By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The NFL season has officially kicked off and there were some great games.

All 32 teams (even Cleveland) believe they have a chance for a winning season at this point. Well maybe not Buffalo but you get my drift. We’re going to take a look around the NFC South to see what we learned.

New Orleans and Tampa Bay played a great, high scoring game. The Buccaneers won 48-40 on the road. The first thing that jumps out is the lack of defense from both teams.

Jameis Winston is currently serving a three-game suspension, so journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played. Surprisingly, Fitzpatrick threw for 417 yards, 4 touchdowns, no interceptions and completed 75% of his passes.

He played amazing but he has been inconsistent his entire career. I believe if he wins another game, he will take the starting job from Winston.

The Saints have been known for elite offense since Sean Payton and Drew Brees came to town in 2006 and they did not disappoint.

Wide receiver Michael Thomas had a monster game with 16 catches, 180 yards and a TD. He also had a costly fumble that Tampa Bay recovered.

Alvin Kamara showed that he would not have a sophomore slump. He scored 3 total touchdowns, a 2-point conversion and had over one hundred yards receiving.

Carolina beat Dallas 16-8. The Panthers defense looked good, holding Ezekiel Elliot to 69 yards rushing. Cam Newton lived up to his Super Man nickname, leading the team in rushing yards. He scored a TD on the ground and he looked better as a passer by completing 65% of his attempts.

We have to take into consideration this was against the Cowboys and their offense is not very good. Dallas has been elite at running the ball but they do not have any playmakers other than Elliott.

I think Carolina’s defense is good but we need to see them against better offenses.

Linebacker Luke Kuechly left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury so that is something to monitor.

Atlanta opened on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won 18-12 and it was a sloppy game that was delayed to due lightning.

If you recall in last season’s playoff game it came down to the final play and the Falcons could not score the winning touchdown.

The Red Zone woes continued for the Falcons and that is troubling. They had five trips to the Red Zone and scored once.

On the final play of the game Atlanta was inside the Eagles 10-yard line and of course, they have to throw to Julio Jones. Unfortunately, Ryan did not throw him a catchable ball, just like the playoff loss.

I’ve always been a big Matty Ice fan but his expectations were raised when he signed his new $150 million contract. He’s under much more scrutiny and I feel this is a Super Bowl or bust year for the Falcons.

We have 15 more games left so I do not want to overreact after week 1.

The NFC South looks like it will be the most competitive division in the league again. I believe if one of the teams can get home field advantage in the playoffs they will get to the Super Bowl.