The NFL Today: Week 1

September 12, 2016 10:07 AM - Season 49, Episode 1

The 2016 NFL season, the 97th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), began on Thursday, September 8, 2016, with the defending Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers 21–20 in the NFL Kickoff Game. The season will conclude with Super Bowl LI, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

For the first time since the Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee in 1997, an NFL team relocated to another state, as the former St. Louis Rams moved out of St. Louis, Missouri and returned to Los Angeles, its home from 1946 to 1994.

description via the wikipedia page for the 2016 nfl season

posted by everybody had matching towels (12 comments total)

What a strange, strange thing to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sitting at the top of the NFC South. Even if the Panthers win next week (likely) and the Bucs don't (likely) they're still technically going to be on top for a second week, what with having defeated a divisional rival. I mean that's just surreal.

Regarding my team: Who Dat! Who Dat! Who dat say the Saints gonna snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as usual?! I love watching us lose because the other team chose to go with a 2-point conversion to win by 1 instead of the extra point to tie, and then with a minute left for some hurry-up offense Brees throws passes down the middle instead of to the sidelines so as to chew up the remaining clock immediately. Then we give our brand new kicker - playing his very first NFL game ever - the chance for a 61-yarder. From a 14-point lead at halftime to this ...
posted by komara at 10:26 AM on September 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

Any ideas as to what to get the Buffalo Bills Playoff Drought as a gift when it graduates high school this year?

That Chiefs game though, holy shit. I picked them in my Eliminator League and...what a roller coaster. A roller coaster with one massive drop and then a slow, jerky climb out of a giant hole (my boyfriend picked the Ravens and I'm still sort of glowering at him).
posted by everybody had matching towels at 11:05 AM on September 12, 2016

I love watching us lose because the other team chose to go with a 2-point conversion to win by 1 instead of the extra point to tie

Shockingly intelligent and gutsy. All of New England welcomes its new Garoppoloverlord.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:45 AM on September 12, 2016

Carson Wentz was good, and Cleveland was thankfully bad. I'm sure when Wentz plays an NFL-caliber defense, he'll look more like a rookie, but for at least a week, my city is happy. Poor, poor RGIII is back on IR, and I just can't believe Cleveland's luck.
posted by gladly at 12:34 PM on September 12, 2016

I can't believe MY luck! A Washington fan all my life, after years of disillusion and RGIII, I move to frikkin Cleveland. After a year of Johnny Manziel, I've got RGIII a-freakin-gain.
posted by chainsofreedom at 4:36 PM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm more optimistic about Wentz because he was acting like a real live NFL quarterback than because he torched (well, moderately singed) the Browns. Competent defenses will have game film to study, pressure him more, cover the receivers tighter and generally make him look like a rookie, but one of his big flaws was supposed to be that playing in Nowhere, North Dakota hadn't prepared him for the pro game at all. So it was a relief to see him calling out blitzes, audibling out of doomed plays and otherwise actually running the offense.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 4:51 AM on September 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

an idiot runs on the field at the Rams-Niners game, and Kevin Harlan has the call
posted by everybody had matching towels at 6:24 AM on September 13, 2016

SB Nation Rams subsite headline:

LA Rams: Really... REALLY?
Just no.

The Seahawks will always be my team, but I'm making an effort to follow the Rams as my new "adopted hometown" team.

None of my other Seattle -> LA friends are interested.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:10 AM on September 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

I can't believe MY luck! A Washington fan all my life, after years of disillusion and RGIII, I move to frikkin Cleveland. After a year of Johnny Manziel, I've got RGIII a-freakin-gain.

Well, I've got some... good news for you?
posted by Rock Steady at 11:32 AM on September 13, 2016

The Seahawks will always be my team, but I'm making an effort to follow the Rams as my new "adopted hometown" team.

Yeah, I've really been enjoying my casual fandom of the Panthers since moving to North Carolina. It's just like being a fan of my hometown teams, but without the lasting emotional trauma when they lose!
posted by Rock Steady at 11:35 AM on September 13, 2016

I'm kind of shocked how decently some of the rookie QBs did today. A bit of it comes down to match-ups, but it would be nice to see some effective new blood.
posted by drezdn at 5:14 AM on September 14, 2016

The Seahawks will always be my team, but I'm making an effort to follow the Rams as my new "adopted hometown" team.

At least the Rams look like an "easier" team to follow, I'm not sure my heart is strong enough for a Seahawks season like this...
posted by DancingYear at 10:11 AM on September 14, 2016