Week 1 is the strangest week of any NFL schedule. Every team has either high or low expectations, and that narrative changes immediately after the initial game results.
The same goes in 2024 when all the positives that happened will be magnified into being the best things ever. The hyperbole is equal and opposite with negative developments of players or teams falling flat after much anticipation for their season debuts.
One week doesn’t make for a trend, season, or career, but the sports pundits on talk shows all need something to blow up totally out of proportion for knee-jerk hot takes. Shocking, but more often than not, those tend to be misguided. Here are the best of the worst overreactions from the latest Week 1 Sunday slate.
NFL POWER RANKINGS: Cowboys, Steelers flex; Packers, Browns slide; Patriots pop up for Week 2
“Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Bo Nix? This hyped rookie class of QBs stinks!”
Williams was the only one of these three first-round starters who won his debut, thanks to the Bears’ defense and special teams doing all the scoring. Daniels’ Commanders and Nix’s Broncos were doomed by compressed passing games and struggling defenses. Williams passed for only 93 yards against the Titans. Williams and Nix averaged around 3.0 yards per pass attempt. Williams missed a lot of receivers, and Nix threw two INTS vs. the Seahawks, including a pick-six.
Nix did score a late rushing TD, while Daniels scored twice on the ground in Tampa. Overall, Daniels had the best numbers with no turnovers (184 passing yards, 88 rushing yards), but he didn’t show off his deep arm, instead settling for short dump-offs to running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. Williams, Daniels, and Nix all struggled to push the ball downfield to consistently connect with their best wide receivers.
With J.J. McCarthy (knee) on the shelf for the Vikings, Drake Maye waiting to start for the Patriots, and Michael Penix Jr. just about redshirted for his rookie season, Williams and Daniels are trying to carry the torch as the Heisman headliners. Nix’s debut was also disappointing because he played so well in the preseason in Sean Payton’s system. He made some mistakes and seemed tentative to throw downfield.
That said, they all have some special traits with their blends of arms and athleticism. All are experienced and have played through adversity before. They should continue to grow and develop well throughout the season. Williams, Daniels, and Nix also are all in favorable systems tied well to their skill sets. None of them will be busts in the NFL.
MORE: Caleb Williams stats vs. Titans | Bo Nix stats vs. Seahawks | Jayden Daniels stats vs. Buccaneers
“The Cowboys are looking like the team beat in the NFC with no more distractions and a better defense”
Dak Prescott got paid. CeeDee Lamb got paid before him. Micah Parsons will get paid after both. Parsons and the Cowboys’ defense were missing top cornerback DaRon Bland (foot) and facing a Browns team on the road with their own elite defense from a season ago.
The result was a 33-17 domination on the road, with a rather easy day at the office for Prescott with the special teams (hello Brandon Aubrey and KaVontae Tupin) doing plenty to win the game. The Cowboys found ways to spread it out better with Prescott to more than just Lamb. Dan Quinn was a difficult defensive coordinator to lose, but credit Parsons and the rest of Dallas’ defenders for settling in and responding with the same big-play intensity they had for Quinn under replacement Mike Zimmer.
The offense still needs to find more consistency and balance around Prescott behind a shaky new-look line. The defense will face greater tests against more explosive and diverse opponents. The Cowboys are in the mix trying to stay in the playoffs behind the 49ers and Lions. Their two most important games still come against the NFC East rival Eagles, who have toggled with the Cowboys in winning the division the past several seasons.
The NFC is top-heavy with other teams that have strong playoff track records. Whatever the Cowboys do means nothing unless they get into the postseason and validate it much later. They are however on the right track, for not letting their latest playoff loss linger.
MORE COWBOYS: Brandon Aubrey’s record-tying kick that wasn’t | Jake Ferguson injury update
“Jim Harbaugh has already made the Chargers a threat to take the AFC West away from the Chiefs”
Harbaugh return to the NFL looked at first tricky against the Raiders, but then the running game took over with a healthy ex-Ravens 1-2 punch of JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Justin Herbert was a little off, but playing off a much run-heavier offense, redeemed himself by throwing a game-icing TD pass late in the fourth quarter.
The 22-10 score was eye-opening and impressive, but it was done by facing a weak Raiders’ offense led by Gardner Minshew and running all over an overmatched defense for 176 yards. Herbert returned to play from his foot injury, but he wasn’t called upon to let it rip downfield much with no Raiders resistance after the first half.
The Chargers will need a lot more of Herbert and a more effective passing game to expect to push the Chiefs, but they will continue their sizzling start with the Panthers next in Week 2.
