NFL Week 1 Recap & Chiefs/Broncos Bombs! Recap
My NFL Week 1 recap started with a Circa Millions card that went up in smoke. Five picks, one winner. The Steelers were the only side that cashed. Even that one felt like a stick-up. Pittsburgh grinds out a 20-13 win over Atlanta and looks brutal doing it. They only cover because TJ Watt forces a fumble that the Steelers scoop and score. Rodgers didn’t look awful. But DK Metcalf dropped a couple he had no business dropping. It was one of the ugliest games I’ve watched in years. A win’s a win. Don’t tell me it felt good.
After that it was all losses. I had the Eagles laying five and a half against Washington. Philly won 24-22 and never covered. Their offense is still stuck in the mud. Their defense wore down late. Then came Tampa. I had the Bucs plus three and a half, and Baker Mayfield handed it right back. Two fumbles and a giveaway at the goal line. Tampa lost 33-27 to the Bengals. I also had Houston plus a hook against Buffalo. The Texans dropped 31 points and Josh Allen still walked it off. And I had Carolina getting three at home. So of course the Bears turned it into a 59-37 track meet. Every handoff looked like it was going the distance.
Surviving CJ kept the streak alive, at least. Luke and I rode the Jaguars over Deshaun Watson and the Browns. Watson did his usual two-yard checkdown act. Meanwhile Trevor Lawrence looked like his old self. Jacksonville’s offense picked up right where it left off. But the bigger survivor story was the bloodbath everywhere else. The Chargers were the most-picked team on the board. They were a nine-and-a-half point favorite, and roughly 30% of the field leaned on them. Then Arizona strolled into LA and took the game. Just like that, close to 7,800 entries were gone.
Then there were the refs. They earned a whole segment. Detroit escaped New Orleans 31-30 in overtime. But the play that broke my brain came earlier. Jared Goff got hit and threw the ball 20 yards backward. The league ruled it an incomplete pass. That should have been a fumble and everyone watching knew it. Mike Pereira said Goff intended to throw it forward. That is not a rule. It has never been a rule. And Green Bay against Minnesota was its own circus. Flag after flag wiped out Packers plays. So the Vikings walked off 39-22.
I also went off on Splash Sports and their PolyMarket-backed survivor contest. Somebody has to. They dangled a 21-million-dollar prize and waved a fat overlay around all weekend. Then the thing filled up in the final hour. That happened the second the syndicate groups showed up with their 150-max entries. Circa caps you at ten. A contest built for spreadsheet armies is not the same game the rest of us are playing. And the paid-influencer push to stuff those pools with dead money is the part that makes my skin crawl.
That brings us to Monday night. The Chiefs host Denver. Patrick Mahomes is back from a knee surgery I’m still not sold was ever a real ACL tear. And the sharp money is piled on the Broncos. So I’m going the other way. Give me Kansas City on the money line at -130. It’s cheap, and it’s at home under the lights. Then there’s a Kenneth Walker reception ladder. Andy Reid is going to feed him screens and dump-offs all night. Finally, I’m bombing two first-touchdown props. Pat Bryant at 20-1 for Denver. And rookie Emmett Johnson at 30-1 for the Chiefs. Let’s climb the ladder.
Podcast Chapters
0:00 NFL Week 1 Recap Cold Open
1:55 Welcome To Bottom Line Bombs
5:37 SGP Colombia Earthquake Relief
6:19 Chiefs-Broncos Monday Night Preview
12:49 Kenneth Walker Reception Ladder
16:04 First Touchdown Bombs: Bryant & Johnson
21:33 Circa Millions Week 1 Recap
41:51 Around The NFL: Wild Calls & Blowouts
53:24 Surviving CJ: Jaguars & Chargers Bust
58:14 Circa Millions Vs. Splash Sports Rant
1:09:35 Schedule Change & Show Plugs
1:11:05 Final MNF Picks Recap & Outro
