My two big takeaways from week 1:

The Colts suck. And not that we didn't expect them to suck early-on this season, with Luck being injured and his status being week-to-week, but nobody in their right mind would've expected them to no-show the way they did against the Rams, giving up 46 points no less.

Dallas has picked up where they left off from last season. Although the Giants suck on offense, their defense is still very good. And the Cowboys defense isn't too shabby either. Prescott played a solid game, throwing no interceptions, and Elliot carried for 104 yards on 24 touches. They were the best team in the NFC East heading into the season, and their status hasn't changed after week 1.

As for New England... as we've learned in the past - premature panic isn't warranted, as the Pats have 3 Super Bowl winning seasons after losing their opening game. In other words - they've been here before. But it wasn't that they lost Thursday night, but rather how they lost. They resembled nothing remotely close to the team that won the title just 8 months earlier. They need to find Brady some competent receivers, first and foremost, and that defense needs to show up and put out. This was the first time in 82 games that the Pats lost while holding a halftime lead @ Gillette Stadium, and the first time in what seems like forever that Brady failed to throw a single touchdown pass, 16 for 36 and a total of 267 passing yards. While it might be too early to panic, this was at the very least a huge wake-up call in their season opener.

Two coaches are (imo) already feeling the pressure and in the hot seat: Marvin Lewis and Chuck Pagano. I will be surprised if either of these coaches are still with their current teams shortly after their seasons end. Cincy failed to score a single point in their opener against Baltimore, and the Colts did their best 2016 Cleveland Browns impersonation on Sunday. I can appreciate the fact that Pagana is a well-liked coach and (not to mention) it is extremely difficult to let go of a guy who went through a life-changing struggle with cancer. But I think he's running out of leeway in Indianapolis, and would be shocked if he lasts through the remaining 15 games this season, unless something dramatically changes before then.

Most impressive QB performances in Week 1:

Alex Smith, who completed 28/35 passes and threw for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Pats.

Sam Bradford, the league's official "stat-padding check-down specialist" who completed 27/32 passes and threw for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Saints.

2 months later

Spuzz Just a matter of time before Smith returns to super conservative form, imo.

Genius right there!
LOL

Anybody still think Alex Smith is "under appreciated" ?

I type this as he fails to convert yet another third down by trying to run for 6 yards after holding the ball too long, against the Buffalo Bills! hahahaha

      Spuzz

      Could be worse........you could be a Broncos fan like me. We're doomed.

        Wentz best in league. It’s the Eagles then everybody else

          Tinker Wentz best in league. It’s the Eagles then everybody else

          Not the best until you beat the best, or actually win something.
          I am sure Eagles' fans will agree.

              The Eagles are the best team in the worst Division. They might do well in the playoffs, tho. I'm watching with interest.

                Spuzz

                You’re right.

                I’d much rather be the Cincinnati Bengals. lol 😂

                  sdandrea1 for the record, I'm not a football fan really, but you don't have to be an ESPN commentator to know that those 3 teams have had all the meaningful success of the teams in the NFC East.

                      If you're not putting money on the Patriots, you're putting money on the Birds. And if you're not - you've not followed the NFL this season.

                      The Patriots and the Eagles are easily the top 2 teams in the league through 11 games. Perhaps the Eagles are a couple points favorites currently given their defense. Otherwise it would be evenly matched.

                      That means nothing going into the postseason, however. Once the playoffs start - every game is a toughie, even for the best teams.

                      It'll be interesting to see how it unfolds. There is no team in the NFC closer to the Eagles than Pittsburgh is to New England in the AFC. Yet that still matters very little, outside of home field advantage.

                      sdandrea1

                      Not sold on the head coach. The Redskins are a very good team otherwise. Surprised they're not putting enormous pressure on Philly to close out their remaining 4 games. Lots of really good players, yet they're underachievers @ 5-6. I don't see Gruden staying there much longer.

                      Then again, we are ultimately talking about Dan Snyder. Hard to be worse than Jerry Jones, but he is.

                      The Skins deserve better imo.

                        DC300 Never said that, but even if, and that's a big if, the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, they'll have a long way to go to be as successful a team as any of the other teams in their division.