Inside The Boxscores Of NFL Week 1

The final score in the Sunday Nighter suggests Tony Romo was the star. The boxscore disagrees.
The final score in the Sunday Nighter suggests Tony Romo was the star. The boxscore disagrees.

Final scores can be so misleading.

The average sports bettor sees a lopsided score and automatically assumes the winning team was that much better than the losing team. But there are so many variables within a game, particularly football, that can influence the eventual outcome. Perhaps the losing team desperately went for it on fourth down deep in its own end, didn’t convert, and allowed the winning team to score a meaningless touchdown on a short field. Or maybe the losing team dominated the line of scrimmage but was done in by turnovers and penalties.

Below, we take a closer look at all NFL games in Week 1 and assess what really happened:

 

Denver 49, Baltimore 27

The final score suggests a one-sided blowout. That is very misleading.

The Ravens were very much in this game, leading 17-14 at halftime. The game seemed to turn when Baltimore coach John Harbaugh did not challenge what appeared to be an incomplete pass that would have ended a Denver drive early in the third quarter. The Broncos went on to score a TD on that drive and blew the game open shortly after that.

The teams finished the game tied in first downs, 24-24. Both committed a pair of turnovers. The penalties were roughly even.

The biggest difference in the game was the Broncos’ big-play ability. Five of Denver’s seven touchdowns came on plays of 20 yards or more, while Baltimore’s majors came on plays of two, one and 13 yards.

Denver was the league’s most dominant second-half team last year, and the Broncos did the same in the 2013 opener. John Fox and Peyton Manning must be doing something right at halftime.

 

Miami 23, Cleveland 10

The Browns did a lot right in this one. Cleveland limited the Dolphins to less than one yard per rushing attempt, outgained them through the air and committed less penalties.

But the great equalizer is turnovers. Cleveland QB Brandeon Weeden was intercepted three times on the afternoon, while the Dolphins turned the ball over just once.

Weeden appears to be getting better. He completed better than 60 per cent of his passes in four of his last five games in 2012. But he has yet to cut out the crucial mistakes that cost his team the game.

 

Tennessee 16, Pittsburgh 9

Tennessee’s win was no fluke. The Titans had more first downs than the Steelers and limited the vaunted Pittsburgh running attack to 32 yards on 15 carries.

Of the Steelers’ 11 drives in the game, only four of them netted more than eight yards. One of them was late in regulation, when the Titans went into a prevent defence. Pittsburgh’s best drive was its first of the game, when the Steelers marched inside the 5-yard line before losing the ball on a fumble.

Tennessee didn’t move the ball that well either, but the Titans did score points on four of their final six drives (not including when they ran out the clock late in regulation). They also ran the ball fairly well, collecting 112 yards on the ground (though it did take 42 attempts) and did not turn the ball over at all.

 

Chicago 24, Cleveland 21

This game was as even as the score suggested. The first downs were 18-17 Cincy, both teams averaged roughly three yards a carry, and the total yards were 277-242 Cincy.

The Bengals turned the ball over three times, however, and Chicago gave it up just once. One of Cincinnati’s fumbles came inside the red zone with the Bengals up four in the fourth quarter. Chicago drove the ball down the field to take the lead, and the Bengals went three and out in their following possession.

Chicago got the ball back with 6:38 to go and was able to successfully run out the clock. The Bears converted two straight third downs before a Bengals penalty extended the drive and ended the game.

 

Indianapolis 21, Oakland 17

Not an impressive outing for Indianapolis at all. The Raiders outgained Indy by nearly 100 yards and racked up 171 on the ground.

Turnovers and penalties seem to kill Oakland every year, and they did once again in this one. The Raiders’ final drive ended in the red zone on a Terrelle Pryor pick, his second of the game. Oakland was also penalized eight times to Indianapolis’ three.

The Colts scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, then did nothing offensively until scoring to regain the lead in the fourth quarter.

 

New England 23, Buffalo 21

The Patriots dominated this game, even though Buffalo covered the 10-point spread and nearly won the game straight up. New England had a 26-15 advantage in first downs and outgained the Bills 288-150 in passing yards.

Buffalo scored on a 74-yard fumble return in the second quarter, and the Pats settled for field goals on three of their five scoring drives.

