start out, going right down the field,” he added. “Then we don’t get any more chunk plays other than pass-interference penalties. I think it’s a great learning experience. It’s just Round 1 of a 16-round fight. And we’ll learn from it.”

The Bucs marched 85 yards in nine plays on the opening drive, with Brady scoring on a 2-yard QB keeper to grab a 7-0 lead. But they couldn’t hang on to that momentum. Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans was shadowed by Marshon Lattimore and had a safety over the top of him through much of the game. He was targeted just four times on 37 routes — including one play that resulted in an interception.

Arians said after the game that the pick was the result of an overthrown pass against Cover 2, but Monday, after watching the film, he clarified that Evans should have “no doubt” kept the route going, as it was against quarters coverage, which opened up the middle of the field.

Brady’s second pick came when he attempted to hit Justin Watson as he and Rob Gronkowski each ran speed outs from the right side of the formation while Chris Godwin ran a slant route toward the middle of the field. Janoris Jenkins jumped in front and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.

“It speaks for itself. If you’re throwing an out route and you throw it low and inside — that hasn’t been the case up until that one,” Arians said of the pick-six. “He was a little bit late on it. And probably a better decision to go somewhere else with the ball.”

Evans, one of only two receivers with six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his first six years, managed just one catch — a fourth-quarter touchdown. Gronkowski, Brady’s go-to target with the New England Patriots, caught just two passes on three targets for 11 receiving yards. Instead, Brady relied heavily on Godwin, who caught 6 of 7 targets for 79 receiving yards, and Scotty Miller, who went 5 of 6 for 73 yards.

Brady acknowledged this week that he was still thinking too much in Arians’ offense but said he was eager to test himself against a real opponent in the absence of preseason games.

“It’s a situation where all that verbiage, when you’re under the gun, is different, and now you’re getting hit for the first time too. It’s all different,” Arians said, adding that he believes Brady will regroup against the Carolina Panthers at home this week.

“He’s had it before. He knows how to bounce back,” Arians said. “He knew he didn’t play very well. It’s not what he expects from himself, nor do we expect. I would anticipate him to have a little more grit, a little more determination this week.”

Arians also expressed disappointment in starting left tackle Donovan Smith, who surrendered two sacks and posted a 73.9% pass block win rate — 129th in the league among offensive linemen in Week 1 and 54th among 58 offensive tackles.

“I was very disappointed in his play,” Arians said. “I think every now and then, he reverts back to some techniques that aren’t very good. And he got beat. He had probably the easiest guy to block up there. And he did a poor job. It was one of his worst games, and I expect for him to bounce back this week, yes.”

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO

Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com vacillates as to whether or not Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals was a sign of bad things to come:

Most Super Bowl teams have at least one bad game the next season. Sometimes it happens in Week 1.

Maybe we’ll look up at the end of December, maybe even the end of September, and the San Francisco 49ers’ opening-game loss to the Arizona Cardinals will look like a blip in another successful season. Hopefully for 49ers fans, it was just a one-off.

Whatever happens next, Sunday wasn’t a fluky loss. Arizona had 29 first downs to 18 for the 49ers. The Cardinals outgained the 49ers 404-366. The 49ers were 2-of-11 on third-down conversions and 0-for-2 on fourth down. Arizona deserved the win.

It might not be a problem if it wasn’t for the Super Bowl hangover, which might include Jimmy Garoppolo.

Since the 1997 season, both Super Bowl participants have won their respective divisions just once. That says either the Kansas City Chiefs or 49ers are likely to not win another division title, and we all saw how good the Chiefs looked in Week 1. It’s a trend that can’t be ignored.

There wasn’t much concern from 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. He said that issues on third down and in the red zone were the reason San Francisco found itself in a close game. He was mostly fine with how the 49ers played otherwise.

“I thought we started out very well. Thought we had a chance to run away with it a little bit in the first half,” Shanahan said. “Anytime you average eight yards a play and you’re holding them pretty good on the other side of the ball, I thought we’d have more points to show for it than what we did.”

The focus will be on Garoppolo, fair or not. When the 49ers blew a lead in the fourth quarter of last season’s Super Bowl, Garoppolo’s overthrow of Emmanuel Sanders in the final minutes got more attention than all of the 49ers’ defensive mistakes combined. That’s the life of a quarterback.

