Before we even saw a snap in the NFL season, there was already a season-ending injury, an ejection, and a scandal. The Cowboys and the Eagles helped kick off the NFL season with an impressive game for both sides. While the result of the game wasn’t what we hoped, it was still a great game to watch and certainly worth a Thursday Night Football time slot. As for the rest of the NFL, there’s plenty to get into and cover in this week’s overreactions article.
The Cowboys’ Offense Is Good?
Now 20 points isn’t the most phenomenal box score. 188 passing yards for Dak isn’t either. However, the box score doesn’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t mention the four uncharacteristic drops from CeeDee Lamb. It doesn’t mention the flukey Miles Sanders fumble, where not only should Sanders never had been at back, but also, the penalty that granted the Cowboys an automatic first down ended up costing them three points. I’d also like to mention the penalty flag from George Pickens that got them in that 3rd and 22 situation in the first place. The box score doesn’t mention the lightning delay, where teams had to warm up after a long hiatus in play. The box score, in a way, lies about how the game actually went offensively. So while the Cowboys do need to work on the little things and touch up some of their ball-handling issues, I do think this game against the defending Super Bowl champions is more motivating offensively than anything else. That defense, though, yikes.
Aaron Rodgers and Justin Herbert are MVP Candidates
Obviously, it’s only been one game, but both Aaron Rodgers and Justin Herbert had stellar games and should be considered MVP favorites to start the year. Herbert, while leading his team to a win, had 318 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and outplayed Patrick Mahomes. His clutch 19-yard run on 3rd and 14 iced the game for the Chargers, putting them ahead the Chiefs in the AFC West. A standing that the Chargers hope to maintain throughout the year. Now Aaron Rodgers. The game started off slow, the Jets, his former team, had a 19-10 lead with 3 minutes to go in the first half. That’s when Rodgers drove down the field, feeding Jonnu Smith for a 3-yd touchdown, Rodgers’ second of the game. However, entering the 4th quarter, the Steelers were down 26-17. Then, in the span of just the first minute of the 4th quarter, Rodgers threw two more touchdowns to give the Steelers a 31-26 lead, and totaling 4 touchdowns. After the defense gave up a touchdown, Rodgers led his offense down the field for a game-winning 60-yard field goal that solidified the Steelers’ 34-32 comeback win, and his 244 yards and 4 touchdowns gave him a strong argument for an early MVP candidate.
The Detroit Lions will Not Win the Division
At the time of writing this, the Vikings vs. Bears Monday Night Football game has not happened, so I will focus on the Packers vs. Lions game. First of all, to address the elephant in the room: yeah, Micah looks weak in a Packers jersey. Looks can be deceiving however, as he managed to get a sack in the few snaps he played. However, I want to focus on something other than Micah Parsons. Jordan Love was efficient. 16/22 on pass completions for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even though the run game was struggling, the Packers still found a way to rely on Josh Jacobs to keep the game in their pace. The defense had 4 sacks (25 yards) and forced an interception. The defense also heavily limited Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, keeping them at 2.2 yards per carry combined. The Packers showed how well rounded of a team they are, and I expect them to be the NFC favorites moving forward. As for the Lions, losing two starting offensive linemen and your stellar offensive coordinator is never a good thing, but I believe Dan Campbell can rifle his team up and help them compete over the course of the season.
Tua Tagovailoa will be Benched by Week 5
Man, oh man, did Tua struggle on Sunday. Not only did he throw two interceptions, and lose a fumble, but he also got benched for Zach Wilson. On top of this, his offense only scored 8 points on a Make-a-Wish touchdown down 30-0. He now has a QBR of 2.7 and a passer rating of 51.7, and he lost a quarterback battle to Daniel Jones. The entire Dolphins team sucked, but to be honest, unless you’re a proven veteran with success on multiple levels, the losses always fall on the quarterback. In this case, deservingly so. The Dolphins have very little options with his $212 million contract. The only possible out is to find a trade or bench him the rest of the year and dump his salary on 2026, hoping to find someone in the draft. As a matter of fact, the Dolphins should probably dump Tyreek at the same time and fully rebuild this team. I mean, they might be the worst team in Florida at the moment and definitely the worst in the division. They’re closer to the worst in the AFC than they are to a Playoff team.
Every Giants QB will Start a Game
Yeah. The New York Giants’ 21-6 defeat against the Washington Commanders outlined a key issue with the Giants offense. They don’t have one. Newly acquired Russell Wilson struggled, completing just 17 out of his 37 pass attempts, and averaging 4.5 yards a pass. The run game struggled outside of Wilson, with Giants running backs averaging just 2 yards per carry. Malik Nabers managed to have a solid day, but outside of him, Wan’Dale Robinson had the most receiving yards. No disrespect to Wan’Dale Robinson, but reading this game’s box score is the first time I have seen his name in my life. New York’s defense had a solid game, sacking Jayden Daniels three times, but the Giants’ inability to get points on the board eventually led them to a sad 21-6 defeat. The Giants will soon need a spark, something to get their locker room or team going. Personally, I’ve never heard of anything more like a spark than Jameis Winston. So, New York, Brian Daboll, give the people what they want and put Jameis Winston in at QB. As for Jaxson Dart, he’ll get in eventually, I’m sure.
Final Thoughts
The first week of the NFL season hits different. Now, even though it ended in a loss for the Cowboys and a win for the Eagles, it’s still exciting to have football back in our lives. Clearly Jalen Carter was excited to play in the season opener. So excited, that is, that he decided to spit on Dak Prescott. Maybe he was just intimidated by Dak. Or maybe he’s as insecure as every other Philadelphia Eagles fan I’ve ever met.
Tune into The Roundup for NFL Week Two Overreactions!