Week 1 of the NFL season was filled with plenty of entertainment and wild results. This isn't the NBA where there are 81 games remaining after opening day, instead there are only 16 more in this new 17 game schedule. Despite the schedule being much shorter in the NFL, there is still more than enough time for the teams who started 0-1.
Here are 4 overreactions after Week 1 of the NFL season.
Overreaction #1: Jalen Hurts can be the Eagles franchise quarterback
There were a lot of questions all offseason about whether or not Jalen Hurts could make the jump from fringe starting quarterback to the guy you build your team around in the NFL. Granted, Hurts didn't have the most impressive rookie season but he was on the Eagles, a team that was perhaps the biggest mess in the league at times. While Hurts was trying to find playing time, the Eagles were struggling with an internal battle of whether to bench Carson Wentz or not and it produced an environment that wasn't meant for a rookie to succeed.
The talent with Hurts always seemed like it was there, it was just a matter of putting it all together and being able to actually lead an offense. Hurts also needed a coach and system built around him. The Eagles even enforced their belief in him this past draft by taking wide receiver DeVonta Smith with the 10th pick in the draft and center Landon Dickerson with the 37th pick. The Eagles want to make this work with Hurts, or at least try their best before moving on.
Hurts looked better than ever before in the first game of the NFL season and his numbers reflected that. He completed 27 of his 35 passes against the Atlanta Falcons while throwing for three touchdowns. His passer rating of 126.4 was a career high, showing he was ready to take over as the starter. Head coach Nick Sirianni said Hurts was in “complete control” of the offense after game one which is a great sign for everyone.
Overreaction #2: The Kirk Cousins era in Minnesota is still a failure
If you talked to any Vikings fan before Sunday's meltdown in Cincinnati then they would've told you a couple things.
First, the Cousins era has not gone to plan and that's not good. He was supposed to be the missing piece for a Super Bowl. Basically how the Rams seem to be succeeding with Matthew Stafford. They also would've told you this is the year the Vikings have been building towards. Mike Zimmer has his defense, Kirk Cousins has his weapons and a developing offensive line. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they're still the Vikings.
Minnesota rolled up to Cincinnati thinking they had an easy win over the recovering Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. After all, the Bengals won't be a playoff team most likely. Things should've gone smoothly for Zimmer, Cousins, and the rest of the Vikings but it was a terribly ugly showing. The final score makes the game look more competitive than it was as the Bengals won 27-24 in overtime. Vikings fans thought they'd win the game by double digits.
So what went wrong? Well, the defense built to stop the run gave up 127 yards on the ground to Joe Mixon, allowing for Joe Burrow and the passing game to really open up the offense. Kirk Cousins had some nice stats but he got sacked or pressured far too often either because his offensive line is still bad or because he isn't capable of escaping pressure. The difference in the pocket with guys like Stafford or Baker Mayfield compared to Kirk Cousins is astounding. Overall it was just more of the same from Minnesota in a season where they desperately need things to go their way or people will lose their jobs.
Overreaction #3: The Rams have their missing piece for a Super Bowl
Remember the Vikings team we were just talking about that thought Kirk Cousins was their missing piece? The Los Angeles Rams took basically that same route this offseason, except it's going to work marvelously with Matthew Stafford as the quarterback. It's not crazy to say the Rams have a top five defense and a top 10 offensive line mixed with some of the best weapons in the NFL. Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods make an underrated receiver duo and the weapons surrounding them fit very nicely. Jared Goff was holding this team back, but we all witnessed what Matthew Stafford can do on Sunday Night Football.
Sean McVay finally has his guy. He finally has a partner at quarterback rather than a student. McVay wasn't able to turn Jared Goff into a top quarterback, but that shouldn't be held against him too much. Some guys just aren't very good. Now he gets Matthew Stafford, one of the better quarterbacks of the last decade that had been stuck in Detroit. Giving him some great weapons, a great offensive line, a great defense, and a head coach who absolutely loves him will be perfect for everyone. This has a legit shot of working out for the Rams.
Overreaction #4: The Cardinals are among the best teams in the NFC
The Arizona Cardinals are entering this NFL season in year three of the Kyler Murray era and this is going to be the year they finally take off. Year one saw the Cardinals go 5-10-1 with Murray and last year they went 8-8. Teams rarely follow such a clean path to success where every year goes kind of how you'd expect from a rebuild, but the Cardinals are going to pull it off. Murray is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. He'll run all over the defense at any given moment and his arm is developing quickly to be one of the best.
On defense, things went about as well as the Cardinals could've hoped in their Week 1 NFL opener. Chandler Jones was the main guy, racking up five total sacks and setting the tone against the run early on. J.J. Watt played on the opposite side of him and although he won't show up much in the box score, his presence was absolutely felt. The secondary held A.J. Brown and Julio Jones in check while Derrick Henry never got going. This Titans offense is regarded as perhaps the best group in the NFL, but that may not be the case after Week 1.
Overall, this is the team Arizona has been building towards. They went big in trades by acquiring both DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt to finalize both sides of the ball and both trades are paying off. Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury are in year three together after two unsuccessful seasons so this year could be a make or break season. Bet on the Cardinals having a great season in the NFL.
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