5 Takeaways from Week 1 of the NFL

1. Kansas City cannot be stopped

This falls into the category of things we already knew but it needs to be stated anyway. Patrick Mahomes is really good at playing quarterback. Andy Reid is really good at coaching football. The Kansas City Chiefs are really good at football.

Kansas City dominated the Houston Texans from start to finish in a 34-20 boat race. Mahomes looked sharp and rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a breakout game carrying the ball 25 times for 138 yards. With all of this, it felt like the Chiefs could actually be better. That’s a scary thought.

Kansas City’s only competition in the AFC will be the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens laid a beatdown on Cleveland in Week 1. Any thought I had that Cleveland might compete in the division has been axed by their performance and  how the Steelers looked on MNF.

2. Aaron Rodgers looks rejuvenated.

The old Aaron Rodgers has been found. Rodgers and the Packers offense looked exquisite on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay had some early red zone struggles in the first quarter. However,  the play-calling was aggressive and creative.

Rodgers looked so much better. His throws looked more accurate and had more zip. That translated to 32/44 passing for 364 yards and 4 TD’s. If this Packers offense shows up week after week, they might push for a Super Bowl. Green Bay can keep up offensively. However, the key will be defensively. They gave up 34 points to a Vikings offense lacking depth.

My question is what will happen when the Packers play a team that can pound the rock?

3. Welcome To Pro Football in Ohio, Joe Burrow.

Joe Burrow has not done a lot of losing in his football career to this point. He started out at Ohio St. where discipline and talent was abound. While he struggled in year one in the bayou, he finished at LSU where he was surrounded by NFL talent and coaching. None of that could have prepared him for the glorious fashion in which the Bengals lost in Week 1. A questionable offensive PI in the endzone followed by a missed field goal that was makeable led to a disappointing 16-13 loss to the LA Chargers.

On the other hand, Joe Burrow looked impressive. His throws were accurate and powerful. He showed off his mobility. He showed that IT-factor that was routinely displayed in Baton Rouge. His threw for 193 yds on 63.9% completion rate and ran for TD. He was running for his life behind a lack luster offensive line. There are things to clean up, but there is a lot of promise in Cincy.

4. Tom Brady and the new look Buccaneers looked NEW

We finally got to see Tom Brady’s highly anticipated debut. The Buccaneers came out strong scoring a TD on the first drive of the game. Brady looked crisp. The offense appeared to be in sync. Then, the Saints took over. We saw a lot of what made Tampa struggle in previous years. They were undisciplined and made a host of mental errors. Tom Brady started to struggle as well. No body is hitting the panic button yet, but there is definitely room for improvement.

The Saints simply had more continuity than the Buccaneers, which leads me to…

5. New Coaches and QB’s struggled in Week 1

Continuity and experience showed in an unorthodox offseason. Teams with a new head coach and/or quarterback went a combined 2-7 in Week 1. Only the New England Patriots with Cam Newton at QB (still looks weird) and the Washington Football Team managed to squeak out wins.

Not having a preseason games puts teams behind the eight ball. September is going to have some ugly football moments. No one will struggle more than teams with rookie HC’s and QB’s. Nobody was able to get on field work in until July and it showed for these teams especially. The Packers, Saints, Ravens, and Chiefs all looked crisp while the teams like Carolina, Cincy, Dallas, and Tampa all struggled with mental mistakes.