The NFL season did not disappoint, as Week 1 had a bit of everything. We had some electric finishes. Some excellent quarterback play, and some disappointments. But, the NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint, especially in a 17 game season. Nothing is concrete after only one week of football, but it’s fair to make some judgments.
Here are my immediate reactions from Week 1:
The Titans May Be a Little Overrated
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The Tennessee Titans were one team that many had pegged to be a legitimate candidate to come out of the AFC. The addition of Julio Jones was said to take the offense to a new level, and the addition of Bud Dupree was said to improve the team’s subpar defense. But, after a week of football, the offense and the defense both faltered. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had his way with the Titans defense, completing 21 of 32 passes for 289 yards, with 4 touchdown passes. DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk were each able to haul in 2 touchdown passes. The other side of the ball was even worse for the Titans. Ryan Tannehill was sacked 6 times, Derrick Henry was held to under 60 rushing yards, and Julio Jones only had 3 receptions. The 38-13 home defeat already has me questioning this Titans team. And the more I think about it, should we have saw this coming?
Derrick Henry is approaching 28 years old, and has led the NFL in carries the last two seasons. Everyone knows how short a running back’s career is, and it seems to be getting shorter and shorter. Julio Jones is coming off an injury plagued season in which he put together one of the worst season’s of his career. The Titans lost offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. Smith often gets a large amount of credit for the success of the Titans offense over the last two seasons. All of this could ultimately limit the Titans in 2021. Sure, it’s only one game, but this game has me thinking that this Titans team was just simply overrated from the start.
Jalen Hurts Took Advantage of His First Real Opportunity
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Jalen Hurts went 1-3 in his 4 starts last season. But, I didn’t consider those starts to be much of an indication on what he could be at the NFL level. Last season was a mess for the Eagles, and Doug Pederson was an abomination the last half of the season. The amount of disfunction in Philadelphia last season can’t be overstated. But, during his first start of the 2021 season, Jalen Hurts turned some heads.
Hurts was 27 of 35, throwing for 264 yards, and 3 touchdowns. He propelled the Eagles to a 32-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons. To go with all of that, Hurts racked up over 60 yards on the ground. He was accurate, and spread the ball out across the Eagles skill-position players. The Falcons defense isn’t anything to write home about, but Hurts still deserves all the credit in the world for his Week 1 performance. If last week’s showing was any indication on how Hurts’ 2021 season will go, the Eagles will feel really good about the direction of the franchise.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Should Feel Uneasy
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The biggest surprise of Week 1 in the NFL was how bad the Green Bay Packers looked. The Packers got thumped by Jameis Winston and the New Orleans Saints, by a score of 38-3. The Packers defense got completely carved up by Winston, as he tossed 5 touchdown passes, completing 70% of his passes. On the other side, Aaron Rodgers was a mere 15 of 28 for 133 yards, and 2 interceptions. This loss was the worst loss of the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay.
The season is far from over, but there should be some concern about the Packers going forward. This wasn’t a typical offseason for the Packers. Most of it was centered around Aaron Rodgers’ future. His inability to commit to the team until training camp wasn’t just business as usual for the team. It’s fair to question how committed Rodgers really is to the 2021 season. After the game Rodgers displayed a calm and collective demeaner. He’s Aaron Rodgers he can flip a switch, but the rest of the team? There are a lot of questions about the team’s offensive line, and their defense as a whole. The Packers have the luxury of facing the Lions on Monday Night Football this week, so they could quickly get back in the right direction. But, let’s not pretend that a loss of this magnitude with the offseason they had is just business as usual.
Is Jameis Winston Resurrecting his Career with the Saints?
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Coming into the season, I thought the Saints were going to take a step back. I felt that Winston wouldn’t be good enough, and the Saints would struggle offensively. But, after Week 1, Winston looked very comfortable in Sean Payton’s offense, and looked like a whole new quarterback in his victory over the Packers.
But, I’m slowing the brakes on the resurrection of Winston’s career. I felt that his great performance had more to do with the Packers then the Saints. The Packers looked out of sorts, and unprepared. If Winston can string some more games like that, then I’ll buy into him. But, the reality is Payton limited Winston, only having him drop back to throw 20 times. Let’s see how Winston responds to adversity, and responds when the opposition shuts down the run game. Let’s hold off on the Jameis Winston MVP talks, and let us not forget that Winston has thrown 44 interceptions in his last 26 starts.
The Jaguars are in for a Long Season
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I tried to tell people that this season would be ugly for Urban Meyer and the Jaguars. And, their failure was on display in Week 1. The Jaguars didn’t do anything well in their debut against the Houston Texans. The Jaguars fell to the Texans by a score of 37-21. Tyrod Taylor dotted up the Jacksonville defense, completing 21 of 33 passes for 291 yards. As a team, the Texans ran for 160 yards, gashing the Jaguars defense. Jacksonville’s offense preformed poorly. Trevor Lawrence was under pressure all game long, throwing 3 interceptions. DJ Chark Jr. was targeted 12 times, but was only able to come down with 3 receptions.
The Texans entered the season as the supposed laughing stock of the league. But, the Texans simply punched the Jaguars in the mouth by out-coaching them, and out-playing them across the board. Urban Meyer and the Jaguars are in for long season, and this is only the beginning. I mean losing to the Houston Texans is simply inexcusable. Urban Meyer doesn’t have what it takes to cut it in the NFL. We all saw how the offseason played out, the preseason, and I expect the regular season to follow suit.
The Chiefs are Still the Favorites in the AFC
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The Browns had every opportunity to beat the Chiefs in their Week 1 battle, and they just couldn’t hang on. The Browns held a 22-10 lead going into halftime, but they could not hold off the Chiefs in the second-half. Patrick Mahomes made some unreal throws, and propelled the Chiefs to victory. Mahomes finished the game going 27-36 for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce combined for 17 receptions for 273 yards and 3 touchdowns.
This game surely will go down as a missed opportunity for the Browns. Many believe that this Browns team is good enough to dethrone the Chiefs in the AFC. But, after watching the Browns melt in the second-half, this conference still belongs to the Chiefs by a large margin. If the Chiefs can stay healthy, I can’t see anyone beating them on route to their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
Josh Allen Looked A Lot Like the 2019 Josh Allen
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Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills were expected to be another team that could legitimately compete with the Chiefs in the AFC. But, their home loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers warrants some concern. The Steelers defense was all over Josh Allen and the Bills offense. The Bills were held to 16 points, which going back to last season would have been tied for their lowest point total.
Josh Allen was sacked 3 times, only completing 30 of 51 passes. The Steelers outscored the Bills 17-0 in the fourth quarter, and Allen and the Bills offense was never able to answer. Last season Josh Allen would have propelled the Bills to victory with one of the best passing-attacks in the NFL. But, this season, Allen looked a lot like he did in 2019. Inaccurate at times, and taking sacks. I wrote about the possibility of Josh Allen taking a step back this season, and after Week 1, I don’t think that take is that far off.