NFL Week 1 Takeaways: Overreactions Are Better Than No Reactions

Week 1 is a time for measured, rational analysis. Unfortunately, that sounds boring. No one wants to read a post saying, "Well, it was only one week. Check in two months from now." I would rather draw some conclusions from the sample size we have, even if it is very small.

I had four to six screen slots devoted to the Sunday afternoon games at any given time (I occasionally wasted a full laptop screen watching Ben Shelton get taken apart by Zverev) and still managed to miss most of a team scoring 59 points. So this is not a comprehensive breakdown of everything that happened. These are the teams that stood out to me, with varying degrees of actual viewing behind the opinions.

The Giants looked strong (literally)

The Giants straight up bullied the Cowboys on Sunday night. That is really the takeaway.

The 28-20 final score makes the game sound more competitive than it felt. New York controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes, moved it consistently, and made Dallas spend most of the night trying to get its defense off the field. The Giants looked like they could keep doing what they wanted, and the Cowboys looked incapable of stopping it. So much for the Cowboys' much-improved defense.

I was impressed with both the players and the coaching for the Giants. Dart looked comfortable, Skattebo gave them a physical presence on the ground, and the offense looked like it had a clear idea of how to attack Dallas.

Nabers did not look fully healthy to me, which is something to watch. Health is still my biggest concern with this team. But the version of the Giants we saw Sunday night looked very good.

And I thought they dominated despite the officiating. Several pass interference calls involving CeeDee Lamb, a hold I could not find, and a missed facemask had me wondering whether Dallas needed any more assistance. Even Tirico and Collinsworth disagreed with the officials at times. Those are my complaints as a Jets fan AND as a Cowboys bettor. I can only imagine what Giants fans were saying.

One game is not enough to declare the Giants contenders. It is enough for me to take them seriously.

Bang Bang Niner Gang?

I listened to the first half of 49ers-Rams and watched the second. Even through the audio, it sounded like San Francisco was dominating. Watching the second half did not change that impression.

The 49ers beat the Rams 27-7. This was one of the NFC’s supposed heavyweights, and San Francisco made the matchup look fairly routine. Purdy threw three touchdowns, the defense held Los Angeles to seven points, and a 99-yard touchdown drive helped finish the job.

The 49ers also did me a personal favor by putting the game away early enough for me to get some sleep. I had to be up at 6:15 a.m. the next morning. A competitive fourth quarter would have been deeply inconsiderate.

Super Bowl favorites? Maybe that is getting ahead of myself. But if I am going to overreact to a Week 1 performance, dominating the Rams is a pretty good place to start. San Francisco looked like a team that belongs near the top of the NFC.

The Jets don’t suck

I already devoted an entire post to this development.

The Jets handled a bad Titans team, controlled the game, and looked competent doing it. I understand that beating Tennessee is not a particularly high bar. I have watched the Jets trip over lower ones.

I will take it.

The Chiefs are back

Betting against the Chiefs is not fun. Betting on Bo Nix is even less fun. I will never do both at the same time again.

The Chiefs routed the Broncos 31-10 in Kansas City on Monday night. Similar to what the Giants did against the Cowboys, the Chiefs ran the ball down Denver's throat. The addition of Ken Walker and his elusiveness looks like it could be the move of the offseason.

His 60-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 was the play that stood out. The Chiefs needed one yard from their own 40, and Walker took it to the house to turn a 14-7 lead into 21-7. He finished with 173 rushing yards. That will work.

Denver looked discombobulated. To me, that looked partially like growing pains with a new offensive play-caller and partially like Bo Nix being Bo Nix.

I think it's safe to say the Chiefs are back.

A tip of the cap to Chicago and Jacksonville

I need to be honest about the Bears: I barely watched them.

They were not on my six screens for the first half. By the time I realized what was happening and swapped out the blowout in Indianapolis, Chicago was already running away with it.

But the numbers are undeniably impressive. Fifty-nine points, 552 yards, and 291 rushing yards. Carolina’s defense deserves some blame, obviously, but scoring 59 points in an NFL game still gets my attention.

I am interested to see whether Chicago can follow that up against a tougher Vikings defense. That game should tell us more about how excited to get.

Jacksonville also gets a tip of the cap for blowing out Cleveland 34-10 and embarrassing Deshaun Watson in the process. Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdowns without an interception. A productive day for the Jaguars and an enjoyable result for the rest of us.

A few teams looked really bad

I am comfortable writing off the Browns and Titans.

Cleveland was down 34-3 before a late touchdown made the score slightly less embarrassing. Tennessee barely moved the ball outside its opening drive and a meaningless late possession against the Jets. Neither gave me much reason to believe this season will be enjoyable for its fans.

Miami also looked bad, losing 27-13 to a Raiders team coming off two rough seasons. I am not ready to bury the Dolphins after one game, but that was an ugly way to start.

And Carolina’s defense deserves its own mention. The Panthers scored 37 points and lost by 22. What exactly is an offense supposed to do with that?

I am not writing off the entire team. Bryce Young and the offense at least gave Panthers fans something to feel good about. But allowing 59 points is a pretty urgent problem.

Final words

The Giants looked like they could impose their will. The 49ers looked like a serious contender. The Bears gave me a reason to rearrange my screens next week.

Some of this will probably look foolish soon. That is fine. We spent months waiting for football, and now we actually have games to react to.

And for once, I get to do it with the Jets at 1-0.