If you’re an NFL fan, you’re aware that week one will almost always surprise you. Teams who didn’t make the playoffs last season can beat the previous Super Bowl winner and a hopeful team can lose their star quarterback for the season within the first five minutes of the game. Anything can happen in week one and more times than not, it won’t be much of a reflection on how the rest of the season will play out.
Here are my top three takeaways from week one:
- Are the 49ers the current best team in the league?
San Francisco had a huge 30-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers to start their season. After this performance, I think it’s safe to say that this Brock Purdy-led team is one of the most dominant forces in the league. The San Francisco defense has been a top-five unit for years now, but it seems like the offense has finally caught up to them. The former third-string quarterback has now led his team to six straight regular-season victories and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Purdy also has some help on offense from star running back, Christian McCaffrey, who had 22 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown this past Sunday. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is proving to be a huge asset after his two-touchdown performance in week one. The San Francisco 49ers might be the team to beat this season.
2. The Jets get their hopes up for nothing, once again.
Jets fans were ecstatic to finally have a quarterback that could take their team to the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers was set to play his first Monday night game as a Jet but after his fourth snap of the game, he was taken off the field with a season-ending Achilles injury. Without Rodgers, the Jets have an exceptional defense matched with star offensive players but are lacking a quarterback with experience. Zach Wilson stepped into the game Monday night and managed to get the win over Buffalo, but I’m not sure he is a solution for the Jets organization. The team and coaching staff seem to lack trust in Wilson. After seeing the Jets play on Monday night, it became apparent that with a healthy Rodgers this could have been a Super Bowl contending team. Jets fans may have to settle with just making the playoffs after this heartbreaking injury.
3. Mahomes, Burrow, and Allen all with week one losses.
On almost every quarterback ranking these three names exist somewhere in the top five. Somehow, each one of these elite quarterbacks took a huge week one loss. Joe Burrow had a surprisingly underwhelming performance against the Browns with zero touchdowns and only 82 passing yards. This game was played only days after his huge contract extension making him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. Mahomes had a seemingly decent game but fell short on Thursday Night Football against the Lions. The Bills took on the Jets on Monday night where Allen three three interceptions and lost a fumble. Will this week one performance for these three quarterbacks have any reflection on how the rest of the season goes, or was this just week one jitter?