Round One
So, I got a bit of a late start, but my 2020 NFL Tournament is underway, and I’ve completed my first round. For those of you not familiar with my format, I use all 32 teams and I seed them by conference based on their actual 2020 regular season win-loss record, with the top seed playing the lowest seed, etc. Once the first round is complete all of the winning teams go into one pool, and all the losing teams into another pool. This way, at the end of the second round, eight teams will have two losses and be eliminated. Eight other teams will be 2-0 and the other 16 teams will be 1-1. Those 1-1 teams play each other to eliminate another eight teams. The unbeaten teams also play each other and will leave four teams with 3-0 records and 12 teams with 2-1 records. These, then, are the 16 teams that advance to my traditional single elimination playoff format, eventually leading to a Super Bowl game.
Here are the results of Round One:
Las Vegas 26, Miami 23 – Daniel Carlson broke a 23-23 tie with his 28 yard field goal with under two minutes to play to give the Raiders a narrow victory over the Dolphins. David Carr had a solid game, completing 20 of 27 passes for 286 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win, while injury-plagued Miami lost six starters during the contest.
Washington 19, Minnesota 10 – Alex Smith completed 24 of his 29 passes leading Washington past Minnesota in their first round contest. His counterpart for the Vikings, Kirk Cousins, had a rough day, tossing 4 interceptions in the loss.
New England 30, Cleveland 10 – In a mild upset, the Patriots picked off five Baker Mayfield passes en route to a twenty point victory over the Browns. New England’s Damien Harris rushed 18 times for 107 yards and found paydirt 3 times in the win.
Arizona 26, NY Giants 10 – Kyler Murray and Kenyon Drake each had solid performances leading the Cardinals to victory at home over the Giants. Murray was 27-37 for 307 yards passing and added another 36 yards rushing, while Drake had two rushing TD’s in the contest. Arizona’s defense was solid, holding New York to only 198 yards of total offense.
Indianapolis 45, LA Chargers 9 – Philip Rivers was nearly perfect against his former team, hitting on 23 of 24 passes for 240 yards and 2 TD’s, as the Colts pounded the Chargers in their first round contest. Meanwhile, Indianapolis’ defense harassed Los Angeles’ talented young quarterback, Justin Herbert, sacking him six times for 44 yards in losses.
San Francisco 30, Chicago 17 – Jimmy Garoppolo tossed three touchdown passes and running back Jeff Wilson added 96 yards on the ground as the 49ers cruised to an opening round win over the Bears. Chicago’s Cordarrelle Patterson had a great game in the loss, returning five kickoffs for 205 yards – a 41 yard average!
Baltimore 49, Denver 32 – In a game that had over 1,000 yards of offense, and saw a total of ten starts go down with injuries, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens topped the Broncos in this round one game. Jackson had a so-so game passing, connecting on 14 of 19 for only 175 yards, but he rushed for 168 yards and scored 3 TD’s on 18 carries! Melvin Gordon had a sensational game in defeat for Denver, rushing 25 times for 194 yards and 3 scores.
LA Rams 33, Dallas 23 – In a sloppy game that featured 18 penalties, the Rams held off a 4th quarter rally by the Cowboys to beat them by ten in this first round game. Each team only turned the ball over once, but it was L.A. making more big plays during the game as Dallas’ quarterback, Andy Dalton, was sacked four times, three of them on important third down plays in the red zone. The Rams rushed for 231 yards, led by Darrell Henderson, who tallied 97 yards on only 7 carries.
Tennessee 27, Cincinnati 0 – In the only shutout of the first round, the Titans picked off Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow, twice and racked up 150 more yard in offense in this convincing victory. Tennessee signal-caller, Ryan Tannehill, was solid, hitting on 20 or 28 passes for 261 yards and two scores, while Derrick Henry had his typical outstanding day, rushing for 115 yards and a TD.
Tampa Bay 31, Carolina 28 – The Bucs’ held off a furious fourth quarter rally by the Panthers and held on for a narrow victory. Both quarterbacks were outstanding – Carolina’s Teddy Bridgewater threw for 305 yards and 2 TD’s, while the Bucs’ Tom Brady tallied 315 yards and 3 scores. But, it was the Tampa Bay defense that made the difference, sacking Bridgewater eight times in the game. D.J. Moore had a terrific game for the Panthers in the loss, hauling in 7 passes for 126 yards.
Houston 27, Pittsburgh 16 – In a pretty good upset, the Texans forced six Steelers’ turnovers and never trailed in the game, topping Pittsburgh by 11 points. Four of Houston’s takeaways occurred inside their own 20 yard line as the Steelers’ missed multiple scoring opportunities. Neither team played great offensively, but Texans’ receiver Will Fuller turned in a solid performance, hauling in 5 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Detroit 30, Seattle 13 – Matthew Stafford had one of his best games, completing 27 of 30 passes for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns in leading the Lions to a convincing upset victory over the Seahawks. His counterpart, Russell Wilson, appeared frustrated most of the game, tossing two interceptions and fumbling away the ball after being sacked. Meanwhile, Detroit played turnover-free football in the win.
Buffalo 51, NY Jets 15 – Poor Sam Darnold. He just looked lost out against the Bills, throwing five interceptions, three of them by Bills’ Taran Johnson in Buffalo’s convincing 36 point victory. Johnson, in fact, had a remarkable game, tallying 172 yards on those three interception returns, bring two in for TD’s! And, this did not take away from the Bills’ offense, where Josh Allen hit on 24 of 29 passes for 290 yards and three scores in Buffalo’s wipeout victory.
New Orleans 42, Philadelphia 14 – Alvin Kamara is a beast! He showed off all of his offensive skills in a convincing Saints’ victory over the Eagles, rushing for 77 yards and 2 scores, and hauling in 14 passes for 136 yards and another 2 TD’s. Philly QB, Carson Wentz, was also picked off five times as Drew Brees and the Saints rolled up 436 total offensive yards in the win.
Jacksonville 30, Kansas City 20 – In an unbelievable upset, the lowest seeded team in the AFC, the Jaguars, forced six Chiefs’ turnovers in a stunning 10-point victory! Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes had his typically solid game, throwing for 335 yards and two scores. But, it was five lost fumbles, four deep in their own territory, along with five injuries, that spelled doom for the Chiefs. Jacksonville signal-caller, Gardner Minshew, had a pretty good game, throwing for 248 yards without an interception, in the shocking victory.
Green Bay 51, Atlanta 37 – League MVP Aaron Rodgers showed exactly why he deserved that honor, as he put up some monster stats in the Packers’ convincing win over the Falcons. Rodgers was 27-33 for 392 yards, no interceptions, and six touchdown passes, five of which went to All-Pro receiver, Davante Adams, who caught 11 passes in the win for 129 yards. All totaled, the Pack amassed 503 yards of total offense.