Nothing is decided after one week of an NFL season. Teams can have a bad game, and still have four months to rebound from it. We overreact because it’s the only new data point we have after an offseason of anticipation.
But in the Miami Dolphins’ case, Sunday didn’t seem like a one-off. They just might be bad this season.
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No team looked worse than the Dolphins in the first set of games on Sunday. The were absolutely outclassed by an Indianapolis Colts team that practically nobody is picking to make the playoffs. The Colts got an easy 33-8 win, shutting out the Dolphins until the final minutes and gaining 418 yards of offense against a thin Miami defense.
If the Dolphins looked that bad against the Colts, is it going to get much better?
“This was a big kick in the balls for us,” Hill said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel looks on as his team dug a big hole in the opener against the Colts. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
(Michael Hickey via Getty Images)
The offseason didn’t have many good vibes for the Dolphins. It started as last season ended, when Tyreek Hill said he wanted out and those feelings had to be smoothed over. Head coach Mike McDaniel admitted that players would show up late to meetings despite previously being disciplined for it. Tight end Jonnu Smith, who was the focal point of the offense for most of last season, wanted a raise so Miami traded him. The Dolphins traded Jalen Ramsey along with him, though they got Minkah Fitzpatrick back from the Steelers in the deal.
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Still, there was optimism that the Dolphins could be decent this season. There were still some exciting star players on offense to build around. And they got to start the season against the Indianapolis Colts, who aren’t exactly a scary opponent.
And the Dolphins were down 20-0 at halftime.
Tua Tagovailoa had 42 yards passing at the half and his most notable play was an overthrow of Hill that was intercepted. Tagovailoa also had a terrible interception to start the second half, throwing it right to defensive end Laiatu Latu when he dropped in coverage. Hill was shown getting upset on the sideline; the drama with Hill is never too far away and won’t subside if the Dolphins fall apart this season. The Dolphins didn’t score until 6:21 remained, after the Colts had taken a 30-0 lead.
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The Dolphins’ defense wasn’t better. Daniel Jones, who was cut by the Giants last season, had 197 yards passing in the first half, and also threw for a touchdown and had another on a quarterback sneak. Jones looked very good, and we’ll wait to find out if that’s more due to career revival or a bad Miami defense. The Dolphins were outgained 255-43 at halftime against a Colts team everyone considers mediocre at best. The Colts, which scored on seven of its possessions, had three scoring drives of 14 or more plays.
If Sunday was a preview of what to expect from the Dolphins this season, it seems very unlikely they’ll look the same by the end of the season and certainly there will be offseason changes. Hill could be put on the trading block. McDaniel has to be a candidate to be the first coach fired if it gets really bad. Tagovailoa’s future beyond this season will be debated endlessly.
It could get ugly for the Dolphins this season. It already looked pretty ugly on Sunday.
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Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 1 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
Packers defenders not named Micah Parsons: Parsons is a superstar and deserved the ovations he got from the Packers’ fans Sunday at Lambeau Field.
But Week 1 showed the Packers might be more than just Parsons.
Parsons played limited snaps due to him joining the team just last week and also a back injury, and he made an impact on those few snaps. But the rest of Green Bay’s defense was responsible for shutting down a Lions offense that led the NFL in scoring last season.
The Lions didn’t pass 200 yards of offense until the final three minutes of the game and didn’t score a touchdown until the outcome was long decided. The Packers won 27-13, absolutely dominating the Lions’ offensive line that lost center Frank Ragnow and guard Kevin Zeitler in the offseason.
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The Lions’ offense looked like a shell of its normal self, but that might be due to the Packers. Assuming Parsons works his way back to his typical role and plays like one of the best defenders in the NFL, Green Bay seems to have a lot of talent to support him.
Denver Broncos defense: Denver’s offense is going to have to play much better than it did Sunday if it wants to compete for an AFC West championship. But it’s clear the Broncos’ defense will do its part.