Tom Brady was clutch when it mattered most, going 7-for-7 on New England’s final drive to set up the game-winning field goal with five seconds left.

The Bills ran just 18 plays on their final four possessions before taking the ball over with five seconds left.

 

Detroit 34, Minnesota 24

The Lions were full value for the win in this one. Detroit racked up 28 first downs and outgained the Vikings 469-330 in total offence.

Adrian Peterson broke free for a 78-yard run on the Vikings’ first offensive play. He was held to 15 yards the rest of the way by a Lions defence that forced four turnovers as well.

Detroit put together consecutive scoring drives of 70, 50 and 80 yards to take over the game early in the second half.

 

Kansas City 28, Jacksonville 2

The scoreboard makes it look like Alex Smith’s first game with the Chiefs was a rousing success.

Smith played well, completing 21 of 34 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, but the Chiefs also took advantage of good field positions in their three scoring drives (24 yards, 21 yards and 57 yards). Kansas City’s other touchdown came on an interception return.

Despite scoring 28 points, the Chiefs only had 17 first downs in the game.

Jacksonville was as porous offensively as expected, managing 178 yards in the entire contest and committing the only two turnovers on the game.

 

New Orleans 23, Atlanta 17

Fireworks were expected in a matchup of two explosive offences, but this game went under the 55.5 total by more than two touchdowns.

It certainly wasn’t because both teams couldn’t move the ball. Atlanta and New Orleans both collected more than 300 yards through the air, though they were both held to under 90 rushing yards.

The teams’ drives bogged down in the red zone, setting for a combined four field goals of 31 yards or less. The Falcons were also intercepted in the end zone in the final minute.

Look for these teams to return to their high-scoring ways in Week 2.

 

NY Jets 18, Tampa Bay 17

The headlines after this one were about the late hit out of bounds in the dying seconds that allowed Nick Folk to win the game for the Jets with a 48-yard field goal.

Reality is, New York should have had this game in hand long before that. The Jets earned 22 first downs in the game while Tampa moved the chains just 12 times.

The Bucs offence was pathetic in the second half, managing just a field goal while punting four times and fumbling once.

The Jets put together scoring drives of 55, 31, 65 and 50 yards. New York rookie QB Geno Smith was effective in his debut, rushing six times for 47 yards while also completing 24 of 38 passes for 256 yards, a TD and a pick.

 

Seattle 12, Carolina 7

Carolina scored just once and managed only 125 yards through the air, but the Panthers had their chance to steal this one. D’Angelo Williams fumbled inside the Seattle 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks ran out the clock the rest of the way.

Carolina held its own with the favoured Seahawks. Seattle held an edge in first downs, 18-16, but the Panthers gashed Seattle for 124 rushing yards on 25 attempts (nearly five yards per run).

The Seahawks also shot themselves in the foot, committing nine penalties for 109 yards.

 

San Francisco 34, Green Bay 28

The difference in this game came through the air and in the turnover department.

San Fran QB Colin Kaepernick beat the Packers with his arm instead of his legs, throwing for 412 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Counterpart Aaron Rodgers finished with 333 passing yards and three TDs, but did throw a pick.

The 49ers’ first touchdown was set up after Eddie Lacy fumbled on the Green Bay 14-yard line.

Still, Green Bay led this game in the fourth quarter and would have covered the spread had the Niners not kicked a field goal with 30 seconds to go.

 

St. Louis 27, Arizona 24

Yards came more easily than expected. Carson Palmer threw for 327 yards in his Cards debut, and Sam Bradford had 299 passing yards of his own.

The Arizona attack is no doubt improved. The Cards had 25 first downs, and Larry Fitzgerald caught eight balls for 80 yards and two TDs.

St. Louis pulled this one out by holding the Cards scoreless over the final 22 minutes and scoring 13 points (touchdown, two field goals) in their final four possessions.

The teams combined to punt just seven times on the afternoon, with nine drives ending with scores, four ending with turnovers and one ending on a missed field goal.

 

Dallas 36, NY Giants 31

Pretty impressive offensive showing by the Cowboys, wasn’t it? Nope, not at all.

Two of the four Dallas touchdowns came on defence (fumble return, interception return) and the Cowboys also settled for three field goals.

Meanwhile, the Giants shredded the Dallas secondary for 428 yards through the air but couldn’t overcome six turnovers, including three interceptions.