The backups didn’t fare any better for either side. The Pats will be fine and the Giants should be a little worried. One whole first down in four drives going into the second quarter. Not what they were looking for.

The Washington Redskins beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-3. It was rookie QB Kirk Cousins, not RG3, who took the start. Mike Shanahan spread the carries up in the backfield and they all did well. Helu, Boyce, and Royster all had at least 10 carries. Tampa Bay had their eleventh-stringers in the whole game. I wouldn’t read a thing into this game on either side except that Tampa Bay has a young, talented team.

Emphasis here is on “young.”

The same can’t be said of the Miami Dolphins defense that looked like it hadn’t remembered to show up. We know the offense has a rookie QB and probably the NFL’s worst group of TEs and WRs, but Tannehill managed a long drive and a short FG in two drives.

A young offense is expected to struggle, but the defense has no excuses. On Hard Knocks we’ve learned they get rid of players that don’t fit in with their system – the Vontae Davis trade for instance – and they played a lot worse than against the Falcons.

The defense had a poor first game and the coordinator is worried about them as a group giving effort and working together. Dallas’ backups had no trouble. Cowboys fans can rest easy; Dolphins fans have officially begun to panic.