Garoppolo didn’t have injured receivers Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk on Sunday, and tight end George Kittle was obviously affected by a knee injury suffered in the first half. Garoppolo wasn’t bad, but he couldn’t rally the 49ers for a winning score on their final drive. So he will take an inordinate amount of the blame. Again. The San Francisco Chronicle’s column on Monday had the headline, “49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo has another fourth quarter to forget as hangover clangs on.” It’s not the kind of attention you want after a long, long offseason.

The 49ers should be fine. They can still run the ball. Their pass catchers should get healthier, though Kittle’s injury is worrisome. Shanahan can coach. The defense is still very good. Sunday’s loss was not a great way to start the season, but it wasn’t a cause for panic.

For now, the 49ers should still be considered one of the NFC’s best teams, just one that started in an 0-1 hole. Then again, if Sunday was a sign of things to come, the 49ers would join a very long list of teams that couldn’t recapture their magic after reaching a Super Bowl.

In 2020, the 49ers are getting the injuries they didn’t get last year.  Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com:

The already banged-up San Francisco 49ers pass-catching corps added even more uncertainty Sunday when tight end George Kittle suffered a sprained left knee in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

That injury could put Kittle’s status for Week 2 against the New York Jets up in the air depending on how this week plays out, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.

“We’ll see how he comes in on Wednesday,” Shanahan said. “He was a little sore today but we’ll wait to see how he is on Wednesday to see if he’s able to practice or be able to go this week. We know there will be some question.”

Kittle came up hobbling near the end of the first half after taking a hit from Cardinals safety Budda Baker. Kittle was able to walk to the sideline, where he was evaluated by medical staff before heading to the locker room early.

But Kittle returned after halftime and seemed to make it through the game OK, though he had no catches and was not targeted in the final two quarters after posting four catches for 44 yards on five targets in the first half.

After Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Cardinals, Kittle was his usual, optimistic self.

“I feel fantastic,” Kittle said. “Fantastic. Not an issue at all.”

Last season, Kittle suffered what Shanahan called a “popped capsule” in his left knee in a Week 9 win at Arizona in which he also returned and finished the game. He missed the ensuing two games, though it’s worth noting he also was dealing with an ankle injury that was considered the more troubling of the two ailments at the time.

Keeping Kittle, 26, in the lineup could be even more important for the Niners this week than it normally would be. That’s because they continue to deal with an onslaught of injury issues at wide receiver.

San Francisco put receiver Deebo Samuel (Jones fracture in his left foot) on injured reserve Saturday. Shanahan acknowledged Monday that Samuel, who the team had hoped would be ready for Week 1, suffered a setback in a recent workout.

“We didn’t think it was a setback because he was just real sore after running one day,” Shanahan said. “But the soreness never got better. It just got worse and worse after one specific day, and usually after one day when it was sore, we thought it was just because he worked it hard, but when that got worse each day and not better, it ended up being a little bit of a setback, so that’s why we ended up putting him on IR.”

Shanahan said the hope remains that Samuel will be able to return for the Oct. 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles and that the setback wasn’t serious enough to extend that timetable right now.

In addition, Richie James Jr. suffered a hamstring injury Sunday. Like Kittle, James will have to be monitored as the week goes on.

After James’ departure Sunday, the Niners were down to just three healthy wideouts — Dante Pettis, Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor — on the 53-man roster. That group struggled to produce, collecting a combined four catches for 41 yards on 11 targets.

If all goes well this week, there could be some reinforcements on the way. Shanahan said Monday he would “be surprised” if first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk is not able to play this weekend as he works his way back from a hamstring injury.

And, depending on James’ status, the 49ers could turn to veteran wideout Mohamed Sanu, who played for Shanahan with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016 and is a free agent. The Niners still have an open roster spot after placing Samuel on injured reserve, so adding Sanu would be relatively painless from a roster standpoint.

“We’ll see how these injuries go but I love Sanu,” Shanahan said. “He’s a hell of a player. So, him being out there is always a possibility. We’ll look into everything that we have, though. We have got to know our numbers that are gonna be up this week, which we don’t have that settled yet. But I wouldn’t rule that out at all. He’s available and he’s definitely a guy I really respect and I think everyone in this league respects. We’ll see how it goes this week.”

