NFL: Ten Takeaways From Week One Of The Season

10. Dallas Cowboys

1. Buffalo Bills

Despite the late-game heroics, if Buffalo wants to make the Super Bowl, they are going to have to improve their run defense. The Bills just couldn’t get the important stops when they needed to all game long. On a positive note, Dalton Kincaid was back healthy and looked great, catching 4 passes for 48 yards and a TD. Also, second-year WR Keon Coleman looked much improved from his rookie season. The Bills are a much better offensive team when Kincaid and Coleman can challenge opposing secondaries.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It was obvious that Tampa Bay was missing their star offensive tackle, Tristan Wirfs, as Atlanta had Baker Mayfield under siege for most of the game. Baker only completed 17 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns went to rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who had four receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns. There's no way they'll be able to take him out of the lineup even when Chris Godwin returns in Week 5.

3. New York Jets

Justin Fields played some fantastic football, throwing for 218 yards and a touchdown as well as running for 48 yards and two touchdowns. Even better was Breece Hall, who had 107 rushing yards to go along with two receptions and 38 yards. Hall looked very explosive. The Jets played much better than expected and really deserved to win this game.

4. Baltimore Ravens

Right now, the NFL just doesn’t have an answer for Derrick Henry. Henry ran all over the Bills run defense to the tune of 169 yards and two TDs. Zay Flowers shredded the Bills’ man coverage for 143 yards and a TD, providing Lamar Jackson with the alpha receiver downfield he’s been needing. Mark Andrews was disappointing, but Bills LB Matt Milano is one of the top coverage LBs in the league. The Ravens blew a commanding fourth-quarter lead due to a Henry fumble, but that is such a rarity. xpect them to come out and win in Week 2.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Liam Coen era got off to an exciting start as the Jaguars clearly were the better team. Trevor Lawrence controlled the offense very well and threw for 178 yards and a touchdown. But what was more exciting to see was that Travis Etienne Jr. really took off and thrived in this offense. He had 16 carries for 143 yards, including a 71-yard run. He is absolutely RB1 moving forward. 

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

The game that was supposed to be the lowest scoring of the weekend turned out to be the highest. Aaron Rodgers came back to New York and threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. DK Metcalf had 83 yards receiving, and Calvin Austin III was sensational, with 70 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Kaleb Johnson only had one carry as Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell were the primary ball carriers.

7. Los Angeles Chargers

Justin Herbert surprised everyone, throwing for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Omarion Hampton only had 15 carries, and the Chargers were a pass-first team, which was surprising. Former first-round pick Quentin Johnston had five receptions and two touchdowns, which has shown he's come a long way from a guy who's had a lot of big drops in his career. Keenan Allen returned to the team with 7 receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. He could be a real difference maker this season.

8. Philadelphia Eagles

Jalen Hurts was once again the key to the Eagles’ offense, rushing for two touchdowns and 62 yards. The big problem is that he only threw for 152 yards, and only 24 of those yards went to his starting wideouts, A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. Anyone who drafted those wideouts in fantasy footbalmay feel nervous moving forward, as the Eagles are clearly a run-first offense.

9. Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City's game got off to a rough start when star wide receiver Xavier Worthy dislocated his shoulder on the third play of the game. Luckily, Hollywood Brown had 10 receptions for 99 yards to help keep Kansas City close. The big problem is that the Chiefs are just not running the football very well. Their two running backs (Pacheco and Hunt) had 10 carries for 41 yards, and that's just not going to be enough to win games.

10. Dallas Cowboys