Five Wide: 2022 Week One

By Thomas Willoughby

Things have changed a bit around here, huh? After three seasons of providing you with the ups and the downs of the NFL stock market, we’re shaking things up. New year, new me. And all that.

Yes, we’re changing the format. No, not much is going to change. Instead of charting the comings and going of the season through its risers and fallers, we’re straightening this thing out a bit. Each Wednesday, I’m taking five storylines from the previous weekend’s slate of fixtures, and putting them under the microscope, somewhat. And I’m calling it “Five Wide”, like the play. Very clever, isn’t it.

Let’s crack on with it! If you don’t like the new format, please don’t tell me, because it would make me sad. Thank you!

Falcons: Stop it

Where else to start than the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the incomparable Atlanta Falcons did what the Atlanta Falcons so often do. Up 26-10, with just over 11 minutes on the clock, the Falcons got to work on giving into a habit of a lifetime. Yep, you guessed it: they only went and blew it. 27-26. At home. To their biggest rivals. I’d say you couldn’t write it, but, at this stage, it’s absolutely something you can write.

How could they have done this AGAIN, we screamed into the void? SURELY they must have gotten over blown leads by now?!? Nope! A team that achieved notoriety by their most recent Super Bowl appearance has come to be defined by it. Over the past 3 seasons, the record for teams that hold a 15+ point lead in the NFL is 245-2-1. The Falcons’ record? 5-3. They lost more games in the 4th quarter with a massive lead than every other team in the league COMBINED. Incredible to witness.

We don’t even get to talk about how efficient the offense looked, or how nasty the defensive front handled itself. The Falcons benched their starters (I’m not kidding) and allowed Jameis Winston, who’d barely cracked 50 passing yards through three quarters, to log over 200 in the 4th alone. Awful team, awfully run, and I cannot wait to see how they manage to blow it away to the Rams next weekend.

The AntiFalconis Colts (I am so sorry)

(Tenuously) speaking of Falcons, can I just say what an odd experience it was watching the Sunday evening kick-offs with one eye on the Falcons, and one eye on another team entirely? The team’s former stalwart QB, Matt Ryan, moved to pastures new this offseason, heading to Indianapolis to helm the Colts. There his new side travelled down to Houston, to the site of his most infamous defeat, looking to kick off their new era with a win. Things did not start well.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, the Colts found themselves in a 20-3 hole. My timeline was filled with “Falcons up by 16, Colts down by 17…maybe Ryan was the problem all along?!?” Lol, yeah, maybe. But then the Colts started to come back. Just as the Falcons started to fold. By the end of the game, Matt Ryan had overseen a 17-point comeback to take his team to overtime, and the Atlanta Falcons had lost. Maybe Ryan was the problem, indeed.

The Colts didn’t finish the job, however. Despite driving his side into field goal range, Rodrigo Blankenship skewed his game-winning effort wide, and Indianapolis ultimately had to settle for a tie. It’s not all bad news, though, Colts fans. That tie meant that, for the first time since 2013, Indianapolis hasn’t started with a defeat. Welcome to the new era.

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While we’re on the topic of kickers, has there ever been a worse week to be an NFL kicker than week one of 2022? Seemingly everywhere you looked there was a blocked field goal attempt, or a shanked extra point. Potential winners turned into overtime clinchers, and even game losers, as the NFL’s premiere kick-men struggled to knock the ball through the goalposts. It was bizarre, to be honest with you.

The bulk of the kicking woes could be found in Paul Brown Stadium, where Evan “I guess we’re going to the Super Bowl” McPherson saw his game-winner vs the Steelers blocked to secure overtime. Chris Boswell then missed his own effort, but McPherson’s second attempt to win the game was punted wide left thanks to a bad hold. Boswell would secure the win for the Steelers from 53 yards, but 3 missed field goals back to back is pretty wild.

Over in Tennessee, and the Titans are down by a point to the Giants, but Ryan Tannehill has moved the offense into Randy Bullock’s kicking range. Around 47 yards out; snap, hold, the kick is…wide! The Giants snatch an improbable victory from nowhere!

I don’t have the space on this column to regale you with every missed field goal. Sporting News did a pretty good job of summing up every missed kick this weekend (bar Will Lutz). A must-read following one of the most bizarre collective failures from a position group I’ve ever seen.

Decisions in Dallas

Now for something completely different: what do the Cowboys do? Lose! I’m joking, of course. I mean what do the Cowboys do now that Dak Prescott is injured again? Still lose? Yeah, actually that does make some sense. Not what I was getting at, but excellent banter, me. Sunday night saw the Dallas Cowboys fail to compete with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but, more worryingly, their star QB was knocked out of the game and potentially a few months, with a thumb issue. So I ask again, and I want a serious answer this time; what do the Cowboys do?

I’m very much a Dak Prescott believer, I thought he was excellent in his rookie season, and actually deserved the massive contract he signed not too long ago. After their playoff defeat to the 49ers, this felt like a massive year for both the Cowboys, and Prescott himself. So to see the man their entire offense was effectively built around go down for anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks, that’s just huge. Mike McCarthy can’t afford to not be successful this season. I don’t think the Cowboys can afford another season lost thanks to a Prescott injury. And surely they don’t like Cooper Rush enough to hand him the offense for the next two months?

The obvious answer is making a move for the man that helped vanquish your playoff dreams only 9 months ago. Jimmy Garoppolo is FAMOUSLY available, and good enough to keep you ticking while QB1 recovers. The issue then becomes whether he plays too well to be removed when Prescott is fit again. After that, it’s difficult to really think of anyone available. Dare they take a punt on Hard Knocks darling, David Blough? Probably not. Has to be a safer shout than Cooper Rush, mind.

Let's cool it with the steaming hot takes

Last port of call for us this week is in your own heads. That’s right, I’m using the new format to attack the reader. That’ll go down well with the editing team, won’t it? Anyway, every one of the hot takes out there following week one needs to be cooled. For real; if you’re making grand statements on the state of the NFL following the first week of the season, you’re either new here, or you like to live dangerously.

The Packers lost 23-7 to the Vikings, and we’re writing them off, apparently. A reminder that an unnamed writer whom is very cool and handsome wrote off the Packers last season after a similar defeat in week one. The Patriots looked awful on Sunday. Let’s cool the jets on calling time on that particular dynasty, eh?

Want to know a secret? Week one in the NFL is effectively pre-season week four. Starters haven’t played much football together in pre-season, and coordinators are still figuring out what their men are capable of executing effectively. It’s not a massive issue losing in week one. Trust me. If the same teams show the same issues next week, however? Let’s maybe show some concern.

Featured Image Credit: Carmen Mandato-Getty Images

THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER

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