Bo Nix and the Broncos had an uneven performance against the Tennessee Titans and were on upset watch for much of Sunday afternoon, but Denver’s defense was fantastic and made sure things weren’t ruined for many survival pool players in Week 1. Denver eventually pulled away for a 20-12 win that was tougher than expected.
In one key sequence in the fourth quarter, the Broncos muffed a punt when they led 13-12. The Titans recovered at the Denver 24-yard line, well within field-goal territory. But on second and third down the Broncos had two sacks of Cam Ward that pushed Tennessee back 27 yards. The Titans punted, and on the next drive Denver scored to give itself breathing room.
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The Broncos still had to get one more stop after the Broncos went for it on fourth-and-8 and Nix threw deep and incomplete. A couple of dropped passes helped Denver then, but pressure on fourth-and-10 led to a sack that ended the game.
Denver’s defense might be the best in the NFL. The offense has time to catch up.
Liam Coen: He might not do the “Duval” chant well, but he can devise an offense.
In Coen’s first half as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach, Trevor Lawrence had 128 passing yards, Jacksonville had 134 rushing yards as a team and it led the Carolina Panthers 20-3. The offense slowed down in the second half, perhaps because of a weather delay that lasted more than an hour, but the Jaguars cruised to a 26-10 win.
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The Panthers’ defense is bad, but Jacksonville should still be thrilled with what it saw. Lawrence missed a few throws but still had a solid game. Travis Etienne Jr. rushed for 143 yards. Travis Hunter had six catches in his debut for 33 yards. So there’s still room for Jacksonville to get better. But Coen’s first game as an NFL head coach was a big hit.
Cincinnati Bengals, barely: The Bengals just aren’t good early in the season in the Zac Taylor era. They needed a lot of luck to get a win Sunday.
The Bengals’ offense was bad most of the game and Cincinnati probably should have lost, but Browns kicker Andre Szmyt missed two huge kicks in his NFL debut, blowing an extra point and missing a 36-yard attempt wide right that would have given the Browns the lead late in the fourth quarter. Cleveland also wasn’t helped by a crucial Jerry Jeudy drop on a fourth down, or a play in which Cedric Tillman couldn’t haul in a pass, tipped it up and DJ Turner II picked it off. Cincinnati had just 141 yards of offense, and that came after starters played in the preseason in hopes of getting off to a faster start in the regular season.
Even with many breaks going their way, the Bengals still needed to hold on for the final 19 seconds after the Browns got yet another possession. But this one started from inside their 5-yard line and needed a miracle that they didn’t get. The Bengals held on to win 17-16.
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The Bengals need to play better than they did Sunday if they want to make it back to the playoffs. But at least they didn’t lose, as they have often done in September under Taylor.
Marvin Harrison Jr.: Harrison’s rookie season for the Arizona Cardinals wasn’t bad. It just didn’t live up to the massive hype that followed him into the NFL.
Harrison and the Cardinals had a nice start to this season. Harrison caught a touchdown and the Cardinals barely held on to beat the New Orleans Saints 20-13. Harrison had five catches for 71 yards and that made a big difference.
The Cardinals still had to hold on at the end. The Saints drove into the red zone in the final seconds, but after a spike to stop the clock, Spencer Rattler threw three straight incompletions to end the game. It wasn’t the prettiest win for the Cardinals, but it’s a 1-0 start to the season.
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Baker Mayfield, and Michael Penix Jr.: Penix seemed to give the Atlanta Falcons a huge win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with two enormous fourth-down runs, one in which he barely got the first down inside the 5-yard line, and another for a score on fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes left.
Mayfield wasn’t done though. Mayfield, who had struggled to get much going Sunday, led the Buccaneers on a great drive that ended with rookie Emeka Egbuka’s second touchdown grab of the game with 59 seconds left.
Penix still had a rally left though, after the Buccaneers missed the extra point. He got the Falcons in position for a 45-yard game-tying field goal, but Younghoe Koo pushed it wide right and the Buccaneers held on to a 23-20 win.
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Mayfield came through when it mattered. So did Penix, multiple times, though Atlanta fell short. That could be a fun divisional rivalry for a while.
