NFL

NFL Takeaways: The Big Winner of the season’s first quarter

“This is the end of the first quarter.”

For fans that regularly attend NFL games, they know that the referee standing in the middle of the field waving their arms making this announcement is common. Whether your Sunday is spent at the stadium or planted on the chair or couch of your choosing, everyone is familiar with what happens after the quarter ends. A commercial break, maybe a trip to the bathroom, or a million other things might take place. 

On an NFL sideline, teams spend that valuable time evaluating the previous 15 minutes, attempting to make enough adjustments to continue with what’s working, or avoid a major halftime deficit. Most teams do this with the obvious goal in mind, winning. 

With that in mind, who won the first quarter of this 2022 NFL season? 

Has there ever been more parity in the NFL?

Far too often in sports we hear about how irrelevant the regular season is, that the playoffs are what truly matter. While it may be true to some degree, certain teams are just flat-out better, this season has shown that old saying is truer than ever. 

“Any given Sunday.”

Think about it. Through four weeks, the Jacksonville Jaguars are favored to win the AFC South. Two of the worst teams in recent memory are actually competent and dare we say, competitive? The New York Giants are 3-1 and the New York Jets are 2-2. It’s the first time New York football fans aren’t glued to mock drafts this early in the season since players only wore leather helmets. 

Sticking with mock drafts, you Tankathon obsessed fans out there will also notice a few teams that don’t find themselves in the top 10 too often. With that being said, let’s welcome the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers to the party. Those two storied franchises appear to have finally entered the dreaded rebuilding phase, a place neither team has gone in at least a decade. 

Here’s some context. Tom Brady played in his first Super Bowl 20 years ago, meaning that some college sophomores or juniors have gone their entire lives without seeing the Patriots draft with their own pick inside the top 10. 

Survivor pool players have been faced with disaster nearly every week. Which team can you trust to take care of business? Did you think the Packers were a “lock” last week? The Browns? Vikings? Point is, the early season games always bring wild results, but has it ever been to this extreme? Best of luck making a pick and still feeling good about it halfway through the first quarter. Whether the pick wins or not is irrelevant here. All that’s guaranteed is a future trip to the doctor for some blood pressure medication. 

While this is a win for fans of the sport and media executives everywhere, parity, not blood pressure medication of course, bettors are ripping their hair out slowly, watching this unfold. Forget fantasy football managers. It’s nearly a guarantee that no matter your strategy, the team you drafted is either compiled of nothing but “busts” or players that have landed on injured reserve. This is even more insane once you consider Dan Campbell’s Lions haven’t taken many kneecaps yet either. We are already concerned about how bad it will be in Week 14. 

Speaking of those Lions, they just played maybe the most fun game we’ve had all year against the Seahawks, with 93 combined points and over 1,000 yards of total offense. Imagine saying that sentence a few years ago. If you lost a bet on that game, maybe consider taking the week off. 

All of this serves as proof that the NFL product has never been better. Teams like the Cowboys, Bengals, and Dolphins are all listed around +2500 to win the Super Bowl, yet you can make just as good a case for them as the Bills or Chiefs, both around the +400 to +700 range. Nearly a third of the league can be the last team standing in February. When’s the last time we could say that?

Second Quarter Strategy

As Week 5 gets ready to kickoff with the Colts and Broncos on Thursday Night Football, just remember that literally anything is possible this season. For example, the Ravens have trailed for a grand total of 14 seconds this season, yet are 2-2. Try and figure that one out. 

So remember, before placing any bets, nothing is a given, just like nothing is truly for free, no matter how much those lovely people on the phone try to sell you an extended car warranty or my personal favorite, solar panels. Sometimes things are too good to be true, like when a company mistakenly refunds your card twice in the same day. Those really smart computers will always detect and reverse the “human error.” Just know that’s how a robot takeover always begins in the movies. 

Ask yourself. Does getting the Chiefs -5.5 against the lowly Colts feel off? Well, that’s because it was. Was it too good to be true for the Vikings to only be favored by 3.5 against a depleted Saints team in London? You bet it was, but it still didn’t stop the genius author here from picking the side led by Kirk Cousins

Which brings us to the most important point. No one has, or ever will, know anything. For example, Albert Einstein might have been a smart dude, but he didn’t know how to send off a perfectly crafted tweet with a hilarious gif. We here at BetBasics are trying to make ourselves and you, smarter bettors. We won’t be right all the time, hence why we employ “Lenny the Loser.” 

At least we can claim to be fair and balanced. Try finding that around other media outlets. So if you’ve struggled through the first quarter of the season, just know that there are three more, plus a mandatory overtime to keep fighting. Perfect your process. Take a break if you need one. After all, even NFL coaches get three timeouts for a reason.

Tail our picks, fade our picks. Maybe even mock them if you so choose, although maybe not that guy ‘Nick,’ he might have something. As we get set to start the second quarter, try and enjoy the Journey. Your bets are just like the famous song lyrics.

“Some’ll win, some will lose.”

However, the most important thing of all? Don’t Stop Believin’.

author
Nick Brinkerhoff
Sports Journalist
Hello there, I’m Nick Brinkerhoff, a New Jersey native with enough sarcasm and attitude to show I’m not from New York. Despite being Jersey born and bred, I’m a diehard New York sports fan (Jets, Nets, Rangers, Mets) who has seen plenty of losing, but my sports betting ability will hopefully continue to balance those scales. I have season tickets to the Jets but believe it to be more character building than bad asset management. Althoug
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