Yardbarker
x
This week in awful: The worst of NFL Week 1
Tyrod Taylor had a season opener to forget. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

This week in awful: The worst of NFL Week 1

Upon exiting the AT&T Stadium on Sunday evening, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams almost  lost a pair of rather expensive diamond earrings. It was the latest mishap in a day full of adventures for Williams.

Saved by a member of the locker room staff that tracked Williams down, the receiver himself had just committed an egregious mistake a couple hours earlier.

With Dak Prescott potentially prepared to lead the Cowboys back in his first NFL start, the rookie quarterback hit Williams on an out pattern inside New York Giants’ territory. Instead of making a trek to the sideline and out of bounds, Williams turned inside. The result was damning for both the receiver and the team.

Time expired. The Cowboys lost by a point. And fans everywhere were left scratching their heads. How could a veteran receiver have such a massive brain fart at such a crucial time?

Thus, Williams begins a column focusing on the absolute worst from Week 1 of the NFL season.

The Injuries

Fellow receiver and 2013 NFL Draft alum Keenan Allen also represents the worst from the first week of regular season action. No, not because he became a goat of all jokes and memes on the Internet.

Instead, the ultra-talented receiver suffered yet another serious injury. In his first game back after rehabbing from a lacerated kidney he suffered last season, Allen tore his ACL against the Kansas City Chiefs and was placed on injured reserve Monday.

It’s a disastrous outcome for a player that’s been among the most-productive in the NFL when he’s been on the field over the past season-plus. What makes this so bad is that these injuries seem to be ruining Allen’s chances of becoming great during what should be the prime of his career (more on that here).

Speaking of injuries and careers, one has to wonder if Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III will ever be the same player that stole the show as a rookie back in 2012.

Making his first start as a member of the Browns on Sunday, Griffin III struggled throughout the game. He was hit consistently, completed less than 50 percent of his passes and simply couldn’t get the Browns’ offense moving.

Then, late in the game, Griffin III was pounded by an Eagles defender on a scramble (imagine that). He pulled up lame with his shoulder dangling from the left side of his body. After initial reports indicated the enigmatic quarterback would be okay, an MRI revealed that he had a broken bone in the shoulder.

Cleveland promptly placed Griffin III on injured reserve, forcing him from the field for at least the next eight weeks.

It’s yet another example of Griffin III’s career taking a wrong turn at a time when he seemed to be turning the corner. After all, here’s a guy that was named team captain in his first season with the Browns.

In reality, you have to feel bad for the young man (and the Browns, for that matter). He’s done everything possible to return to form. Unfortunately, his comeback attempt was marred by yet another injury. That’s the absolute worst.

NFL's Concussion Problem

Cam Newton was hit so many times in the head on Thursday night that he could’ve been a walking training film for head-related injuries and their impact on NFL players. That’s not a joke. It’s the truth. We all saw it live in the NFL regular season opener against the Denver Broncos.

Despite all this, the Broncos found a way to get out of dodge without having multiple personal fouls called against them. Whether it was a lackluster job by officials or something else, this most definitely represented a bad look for the NFL.

Since that ugly scene in Mile High last week, a lot has come out regarding the situation. Both the NFL and the NFLPA are conducting investigations into whether the league’s concussion protocol was handled correctly. Cam’s agent, Bus Cook, compared the ugliness to what we saw opponents of the Boungtygate-era New Orleans Saints go through, primarily Brett Favre.

Heck, even Newton’s father has indicated that officials are somehow slanted against Newton.

This is the worst thing the NFL needed amid a public controversy surrounding the long-term impact of playing football. It comes on the heels of multiple ex-NFL players speaking out against the league itself.

While we don’t know what the end result will be here, we do know full well that the officials were partly to blame for what we saw Thursday night.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pretty much concluded this himself in talking about the incident on Monday.

“That’s why we have a process,” Goodell said. “Obviously hopefully they’re flagged on the field. And then if not, discipline can occur. Jon Runyan is in charge of that aspect of it. So he’s reviewing that and I assume he’ll come out with a decision in the next day or so.”

It was an ugly scene on national television with millions watching the rematch of last February’s Super Bowl.

More Officiating Issues

If you’re going to call a pass interference on fourth down late in the game, you better make sure the call is correct. No one wants zebras impacting the outcome of a football game. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to the Saints during their disheartening loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

"A guy's out of bounds, you just raise your arms, so they don't draw something," Saints linebacker Craig Robertson said after the game, via The Advocate. "The ref made a call, and I have to live with myself."

It happened on the Raiders' final possession of the game. With the team down seven and on fourth down, the officials called pass interference on Robertson, giving Oakland a new set of first downs.

The play itself isn't exactly a textbook definition of PI. Raiders running back Jalen Richard jumped out of bounds to make a play on the ball, at which point Robertson threw his hands into the air, making contact with the rookie. The ball was not catchable, and Richard himself was out of bounds.


Inept Performances  

Speaking of going from bad to worst, what is up with the aforementioned Saints and their defense? It’s so bad that the team’s performance reminds us of a drunken late-night game of Madden. Remember those?

New Orleans lost to Oakland 35-34 despite putting up some absolutely absurd numbers on offense. The team racked up 527 yards of offense and 27 first downs. Drew Brees completed 28-of-42 passes for 423 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions.

His top-three pass catchers combined to haul in 21 of the 24 passes thrown in their direction, forcing big-time Raiders free-agent signing Sean Smith to be benched in the process.

Yes, Sean Payton and Co. are surely finding new ways to lose games. And in reality, it’s all on the defense here. Consider this: Oakland put up 210 yards on just 17 plays in the fourth quarter alone.

On the other side of the ledger, the Buffalo Bills simply couldn’t get out of its own way against what had been a poor Baltimore Ravens defense. Tyrod Taylor dropped back to pass 24 times, coming away with 94 net passing yards. Meanwhile, Buffalo’s two starting receivers, Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods, combined to put up 63 total yards on 11 targets.

All said, Buffalo averaged a ridiculously low 3.5 yards per play in the 13-7 loss to Buffalo. That’s not offense, that’s just offensive.

Speaking of offensive, what the heck happened in the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts game? Did someone tell both defenses that the NFL somehow resorted to flag football? The tackling in this otherwise entertaining game set the gridiron back 50 years. No seriously, it was that bad. And we have the stats to back up this claim.

The two teams combined for 74 points, 53 first downs, 898 yards of offense and 13 scores. That’s not the story. Heck, it doesn’t even compare to the travesty that was the Saints-Giants game from last season.

Much like New Orleans’ inability to stop Oakland in the fourth quarter on Sunday, it sure looks like these two defenses were passed out on the job. A total of 353 yards were gained between the two offenses in the final stanza.

All said, six of the seven possessions ended in points with Indy and Detroit combining to average 8.2 yards per play. Surely someone (everyone) should be fired over this. And no, that’s not what we’d call an overreaction in a Week 1 that’s been filled with overreactions.

What might seem like an entertaining game isn’t necessarily a good game. If we wanted to watch Arena Football, we’d actually be watching Arena Football. Pro tip here. No one is watching Arena Football.

Carrie Underwood

The slander directed at Carrie Underwood in the lead up to Sunday Night Football was the worst version of Internet trolling we've seen in a while. She was beautiful. Her song was great. She's spectacular.

Do you all have to tear others down to build yourselves up? I ask Ben this question specifically.

Because, the theme song and Carrie are both all sorts of awesome.

Yes, all of you tearing down this gem of our generation are the worst.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.