LOS ANGELES RAMS

Sean McVay realizes the NFL’s strident mask memo is demanding that he keep up appearances.  Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com:

Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay says he’s likely responsible for the NFL memo sent Monday to reinforce that coaches must wear face coverings at all times on the sidelines during games and threatening discipline for those who don’t comply.

“I figured that memo was directed at me,” McVay said Monday evening during a video conference with reporters.

During a season-opening victory over the Dallas Cowboys in front of a Sunday Night Football television audience, McVay roamed the sideline with his mask mostly worn under his chin, a clear violation of the league’s coronavirus safety protocol.

“I’ve been getting blasted all day about it, so I just love it,” McVay said, a bit tongue-in-cheek, before continuing in a more serious tone. “I will do better.”

In contrast to McVay, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, when shown on the NBC broadcast, appeared to wear his mask throughout the 2-hour, 56-minute game.

McVay said he’s uncertain if he’ll stick with a face mask or potentially wear a neck gaiter when the Rams play the Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunday. A face shield, like the one Kansas City coach Andy Reid wore in the Chiefs’ opener and which fogged up, seems to be a non-starter for McVay.

“I was definitely one of the main culprits of not following what the league wants,” McVay said. “I will definitely be aware of that and do better.”

The league’s coronavirus safety protocol says that anyone with bench-area access, excluding players, must wear masks on game day, and that the mask must fit securely across the nose and mouth to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

AFC WEST

DENVER

Vic Fangio left timeouts in his pocket as the Titans milked the clock before their winning FG.  Liz Roscher of YahooSports.com:

The Denver Broncos lost their season opener against the Tennessee Titans on Monday by just two points. The entire game came down to a drive by the Titans in the final minutes, and a Stephen Gostkowski field goal with 17 seconds left gave the Titans a 16-14 win.

Despite the Broncos’ meager one-point lead hanging in the balance over the final two minutes of the game while the Titans determinedly drove the ball downfield and ran out the clock, coach Vic Fangio didn’t use a single timeout until there were just two seconds left in the game. He still had two timeouts in his pocket when the game ended.

That’s just hideous clock management, plain and simple. But after the game, Fangio insisted there were good reasons he didn’t use those timeouts.

Fangio insists there were reasons

Following the game, Fangio defended his decision to let the Titans run down the clock in the final two minutes instead of calling any of his three timeouts.

“It was two-fold. One, their field goal kicker had obviously been having his problems. I didn’t want to extend the drive so they could get closer,” Fangio said, via the AP. “No. 2, we would’ve used the timeout but we got the running back out of bounds. We would’ve used the second timeout but they threw an incompletion, which would’ve given us one left when we got the ball back. That was part of our thinking there.”

Fangio is technically correct, especially since Gostkowski had missed three field goals and an extra point during the game. But the plays he’s talking about happened in the final 30 seconds of the game, just before the go-ahead field goal. That ignores the previous 90 seconds in which the Titans had been lazily running out the clock. He could have used either of his two timeouts in that span.

While using those timeouts may not have led to a Broncos win, it would have changed the conversation. At least we wouldn’t be talking about how Fangio didn’t use one of his most important tools as a coach while the opposing team took its sweet time setting up a game-winning field goal. But even using those timeouts can’t change the conversation around this eye-popping stat.

AFC NORTH

PITTSBURGH

A post-victory update from QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER, courtesy of Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com:

If Ben Roethlisberger had any jitters Monday night, the veteran quarterback shook them off in time for a vintage performance in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 26-16 victory against the New York Giants.

Playing for the first time in a year since a season-ending elbow injury sustained in Week 2 of 2019, Roethlisberger completed 21 of 32 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns — and an 11-yard keeper for a first down.

“There obviously were a little bit of jitters, I was excited and nervous to be out there,” Roethlisberger said after the game in East Rutherford, New Jersey. “I just wanted to not let my guys down, that was the biggest thing.”

Roethlisberger looked most like his old self in an abbreviated two-minute drill just before halftime, leading the Steelers on an eight-play, 78-yard drive capped with a touchdown throw to James Washington on which the third-year wide receiver muscled his way into the end zone for the score.

“Us being out there right before half, having two minutes to go down, put points on the board, it was like, ‘OK, that is the Ben we know,'” receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “Being able to go down and have those points on the board [on that] drive — that is what we do.”