MORE: Harbaugh perfect in NFL season openers | Chargers-Raiders fight video | JK Dobbins stats vs. Raiders
“The Falcons really botched QB in the offseason by signing Kirk Cousins before drafting and benching Michael Penix Jr.”
Kirk Cousins looked unsettled in his debut for Atlanta while coming off a final season in Minnesota cut short by a torn Achilles. Cousins didn’t have time or the mobility to stretch the field with his arm as T.J. Watt and the Steelers remained relentless.
Cousins threw for only 155 yards, averaging only 5.5 yards per attempt, and also had two interceptions and lost a fumble on one of his two sacks. Some will say the Falcons shouldn’t have splurged on a 36-year-old returning from major injury, only to take a promising rookie in the first round of the draft. Others will say that they should just try to get Penix on the field to replace Cousins ASAP.
The Steelers and Watt were a tough defensive draw in that state. But so are the Eagles with scheming Vic Fangio in Week 2. Then it’s Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs in Week 3. Ouch. The slump is bound to continue before it gets a lot better for a healed and comfortable Cousins again.
It was still a worthy veteran shot to take after the whole Marcus Mariota-Desmond Ridder-Taylor Heinicke mess. Should Cousins keep looking off, they can also make the tough decision to turn to Penix early. Here’s to Cousins stabilizing in a good system full of great weapons soon, while Penix keeps on absorbing on the sidelines.
IYER: Steelers Week 2 QB decision should be an easy one
“Joe Burrow and the Bengals still look like they have a football hangover from that Super Bowl loss”
Burrow is 1-4 in NFL openers. The team tends to start slowly under coach Zac Taylor, Week 1 and Week 2 combined. They were in a good place for taking down the Patriots big-time offensively and defensively with Burrow back healthy for a home game.
However, they didn’t recover from the late-week dramatic distractions of No. 2 wide receiver Tee Higgins, unsigned in 2025, suddenly not playing and top wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase taking his decision to play until pregame warmups. Burrow was stuck trying to find chemistry with lesser receivers and the new-look running game sputtered while Joe Mixon was crushing it for the Texans.
The Patriots caught the Bengals by surprise with more inspired, together play. They worked on exposing both offensive and defensive front and Burrow is used to digging them out of holes. He can do that right away vs. the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, against whom he is 3-1 in the regular season.
MORE: Bengals loss knocks out over a third of entries in NFL survivor pools
“Like Burrow, Trevor Lawrence keeps showing he’s another overrated No. 1 overall pick”
Burrow had another rough start to another season, while Lawrence, the other No. 1 overall pick and $55 million a year man, had a rough outing in a blown-lead loss to the Dolphins at home. Lawrence joined Burrow in throwing for 160ish yards and was sacked three times while completing only 12-of-21 passes.
While Burrow was part of an offense that underachieved as a whole, Lawrence was effective throwing deep on the Dolphins when needed, hitting new field-stretching wide receivers Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. Thomas, who caught Lawrence’s lone scoring pass. The Jaguars ran the bell well to take pressure off Lawrence, both with Travis Etienne and backup Tank Bigsby.
Burrow and Lawrence are both 0-1 to start the season, but both of their teams seem to be at their best revving up in the second half instead of coming out strong. The Jags defense can lead to a rebound in Cleveland in Week 2, but the Jaguars’ offense needs to start exploding with a Bills road shootout looming in Week 3.
MORE: Top fantasy waiver wire pickups Week 2
“Josh Allen looks like he will run away with NFL MVP this season”
Allen is in a different offense from the beginning of last season. He’s lost former go-to guy Stefon Diggs to the Texans and playoff hero Davis to the Jaguars. Yet, he was unstoppable as the best QB performer of the weekend.
Allen (18-of-23, 232 yards, two TDs) didn’t miss a beat with his accurate downfield passing. He also ran for 39 yards and two TDs. He spread the ball to new weapons Keon Coleman and Mack Hollins, who scored along with Khalil Shakir. James Cook ran well in support, and Allen got the job done passing despite a quiet day from tight end Dalton Kincaid (one catch, 11 yards).
WEEK 2 FANTASY RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Allen has been a freight train with a high ceiling as a durable dual threat, much to the delight of fantasy football and Bills faithful year after year. To keep holding off Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud, and other preseason contenders, Allen needs to stay consistent and keep avoiding the turnovers that have plagued him in some seasons. After seeing the Bills’ defense become a shell of itself against the Cardinals, there will be more pressure on Allen to put up big numbers. MVP choices tend to change every week, so Allen’s goal is to build on that status with each game.