Whether winning, losing or (ahem) tying, the results of the first week of the NFL season throw everyone into a panic. Bad results are especially panic-inducing, of course, but wins can have fans envisioning the playoffs or better. With that in mind, real quick hit analysis on whether the panic button should be mashed immediately… or if you should be planning for a parade.
BILLS 31, RAMS 10
BUFFALO: Plan the parade? Maybe. Tough to that far for or a championship-starved city like Buffalo, but this team looks great on paper and delivered on Thursday, with an evisceration of the defending champion Rams. Von Miller and the defensive front for the Bills was in the Rams backfield all night and Stefon Diggs caused a lot of trouble for the Rams secondary. Then there was this tone-setting stiff arm by Josh Allen. The Bills were great in Week 1 and are a very real Super Bowl contender.
RAMS: Panic time? Not yet. They ran into a very motivated buzzsaw in the Bills. Another team with Super Bowl aspirations, they won’t be very happy with how they were handled in their home stadium, but this loss will be something they’ll need to learn from. The Atlanta Falcons visit them this week and it could get ugly.
STEELERS 23, BENGALS 20
PITTSBURGH: What you see is what you get in Pittsburgh. The defense kept them in the game and getting anything out of the offense will be a challenge. Even moreso now, as RB Najee Harris suffered a high ankle sprain late in the game. On defense, the injury for TJ Watt will be damaging, though the performance of Minkah Fitzpatrick (doing his best Troy Polamalu impression in Week 1) and LB Alex Highsmith give them hope they can overcome the injuries.
CINCINNATI: Panic time? No. The Bengals did everything they could to lose this game – five turnovers by Joe Burrow, including a pick-6 by Fitzpatrick, 7 sacks against, special teams gaffes – but they still had two chances to win the game in spite of that. Cincinnati goes to Dallas, a team that (as we’ll discover later) is an 0-1 team that is in much more of a bind.
COLTS 20, TEXANS 20
This tie was more like a loss to the Colts and a win to the Texans (especially given their decision to punt with 26 seconds left in OT).
INDIANAPOLIS: Panic? This game shouldn’t really change anyone’s perception of the Colts. They are still a good team that is very much dependent on Jonathan Taylor to succeed. Taylor did succeed here, turning 31 carries into 161 rushing yards and a TD. If you had them slotted in to win 10 games and challenge for a playoff spot, you won’t need to change your opinions.
HOUSTON: The Texans played their division rivals tough, but ultimately are a rebuilding team that was more than happy to take a home tie. That should be enough to tell you about their chances this season.
EAGLES 38, LIONS 35
PHILADELPHIA: A three point win over the Lions is not reason to start planning any parades. The offense with new WR A.J. Brown and their two-pronged rushing attack with Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders looks really good. The Lions defense though is very bad, so managing expectations is important here – especially when the Lions are able to put up 35 points on your defense. The Eagles schedule is pretty favourable, and the playoffs are definitely in their sights.
DETROIT: The offense looked good, especially D’Andre Swift, who ran for 144 rushing yards and a TD. The defense was thought to be pretty thin and they confirmed it here, giving up 38 points to Philadelphia. This team could win 6-7 games on the strength of its offense if things go their way, but anything more than that would be surprising.
SAINTS 27, FALCONS 26
NEW ORLEANS: After falling behind by 16 points in the fourth quarter, the Saints were able to fight back and win the game on a 51 yard field goal by Wil Lutz. New Orleans will be happy with the performance of new WR Jarvis Landry (7 rec, 114 yds) , returning WR Michael Thomas (5-57-2 TDs), and Taysom Hill, who ran for a 81 yards and a TD. On defense, the Falcons run game caused them problems, with Cordarrelle Patterson and Marcus Mariota combining for 192 yards on the ground. A 26-10 loss to Atlanta would’ve caused some panic, so the come-from-behind win helped Saints fans a lot.
ATLANTA: Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is not a good thing. Atlanta was expected to be among the worst teams in the league, so this loss does nothing to change perceptions.
DOLPHINS 20, PATRIOTS 7
NEW ENGLAND: Panic time is here in New England. The offense looked awful, gaining just 271 total yards and turning the ball over three times, including a sack-fumble of Mac Jones that was recovered by Melvin Ingram for a touchdown. Like last year, the defense should keep them in games but their offense needs to improve considerably if they want to make the playoffs.
