NFL Takeaways: Week 1
Photo by Junfu Han from USA Today
The NFL is back!
And it was…sloppy.
But hey. That’s bound to happen.
We can’t take too much away from week 1.
But we can take some things away!
So let’s discuss what we’ve learned.
Chiefs defeat Ravens 27-20
Two things can be true.
Lamar Jackson should have made that throw to Zay Flowers at the end of the game.
But there isn’t a single QB in this league playing against the Chiefs behind that Ravens offensive line that would’ve had it be a one score game late other than Lamar Jackson.
You take the good with the bad.
Eagles defeat Packers 34-29
Saquon Barkley? Excellent.
The Eagles receivers? Excellent.
Jalen Hurts?
Hurts had moments of brilliance, but moments of complete stupidity.
Get that out of the system, and the Eagles should be good.
Steelers defeat Falcons 18-10
The Falcons gave the bag to a 36 year old QB who has clearly not healed from his torn Achilles.
It’s going to be a looooong year…
Bills defeat Cardinals 34-28
Kyler Murray was absolutely excellent in the first half, and had the Cardinals poised for an upset.
He was not anywhere near as good in the second half, and the Cardinals blew their chance.
A tale of two halves.
Josh Allen is a freak, though.
Bears defeat Titans 24-17
Caleb Williams debut was terrible.
That doesn’t mean he’s bound to be a bust or anything like that, but it’s true. He was terrible.
And Will Levis was really solid in the first half! Played well. Didn’t make mistakes. Titans had a 17-0 lead.
And Williams didn’t get better in the second half. The Bears offense couldn’t do a thing.
All Will Levis had to do was not be absolutely garbage, and the Titans would win.
And, unfortunately for the Titans, Levis was absolutely garbage and threw a putrid game losing pick six.
It’s only week 1, but it was genuinely a benchable mistake.
Ryan Tannehill wouldn’t have done that…
Patriots defeat Bengals 16-10
I thought the Patriots defense was making life hard for Joe Burrow and that’s why the Bengals offense struggled, but the Bengals were the 5th lowest pressured team this week.
They just stunk up the joint.
Is Burrow’s wrist ok? Do the Bengals desperately need Tee Higgins back? Are the vibes just bad?
I’m not sure, but it was ugly.
Really ugly.
And they play the Chiefs in Arrowhead this Sunday, too.
Better get it fixed quick!
Texans defeat Colts 29-27
Anthony Richardson made, and I’m not being hyperbolic, possibly the greatest pass I’ve ever seen.
He also overthrew wide open touchdowns twice.
The talent is undeniable.
Now, it’s time to fine tune.
If that happens, watch out.
Dolphins defeat Jaguars 20-17
Jags defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen did an amazing job shutting down the Dolphins high powered offense, and he gave the Jags a great chance to win.
But Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver was equal to the task, and shut down Trevor Lawrence to give the Dolphins enough time to come back and get the win.
Considering the Dolphins defense was a weak spot last year, I’m very impressed with week 1.
Saints defeat Panthers 47-10
I’ve got nothing, man.
I knew the Panthers weren’t going to be good.
But a 47-10 loss to the Saints?
Brutal.
Vikings defeat Giants 28-6
I know everyone’s making fun of Daniel Jones and his horrible performance, and rightfully so, but man Sam Darnold was absolutely crushing it on Sunday.
That has to be encouraging to see for Vikings fans.
Chargers defeat Raiders 22-10
7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Raiders are down 16-10. They’re facing a 4th and 1 inside Chargers territory.
Head coach Antonio Pierce decided to punt.
The Chargers marched right down the field and got the game sealing touchdown.
A very, very, boneheaded move by Pierce, and it cost them a possible win on the road.
Seahawks defeat Broncos 26-20
Three things concerned me about the Broncos on Sunday.
Bo Nix was 2-12 with 2 interceptions when throwing 10 yards downfield or more.
Sean Payton never changed the gameplan away from short routes in the open field, despite the Seahawks making almost every tackle.
The Seahawks did everything they could to give that game to Denver, and the Broncos refused to take it.
Seahawks opening drive ended in an interception. Broncos got a field goal.
They gave up not one, but two safeties, and the Broncos went 3 and out both times.
They muffed a punt which put the Broncos in the red zone, and the Broncos only got a field goal.
If you can’t win a game like that, I’m not sure how many games you’ll win.
Cowboys defeat Browns 33-17
In my preseason predictions, I said the Cowboys vibes felt bad, and the Browns were a good team and the last we saw of Deshaun Watson was good.
I was wrong.
I was dead wrong.
The Cowboys were absolutely dominant, and the Deshaun Watson was absolutely horrendous.
And it’s my fault. I should’ve known better.
It’s the Browns, after all.
They ruin everything.
They even ruined the good will neutral fans had for them.
They deserve this.
Buccaneers defeat Commanders 37-20
And the guy they ran out of town threw for almost 300 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Maybe the Browns and Baker Mayfield just needed to separate. It happens. Sometimes stuff doesn’t work out.
But Baker doing this while Deshaun Watson makes his insane amounts of money while playing terribly?
That’s gotta sting.
And again, the Browns deserve it.
Lions defeat Rams 26-20
The Lions were by far the better team.
And then, in typical Lions fashion, they did their upmost to give it away.
But then, thanks to some extremely questionable clock management from Sean McVay (why are you throwing twice inside 3 minutes with a lead, Sean?), they tied it up and dominated in overtime to get the win.
That’s not the Lions I grew up knowing and loving.
But I guess I can learn to love this version, too.
49ers defeat Jets 32-19
Remember the beginning of this post?
The part where I said it’s only week 1 and we shouldn’t take too much away from this?
I’m taking stuff away from the Jets.
This isn’t a good team.
Aaron Rodgers was not putting any weight on his back foot on throws last night as he comes back from his Achilles injury, Nathaniel Hackett can not call a game offensively, and the Jets defense has one good player in Sauce Gardner, and the minute he missed some time last night, the Niners absolutely tore them apart.
They aren’t good.
