2018: Five [Opfer's Take]aways from NFL Week 1

Five Takeaways 

5. Week 1 weirdness.

With many players opting to forego the preseason slate, it often takes a half (or two) to get up to speed, opening the door for early season surprises. Week 1 brought a plethora of unforeseen, if not, bizarre developments, including:

A 14-year journeyman signal caller in Ryan Fitzpatrick go into the Superdome and unleash a perfect QB rating to the tune of 417 yards passing and five touchdowns in leading the Bucs to an upset win over the Saints.

The Browns snapping their 17-game losing streak by… not winning.

A tie for the first time on opening day since 1971.

The Dolphins and Titans playing a 7-hour, 8 minute marathon (due to weather delays) - the longest game since the 1970 merger (Elias).

All seven first year head coaches losing their debuts (see more below).

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers returning from injury in the second half to overcome a 20-point fourth quarter deficit against the Bears.

4. How is Nathan Peterman still starting?

Bills starting QB Nathan Peterman continued his woeful play behind center on Sunday, completing just 5-of-18 passes for 24 yards, including two interceptions in a 47-3 loss to the Ravens. In his three starts with the Bills, he has averaged just 49 yards per game, completed just 38.1 percent of his passes, thrown one TD to seven INTs, and had a passer rating of 16.8 (NFLResearch). Better yet, Peterman has yet to finish a game in which he has started. I understand the Bills don’t have a lot around him, but how is this guy still a starter in the NFL?

3. Only the Browns.

How many teams would snap a lengthy losing streak by tying? Not even six takeaways was enough to get a win. In fact, since the Browns returned to the NFL, teams with a (+5) turnover margin or better are 132-4-1 (Barnwell). The Browns are now responsible for two of the losses and the tie after Sunday. What does Cleveland have to do?!

2. Debuts denied.

It isn’t easy being a newbie. Seven teams – Arizona, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, New York [Giants], Oakland, and Tennessee – entered the 2018 season with new head coaches. In week 1, all seven lost, marking the worst record by a group of new head coaches in NFL history (NFLResearch). Arizona, Detroit, and Oakland were each blown out on their home turf (outscored by a combined 105-36), while Chicago and Matt Nagy had the most heartbreaking loss of the week, squandering a 20-point fourth quarter lead by surrendering 21 points in the final quarter to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

1. Don’t overreact. It’s only one week!

It happens every year. Week 1 comes to conclusion and we all want to rush to judgment on predictions based on the results. Don’t buy into it. Last season saw the Saints start 0-2, only to reel off eight straight wins and 11 of their next 14. It also saw the Chiefs pummel the Patriots on opening night, beat the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles the following week, start the season 5-0, then lose six of their next seven. So even though Fitz-magic and Uncle Sam (Darnold) came out of the gates on fire in week 1, don’t hop on the bandwagon just yet. It’s a league that is unpredictable on any given Sunday, but a league that becomes more predictable as the season progresses.