Ok, it was a tumultuous week for the NFL and today, the games will be played. However, two clouds still hang over the league, Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson. Let’s take a look at what’s happening this week.
So, besides the off the field stuff, what’s new in the NFL?
Well, the off the field stuff has dominated the news even transcending the sports shows and leading the network newscasts. When you have programs like “The Talk,” “Live with Kelly and Michael” and others talk about the NFL and it’s not positive, you know it’s not been a good week. As much as last week was a week the NFL would like to forget, the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson stories may grow legs keeping them in the 24 news cycle for a long time to come.
Thursday Night Football did better than expected?
It sure did. CBS/NFL Network saw a combined 20.8 million viewers for Pittsburgh-Baltimore surpassing ratings and viewership expectations. It’s only one week, but with the division rivalries that dominate the TNF schedule, we should see some very good viewership throughout the CBS half through Week 8. That will change when NFL Network goes solo in Week 9.
What are your Games of the Week?
New England at Minnesota (CBS, 1 p.m. ET, Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts//Jenny Dell) — Fans want to know if the Patriots will fall to 0-2 and how Minnesota will respond to the Adrian Peterson situation. We saw how the Ravens responded, but they had a couple of more days than the Vikings.
Dallas at Tennessee (Fox, 1 p.m. ET, Joe Buck/Troy Aikman//Erin Andrews) — Can Dallas rebound from last week’s pitiful performance against San Francisco, actually can Tony Romo rebound? And viewers will watch to see if the Cowboys will fall to 0-2.
Miami at Buffalo (CBS, 1 p.m. ET, Tom McCarthy/Adam Archuleta) — One of the few matchups of 1-0 teams this week. Can Buffalo reach 2-0 for the first time since 2011? Is Miami for real after beating the overrated Patriots in Week 1? Only one team can be 2-0 after this week. Miami has lost three out of the last four meetings. We’ll see what happens.
Seattle at San Diego (Fox, 4:05 p.m. ET, Thom Brennaman/David Diehl//Laura Okmin) — Seattle plays its first interconference contest today and it’ll be against the Chargers which lost after holding a lead against Arizona on Monday night. Seattle’s defense will be looking to harass Philip Rivers. This could get ugly.
New York Jets at Green Bay (CBS, 4:25 p.m. ET, Greg Gumbel/Trent Green//Evan Washburn) — The Packers have not started 0-2 in the Aaron Rodgers era. The Jets have been a mystery since 1969. Any game at Lambeau Field is interesting.
Kansas City at Denver (CBS, 4:25 p.m. ET, Jim Nantz/Phil Simms//Tracy Wolfson) — Denver wants to make a statement against its AFC West rival. The Chiefs want to show that last year was not a fluke. Not seeing the Chiefs winning today, but I’ve been wrong before.
Chicago at San Francisco (NBC, 8:30 p.m. ET, Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth//Michele Tafoya) — The first-ever regular season game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA and the first new football stadium in the Golden State dating back to the 1960’s. The Bears don’t want to fall to 0-2. The Niners secondary is licking its chops at the potential of picking off another quarterback three times, this time it’s Jay Cutler. Expect a lot of beautiful shots of Levi’s Stadium tonight.
Oh, and 49ers radio announcer Ted Robinson will miss this week’s and next week’s game because he was suspended over comments he made last week in regards to the Ray Rice situation.
What is the Crossover Game this week?
CBS has it and it’s Atlanta at Cincinnati (1 p.m. ET, Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon). If this had been under the previous TV contract, CBS would have had only three games this week in the early window and Fox with five. So the Crossover Game concept is a way to help the networks balance out the schedule and also provide CBS and Fox with better games in the later window. We’ll see that in effect when the flex starts in Week 5.
So anything else I should know?
That’s it for now. Enjoy your Week 2. Eight games early. Five games late. For those who watch the Red Zones either on cable or on DirecTV, it’s a nice balance as compared to last week where we had 10 games early and only two late. We won’t have that again for the rest of the season.
