Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds has the final word on Week One in the NFL, picking out his five big takeaways, player of the week and more; Week Two kicks off on Thursday with the Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am in the early hours of Friday morning
Friday 15 September 2023 08:58, UK
The NFL returned this weekend and proved yet again that it will be the ultimate sporting soap opera, whether it be through outstanding games, individual performances or the heartbreak of the New York Jets losing Aaron Rodgers for the season - you never know what to expect.
The night started like a movie, with Rodgers running out of the tunnel in the spotlight holding the American flag, and it ended up being a horror film. To lose him is just devastating. They were in the spotlight all offseason just because there was so much excitement of him playing somewhere else.
And now they return to where they were last year. They are a team that are dangerous, that can make plays on defense and special teams, but they have questions around the quarterback position. They are a very talented team but there must be huge air that has gone from that balloon once they learned Rodgers was gone for the year.
It was supposed to be such a difference-making signing. I don't think we've had this sort of hype around a quarterback signing in years and it's over within one drive. It's an incredibly sad story for Jets fans - and also neutral fans around the NFL who really wanted to see what Rodgers would do.
I thought the San Francisco 49ers were outstanding in their demolition of the Pittsburgh Steelers. One game won't make a season but they showed they will be a really difficult team to face and beat in the NFC.
Brock Purdy has developed even further at quarterback and they've just got a wealth of talent at their disposal. This game was about Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, they didn't need much out of Deebo Samuel and George Kittle and not many people can boast that much offensive depth.
Defensively, they are as good as ever at all three levels. They were the No 1 defense in the NFL last year and showed they can be just as good in 2023. They marched into what is probably the most raucous atmosphere I've ever experienced, and they silenced the crowd. I could not have been more impressed with them.
Dallas made me pay attention by what they were able to do to the New York Giants on defense and special teams - the offense didn't have to get out of second gear.
To go into New York and cause seven sacks, score a pick-six, score a blocked field goal return. You would expect at some point the Cowboys offense with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to hit a higher gear, if that happens then the Cowboys have huge potential.
It's only one game and they can blow hot and cold, but you have to remember the Giants were a playoff squad a year ago and they got demolished at home. That made me sit up and take notice.
I just continue to be impressed with Dan Campbell and the way he leads his Detroit Lions. You have got to have some confidence in your team to call a fake punt on your own 17-yard line against Patrick Mahomes, but sometimes you have to do that to steal away possessions from the Chiefs.
They did a great job of hanging around, their defense is clearly going to be better than the worst in the NFL last year and so Detroit are in that conversation of teams we need to look out for. This isn't a fluke, they've won nine of their last 11 dating back to last season. It looks like they'll be good enough to win a playoff game for the first time since the 1991 season.
Kansas City were disappointing in that they didn't get much from their wide receivers, particularly in the second half. Mahomes is still the guy we know and love and he'll be that, but he just needs a little more help and the absence of Travis Kelce was startling.
Jordan Love has such a spotlight on him. After 31 seasons of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, you're the guy.
Packers fans haven't experienced uncertainty at quarterback. I thought it was a solid start for Jordan Love, it didn't need to be great because the defense made plays and special teams came up big, his young receivers stepped up and Aaron Jones had a good game. The Packers as a team were much better than I thought they would be.
The two touchdown passes to Romeo Doubs were Aaron Rodgers-like. They were very, very good. Matt LaFleur said it would be a progression with Jordan Love and it only needs to be that, all while supported like the way he was Sunday.
I guess he is the new owner of the Chicago Bears?
The Miami Dolphins have the ability to put up prolific numbers. We haven't seen an offense like this in south Florida since the days of Dan Marino and the Marks Brothers.
Tua Tagovailoa is able to put up 466 yards and three touchdowns, but much of that comes because of the threat of the speed of Tyreek Hill, who had 11 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
What that has done now is create that confidence and expectation that they'll win games like that against the Chargers. Back after the days of Dan Marino there were probably a couple of decades where you would wait for it to fail on offense.
Even in that game when Justin Herbert was going down the field and scoring you felt the Dolphins would get the ball and score themselves, and so much of that is about Tyreek Hill. I thought he was brilliant and won that game for the Dolphins.
He left the defender stood still like a statue, shook him out of his boots and found his way into the end zone for the touchdown. It's just an indication of how exciting he'll be. I came out excited to see more from him, more from Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young. There are some good young players in the NFL.
I can't remember an injury in the NFL that would have deflated a team more. I'm not a Jets fan but I was in the airport waiting to fly back from Pittsburgh and I felt deflated. It felt like it was wrong. And Saleh has to deal with that, in game, keep his team rolling and they pull off a win over a division rival. It's not necessarily about the Xs and Os but how Saleh kept his guys fighting when they could have been so easily excited.
It is early in the season and there's a long way to go, and they started slowly last season, but you have to worry about the Cincinnati Bengals. They are my pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and they get humbled 24-3 by the Cleveland Browns, manhandled by the Cleveland Browns and Joe Burrow throws for 82 yards.
That is incredibly poor and worrying. I don't know how fit he was (after his calf injury), but would you rather not have Burrow for a few weeks and then go on a 12-game tear and get really hot? So much emphasis is put on Week One, I'm not sure you need to play your starters in Week One.
This is a long season, it's a marathon and not a sprint. They probably should have fought that temptation. How they respond in the next few weeks is on my radar. I think they are a quality team and I didn't recognise the team I saw Sunday.
Week Two kicks off on Thursday night with the Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am in the early hours of Friday morning; the Kansas City Chiefs then visit the Jacksonville Jaguars from 6pm on Sunday ahead of New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys
