With the first week in the books, storyline are abound. These are our NFL Week 1 thoughts for each team.

Detroit Lions 21, Kansas City Chiefs 20

Detroit Lions: This could be a special rookie class

• There are a lot of things to be said about this game and how massive of a win it was. But, one of the biggest things that stood out was the rookie class. Gibbs looked explosive, Campbell had an impressive PBU, LaPorta looked like the second best option in the passing game, and Branch took back a pick 6. Look for this class to be a major factor on both sides of the ball for Detroit.

Kansas City Chiefs: There is a lot of work to be done at receiver

• We are sure the pecking order will shake itself out. However, the fact that Toney was one of the main targets after missing all of the preseason is concerning. It should be Skyy Moore or Rashee Rice, and instead Toney pretty much lost the game with brutal drops. Mahomes was not perfect, but he had the game won for the team if Toney catches those. Rice had an early drop, as did Moore on the 4th down passing attempt. There is a lot of work to be done.

Cleveland Browns 24, Cincinnati Bengals 3

Cleveland Browns: This pass rush is legit

• The  Browns finally got some serious help for Myles Garrett, and it is already paying off. Garett and Ogbo had sacks, but there was rarely a snap where Burrow was not under duress and it resulted in only 3 points for the Bengals. The Browns offense will be up and down, but the defense should be tops in the league.

Cincinnati Bengals: The offensive line continues to be the problem

• A lot of jokes are being made about Burrow and him being the highest paid player in the NFL, but anyone that watched the game saw he could barely breathe. The same problem that has haunted the Bengals and cost them a super bowl continues to be their issue.

Baltimore Ravens 25, Houston Texans 9

Baltimore Ravens: A new #1 is in town

• We could focus on the negatives and how Dobbins is out for the year, among other major injuries like Marcus Williams, but we are going to talk about the positives. Zay Flowers was our wide receiver 1 by a mile in this draft and it appears to be Lamar’s go to receiver not named Mark Andrews. He looked as advertised.

Houston Texans: Be patient

• Stroud was the only rookie QB to not turn the ball over, and looked fine. We would not say he had the best debuts of the rookies, but he was certainly not the worst. The defense looked pretty good under Ryans, but the offense will have to learn how to push the ball more.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, Minnesota Vikings 17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfeild may actually be good enough

• It was a very slow start for the offense, but the second half was a better story. Baker is playing in an offense that should cater to his strengths better than any since college, and he may be good enough to keep the Bucs in the hunt for a weak division title.

Minnesota Vikings: Need to find a rushing identity

• The passing attack is fine, but the rushing game needs to improve from the first week without Dalvin Cook. It will only get more difficult with a matchup against one of the top defenses in football at Philly.

Atlanta Falcons 24, Carolina Panthers 10

Atlanta Falcons: Why draft pas catchers in the first round?

• The rushing attack looked lethal. Bijan and Algeier should be an incredible 2-headed monster for the season. But, watching this game and seeing Drake London not record a catch and Kyle Pitts had 2 catches, it really makes you question the Atlanta draft under Arthur Smith. Bijan makes sense, but Pitts and London are looking like worse and worse picks. However a good win is a good win with this rushing attack.

Carolina Panthers: You cannot rush a rebuild

• Carolina may have had delusions of dropping Bryce Young in and immediately riding their defense to a division title. However, no matter how you want to put it, starting a rookie QB is a rebuild. They tried to patch the receiver room with oft injured vets and it is looking like it will be a longer process than they likely hoped. Young was our QB3 because we had concerns about him being able to succeed in a situation with a lackluster cast, and what he has in Carolina is not awful, but it is not great either. Hopefully Mingo continues to grow and emerges as the alpha we think he can be.

Washington Commanders 20, Arizona Cardinals 16

Washington Commanders: The offensive line needs to get fixed

• Howell was decent. Not great but not bad in his second ever start. However, the offensive line was brutal. It was last year and so far it does not look like any adjustments were made. If this is not fixed it wont matter who is QB for the Commanders.

Arizona Caridnals: Why is Josh Dobbs starting

• All of this drama and trading for Dobbs and not starting a player with way more upside just for him to go 21/30 for 132 yards. This receiving group is not great, but why in the world is Clayton Tune not playing. The defense looked good for Arizona, but they have nothing to gain from playing Dobbs.

Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Indianapolis Colts 21

Jacksonville Jaguars: Calvin Ridley has not missed a step

• He slowed down in the second half for sure, but for Ridley to come out and have the line he did after so much missed time is impressive. This passing attack should be lethal while Ridley, Kirk, and Jones form one of the better trios in the league.

Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson may be ahead of schedule

• This has been the story for the whoek draft process and on. Richardson was a raw athletic freak with a ton of development, yet every step of the way he looked ahead of where he should be. This is no different. It was not perfect, but Richardson showed his running ability while 65% of his passes. His interception was not brutal either.

San Francisco 49ers 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 7

San Francisco 49ers: Is Brock Purdy real?

• To come back from a torn UCL this quick is wild. To look as great as Purdy did in week 1 that soon after UCL surgery is other worldly. People who do not watch the games argue that Purdy is a product of the system, but if you watch it is more than that. Obviouslythe 49er offense is Qb friendly, but Purdy plays beyond that. He looks better than Jimmy G did in the system (who is one of the better game managers in recent memory) and he could be as good as the stats show.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Why is Matt Canada employed

• He should have been fired long ago. Does he have dirt on the owners? This offense was painfully boring and Pickett is not the qb to play beyond his coordinator’s limitations.

