Three NFL Week 1 Overreactions

By Will Glover | September 10, 2024

Photo by Doug Benc - Associated Press

Week 1 of the 2024-25 NFL season ended unceremoniously last night with Aaron Rodgers' official Jets debut being spoiled by age and... checks notes... Jordan Mason. Yeah... Anyway, week 1 brought us plenty of stories to watch for next week and through the remainder of the season. Today, while in class, I will try to bring you all three of my biggest storylines that I will most definitely overreact to—because that's my job.

Starting Quarterbacks Looked Surprisingly Bad

I mean, not that I take everything that Troy Aikman says literally, but even I agree with him here... Aikman, on Monday Night Football, stated that "[he] saw some really bad quarterback play [in Week 1]." It just felt as if almost every experienced QB in the league was unprepared for week 1 of the regular season. From Caleb Williams' lackluster debut to Bryce Young's and Will Levis' disasterclass performances, all the way to Patrick Mahomes' EXTREMELY unimpressive performance against Baltimore. It seemed as if either the defenses watched a TON of film on everyone for once, or that something just wasn't clicking within the offenses around the league. I even forgot to mention how bad Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, Bryce Young, and Daniel Jones were... I mean goodness, the list goes on. You know it's bad when Tua Tagovailoa, Sam Darnold, Brock Purdy, and Jacoby Brissett all looked like top 10 QBs in week 1 - cmon guys. Anyways, I doubt that this poor QB play will continue into week 2 for most QBs (Daniel Jones and Bryce Young will continue to suck, trust me). This is promising news for most fantasy owners, especially for those needing a rebound from their round 3 and 4 picks into their week 2 matchups (like myself).

The Falcons' Offense is Extremely Underwhelming

I honestly don't know who to blame here... it could be the Steelers' devil magic at work yet again, it could be the fact that they gave $100 million to an aging QB that is coming off an Achilles tear... probably the latter. Whatever it may be, it is not a good sign when your 1st rounder in last year's draft is average under 4 yards per carry and your QB refuses to take snaps from under center (literally didn't take a single one).

Cousins' injury is playing its role in the playcalling for Atlanta; before Sunday's loss, Cousins had never come out of the pistol more than 2% of snaps in his career. Yesterday? 18%... oh, and did I mention that his "On-Run percentage" was 3.8% yesterday - his career average is around 15%. Not good. Until Zac Robinson finds a way to work around Cousins' feet, it might be rough sailing for the revamped Atlanta team. I will give credit where credit is due, their defense didn't allow a touchdown even though they lost by 8. In most scenarios, you would usually win those games... again, I blame the Steelers' devil magic. Happens every year and we are seeing it again.

The Packers' and Rams' Seasons Ended This Week

Ok... this one is clearly the biggest overreaction of them all. Of course, losing Jordan Love for 1-2 months for Green Bay is devastating, and losing 4 out of 5 starting offensive linemen along with Puka Nacua is just as tough for Los Angeles. But these franchises know how to win, these head coaches are grinders and are arguably the two best in the league at what they do. Sure, having Malik Willis behind center isn't going to do you much good for the next 4-6 weeks; and sure, having a young and extremely inexperienced offensive line for an aging QB is going to present its challenges. But you guys have to remember that these teams just need to tread water for the next month or two before they get their guys back. Beware though my fellow Packers and Rams fans... if either of these teams start the season 0-4, 1-3, 1-4... it's going to be pretty tough to come back like both these teams did last season. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it is going to be a lot more difficult this season than it was last season. Obviously, the Rams have it better than the Packers do. The Rams still have the luxury of Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford, whereas the Packers have to manage with Malik Willis... Good luck, Green Bay!

Here's hoping that by week 2 or 3, these overreactions are, in fact, just overreactions. As a Rams fan, Puka and the offensive line's absences are devastating. Stafford is great though, Kupp and McVay as well. As for the rest of the overreactions, they will 100% be resolved in a week or two most likely, so don't stress out too much (Hi Packers fans) if your team is mentioned on here in some way, shape, or form.

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