Just before that drive, Roethlisberger stood on the sideline between drives with a jacket transformed into a wrap for his surgically repaired elbow to keep him loose and warm.

Roethlisberger said afterward he might feel some pain Tuesday following the game, but that said there was nothing seriously wrong with his knee, which he briefly grabbed after his 11-yard run in the second quarter, or his elbow.

“I probably just grabbed my knee because I was moving so fast, but I feel great right now,” Roethlisberger said. “Obviously, adrenaline still pumping and we won the game. I’m going to be sore tomorrow and might have some bumps and bruises, but in terms of elbow and everything else I feel really good right now.”

AFC SOUTH

INDIANAPOLIS

Jason LaCanfora argues that QB PHILIP RIVERS no longer gives Indy the best chance to win:

The Colts may find they have a QB controversy on their hands sooner rather than later. Philip Rivers has been a turnover machine for years, specializing in the first quarter and fourth quarter variety, which is why the Chargers were ready to move on by last December. The Colts should have put the Jags away early, scoring a quick TD, getting stuffed on downs near the goal line and then, driving again, Rivers got picked, which led to the Jags’ first score. And, trailing by a score with less than five minutes left, Rivers got picked again. Defenders can undercut his throws too easily, as arm strength has long seemed an issue. But he is still pretty quick to heave the ball up for grabs. Head coach Frank Reich goes way back with him, and with his $25M salary I doubt we see a quick hook. But Jacoby Brissett is the better QB and he is already seeing the field in certain packages and that could prove to be a damning loss for Indy …

TENNESSEE

On a night that ESPN’s Steve Levy proclaimed PK STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI to be a “Hall of Famer” he was anything but – yet he still kicked the game-winner.  Turran Davenport of ESPN.com:

Stephen Gostkowski overcame a nightmare of a game to kick the winning field goal from 25 yards out with 17 seconds left on Monday, giving the Tennessee Titans a 16-14 victory.

Gostkowski’s meltdown almost cost the Titans the season opener against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. Tennessee’s win over the host Broncos was much closer than it should have been, as Gostkowski missed three field goals and an extra point, leaving 10 points on the board.

“It’s tough. It’s part of the position. It’s a very fickle position,” he said. “It’s definitely an opportunity I didn’t deserve, but grateful that I got it for the team and the guys that went out there and busted their butt. I really put them in a tough spot.”

Entering the game, the 15th-year veteran had never missed three field goals in one game. Gostkowski was off the mark from 47 and 42 yards and saw a 44-yard attempt blocked. He has now missed an extra point attempt in four consecutive games.

“You don’t always get that lucky to get a chance to redeem yourself,” Gostkowski said. “But I’m just happy that the guys got to celebrate. I’m disappointed in myself and embarrassed and frustrated, but at the end of the day, we won, and luckily, guys are happy going home.”

Gostkowski joined former Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey, who is now with the Cleveland Browns, as the only kickers in the past 10 seasons to miss four kicks in a win.

While with the Patriots last season, Gostkowski made seven of eight field goal attempts before being placed on injured reserve in October. The Patriots released Gostkowski in March. The 36-year-old kicker underwent hip surgery during the offseason and was picked up by the Titans.

Tennessee signed Gostkowski to a one-year, $2.75 million deal in a move that was supposed to shore up its kicking game. To make room for Gostkowski, the Titans released kicker Greg Joseph 11 days before the season opener.

Some other Gostkowski numbers:

@StatsBySTATS

Stephen Gostkowski is the first kicker to miss 4 kicks (FG or PAT) in his first game with a team since Dennis Partee did so for the Chargers on September 6, 1968.

@NextGenStats

Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski is 0 for 3 on field goals midway though the 3rd quarter:

47-yd FG: 75.8% (Make Probability)

44-yd FG: 78.3%

42-yd FG: 81.8%

The chances of Gostkowski missed all three field goals according to our FG Probability model? 1 in 105 (~1%).

AFC EAST

MIAMI

It is not yet Tua Time in Miami per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

When Dolphins head coach Brian Flores met with reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Patriots, he didn’t sound like he was planning a quarterback change.

He confirmed as much on Monday. Flores said that Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain the team’s starter when they face the Bills next Sunday.

Fitzpatrick was 20-of-30 for 191 yards and three interceptions in the 21-11 loss to New England. Flores said after the game that Fitzpatrick put some drives together, but there were “just too many turnovers at the end of the day.”