New Orleans Saints 16, Tennessee Titans 15

New Orleans Saints: Carr can elevate this team

• The Saints have been all about the defense the last couple years, and they have been missing that good qb that does not make a ton of mistakes. Carr can be the guy to play good enough to get them in the lead while the defense wins them games.

Tennessee Titans: Tannehill is cooked

• It is time to start Malik Willis. It just is. Tennessee is not in good shape and they need to start the youth movement. It feels like the Titans are fighting this rebuild, but if they go with Willis and it fails. They can go with an early QB (theres a pretty good one at USC right now).

Las Vegas Raiders 17, Denver Broncos 16

Las Vegas Raiders: At least they won one game in the division

• We still think the Raiders are the worst team in this divison by a mile, but a win is a win. The offense was decent, though the rushing ypc was dreadful. 

Denver Broncos: Russ looks better, so whats the problem

• He still may not be back to his old self, but early results are way more promising than last year. Jerry Jeudy was out with injury, but Sutton did not take over as you would have hoped. They gotta work on pushing the ball downfield.

Philadelphia Eagles 25, New England Patriots 20

Philadelphia Eagles: The first game without Shane Steichen was rough

• The whole offense looked off. Hurts missed a ton of throws and reads, the rushing attack was meh, and in general it seemed like the departure of Shane Steichen was noticed. People who just shrug and say it is no big deal, look at Buffalo post Brian Daboll. They have struggled to reach the levels the offense ran at when he was the OC. We are not saying this is the case here, but keep an eye on it.

New England Patriots: The lack of a true alpha will haunt them

• It feels like Mac Jones is going to get a lot of grief this season, but it will not be all his fualt. When the chips are down nothing helps a qb more than a true target he can depend on. Hurts has two in Smitty and AJ Brown, who does Mac have? Bourne is a great second or third option, Juju was silent, Parker was hurt, and so on. New England will likely regret not getting Hopkins this year.

Los Angeles Rams 30, Seattle Seahawks 13

Los Angeles Rams: If they can stay healthy, they will compete

• Raise your hand if you thought this game would end up with this result. We sure did not. The Rams handled Seattleeffectively. Stafford looked very good, Nacua looks like a draft steal, and the defense was impressive. 

Seattle Seahawks: Will Seattle regret not going up to get a Qb in the draft?

• We want to start by saying that Geno earned his extension. But, he bounced around the league for a reason. Seattle had a rarechance with 2 first round picks to go up and get a rookie while also having a capable vet in place. They did not do this, they went with Witherspoon and JSN (both good picks). However, Smith was painfully flat in this game. The Rams secondary is not a strength and Smith only could throw for 112 yards, not a good start.

Miami Dolphins 36, Los Angeles Chargers 34

Miami Dolphins: If healthy, Tua can put up MVP numbers.

• Similar to Bryce Young, Tua is someone that has ability but really needs a strong cast to thrive. Unlike Bryce, Tua has likely the best WR duo in the league. Tyreek is as ungaurdable as they come, and Waddle is the number 1 on almost every other team. If he can avoid injury, Tua should put up gaudy numbers this year.

Los Angeles Chargers: Another year, another liability for a defense.

• Staley is over his head, but this defense continues to be a problem. It feels like no matter what they do, they cannot stop the pass or the run in any given week. To be fair, the Dolphins are going to be hard to stop no matter what, but you also did not have to lay down.

Green Bay Packers 38, Chicago Bears 20

Green bay Packers: The Jordan Love era is here

• We have been major Jordan Love supporters from the jump, and this was vindication. Do not expect every week to be this good (we do not think), but Green Bay may have been hit on their 3rd QB in a row.

Chicago Bears: Well that was disappointing, what is this offense?

• All of this hype and it was just plain sad. Fields looked average as a passer again, the offense as a whole looked bad, and DJ Moore had, checks notes, 2 TARGETS?? What are they doing.

Dallas Cowboys 40, New York Giants 0

Dallas Cowboys: Slow the hype train a bit

• The offense was not great. Yes the score suggests otherwise, but Dak barely completed 50% of his passes. Pollard looked good, but that was about it. The defense on the other hand, was dominant.

New York Giants: Uhhhhhhhh What?

• There are not many words to say here. At least the defense was pretty good? Daniel Jones and the offense line were awful, no other way to say it. You have to try to not overreact to one week, but this was something else.

New York Jets 22, Buffalo Bills 16

New York Jets: This team can win with Zach Wilson

• There was growth noticeable in Zach Wilson’s play after Rodgers got hurt. Wilson was not perfect, but he looked more confident, made som decent throws, and only had one awful decision. The defense is going to be good, so Wilson just has to be average andthis team will win.

Buffalo Bills: This offense has a problem

• Josh Allen had 4 turnovers. 1 interception was basically a punt on third and long, and another was at least partially on Gabe Davis for no selling his route. Allen was not good let us not sugar coat it. However the offense has to get better play calls. In overtime, on 2&15, they called a draw play. Then ended up with a third and long that was not converted and led to the walk off punt return. This was a majority of the game where Allen was put into third and long plays that at least partially had to do with play calling. Allen is still too reckless, especially running with the ball and he has to dial it in, but he is far from the only problem.