National Football League

Schrager Cheat Sheet: Packers are on watch, while Steelers, Texans start strong

Updated Sep. 19, 2021 1:52 p.m. ET

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By Peter Schrager
FOX Sports NFL Analyst

Welcome to another edition of the Schrager Cheat Sheet.

Each week, I'll take a look at five things you need to know heading into the NFL weekend. Write it down. Share it with your friends.

Let's get to it.

Peter Schrager's Cheat Sheet for Week 2

From the struggling Packers to the surprising Texans, Peter Schrager shares his Cheat Sheet with the teams and players to watch for in Week 2.

1. What's next for the Packers?

The Falcons, Giants and Titans all had head-scratching losses in Week 1. What was so confusing about all three teams' efforts was how unbelievably flat they looked in front of their home fans in their stadiums.

But there was no more confounding Week 1 performance than whatever the Green Bay Packers put out there in "America's Game of the Week" against the Saints. 

Credit can go to New Orleans, and it should, for what was an amazing debut for Jameis Winston as QB1 and a defense that made the 2020 MVP look pedestrian. Sean Payton's team had to deal with being displaced by Hurricane Ida and the effects of the storm (and is dealing with yet more adversity, with a COVID situation among the coaching staff), so let’s give the Saints their due. 

But I'm more interested in the other sideline. What now for Green Bay?

Now, I know you're likely reading this and screaming, "Slow down," or "It's one freakin' week!" Or maybe, "They play the Lions on Monday." 

But the days between that Week 1 performance and Week 2's Monday night game with Detroit are fascinating to me. 

Matt LaFleur is in his third year as Green Bay's head coach, and though the Packers have suffered some tough defeats in the playoffs in his first two seasons, he has never dealt with a Week 1 blowout loss like what happened Sunday. Plus, no team has ever had an offseason like the one Green Bay just had. LaFleur said that sometimes in this league you get "humbled," but the Packers got pummeled.

The past two times the Packers have taken the field, here's what happened:

– Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game, they opted to take Aaron Rodgers off the field on fourth-and-9, down by eight deep in Bucs territory — and lost.

– On Sunday, they got absolutely waxed by a big underdog in the Saints. 

Between all that, there was this wild offseason. 

I reported last week on FOX NFL Kickoff that during the height of their "Will he or won't he?" offseason drama, LaFleur made two trips to Malibu to visit Rodgers at his home. The second time, he was joined by a handful of offensive coaches.  

Spirits were high, and those coaches left Malibu in June feeling good. They hoped and prayed the 2020 MVP would opt to come back for at least one more ride, and he did.  

Great! Pencil them in for a third straight NFC Championship Game berth. 

But is it that easy? Is it ever? The Packers started two rookies on the offensive line, looked out of sync and couldn’t stop Winston from putting touchdowns on the board.  

I don't think anyone imagined that result on Sunday. 

How do the Packers handle such a drubbing? Rodgers has a history of being lights-out after bad losses, and the odds are certainly in his favor in Week 2 at home against the rebuilding Lions. But this is something we should all be monitoring. After playing the Lions, Green Bay has the 49ers and Steelers in Weeks 3 and 4, possibly the two top defensive units in the NFL.

When Green Bay was waxed 37-8 by San Francisco (the first time) in 2019, the Packers were an 8-2 team going in. When they lost 38-10 to Tampa Bay in the regular season last year, they were 4-0. This is unfamiliar territory for LaFleur as a head coach.

In the end, it shouldn’t matter too much, as I imagine Green Bay will win its division — rough start or not. But let’s check back in on how the Packers look after four weeks. The spot in the NFC Championship Game that so many pundits assumed is looking a little different than it did just a week ago.

2. Chase is on

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase had a heck of an NFL debut, hauling in five catches for 101 yards, including a huge, 50-yard touchdown pass from college teammate Joe Burrow. 

When you consider the amount of consternation over Chase’s preseason drops, it makes the performance all the better.

We had Chase on as a guest on the NFL Network "Good Morning Football" show, and he was nonplussed by this Week 1 performance, almost treating his monster day as something casual. I asked him what he would say to his summertime doubters after the Week 1 performance: "I'd like to tell [the critics] to enjoy the show." 

The show!

Off-camera, former NFL linebacker Thomas Davis asked Chase if fellow LSU great Patrick Peterson had any words for him, and Chase told us, "Pat P actually asked me for my jersey. There was no trash talk. Just love and respect."

It's hard not to love and respect the way Chase not only played but also handled himself during what was an unexpectedly tumultuous August. Guess what? None of that matters now.

Chase looks like the fifth overall pick and more than worthy of Peterson's — and the rest of the league’s — respect.

3. Houston's Week 1 win was not a surprise

The Texans beat the Jaguars last week, and that was viewed by many as some great surprise. It shouldn't have been. 

Those I've spoken to in Houston shared that despite the team's apparent quarterback quandary with Deshaun Watson (and no, I don't think he will ever play for the team again), the Texans had an outstanding training camp with starter Tyrod Taylor and the steady hand of coach David Culley.

