10 key takeaways from a wild Week 1

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Lamar dazzles

The Dolphins couldn't possibly be doing a better job of tanking, so perhaps the NFL world shouldn't get too carried away with Ravens hype after a 59-10 thrashing to open the season. But where's the fun in that? There's just so much to like about this offense.

Not only does Lamar Jackson look much more polished as a passer, but the unit is masterfully constructed around his dual-threat skill set. With a Mark Ingram-led power ground game complementing Jackson's own talent as a runner - arguably the most explosive we've ever seen from a quarterback - opponents can't afford to not stack the box.

Jackson's improvements as a passer, combined with some dynamic pass-catching talents, put the Ravens in position to shred the one-on-one matchups they get as a result. That's what we saw with rookie Marquise Brown, who looks every bit as uncoverable as he was in college, and just wait until they start using the size-speed mismatch that fellow first-year pass-catcher Miles Boykin presents on the outside. It's a pick-your-poison nightmare for defenses that will be difficult, if not impossible, to stop so long as Jackson continues to progress.

Rinse, repeat

There couldn't have been many football fans surprised when, just an hour after being officially released by the Raiders, Antonio Brown reached a deal to join the Patriots. With countless past examples of elite players ending up in New England in unconventional ways and/or on below-market deals, most probably expected it.

Watching Tom Brady pick apart the Steelers in prime time before Brown's official arrival makes his addition that much more frightening. The defending champs are adding one of the best receivers of his generation to an offense that already features Julian Edelman, last year's Super Bowl MVP, and Josh Gordon, an unstoppable talent when on the field and at the top of his game.

Doesn't it just feel like the Patriots are going to run roughshod over the NFL once again? Maybe Gronk will even come out of retirement for the playoffs to chase and capture another ring. Would you really be surprised? The increasingly large faction of the football world waiting on the Patriots' demise is going to have to be patient. This probably isn't the year. At this rate, you probably shouldn't get your hopes up about 2020, either.

Cancel the parade

In a totally new storyline that has never once happened before, the NFL's offseason darlings wasted no time reminding us that Super Bowls aren't won in the summer. As is the case with all these Week 1 observations, it's early. One bad game could prove to mean nothing, and the Browns could very well use this awful start, a 43-13 home(!) loss to the Titans, as motivation to get it together. It's happened before, and it's not as if they don't have the roster to do some great things.

But the embarrassing showing confirms, once again, that building a contender is about so much more than accumulating talent. And if the Browns can't soon get on track with this collection of players - arguably a top-five roster in the NFL - it'll be fair to ask what they were thinking in January.

Fantasy football analysts everywhere rejoiced when the Browns promoted Freddie Kitchens after a promising end to the season for his offense, so it was widely seen as a good hire. But that vaunted offense, now featuring Odell Beckham Jr., got run off the field, and an undisciplined effort saw the team rack up an obscene 18 penalties for 182 yards. All eyes will be on the head coach to clean things up in those areas - fast.

Winston and Mariota on different paths

In a make-or-break season for the former first and second overall picks, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will enter Week 2 on opposite trajectories.

Bruce Arians’ return from retirement to coach Winston’s Bucs appeared to be a perfect marriage. Under Arians' tutelage, the big-armed but once erratic Carson Palmer turned in MVP-caliber seasons. Winston, it seemed, was similarly ripe for fine-tuning. Instead, Week 1 revealed the same error-prone passer we've seen for years; one who is slow to make reads (even with wide-open receivers right in front of his face), too quick to scramble even when no running lane presents itself, and, above all, far too loose with the football. Of his three touchdown tosses Sunday, only one was thrown to a Buccaneers player.

Conversely, Mariota played measured, efficient, and highly productive football in his first game under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who assumed new Packers head coach Matt LaFleur's former duties. On a mere 24 pass attempts, Mariota threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Most importantly, behind a depleted offensive line, Mariota avoided the injury-causing hits that have derailed much of his career. In a suddenly very winnable AFC South, following Andrew Luck's retirement and Nick Foles' long-term injury, the Titans are trending in the right direction.

Growing pains and glimpses

All we heard throughout the preseason was that the Cardinals couldn't wait to open up the offense when the regular season kicked off. The optimists in us took this as a sign that Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray were about to unleash a new-look attack that would take the league by storm. For the vast majority of Sunday's opener, they seemed headed for a letdown.

The Lions ran Kingsbury's offense off the field for three quarters, despite being far and away the most beatable opponents scheduled for the first month of the season, as Murray took numerous sacks and had trouble connecting with his receivers. But with the game on the line late, the light started to come on. Three fourth-quarter scoring drives sent the contest to overtime, where the two teams would trade field goals before settling for a tie. Not ideal, and certainly not the fireworks we expected, but things got better.