MIAMI: The Dolphins can be buoyed by the performance of the Miami passing game. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 270 yards and a TD and appeared to have a good rapport with Tyreek Hill (8-94-0). Mike McDaniel’s game plan played to Miami’s strengths – short passes to Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and a gutsy call to go for it on fourth-and-7 led to the Dolphins lone TD on offense and resulted in a colourful comment from Hill after the game.
RAVENS 24, JETS 9
BALTIMORE: A workmanlike Week 1 victory for the Ravens which should neither inspire extreme confidence or cause undue concern.
JETS: If you run 62 pass plays for 37-year-old QB Joe Flacco, you can’t be surprised by a result like this.
COMMANDERS 28, JAGUARS 22
JACKSONVILLE: There is a lot of work left to do in Jacksonville. They were able to mount a comeback in the second half from 11 points down, but an inconsistent outing from Trevor Lawrence didn’t do much to answer any questions about how he’ll improve on a poor rookie season. If you thought they’d win more than four games this season, feel free to start panicking.
WASHINGTON: The Commanders needed a late touchdown drive to beat the moribund Jaguars at home. Carson Wentz showed a little of everything – good counting states (27/41, 313, 4 TD, 2 INT) and some bad decision making on two fourth quarter INTs. This will be a 6-8 win team.
BEARS 19, NINERS 10
I’m taking everything I saw in this game with a grain of salt. How is anyone going to have definitive takes after watching these two teams play a game on a giant Slip N Slide? Second year QBs Trey Lance and Justin Fields both struggled, but anybody would. The best part of this game was when the Bears offense all slid on the field after the final kneel down at the end of the game.
BROWNS 26, PANTHERS 24
CLEVELAND: A good win on the road with their backup QB in a game where the other team had a lot of motivation to beat them. Not only that, but Cade York has a big leg and drilled a clutch 58 yard FG with 8 seconds left to secure the win. If they can be in the 5-6 win range when Deshaun Watson comes back, this is a playoff team, and wins like this one help.
CAROLINA: The defense is strong but the offense is very inconsistent. The Panthers had four scoring drives, but on their other 7 drives, they had 15 combined yards. The knock on Baker Mayfield isn’t that he’s a bad quarterback, but he is not an upper echelon player that will make a bad offense good or a good offense great. The defense will win some games for them this year, but they don’t look like a playoff team. Matt Rhule’s seat got a little bit hotter with this loss.
VIKINGS 23, PACKERS 7
GREEN BAY: This was a really bad first week for Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers was uncharacteristically bad against an NFC North opponent, turning the ball over twice and putting up a 22/34, 195 yard, 0 TD line before Jordan Love took over in the fourth quarter. As mentioned leading up to the season, the Packers receiving corps is very inexperienced, and there may be growing pains, especially early. The performance of the defense may have been even more troubling, especially as Justin Jefferson was left wide open on two big receptions, on his way to 184 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. There are parts of this loss that should be concerning, but the defense should be better and likely will be. Green Bay has been here before and usually rights the ship.
MINNESOTA: This was a great opening week for Minnesota. Not only did they beat their division rival/nemesis, but all phases of the game looked pretty good. They played like a playoff team in Week 1, though repeat performances are needed before boosting them any higher than a 9-10 win team.
GIANTS 21, TITANS 20
GIANTS: The Giants won the game on a bold two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. Brian Daboll seemed to have a good gameplan for this game, relying on Saquon Barkley and the run game to lead the offense with a light sprinkling of passing from QB Daniel Jones. If the Giants have any aspirations of playoff football, Barkley must remain healthy and play like he did in Week 1.
TENNESSEE: The Titans should’ve won this game. The Giants mounted a valiant comeback from 13 points down, but a muffed punt deep in Titans territory and a missed 47 yard field goal by Randy Bullock with no time left cemented the loss for Tennessee. Run defense is something to watch for here, as the Giants had 238 yards rushing on 7.4 yards per carry but Tennessee is still likely the best team in the AFC South.