There’s no arguing that point, but it would have been quite surprising for the Dolphins to make a change one game into the season. They felt Fitzpatrick was the right choice over Tua Tagovailoa coming into the season despite the veteran’s shortcomings and reversing that call so quickly wouldn’t provide much faith in the people making the decisions.

NEW ENGLAND

Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels are not afraid to let Cam be Cam. Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

The best coaches play to their top player’s strengths instead of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

It’s no surprise, then, that Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels would completely overhaul their offense to best suit Cam Newton after 20 years of employing Tom Brady at quarterback. The run-heavy offense with a bevy of zone reads and QB-keepers provided an offensive revolution in New England’s 21-11 win over Miami on Sunday.

“We always try to do what’s best for the team to win,” Belichick said Monday, “Everything we’ve done for the last 20 years, and rightfully so, has been for Tom Brady, it was for Tom Brady. Everything was dedicated to him, other than the games that he didn’t play in, like when (Matt) Cassel played, or Jimmy (Garoppolo) and then Jacoby (Brissett) when Brady was suspended. So you know there were times when he had to plan differently.”

Newton owns a different skill set than Brady. The 2015 NFL MVP’s ability to pound the rock allows the Pats to be even more ground-focused than they were at times with Brady.

“When your starting quarterback has things that he’s good at or things that you can take advantage of, then I think you try to take advantage of them,” Belichick noted.

Newton led the Patriots in rushing Sunday, taking 15 carries for 75 yards and two rushing TDs. The 15 rushes were the most by a QB under Belichick (even more than those outlier Brissett games in 2016), and were the second-most of Newton’s career (17 in 2014 in a tie vs. Cincinnati).

On the whole, the Patriots rushed the ball a whopping 42 times for 217 yards, averaging 5.2 YPC, with three rushing TDs.

It wasn’t just straight runs from McDaniels either. With Newton under center, the Pats used a bevy of play actions and zone reads to keep Miami off balance. New England ran the ball or used play-action on 82.5 percent of offensive plays (52 of 63).

After being the only team without a read-option rush in 2019 under Brady, the Patriots had 10 rushes for 49 yards on read options in Week 1, per Pro Football Focus.

New England did damage inside and outside. Per NextGen Stats, the Pats compiled 20 rushes for 98 yards and a TD on inside-the-tackle runs. (4.9 yards/rush). On outside rushes, they compiled 120 yards on 21 carries with 2 TDs. NE ran on 21 of 33 shotgun snaps (63.6 percent, averaged 4.9 yards/rush).

THIS AND THAT

STATE OF PROTEST

Eric Reid joins Colin Kaepernick in decrying the NFL’s lack of commitment to “social justice” and in one respect – “diabolical.”

Eric Reid on Monday called the NFL’s social justice campaign this season “half-hearted at best” and the league’s use of video of Colin Kaepernick kneeling while the quarterback remains unsigned “diabolical.”

The free-agent safety tweeted that commissioner Roger Goodell “has gotten comfortable” saying he was “wrong” not to listen to players about social injustice “as if his mere acknowledgement reconciles his admitted wrongdoing. He hasn’t even called Colin to apologize, let alone reconcile, proving this is only PR for the current business climate.”

Reid added that “Goodell uses video of Colin courageously kneeling to legitimize their disingenuous PR while simultaneously perpetuating systemic oppression, that the video he’s using fights against, by continuing to rob Colin of his career. It’s diabolical.”

Reid’s tweets came a day after Kaepernick called out the NFL’s campaign.

“While the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life, they are still actively blackballing Eric Reid for fighting for the Black community,” tweeted Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who has been out of the NFL since 2016. “Eric set 2 franchise records last year, and is one of the best defensive players in the league.”

Reid and Kaepernick were included in a video played at each stadium Sunday that featured the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” which was performed by Alicia Keys.

– – –

While most of the names on the back strips of NFL helmets in Week 1 were to be expected, the NFL did allow at least a couple that were off the script of police violence.

Jaguars TE TYLER EIFERT had former police captain David Dorn on the back of his helmet.  Dorn was shot to death by a criminal operating under the guise of protest in St. Louis and his widow delivered a moving speech at the Republican convention.

And WFT QB DWAYNE HASKINS had a youth killed in classic street violence during the time of protest in D.C.

