NFL Week 1 takeaways: Bengals flash contender upside, Bears explode and Packers collapse

I love the NFL and I don’t care who knows it. As sad as I am to see summer coming to an end, I couldn’t be more excited that the best league on the planet is back and in full swing.

As you might imagine, I have some thoughts about the first Sunday of the NFL season. Below, you will find my biggest takeaway from each game.

Bengals 33, Buccaneers 27

Takeaway: If the Cincinnati Bengals defense is actually this good, this team is a top-five Super Bowl contender.

Yes, the Bucs scored 27 points. But that total is misleading: Tampa Bay’s defense scored on a pick-six, and the offense’s final touchdown came against a prevent defense with Cincinnati leading by two scores. The Bengals held Tampa Bay to 282 yards and forced four turnovers. If the defense is legit and Burrow stays healthy (he was sacked just once, another major positive), Cincinnati is extremely dangerous.

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Lions 31, Saints 30

Takeaway: There’s no reason for Detroit to panic over a near-historic second-half collapse because the Saints might actually be good.

Obviously, blowing a 21-0 second-half lead is less than ideal. But Tyler Shough threw for 410 yards, Chris Olave played out of his mind and New Orleans erased that deficit despite committing three turnovers. Detroit still ran for 165 yards, sacked Shough five times and stopped the potential game-winning 2-point conversion. The Lions’ secondary is a concern, but that comeback probably says more about New Orleans than it does about Detroit.

Jets 23, Titans 10

Takeaway: It’s going to be a long year in Tennessee.

Tennessee was outgained 367-195 at home by a Jets team starting Geno Smith at quarterback. The Titans had 112 yards through three quarters, and Cam Ward’s only touchdown came in garbage time. Robert Saleh inherited a bad roster, but neither side of the ball offered much reason for optimism. The Jets might be better than expected, but Tennessee still looks like one of the worst teams in football.

Ravens 41, Colts 23

Takeaway: Derrick Henry continues to defy all laws of physics, gravity and aging in the NFL.

Henry is 32 years old, plays the most punishing position in football and just ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns. His second score moved him past Marcus Allen into third place on the NFL’s all-time rushing touchdown list, behind only LaDainian Tomlinson and Emmitt Smith. Baltimore gained 506 yards and simply overpowered Indianapolis whenever it wanted. At some point Henry has to slow down. Right?

Steelers 20, Falcons 13

Takeaway: Well, one team had to win this game, but neither should be excited about their performance.

Neither offense produced more than 264 yards or 13 points; T.J. Watt supplied Pittsburgh’s second touchdown with a pick-six. The Falcons at least have the excuse that the two quarterbacks who were expected to start games this season, Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., missed the game with injuries. The Steelers got the win, but the offense was basically at full strength and didn’t look impressive at all. I don’t know how either fan base can feel good about this one.

Bears 59, Panthers 37

Takeaway: The Bears offense is definitely going to be good, but temper expectations after a clear outlier performance.

Caleb Williams accounted for four touchdowns, and the Bears had two 100-yard rushers. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 224 yards on the ground and four scores. That’s absurd production, regardless of opponent. This was the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history, so anyone expecting the Bears to regularly post 50+ points is overreacting to a historic performance. Still, Ben Johnson has too many weapons for this offense not to finish among the NFL’s best.

Jaguars 34, Browns 10

Takeaway: Deshaun Watson has no business being a starting NFL quarterback.

It feels like Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is determined to get some value from the worst trade in NFL history, but it’s a lost cause. As a businessman, Haslam should understand the concept of a “sunk cost.” Watson is terrible, even if his final stat line doesn’t tell the whole story (and it doesn’t, and not even half of it). His third pass was intercepted and turned into a Jacksonville touchdown, Cleveland fell behind 31-0 and his lone scoring pass was a 46-yarder with 1:52 remaining. Not only that, but he looked completely lost. I’m not the biggest Shedeur Sanders fan, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be starting (or even Dillon Gabriel, for that matter).

Bills 36, Texans 31

Takeaway: The biggest win of the day belongs to the Bills, who look like a good bet to reach the AFC Championship Game.

Buffalo went on the road against one of the AFC’s best defenses, trailed in the fourth quarter and responded with a 96-yard game-winning drive. Josh Allen accounted for four touchdowns and won in Houston for the first time in five tries. The Bills defense then sealed the victory with a strip-sack after the Texans reached the Buffalo 9-yard line. That’s how a legitimate AFC contender wins a football game.

Raiders 27, Dolphins 13

Takeaway: It’s going to be an even longer season in Miami than it is in Tennessee.

The Raiders gained only 290 yards and Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions, yet Miami never seriously threatened to win the game. The Dolphins went 2-of-10 on third down, allowed five sacks, gained only 259 yards, picked up just 13 first downs and scored one offensive touchdown. At least Tennessee is rebuilding around a young quarterback. What exactly is Miami building?

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Vikings 39, Packers 22

Takeaway: The Packers need to figure out why they can’t protect second-half leads, and they need to figure it out now.

Green Bay led 22-10 in the third quarter against Carson Wentz, who was playing only because Kyler Murray was nearly decapitated in the first quarter. The Packers kicked a field goal that would have given them a 25-17 lead, but they accepted an offsides penalty on Minnesota, took the points off the board and then failed on fourth-and-1. Ultimately, Minnesota scored the game’s final 29 points.

The Packers have now lost the last three games in which they held a double-digit second-half lead: Week 16 against Chicago, the Wild Card rematch with the Bears and Sunday against Minnesota. Once is a fluke. Twice is concerning. Three times, all against division rivals, is a catastrophe of epic proportions.

Eagles 24, Commanders 22

Takeaway: This might sound strange, but Commanders fans should be more encouraged by this game than Eagles fans.

This isn’t to say Washington should celebrate a loss because they shouldn’t. But the Commanders went on the road against a supposed NFC contender and came one 2-point conversion from overtime after an injury-ravaged five-win season. Philadelphia can bank the victory, but its repeated second-half three-and-outs (the Eagles had only 10 first downs the entire game) did nothing to prove that last season’s inconsistency is gone.

Cardinals 26, Chargers 14

Takeaway: I’m trying not to overreact, but man did the Chargers look awful.

Arizona entered Sunday on a nine-game losing streak, started Jacoby Brissett on the road and completely dominated the second half. The Cardinals blocked a punt, intercepted Justin Herbert and held Los Angeles to just 117 yards of offense in the second half. Mike McDaniel’s offense was supposed to unlock even more from Herbert, but it produced only two scoring drives, and one was aided by a 48-yard penalty. It’s only one game, but no “contender” looked worse.

Giants 28, Cowboys 20

Takeaway: John Harbaugh built an all-star coaching staff in New York, and it showed on “Sunday Night Football.”

All offseason, Dallas was treated as the team most likely to challenge Philadelphia in the NFC East. Maybe everyone picked the wrong team. Harbaugh surrounded himself with former head coaches and longtime coordinators, and the Giants looked better prepared, more physical and more complete than Dallas in Week 1. Jaxson Dart looked comfortable, the defense gave Dak Prescott fits and, if the Giants can keep their stars healthy, New York suddenly looks capable of pushing for its first division title since 2011.