NFL: 5 Teams Whose Fans Should Panic After Week 1
There’s plenty of football left this season, but a lot of teams fell short of early expectations. Who needs a bounce back in week 2?
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers were the hot team last year going 13-3 and making the Super Bowl. Facing a tough Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes they fell just short of winning it all. This SF team was thought to have one of the best defenses going into the NFL season.
While Kyle Murray is an up-and-coming force, the fact that he was able to take down that tough defense is cause for concern. If they’re looking to win this year they’ll still have to go through those hot quarterbacks like Mahomes, Jackson, and now Murray. The Cardinals were a 5 win team last year but beat the 49ers as if they were a playoff team.
More NFL: Week 1 Picks 2020 Edition
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins spent a lot of money in free agency and in this year’s NFL Draft. A lot of those resources went to stopping the run, but the Patriots and Cam Newton ran all over the Miami defense. Cam had 75 rushing yards and two TDs. The rest of the Pats running backs averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
While it’s still early in the season for a lot of young talent, but the front office was supposed to be talent hounds and finding perfect diamonds in the rough. Having no answer for Cam Newton and the run game is a giant red flag.
Indianapolis Colts
Losing your franchise quarterback is always tough. Replacing him with an emergency QB is tricky. Filling that spot with a future Hall of Famer should make it worth a damn. Unfortunately, Rivers had a shaky first start as a Colt. Yes, he had almost 400 yards, with one touchdown but two interceptions.
None of the blame should be on Rivers though. Losing Marlon Mack hurts their run game. The Colts threw almost 50 times and would rush just 22 times, only 33% of the time. Relying on an almost 40-year-old quarterback to carry the load is a misstep in game-planning. 4 yards per carry isn’t terrible but in a game that was never out of control, abandoning the run is a head-scratcher.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The NFL was shocked at the news of Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots. It was only a matter of time before he landed on his feet with a new team, or so we thought. You have to go all the way back to 2003, 17 years ago, to the last time Brady threw multiple interceptions in a season opener.
He had his favorite target, Rob Gronkowski to throw to but Gronk had just 2 catches for 11 yards. Mike Evans had 1 catch for 2 yards. Chris Goodwin had 6 for 79 but couldn’t find the end zone. Brady was efficient completing 23/36 but his 2 interceptions were momentum killers. Teams always count him out when he struggles, but he always bounces back. Could this be his last ride if he doesn’t? There’s already a potential rift with HC Bruce Arians calling out the six-time Super Bowl QB.
More Cowboys: Biggest Playoff Test Will Be Themselves
Dallas Cowboys
Maybe it was the Cowboys getting off to a slow start. Maybe the Rams were back to their old form. However, the Cowboys again proved that they can get enough done, but still it not be enough. Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown. Dak Prescott threw for 266 yards and a touchdown and rushed 3 times for 30 yards. Amari Cooper caught 10 passes for 80 yards. Rookie Ceedee Lamb got in the mix with 5 catches for 56 yards.
Still it wasn’t enough to defeat the Rams. The NFL has been waiting for the Cowboys to get back to the top every season and every season for the past few years they’re falling short. Mike McCarthy was supposed to be the missing link to get them over the top, but the top teams score 20+ points and the Cowboys could only muster up 17.
So far, there’s a few teams that shocked the NFL this week. Will week 2 cause more reasons to panic? Check back next week after the games.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
