What an exciting Week 1 the NFL has provided, with a ton of games going into the final stages and many feats achieved in the first week of the regular season. Seven games were tied or overtaken in the final two minutes of the game and one in the afternoon state, the third Week 1 stalemate since overtime in 1974 (three of which have occurred in the past five seasons) .
The NFC East was undefeated on Sunday afternoon, followed by the Cowboys’ loss in the night game and the NFC West without a win. AFC South has two teams tied for first place, no wins or losses, but results. The New York Giants are over .500 for the first time since the 2016 season, and the Chicago Bears are tied for first in the NFC North.
The first week of the NFL season has a lot of storylines — and a lot of overreaction. These are the best reactions to each game in the first week of the year, and whether those storylines are overreacting or realistic.
Dak Prescott’s injury destroyed their NFC East repeat
Overreaction or REALITY: REALITY
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced that Dak Prescott ended the fourth quarter Sunday night In the loss to the Pirates, his thrower will undergo surgery and miss several weeks. Dallas’ offense was built around Prescott, who has been sidelined for a while now. With the Bengals in Week 5, the Rams in Week 5, and the Eagles in Week 6 — the last two are on the road, Dallas’ schedule doesn’t get any easier.
The Cowboys have two quarterbacks to replace Prescott on the practice team this week. They’ve replaced three offensive linebackers and two wide receivers, and they had a sluggish offense with just three points on Sunday night — the fewest in a season opener since 1989.
Cowboys need Prescott healthy to win NFC East. The division’s best quarterback has been out for weeks, setting the stage for another new winner in the division.
Cowboys didn’t make the playoffs with this offense
Overreacted or realistic : REALITY
Week 1 was a disaster for the Cowboys. Dallas trailed last season by three offensive linebackers and two of its top four wide receivers, leaving Dak Prescott targeting CeeDee Lamb and Dalton Schultz with pressure all night.
Lamb lost his first game as a No. 1 receiver, was targeted 11 times and only had two catches. Prescott made 14 of 29 shots for 134 yards and was intercepted, and Dallas scored 3 points. The Cowboys went 3-for-15 in Game 3 with just 71 rushing yards on offense looking disorganized and lost. In his offense — either in the draft or by giving his star players so much money that the Cowboys don’t have enough salary cap room to improve in some areas. The Cowboys also had 10 penalties for 73 yards.
Too many holes to fix. Prescott — most importantly — will miss a lot of time, so 2022 could be a big one in Dallas.
Carson Wentz is the best commander QB since Kirk Cousins ​​
Overreaction or Reality: Reality
Carson Wentz makes an interesting debut for the commanders, throwing for 313 yards and 4 touchdowns, leading Washington came back in the fourth quarter against the Jaguars. He also had two interceptions, including a poor pitch on Travon Walker that allowed the Jaguars to pass the ball to Washington 11 early in the fourth quarter. one behind.
Wentz corrected himself and threw a Terry McLaughlin for 49 yards and a 24 for Jahan Dawson to give Washington the win. He is the first quarterback to throw four touchdowns for the commanders in a season opener since Billy Kilmer in 1975, and the first quarterback since Kirk Cousins ​​in 2015. Cousins ​​is the first commanding quarterback to throw four touchdowns in a game.
Commander has had 10 players start a game since Cousins ​​left in 2017 because he didn’t have a great QB game. The proof is in the pudding Wentz may be Washington’s answer.
49ers should turn to Jimmy Garoppolo if Trey Lance continues to struggle
Overreaction or reality : Overreaction
Trey Lance underperformed in 49ers loss to Bears, completing 28 for 161 yards in 19-10 setback 13 of the passes. He did have 13 carries for 54 yards, but a 50.3 passer rating and two runs on 11 possessions under Kyle Shanahan are very much like the 49ers. Lance has only surpassed the 60 percent completion rate once in his three games.
San Francisco shouldn’t rush to Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers played in oddly rainy conditions in Chicago, which could affect any offense, and took 12 free throws for 99 yards in the loss. Let’s take a look at Lance before he gets off the bench, though Shanahan is 8-29 when Garoppolo isn’t his starting quarterback.
And a triple crown winner – that’s Justin Jefferson
Overreaction or Reality : Overreacting
What else is there to say about Justin Jefferson’s dominance. Jefferson had nine catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings’ win over the Packers, and six catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. After the first 30 minutes of his own game, Jefferson had more receiving yards in Week 1 than any player in the league.
Cooper Kupp will have a lot to say about this with the data he provides, but Jefferson can pull off the feat. After all, Jefferson had 3,128 receiving yards — more than he had in his first two seasons in the league (the most in the NFL).
Jefferson has as many 150-yard games as Hall of Famer Chris Carter in a Vikings uniform — and he’s only played in 34 career games. A huge 2022 season could be on the way, with a spot on the greatest wide receiver in history.
AJ Brown is Hawks’ best wide receiver since Terrell Owens
Overreacting or REALITY: REALITY
AJ Brown carves out Lions’ second spot in Eagles win over Lions with 10 catches 155 yards. Not only is Brown the second-highest receiving yardage leader in Week 1 Sunday games, his 155 receiving yards is the most for any Hawks non-rookie debutant in franchise history.
Brown is the 10th Hawks player since 1975 to have 10 catches and 150 yards in a game — and the first in franchise history to have 10th in a game Players who accomplished this feat weeks ago. He finished with a 128-yard catch in the first half, and Brown threw five incomplete pitches to start the game, putting Jalen on track with an injury.
The Eagles took the ball from Devonta Smith, Quez Watkins and Zach Pascal — but had 38 points and 455 yards in the win. It’s the Terrell Owens-esque influence Brown provided in Week 1. Brown is a gifted player.
Travis Kelcher will make chiefs forget Tyreke Hill
reaction Excessive or Real: Real
Travis Kelce is still the best tight end in football, shows how he can complement him without Tyreek Hill on the perimeter or in the open vacancies can still be opened. He had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs’ game against the Cardinals, his 30th 100-yard game of his future Hall of Fame career.
Kelce found ways to open up the middle, making gaps for multiple players throughout the game. Patrick Mahomes had plenty of wide receivers throughout the day, finding his tight end 10 times for 132 yards and 2 points.
Four different Chiefs players received touchdown passes and nine players received the pass. Without Hill, the Chiefs are deeper, a byproduct of allocating extra money they could have paid to one of the best players in franchise history.
Is Saquon Barkley a top 5 running back
Overreaction or Reality : Overreacting
A healthy Saquon Barkley in Brian Dabore’s offense is something to watch. The running back ranks last in the NFL in yards per carry over the past two seasons (with at least 150 carries), finishing with 164 in the Giants’ 21-20 win over the Titans rushing yards and a touchdown and 194 yards scrimmage.
Barkley led the NFL charge on Sunday afternoon, second in the league with 9.1 yards per carry. He also led the NFL in yards from scrims, showing signs of a player who went 2,000 yards from scrims and won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018.
When Barkley is healthy, he’s definitely a top player — five runs back to the league. He has to prove he can stay on the court.
Joe Burrow won’t overreact or be realistic about this Bengals offensive line going all season
: REALITY
New offensive line, same problem for Joe Burrow — who was slapped in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Steelers fired seven times. Counting the Super Bowl, Burrow has been fired 14 times over the past two games (by far the most in the NFL). Burrow was fired 70 times last season and 84 times in his last 21 games — an average of four per game.
The sack affected Burrow, who had four interceptions and a losing turnover (four of those giveaways came in the first half). It was the secret to Burrow’s second major injury in three seasons — and ended any hopes the Bengals had in the Super Bowl.
Cincinnati needs to correct its offensive line. Burrow has too much talent to take such a big hit.
Khalil Mack will have 15 sacks this season
Overreaction or Reality : Reality
Khalil Mack dominated the Raiders offensive line in his Chargers debut, finishing with 3 sacks and 4 sacks with Joey Bosa Second quarterback hit, it was a dominant pass. Bosa had 1.5 sacks and a forced turnover in the win, so he has to be factored in as well.
Mike hasn’t had a double-digit sack season since 2018 and a 15-sack season since 2015, but he’s never had a season like Bosa Power lined up with him on the same defensive line. Liberating Robert Quinn last year, Bosa will do the same for Mike in 2022.
Mike only needed 12 sacks in his final 16 games. With Bosa playing against the same defense, that score is easy to reach.
