Five talking points from NFL Week One

Week one is often something of a feast for those of us who have chosen to pen our thoughts about America’s game. In fact, rather than pick out only a select few talking points, there is likely something that we could discuss from each of the 16 games, such is the intrigue after a long preseason.

There’s nothing quite like the unpredictability that the first week of football brings. It’s time to put an end to all of the offseason ifs, buts and maybes and find out who can come back like they never left, or who still needs a game or two to shake the last few cobwebs off.

There was plenty of excitement on offer as numerous games went down to the wire where, in the final two minutes of regulation, we witnessed no fewer than seven fixtures with either game-tying or go-ahead plays being made.

The Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans refused to be separated and so we got the season’s first tie. Washington Commanders new rookie wide receiver Jahan Dotson caught his first two career touchdowns in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. And the New York Giants are over .500 for the first time since 2016, with a comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans. 

Opinions of what we’ve seen so far may end up simply becoming conjecture or an overreaction heading into week two’s fixtures, however, here are some standout storylines from the opening week of the new season.

1. Steelers defense will keep them in the hunt for the AFC North

Pittsburgh turned up the heat on the Joe Burrow led Cincinnati Bengals and took charge of the game thanks to the explosive efforts of its defence, however it came with a caveat. T.J. Watt began the season in typically dominating fashion, as he sacked Burrow twice (one was wiped off after a penalty call further downfield), intercepted the quarterback (from which Najee Harris scored a touchdown) and was generally a nuisance throughout.

However, with 15 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter, Watt was forced to leave the field with an injury – reported to be a torn pectoral muscle – that could put the star man out for a significant portion of the season.

There are still reasons to be hopeful for the Steelers faithful. Linebacker Alex Highsmith recorded three of the teams six sacks on the day and Minkah Fitzpatrick continued to make an impact – opening the scoring with a pick-six on Burrow’s first pass of the day and blocking a Bengals extra point attempt that sent the game into overtime.

Without blitzing, Pittsburgh was able to pressure Burrow a total of 20 times and in the first half alone managed three interceptions and a fumble recovery; however, the offence was only able to register 10 points from these turnovers.

There will need to be more offered up by the offence in the coming weeks if the Steelers are going to keep up this intense style of play and be successful deep into the year.

2. Patriots offensive struggles are real

Whilst what usually happens in the preseason does not necessarily carry over into the opening week, New England’s frailties on offence, unfortunately for them, did exactly that. It’s not that they couldn’t move the ball, more that there was no conviction, no guile and no cohesion. 

The Patriots opening drive began promisingly and it seemed as though Jones would continue his impressive development from last year, but the drive ended when a deep shot to former Dolphin DeVante Parker was picked off which spelled the beginning of the end for this game at least.

Jones often looked uncomfortable behind his newly pieced together offensive line and the pressure brought upon him resulted in two interceptions and a strip-sack that was returned for a touchdown.

Needing to call time-outs twice during key drives and the look of bewilderment that could often be seen being worn by Jones speaks of a team that is disjointed right now, none of which bodes well for next week’s game against Pittsburgh.

3. Different receiving team, same old Mahomes

‘What will the new Chiefs offence look like without Tyreek Hill?’ This was the question everyone was asking this offseason. Well, Patrick Mahomes and Head Coach Andy Reid had the answer and it proved to simply be, as effective as it was before.

Mahomes seemed to have the answer for whatever the Arizona Cardinals threw at him (which was not a great deal) and completed 76.9% of his passes for 360 yards and five touchdowns.

The quarterback had previously stated that the team would look to spread the ball around more this year and that is exactly what they did, completing passes to nine different receivers, including the new offseason acquisitions of JuJu Smith-Schuster (6 receptions for 79 yards) and Marquez Valdez-Scantling (4/44 yards).

Kansas City will certainly come up against defences that offer more resistance than Arizona’s did on Sunday, yet it is hard to see how you stop Mahomes when he is in such prevailing form.

4. Commanders have dangerous wideouts but Wentz frustrates

The Carson Wentz roller coaster experience now finds a home in Washington with the newly named Commanders and fans were made to buckle up pretty quickly in their game against Jacksonville.

A talented group of receivers made Wentz’s stat sheet respectable in his first game with his new team, but the quarterback also showed why he’s cut such a frustrating figure of late.

Two touchdowns in the first half followed by consecutive interceptions in the second half that allowed the Jaguars to score 10 points and find their way back into a game that they should have lost much more convincingly. Wentz did return with another two touchdowns to seal the win for Washington so maybe things will be different this time around?

Washington though still have plenty that they can pin their hopes on going forward. Curtis Samuel had eight receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown, rookie receiver Jahan Dotson scored twice on his debut including an incredible snag for his second, Terry McLaurin was 2/58/1 for the day and running back Antonio Gibson caught seven passes for 72 yards.

More games equates to greater experience and familiarity and with a little more efficient quarterback play, this could prove to be a dangerous group that few saw coming.

5. More to come from Buffalo?

The Buffalo Bills took care of the defending Super Bowl champion LA Rams in the Thursday night season opener and did so without needing to play a perfect game. A worrying thought for the rest of the league.

With three turnovers in the first half, Bills quarterback Josh Allen got his team off to a slow start, himself throwing two interceptions. This however could simply have been Allen finding his stride because after that, he was almost unstoppable. The Bills went on to score three consecutive touchdown drives and converted 90% of their third downs, making them only the fourth team to do so in a game in the last 50 years.

There was talk of the Bills cornerback position being a problem with Tre’Davious White missing for at least the first four games – as they faced off against Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson. But the rookie duo of Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford rose well to the challenge, with Robinson only being targeted twice all game.

Defensive coordinator for Buffalo, Leslie Frazer, effectively utilised new acquisition and former Rams player, Von Miller throughout the game, as the defensive line was able to create good pressure against Matthew Stafford for most of the night, creating seven sacks, two for Miller.

Allen was the early season favourite to win the NFL MVP award and the Bills were a lot of peoples pick to make it to the Super Bowl, both of those ideas have likely strengthened after that performance.