Week 1 of the NFL season has come and gone. We can walk away feeling confident about certain things like the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs once again looking like contenders in the AFC, and that the Miami Dolphins may end up being one of the worst teams in the league this year. However, this article will focus on the things that you might think are definitely true, but may just turn out to be a stretch of the imagination. Here are five NFL Week 1 overreactions.
NFL Week 1 Overreactions
Lamar Jackson Is an MVP Candidate
Lamar Jackson’s name generated a lot of buzz in the off-season as a potential sleeper for fantasy football purposes. After a 324-yard and five touchdown performance against the Dolphins, people are now putting him in the MVP race.
"NOT BAD FOR A RUNNING BACK." – @lj_era8
😂😱🤣 pic.twitter.com/GjdOeR5xWa
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2019
While this performance no doubt justifies him as a quarterback (and not a running back like he joked in his post-game press conference), we must remember that this came against the lowly Dolphins – a team clearly in the midst of a rebuild with no business playing on an NFL field.
In the meantime, the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff stated throughout off-season that this would be a run-first team. Once the Ravens get into the heart of their schedule, they will find the sledding much tougher than it was against Miami. Jackson will have to add some flash with his legs, but don’t expect any repeat performances of his five-touchdown game in Miami.
Keep an eye out for my article next week about Jackson’s domination of an exploitable Arizona Cardinals defense.
It’s Time to Panic Over the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers went into Foxboro and got walloped by the Patriots 33-3. Ben Roethlisberger looked disinterested, the offense couldn’t generate any chunk plays, and the defense didn’t have an answer for New England’s offense (or defense, for that matter).
Last time I checked, the Patriots were one of the overwhelming favorites to get back to the Super Bowl. Not to mention, Tom Brady is still their quarterback.
There was always going to be an adjustment period without Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, but FanDuel still has the Steelers odds to win the division at +170, tied for the best odds with the Ravens. If Vegas is still believing in the Steelers potential, so am I.
The Houston Texans Offensive Line Will Be Their Downfall
The Houston Texans know that to reach the highest success, they need quarterback Deshaun Watson upright and healthy. The way that they played on Monday night will not go a long way to keeping him upright and healthy.
Watson was sacked six times and was pressured on seemingly every dropback. Through all of this, the Texans rushed for 180 total yards. Houston was 37 seconds away from going to the Superdome and beating the NFC-favorite.
WELCOME, @KSTiLLS!#HOUvsNO pic.twitter.com/YW1265AMqz
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 10, 2019
Yes, their offensive line can stand to do a better job of protecting Watson. However, if the Texans offense continues to gel show as much balance as they showed on Monday, this is a team that can contend with the Patriots and Chiefs for the conference title.
The Oakland Raiders Will Be Just Fine Without Antonio Brown
The Oakland Raiders scored an impressive victory on Monday night against the Denver Broncos, looking dominant throughout. You could tell this game meant a lot to Jon Gruden as he high-fived fans from the “Black Hole” as he walked off the field.
Oakland’s offensive line did a tremendous job of protecting Derek Carr, as he wasn’t as much touched let alone sacked once the entire game.
While the Raiders are free of the distractions that come with a receiver like Antonio Brown, there is no denying he would have made their offense more explosive. This was a nice win, but I’m not ready to call the Raiders playoff contenders by any means.
The Chicago Bears Should Start Thinking About Moving on From Mitchell Trubisky
After a 12-4 season last year that saw them become kings of the NFC North, Mitchell Trubisky was the toast of Chicago. If not for a Cody Parkey “double-doink” in the playoffs, there’s no telling how far the Chicago Bears could’ve gone last year.
DOUBLE DOINK!#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/F4bJ4ANUuq
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 7, 2019
Now, one bad performance on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers has Bear country panicking. Though Trubisky looked erratic and inaccurate, there’s no need for such panic. Matt Nagy expressed regret for not playing his starters more in the preseason. Fans should have expected some early rust from the offense.
Even then, it’s not likely that the Bears want to see Trubisky throwing 45 times compared to 15 runs. This offense needs more balance, which will help Trubisky’s performance. He has a breakout wide receiver waiting in Allen Robinson. This week, Trubisky and the Bears face a familiar face in old defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The Broncos new head coach knows Trubisky’s strengths and weaknesses inside and out. So if they can win that game, Trubisky’s Bears can silence the critics for at least a little longer.
