NFL Week 1 Review - 8 Points & Plays Everyone Is Talking About

One of the hotly anticipated duels for Week 1: Odell Beckham Jr against the mouth of the south. Jalen Ramsey is undoubtedly the best corner in the league, and doesn’t he know it. Being paired against Beckham was a mouth-watering match up, as he is one of the most electric receivers in the league. Looking at the box score solely, it appears Beckham won the draw as Odell caught 11 passes on 15 attempts for 111 yards. A truly impressive haul, even more so when considering this is his first competitive game since the horrific leg injury last season.

Bunching Shepard and Beckham so close together at the snap was a piece of genius from Pat Shurmur, which caused confusion and misdirection. The Giants may have focused a little too much on the Beckham-Ramsey duel, which allowed the Jaguars defence as a whole to stand up and be counted. The front seven did not allow Eli any time on the ball and force many rushed and inconsistent throws, including a tipped pick six for Myles Jack. Along with the pick almost came a two point safety early on when Barkley didn’t quite have his running boots on, but was ruled short by a matter of millimetres. The Jaguars D is as scary as it was last season.

Even with Odell’s mass of yardage, he did not find the end zone, which could be chalked up as a point in team Ramsey, but overall, this was a great match up and really shows what happens when great players face off against another one. It was refreshing to see both players greet each other warmly in the pre-game drills and swap jerseys at the end – clearly two professionals at the top of their games that respect the other immensely.

It’s probably safe to say Beckham got the better of Ramsey in Week 1, but looking into week 2, Ramsey pairs against Rob Gronkowski. Ramsey’s analysis of Gronk last week was not exactly a shining review of the Patriot’s man. Expect sparks to fly.