Washington Football Team’s starting quarterback Dwayne Haskins will wear the name of an 11-year-old boy who was murdered in D.C. this summer on his helmet.

Haskins shared a photo of the helmet on Instagram and Twitter.

“I remember when I was 11, couldn’t imagine losing my life and my family,” Haskins wrote. “Prayers up, rest in heaven young king”

Davon McNeal was killed on July 4 as he attended a peace cookout organized by his mother, a violence interrupter. Davon was reportedly running to get his mom’s phone charger when gunfire erupted and he was caught in the crossfire.

The fourth and final suspect in the case was just arrested last week.

BROADCAST NEWS

As NBC’s Sunday Night Football stumbled with the Cowboys in Week 1, FOX did fine with Brady vs. Brees.  Jay Busbee of YahooSports.com:

Initial ratings are in for the NFL’s Sunday slate of games, and the ratings decline evident from Thursday’s kickoff continued through to the league’s marquee telecast, “Sunday Night Football.” However, Fox Sports recorded its best ratings since 2016 for its Game of the Week.

(Further ratings for other games are not yet available.)

‘Game of the Week’ (Fox)

Sunday afternoon’s marquee game pitted two of the NFL’s most notable players, Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady vs. New Orleans’ Drew Brees. They played in an almost exclusive window as only two other games were airing at the time. The result was a major payoff for Fox.

Saints-Bucs drew a 16.2/35 overnight rating, which was Fox’s highest such rating for a Week 1 game since 2016. Fox Sports PR projects that the game is on pace to become the most-watched event of any kind since the Super Bowl, eclipsing Thursday night’s Chiefs-Texans game and February’s Academy Awards.

The telecast ratings are up 2 percent over last year, and that’s without yet counting the full New Orleans rating.

‘Sunday Night Football’ (NBC)

In a tight matchup that featured one of the NFL’s top draws, “Sunday Night Football” saw sharp declines in initial ratings from 2019, according to initial results reported by Deadline. Sunday night’s Rams-Cowboys game notched a 4.7 in early ratings among the most prized demographic, adults 18-49, with 14.81 million viewers. Those numbers will rise as West Coast viewership is factored in, but at the moment, it’s a steep decline from 2019 numbers.

Last year’s New England Patriots-Pittsburgh Steelers game had a total audience of 22.2 million television viewers and a total of 22.7 million with digital viewers added in, a total roughly equal to 2018’s game.

Once again: early ratings are always lower than final totals, which include the West Coast — notable given that the Rams were one of last night’s teams — late respondents and out-of-home viewership. Even so, it’s unlikely the NFL will find enough as-yet-uncounted viewers to turn this kind of loss into a ratings victory.

Working theories of why fans are tuning in or tuning out

Critics of the NFL who wish to use the SNF ratings as a political cudgel will contend that the ratings are diving because the NFL has taken a more socially progressive stance this season. It’s a theory that, at first blush, could hold water, since Dallas is typically one of the top draws in sports.

On the other hand, the Fox numbers seem to indicate that matchups do matter, and that NFL fans will follow a game that they want to see regardless of politics.

We’ll need more data points before we can legitimately call any movement, positive or negative, a trend, and even more data than that before we can accurately say that political protest is the sole, primary, or even a significant reason for any decline.

As we documented last week, there are multiple drivers that have an impact on NFL ratings — lack of a preseason, overall audience dissatisfaction or lack of interest in sports after the pandemic, and so on — but without more information, it’s impossible to rank the strength and validity of these drivers on anything more factual than feelings and hunches.

Regardless, expect the NFL to take a close look at the numbers and adjust its sails to account for which way the wind is blowing. Whereas Thursday night’s game featured a heavy dose of emphasis on the league’s social justice messaging, Sunday night’s — with the exact same production and broadcast team in place — gave little acknowledgement to the stances of the players or the league. Pregame shows on Sunday either placed segments on social justice in the beginning or middle of their broadcasts, well away from the 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff. We’ll have to see if that continues going forward.

Here is a little more history on FOX Week 1:

2020 – 16.2    Buccaneers/Saints

2019 –   15.9   Giants/Cowboys

2018 –   15.7   Cowboys/Panthers

2017 –   15.6   Seahawks/Packers

2016 –    16.9  Giants/Cowboys

Pretty consistent.