Lessons We Learned From NFL Week 1

Lessons We Learned From NFL Week 1

The NFL is unpredictable, and we’re reminded of that time and time again, especially in Week 1 of the NFL season, when things tend to be the most chaotic. This past week, there were a few games that just left you scratching your head.

Here’s what we learned from Week 1 of the NFL season:

Aaron Rodgers Looks Disinterested

This past week, the Green Bay Packers got throttled by the New Orleans Saints on a neutral site field. Sure, New Orleans isn’t a pushover, but they’re starting a new Quarterback in Jameis Winston and are without their best Wide Receiver as well to start the year.

Still, they managed to lose 38-3 in one of the worst performances of Aaron Rodgers’ career. The former MVP was just 15 of 28 for a pedestrian 133 yards (4.8 yards per attempt) and two picks. He finished with just a 13.5 QBR and a 36.8 rating.

After the game, head coach Matt LaFleur called it “absolutely embarrassing” while Aaron Rodgers brushed it off, calling it “just one game.”

Is this going to be a trend this year? It’s hard to say, but I don’t think it’s going too far to say that these “favorites” may have some self-reflecting to do, especially the QB.

Stop Betting On Daniel Jones

This might be more of a message to myself here, but it needs to be said out loud as well. Stop betting on Daniel Jones. His team was three-point dogs in their own building to a 5-11 team starting Teddy Bridgewater.

With all due respect to Teddy and the Broncos, the Giants, at least on paper, should’ve been in this game. They weren’t.

A big part of the reason, a Daniel Jones fumble. For the 40th time in 28 career games, Daniel Jones turned over the football. With the Giants approaching the red zone down by just 10 points in the 3rd quarter Jones lost the ball, and that all but iced the game.

With the state of the offensive line and the erratic play at Quarterback from Jones, they just landed themselves in the permanent fade territory.

Don’t Get In A Shootout With Pat Mahomes

It’s not fair. The Cleveland Browns held off the Chiefs for as long as possible, but it still wasn’t enough. In the first half, the Browns had 22 points and kept Kansas City to just 10. I know he didn’t throw a touchdown pass, and the game ended on an interception, but Baker Mayfield played really well yesterday too.

He had 321 yards on just 28 attempts (11.5 Y/A), and he completed 75% of his passes to go along with it. It came down to a couple of mental mistakes in the second half, and that’s all Mahomes needed.

After sleepwalking through the first Half, The Chiefs finished with 33 points, and Mahomes had three passing touchdowns and 337 passing yards. Cleveland proved that they could hang with the best, but Mahomes proved why that as long as he’s around, you just can’t beat the Chiefs in a shootout.

The Rams Hype Is Real

The Rams have been one of the teams talked about the most with the Matthew Stafford trade when looking at contenders. Now, I understand it was against Andy Dalton and the Bears, but that’s about as good of a performance as you could ask for in Week 1.

Stafford completed 20 of 26 passes for 321 yards and 3 TD’s in the 34-14 victory. For the defense, it was another game where they held opponents under 20 points, and they quieted Allen Robinson, who had just 35 receiving yards on six catches.

They covered the spread with plenty of breathing room, and they’ll look to continue their productive ways on offense against the Colts, who just had their fair share of issues trying to contain Russell Wilson in Week 1.

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