Cordarrelle Patterson will rush 1,000 yards
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Cordarrelle Patterson had a great start in an offense without a running back — and without a playmaker outside of Kyle Pitts and Drake London. He completed 22 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown against the Saints defense with the fewest yards per attempt.
The 31-year-old Patterson finally got the right leverage in Arthur Smith’s offense, making more than 20 carries in a game for the first time in his career. He’s a ball-handed playmaker who is averaging just 54.9 yards per game for the rest of the season.
With Patterson passing more and more, a 1,000-yard rush seems achievable.
Aaron Rodgers can use 1 wide receiver
Overreaction or reality : REAL
Davant Adams had 141 receiving yards in Raiders debut, more than any Packers wide receiver on Sunday (120) There are many. The Packers’ leading receiver was AJ Dillon (5 catches for 46 yards), and Rodgers had an interception for 195 yards.
Someone has to step up and be the No. 1 wide receiver or the Packers are going to slump in 2021. Green Bay did get eliminated in Week 1 last year, but Adams was on that roster. He’s in Vegas now.
Browns over .500 with Jacoby Brissett in QB
Overreaction or Reality : REAL
Cleveland managed to beat Carolina, but the Browns were impressive in this win. Nick Chubb had 141 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Kareem Hunt had two touchdowns (one rush, one catch). The Browns rushed for 217 yards, 5.6 yards per carry. The offense held the ball for 38 minutes.
Here’s the formula the Browns needed to win games before Deshaun Watson returned, and a defense that ended with four sacks (led by Meyer es Garrett completed two sacks) and a forced error). Running the ball and playing dominant defense is how Cleveland has won 11 straight weeks. Kevin Stefanski knows this blueprint very well.
Colts will run away with AFC South
Overreaction or Reality : REALITY
Indianapolis tied with AFC South a week later — pun intended. The Colts bounced back from a 17-point deficit to tie the Texans (who would lead the division) in the opener, which was a welcome addition considering Indianapolis was heading into an embarrassing loss heading into the fourth quarter. It was a moral victory.
Houston is still a young team, so don’t expect the Texans to be in scrimmage all year. The Jaguars are a better team with Doug Pederson, but they’ve found a way to beat themselves and are changing the team’s culture. The Titans lost at home to the Giants, an unforgivable loss, and they went 3-for-11 in Game 3 behind a defense without top two rushers.
Titans offense lacks Derrick Henry in his last regular-season game with under 100 rushing yards and no rushing touchdowns The playmaker needs to show up every week.
Indianapolis avoids a road loss in the divisional game. Despite the tie, it was a strong ending for the Colts — who are clearly the best team in this poor division.
Tyreek Hill will make Tua Tagovailoa a Pro Bowl QB
Overreaction or Reality : Overreaction
Tyreek Hill is Tua Tagovailoa’s main asset, which is evident as the Dolphins quarterback finished 33 times for 270 yards and a touchdown (104.4 passer rating) 23 times, and beat New England in convincing fashion. While Hill had an impressive debut (8 catches for 94 yards), Jaylen Waddle had 4 catches for 69 yards and a score.
Tagovailoa had no problem finding passing receivers and would complete the pitch to nine different receivers in the afternoon. He also threw 13 10-plus-yard passes as the Dolphins’ offense was more vertical than in years past.
Tagovailoa was a winning quarterback who made his debut under Mike McDaniel. There are too many good quarterbacks in the AFC to think about the Pro Bowl right now.
Lamar Jackson will throw over 35 touchdowns this year
Overreaction or Reality : REAL
The Ravens only rushed for 63 yards, the fewest in a game they’ve had Lamar Jackson starting for them. They made just 13 starts, but Jackson went 17-of-30 for 213 yards and three touchdowns for a 15-point victory. Jackson is a very good No. 1 quarterback, but looks ready to play in the pockets and can run the offense to his advantage.
Jackson was forced to use his arm to win the game even though the Ravens didn’t control the ball on the ground. He found two touchdowns by Devin Duvernay and a score by Rashod Bateman (who played Marquise Brown). That offense is setting up for Jackson’s passing touchdowns — similar to the league-leading 36 points he threw in 2019 (when he won MVP).
Baltimore’s rushing offense will be better, especially when JK Dobbins returns — which could take away some passing touchdowns. Still, Jackson has enough red zone targets and big threats to throw a lot of touchdowns on this offense.
