Week 1 is always almost like Christmas to the common football fan. Every fanbase has hope and wants to see the new pieces of their team don the uniform and make plays. For some fanbases, the new year symbolizes a chance for revenge after falling short in January. For others, it’s a chance to continue dominance over the rest of the league, like in Kansas City. Sunday’s slate of games brought a lot of storylines with it, with some surprise breakouts and even more surprising duds. Here are five takeaways from Week 1 of NFL action.
Takeaways
1. The Rams OL is bad; Stafford and Kupp are insane
On Sunday Night, the Lions were able to create pressure at will. The Rams OL was already a below league average unit, ranking 21st in pass block win rate last year. However, things got even worse when THREE starters on the line left the game with injuries. Steve Avila, Joe Noteboom and Kevin Dotson all were taken out with injuries sustained at Ford Field. Stafford was harassed all night, mainly by Aidan Hutchinson, who was being nonstop held, and even tripped.
However, Stafford, being the leader and veteran that he is, rolled with the punches and continued to make gritty throw after gritty throw. With the biggest Rams injury of the night, Stafford’s favorite target from 2023, Puka Nacua, went down. Stafford pivoted to his most reliable guy, Cooper Kupp. With shades of 2021, Kupp had 14 grabs as the Rams dropped the game in OT. We will see how long the linemen that were injured are gone, but it will have to be a heroic effort from Stafford weekly unless things change quickly.
2. The Texans are a wagon
Many in the preseason, me included, predicted the Texans to take a step forward from a very promising 2023 campaign. People have been viewing the Houston Texans as a true Super Bowl contender. A big reason was the acquisition of veterans Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs. Both showed out in their debuts against Indy, as Mixon tallied 178 all-purpose yards, and Diggs found the end zone twice. CJ Stroud was 9/9 for 85 yards and 2 TDs, showing how he will ascend even more in year two.
3. Josh Allen is a superhero
2024 seems to be the weakest Bills roster since Josh Allen came into his own. His weapons are a relatively unknown third year man in Khalil Shakir, two decent veterans in Curtis Samuel and Marques Valdez-Scantling, a rookie in Keon Coleman, and a very good third year Running Back, James Cook. There have been a lot of question marks around this Buffalo team and if they can compete for a fifth straight AFC East crown.
Many have realized that the Bills will go as far as Josh Allen can take them. And if yesterday was any indication, the answer may be farther than we thought. Allen was superb, with an EPA/dropback of 0.47, second highest of Sunday behind Baker Mayfield. The seventh-year signal caller out of Wyoming went for four touchdowns, two in the air and two on the ground. If he can continue this level of play and win the East, there could be an MVP in his future.
4. Bo Nix struggled mightily
All preseason all that we heard from Denver was how Bo Nix was playing elite level football and was the clear-cut franchise guy for the Broncos. Sean Payton laughed at every other NFL team for letting Denver get their hands on the former Oregon QB. Well Payton wasn’t laughing on Sunday. While Nix can’t be written off after just one game, new Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald made him look silly. Nix went 26-42 for just 138 yards and 2 interceptions. His EPA/dropback of -0.47 was the second worst of the day, only ahead of Will Levis. Denver takes on Pittsburgh next weekend, who just held Kirk Cousins and the Falcons to 10 points.
5. Rashee Rice is a star
In a week where we saw many standout performances at the WR spot, the first one we saw may have been the best. Rashee Rice, who honestly should not even be playing, showed why he is so dangerous while he is. Rice killed Baltimore over the middle, and Patrick Mahomes found him early and often. Rice went for 7 catches, tallying 103 yards. he had 9 targets, and after a rookie year where Rice was targeted 102 times, don’t be surprised to see 140 or more in 2024. 78 of Rice’s yards came after the catch, showing why he is such a dangerous weapon. With Kelce only getting older, there could be a passing of the torch this season in Kansas City for Patrick’s go to target.
For a full breakdown of week 1 watch our overreaction Monday episode on youtube