FIVE things we learned from Week 1 of the NFL season: Rodgers needs help, the Cowboys season is over

We saw a wild week 1 of the NFL season, filled with major injuries, turnovers galore, and final second game winners that left fans at home with unfounded hopes. And that was all because of the extension of the game between the Steelers and Bengals.

Now that the first week is over, we have already seen setbacks, our first (and hopefully last) draw of the season and many winning field goals. Teams like the Giants and Seahawks went to bed happy, while fans of the Packers, Patriots and Rams fell asleep in confusion and/or anxiety.

While it’s way too early to write teams off or count them out, we can still learn a lot from what happened to professional football in this first week.

Aaron Rodgers can’t do it all alone

Let’s start with a bold, but probably accurate prediction: if the Packers can’t add experienced wide receivers — and soon — Aaron Rodgers won’t win his third consecutive MVP award.

That may seem a little tame, but it’s better than the reality: The Packers didn’t look like a playoff team in Sunday’s 23-7 defeat to the Vikings, let alone one led by a back-up. to-back MVP winner at quarterback.

Rodgers completed only 22 of 34 passes for 195 yards, no touchdowns and 1 interception. His top pass catcher ran back AJ Dillon, who got five completions for just 46 receiving yards.

Meanwhile, Vikings signal caller Kirk Cousins ​​threw the ball with ease, especially to take out Justin Jefferson wide. The receiver caught the ball 9 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Rodgers could only watch jealously from the sidelines. Off-season, Green Bay watched as two of their best wide receivers left the team – through a trade and in free agency.

Despite an offseason of praise from Rodgers, it is clear that the current young core of receivers will take some time to adjust to this level. The Packers need to find a way to get a more experienced pass catcher into that locker room, for Rodgers’ sake.

The Bills deserve to be the Super Bowl favorites

A demolition against the Rams may be just what the Bills needed to start their season off right – especially one where they’re expected to give their city its first-ever title in a Big 4 sport.

Poor game planning by the Rams could have caused the offensive battle, but the defense – one of the best in the league – took 31 points at home in Thursday night’s loss.

Bills QB Josh Allen threw nearly 300 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His counterpart, Matthew Stafford, threw 240 yards, a touchdown and 3 interceptions.

Allen also did it on the ground carrying the ball 10 times for 56 yards and a touchdown. That was good enough to be the lead rusher for the game.

Of those passing yards, most went to Stefon Diggs, who pulled in 8 catches for 122 yards and a score. Number 2 receiver Gabriel Davis picked up 4 catches for 88 yards and also a touchdown.

It seems almost a foregone conclusion that the Bills will at least make the AFC Championship game, and they will probably win it all. They sure looked good on Thursday. To quote Buffalo broadcast icon Rick Jeanneret, “These guys are good. Scary good.’

It’s week 1 and the season is already over for the Dallas Cowboys

There are few ways the opening game for the Cowboys could have ended worse than Sunday night against the Buccaneers.

Bucs QB Tom Brady showed us all why he was right to get out of retirement. He completed two-thirds of his passes for 212 yards and a touchdown in Tampa Bay’s 19-3 win.

But the main storyline coming out of this game is what happened to Dak Prescott. The Cowboys passer looked lost and struggled to throw even 134 yards, while being fired twice and throwing a pick. His QBR this game was a 15.3.

Then he injured his hand and left the game.

Initial reports said it would take between six and eight weeks to recover from Dak’s surgery, leading many to declare the season over for Dallas.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may be looking into getting Dak back on the field as soon as possible. According to Jones, the reports after the surgery were more favorable and he could be “a consideration to play for us in the next four games.”

This leaves the Cowboys with fifth-year veteran and Central Michigan product Cooper Rush as the likely starter for the coming weeks. Backing up to him will be West Virginia product Will Grier.

Jones says there are no plans for a transaction to get a quarterback in the pipeline. He better hope his gamble pays off, because if Dak is out for more than four weeks, the rest of the NFC East could catch up to them and put the possibility of reaching the postseason further out of reach.

The rumors of Tua’s demise were greatly exaggerated

After preseason training videos showed Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa airmail passes, there was some thought that the former Alabama starter could be staring at the end of his career.

There was plenty of laughter as head coach Mike McDaniel and receiver Tyreek Hill correctly named his passing – in stark contrast to what was shown on the tape.

There were certainly times when Tua grossly overthrew his receivers, but those were rare occasions. Tagovailoa completed 69% of his passes for 270 yards and a touchdown in the Dolphins 20-7 win over the Patriots in Miami.

Hill, recently acquired from the Chiefs, caught eight passes for 94 yards on his South Florida debut.

The Dolphins will face a tougher test against the Ravens this week, but those in the pro-Tua camp were sure to be impressed by what they saw on Sunday.

The Broncos may need to look for a new head coach… again

If you’re trading for a top-10 QB in the league, it may not be advisable to run the clock while holding all three timeouts to attempt a 64-yard field goal… in Seattle.. … at sea level … .with a 4th and 5 to go. Anyway, what do I know? I’m just a writer.

The Denver Broncos’ first game with new quarterback Russell Wilson in the middle ended in a disastrous loss to the rebuilding Seattle Seahawks.

First head coach Nathaniel Hackett – the former Bills, Jaguars and Packers offensive coordinator – showed offensive ineptitude as he stared at the end of the game.

All through Monday night, the Broncos struggled to score points, despite being in the Red Zone four times. On those four trips — one in the first half and three in the second — the team managed to score just two field goals, rumbling the ball at the one-yard line on back-to-back series.

Denver managed just one touchdown all night – a 67-yard pass from Wilson to Jerry Jeudy – that came in their third series of the game.

All that offensive delay led to the decisive moment of the game. With 1:11 to go in the 4th quarter and the Broncos with the ball, one point lower, Russell Wilson’s pass left Denver with a 4th and 5th situation on the Seattle 46 yard line.

Instead of immediately calling a timeout, Hackett decided to walk about 40 seconds off the clock to 20 seconds left.

Kicker Brandon McManus attempted a 64-yard field goal, a ridiculously long attempt previously only done indoors and in high-altitude climates.

McManus missed the practice field goal after Seattle called a timeout. Rather than change his mind and go for it, Hackett kept McManus there to try again. Again he missed and Seattle won the game.

A number of questions need to be asked. Why did Hackett try to go for the field goal? Why did he choose to turn the clock all the way down? What was he saving those timeouts for? Didn’t he trust Russell Wilson to get revenge in front of his former home fans?

However you look at it, it’s not right. Denver is looking to get back on track against Houston this week.