Bottom line: This is going to be a process. The Cardinals won't set the league on fire in Year 1 of this new era, but Murray's talent is unmistakable and Kingsbury's offense is as modern as it gets. The potential for a potent scoring unit is there.

They are who we thought they were

Remember when everyone and their mother was picking the Vikings to make a trip to the Super Bowl in 2018? Well, maybe we were all just a year early. Considering they're returning largely the same team that experts were so excited about just one season ago, it's a wonder people seemed to be sleeping on Minnesota heading into the campaign. That shouldn't last long.

The Vikings put in arguably the most impressive performance of the week in dismantling a Falcons team that many expect to be in the mix in a loaded NFC. And it all came with Kirk Cousins attempting just 10 passes. That's because a stacked defense held Matt Ryan in check all day, racking up four sacks and two interceptions, while the offense rode the kind of dominant ground game they sought all of last year. And who can blame them for looking to establish that kind of offense? A healthy Dalvin Cook is one of the most dynamic playmakers in football, and rookie Alexander Mattison has earned himself a role for a reason.

With one of the league's premier receiver tandems, we know the Vikings will be able to throw it when they have to. A running game like the one we saw Sunday will help set Cousins up for success, and vice versa. There's talent all over this roster, and it's going to take this team deep into the postseason.

Eagles' one big weakness

The Eagles were a little slow to take on the look of a Super Bowl contender, falling behind the division-rival Redskins 17-0 in what was supposed to be a cupcake opener. Carson Wentz and Co. eventually woke up and would ultimately cruise to a relatively easy win, but the initial struggles did shine a light on the biggest concerns surrounding Philadelphia this year - the secondary.

For all the talent on this team, stacked at nearly position group, the collection of defensive backs is still mediocre, at best. Early as it may be, that deficiency showing up against Case Keenum and a cast of young receivers makes you wonder how this group matches up with some of the top passing attacks that'll be waiting later in the schedule and, eventually, in the NFC playoffs.

Howie Roseman is one of the most aggressive general managers in the league. He's certainly aware of this problem area, so it would be no surprise to see him working the phones in the early part of the season leading up to the trade deadline. Jalen Ramsey will be the biggest name mentioned to trade talk, but given the presumed cost, perhaps a better name to keep an eye on is Patrick Peterson, who will rejoin the Cardinals in October after serving a six-game suspension.

Gordon's holdout should drag on

For any player extending a holdout into the regular season, the hope is that their team immediately feels their absence on the field. Unfortunately for Melvin Gordon, that's not even remotely the case.

Not only does the Chargers' offense look perfectly fine without him, but one could make the argument that Austin Ekeler is the more dynamic player anyway. Ekeler was the star of Sunday's road win over the Colts, taking 12 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown (including the overtime game-winner), while also adding six catches for 96 yards and two scores.

Unless Gordon caves or another team steps up to offer a mid-round pick in a trade, this feels like a holdout that will last deep into the season. The Chargers have no reason to even approach his rumored demands of $13 million per season, and given the limited value he'd add, one could argue that their reported offer of $10 million was too generous.

No Luck, no problem

One game into the post-Andrew Luck era, the sky is decidedly not falling in Indianapolis.

Jacoby Brissett looked very much like he did when filling in after Luck's 2017 season-ending injury - not quite the perfect quarterback specimen Luck was hailed as before injuries derailed and eventually ended his career, but more than capable of leading an NFL team to the playoffs.

The stats - 21 of 27 pass attempts for 190 yards, two touchdowns, and a 120.7 passer rating - were there. So was the comeback drive, with Brissett finding T.Y. Hilton for a last-minute, game-tying touchdown. The win wasn't there, with the defense surrendering an overtime touchdown, but this looked nothing like a team lost at sea after the shocking departure of its captain. This looked like the beginnings of a new, but not altogether different, identity.

Welcome to the Jacoby Brissett era.

Pay the man

Ezekiel Elliott held out of the Cowboys' entire summer program and was rewarded with the largest contract ever given to a running back. Dak Prescott is also seeking a record deal, but he's taken a different approach. For reasons that make sense only to those employed in the NFL (or maybe just to nobody at all), quarterbacks don't hold out for new deals. As leaders of the team, it's beneath them ... or something.

So, Prescott dutifully reported for training camp and preseason, and he took the field Sunday under a rookie contract that will pay him a shade over $2 million in 2019 - less than many backups will take home. Sixty minutes of game time later, the Cowboys might wish they had prioritized Prescott’s extension over Elliott's. The fourth-year pro was clinical against the Giants, throwing for 405 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating.

An extension is coming - and probably soon. But any hope the Cowboys may have had of signing their passer at a discount has vanished. Jared Goff's $110 million guaranteed will look like chump change next to Dak's upcoming deal.