Culley, who is 65 years old and has never been a coordinator in the NFL, is viewed as an all-time people person and connector. His brand of coaching is focused not only on football but also on the relationships and life-changing opportunities the game will provide. 

You likely know Taylor's career story, but his life as a "journeyman" shouldn't be viewed as a negative. Here's a guy who won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens, took the Bills to the playoffs and in recent years was a veteran in the room with young stars Justin Herbert and Baker Mayfield. 

Speaking of veterans, Taylor is joined in the Houston locker room by household names such as Danny Amendola, Brandin Cooks, Justin Reid, Mark Ingram, Justin Britt, Phillip Lindsay and countless others who are by no means losers. Those are not men who are going to come to a game unprepared or willing to give anything less than the optimum effort. 

I spoke with sources in Houston before Sunday's game, and though they were by no means cocky, the Texans were aware that they were field-goal underdogs at home to a Jaguars team led by a rookie quarterback and a first-year head coach. The Texans might not win a ton of games this season, but they're not going to be an easy out. Not with that group of veterans and Culley at the helm. 

Houston faces the Browns this weekend. Cleveland's roster is loaded, and the Browns looked like the Super Bowl contenders they've been hyped to be, despite their loss in Kansas City last week.

I don't know who wins, but I think the current 12-point spread might be underestimating the hearts and football IQ in that Houston locker room.

4. Steelers struck gold in the draft

In my opinion, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the best win of the weekend in the AFC, and it's because of how they won. They did it ugly, and they did it the way Steelers teams of old used to. 

I also love the storyline. Here's a team that heard all the offseason noise about being done and over the hill and the third-best squad in the AFC North. They then went out and kicked the snot out of the Bills — everybody's preseason Super Bowl darling — in their own building.

Yes, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick were all over the field, but I also noticed six rookies making plays for Pittsburgh and one of them protecting Big Ben's blindside in his NFL debut. 

Pittsburgh's 2021 NFL Draft class is just one week old, but it looks like GM Kevin Colbert found some dogs up top and some gems in the later rounds. The Steelers started first-round pick Najee Harris (Alabama) at running back, second-round pick Pat Freiermuth (Penn State) at tight end, third-round pick Kendrick Green (Illinois) at center, fourth-round pick Dan Moore Jr. (Texas A&M) at left tackle and seventh-round pick Tre Norwood (Oklahoma) at slot cornerback. Their punter, Pressley Harvin III, is a 6-foot, 255-pound seventh-round pick out of Georgia Tech. 

I loved Pittsburgh's effort last week. Now, the Steelers get their home opener against the Raiders, who played into the wee hours of Monday night and need to travel across the country.

Yes, Pittsburgh has dropped some weird ones at home in Mike Tomlin's 15-year run, but the Steelers should take care of business. Their rookies should continue to show up. Vegas' Maxx Crosby was the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week, with two sacks last week. Let's see how Moore holds up in his second game protecting Ben's blindside. 

5. R.I.P. Norm Macdonald

Like so many of you, I was devastated to hear the news of Norm Macdonald's passing Tuesday after a nine-year bout with cancer. Norm didn't care about being famous, didn't particularly curate a "brand" and never met a late-night or early morning show appearance he couldn't make memorable.

From my hours of YouTube viewing over the past few days, I can say with great certainty that there was no one quite like him.

You've seen the Courtney Thorne-Smith clip on "Conan," the ESPYs speech and the hilarious "SNL" stuff, but I think my favorite Norm performance was the nine-minute bit at the Bob Saget "Comedy Central" roast.

This was when roasts were becoming really en vogue. Jeff Ross was talking about Bea Arthur (in front of Bea Arthur), Whitney Cummings and Anthony Jeselnik were making names for themselves, and it was a big spotlight thing when they would hit Comedy Central. Macdonald showed up and did old Borscht Belt jokes that had the comedians in the crowd in stitches. 

It would have been easy to take shots at the other panelists on the dais. Instead, Norm went another direction altogether. Because he could.  

R.I.P., Norm. I'm not sure there will ever be a comedic force like you again. 

Bonus: Fantasy football picks

Each week, I'll give you three names I like for your fantasy or daily fantasy teams. 

1. Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona: Moore made a few plays Sunday, but there's plenty more in the playbook that wasn't revealed in that blowout at Tennessee. 

2. Russell Gage, WR, Atlanta: The Falcons rarely had the ball and just couldn't get in a rhythm in Week 1. I see Tampa's D and what Dallas did and think there are some yards to be had out of the receivers in Atlanta on Sunday.

3. Marquez Valdez-Scantling, WR, Green Bay: Detroit's defense isn't Green Bay's, especially at CB. Expect a few deep shots to MVS in the Monday night game. 

Peter Schrager is an NFL writer for FOX Sports and a host of "Good Morning Football" on NFL Network.

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in this topic

National Football League

Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers

Jameis Winston

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

San Francisco 49ers

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cincinnati Bengals

Ja'Marr Chase

Joe Burrow

Houston Texans

Deshaun Watson

Tyrod Taylor

T.J. Watt

Minkah Fitzpatrick

Las Vegas Raiders

Rondale Moore

Russell Gage

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Peter Schrager