LOSERS
C.J. Stroud: Last season, Stroud’s numbers fell off in large part because the offensive line in front of him wasn’t very good.
The Texans did very little to fix those issues in the offseason. And, predictably, Stroud struggled again.
The Rams pressured Stroud often and ground out a 14-9 victory over the Texans. Stroud had 188 yards and the Texans didn’t score a touchdown Sunday. It’s not Stroud’s fault that the Texans have ignored fixing their offensive line, but he’s the one who will suffer the most because of it.
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The Texans have a good defense and the running game wasn’t bad Sunday. But it’s hard to function in the NFL if the passing game can’t get going because the offensive line can’t protect the quarterback. That could be a season-long issue in Houston. Again.
Sam Darnold: He had a shot to be a hero in his first Seattle Seahawks game. Instead, he’ll have to hear the same old questions.
After Brock Purdy had a third-down pass nearly picked off but snatched out of the air by Jake Tonges for a go-ahead score, Darnold started putting together a promising drive. He hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a nice 40-yard gain. The Seahawks moved to the 49ers’ 9-yard line.
Then came the game-ending turnover. Right tackle Abe Lucas was pushed into Darnold by defensive end Nick Bosa, Darnold hit Lucas and lost the ball and Bosa recovered. The 49ers held on to a 17-13 win.
That’s a tough way for the game to end for Darnold, who had less than 100 yards passing before Seattle’s final drive. He still will need to prove himself to Seahawks fans.
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Brian Daboll: Well, Jaxson Dart could have done that.
The New York Giants are in a bind. They have to know that veteran Russell Wilson has a very low ceiling at this point in his career. They have Dart, a first-round draft pick who had a fantastic preseason, on the bench. The concern is starting Dart before he’s ready. So the Giants are going to live through what we saw Sunday until the inevitable happens and Wilson is benched.
Wilson was unimpressive and the Giants meekly fell to the Washington Commanders. The Giants had a chance to be at least competitive with a little bit of offense, but they couldn’t find the end zone. With 7:09 left Deebo Samuel scored for the Commanders to give them a 21-6 lead, and Washington went on to win by that score. The Giants’ offense couldn’t keep New York in the game. Wilson had just 168 yards on 37 attempts and didn’t lead the Giants to a touchdown.
The problem for Daboll is if the losses pile up, the chances of him being fired during the season increase. He doesn’t want to play Dart before he’s ready, but losing games with Wilson is not a thrilling option either. Daboll could have made the quarterback change Sunday and nobody would have argued with him. But he didn’t.
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New York Jets: The Jets played well enough to win. The Pittsburgh Steelers were just slightly better.
In a fantastic Week 1 game, the Steelers came back to beat the Jets 34-32. Chris Boswell hit a 60-yard field goal in the final two minutes, then on a fourth down new Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey had a huge hit on Garrett Wilson, knocking the ball loose and incomplete on what would have been a first down. Aaron Rodgers had a win over his former team.
The Jets weren’t bad. Justin Fields had a strong outing with two rushing touchdowns and one passing. A fumbled kickoff return in the second half by the Jets was a huge turning point in the loss. The Steelers escaped with one. The Jets will regret letting it get away.
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Drake Maye: The anticipation for the New England Patriots in Maye’s second season was high. Maye had a promising rookie season and got plenty of help in the offseason.
There’s a lot of season to go but Sunday wasn’t a good first act. Maye mostly struggled and the Patriots started with a 20-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The conditions were wet, which wasn’t ideal for Maye, but the Raiders’ defense isn’t expected to be very good. And Maye did very little against it, missing many throws.
Mike Vrabel didn’t cover himself in glory either, punting on fourth-and-10 with less than five minutes left and the Patriots trailing by 10 points. That waved the white flag.
It probably didn’t matter because Maye wasn’t good enough to rally the Patriots anyway. Maye completed 30 of 46 passes for 287 yards, which weren’t bad numbers but don’t really reflect his play. The Patriots weren’t very good on offense, and New England has to hope it looks better in more favorable weather conditions.