CHARGERS 24, RAIDERS 19
LAS VEGAS: Aside from Davante Adams (10-141-1), the Raiders offense was terrible, with Derek Carr throwing three interceptions and Las Vegas being fortunate in not losing any of their three fumbles. Even still, they had a chance to win on the last possession of the game, before turning the ball over on downs. CHARGERS: The Chargers should’ve really put this game away, as Justin Herbert had a very good and efficient game (26/34, 279 yards, 3 TD) and the defense grabbed three interceptions off Carr. Their run game is something to watch though, as they went for 76 yards on just 2.5 yards per carry. Running has been reduced in importance in some NFL offenses (Chargers included), but a lack of a strong run game may hurt them late in games in the future. Even still, this team has the talent to win 11-12 games and be in the hunt of a ridiculously strong division and conference.
CHIEFS 44, CARDINALS 21
KANSAS CITY: Tyreek Who? Patrick Mahomes had a near-perfect game, with a 30/39, 360 yard line with FIVE touchdown passes. Just as impressive was the performance of the defense, which held the Cardinals to 122 yards in the first three quarters, before the Cardinals were able to mount two TD drives in garbage time. The Chiefs are a contender and this game was to remind anyone who might’ve felt otherwise.
ARIZONA: After the game, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury bemoaned the team’s lack of effort in practice leading up to the game. That’s disconcerting, especially after news started surfacing about a film study requirement in Murray’s monster contract extension and his reluctance to put in extra work. Being this unprepared for a team of Kansas City’s calibre is asking for a beat down. Both the Cardinals and Packers appeared to be unprepared for Week 1, which is far from good but also correctible. It’ll be up to both teams to put in the necessary work to put in the work and bounce back in Week 2.
BUCCANEERS 19, COWBOYS 3
TAMPA BAY: Much attention was paid to just how bad the Cowboys were in this game that the Buccaneers got little to no scrutiny. The defense was strong, getting past a poor Cowboys offensive line to sack the Cowboys QBs four times, get 7 tackles for losses, and deflect six passes. The Bucs also got a big game from Leonard Fournette (21-127-0), though Tom Brady had a game that was just ok (18/27, 212, TD, INT). The Bucs didn’t have to do much but their red zone efficiency is an area that needs improvement. The Bucs looked like a playoff team not playing at their best.
DALLAS: RED ALERT!!! Before Dak Prescott went down with a thumb injury that will cost him 6-8 weeks, the Cowboys offense looked disjointed. Beyond CeeDee Lamb and injured Michael Gallup, the wide receiver options are sparse in Dallas and this game exposed that. Now that Prescott will miss up to two months, the panic button has been pressed. When Dak suffered the broken and dislocated ankle in 2020, they lost 6 of their next 7 games before Andy Dalton was signed and nearly saved their season. The NFC East is better this year (maybe not by much but couldn’t be worse). The defense did just enough to hold Tampa Bay to 19 points, but they will be asked to do much more than that this season. It’s not unfair to predict that this team that was expected to contend for the NFC East title could drop to a 5-6 win team.
SEAHAWKS 17, BRONCOS 16
DENVER: This had to be a disappointing loss, but not a cause for panic. In a division as good as the AFC West and a conference as good as the AFC, all games are meaningful, and the decision to try a 64 yard field goal at the end of the game was met with some… bemusement… by a couple Super Bowl winning Broncos. First time head coach Nathaniel Hackett made the much-criticized call to kick a field goal that was if not outside, then at the very edge of Brandon McManus’s range. Before that, though, two lost fumbles at the Seattle 1-yard line allowed the result to be in question at the end. The Broncos played well enough to win this game but ultimately lost it. The Broncos are still contenders to win the AFC West but losing this winnable game hurts.
SEATTLE: In a game that meant a lot to the team and to the 12’s in Seattle, the Seahawks were able to pull off the improbable upset. Geno Smith played adequately as a game-manager QB. He didn’t turn the ball over and was effective in his short and intermediate passes, while the defense bent, but didn’t break against the strong Broncos attack. That said, it still looks like wins will be hard to come by in Seattle this season. Not just in terms of talent, but they also have to play in the tough NFC West and also face the insanely difficult AFC West this season. A win over Russell Wilson may be all they need to be happy this season… and hopefully that’s true, as they still have the outlook of a 3-5 win team.