NFL Week 1 winners, losers: Dolphins, 49ers waste no time with sizzling starts

Week 1 of the NFL season is nearly in the books and, as always, there were unexpected outcomes.

Some playoff teams suffered massive letdowns, none worse than the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants, both of whom played in rain-soaked conditions and combined for three points scored.

In the AFC, a pair of playoff teams in the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers had a track meet that featured historic production out of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and receiver Tyreek Hill.

Meanwhile, a team that faced the worst injury luck last season, the San Francisco 49ers, is now healthy, just got star edge rusher Nick Bosa signed to the richest contract for a defender in NFL history and looks like one of the toughest outs in the entire league.

Here are the winners and losers from the first Sunday of the 2023 NFL season.

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WINNERS

Fear the ‘Phins

What the Dolphins did Sunday against the Chargers was exactly what they were doing last season, prior to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion issues. Miami exorcised last year’s loss against Los Angeles with an offensive explosion that saw Tagovailoa put up the fourth-highest passing yardage total in an opener (466 yards) and receiver Tyreek Hill post the third-most Week 1 receiving yards (215).

There are still questions about the rushing game, as Miami was rumored to be interested in a trade for Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, and the defense under new coordinator Vic Fangio got gashed on the ground until two perfectly-timed blitzes late in the game delivered must-have stops. But when Miami is able to unleash its speed and Tagovailoa hits receivers in stride and in open space, the Dolphins become one of the most dangerous offenses in the entire NFL.

Healthy 49ers look very much like a buzz saw

On January 29, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy tore his ulnar collateral ligament and later underwent Tommy John surgery. On Sunday, less than eight months since the injury, Purdy carved up the Pittsburgh Steelers in San Francisco’s 30-7 blowout, removing any doubt that this team, if healthy, is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

In the first half, the Niners ran 39 offensive plays to Pittsburgh’s 27. They gained 14 first downs while the Steelers posted only six — four of which came in the final series of the half. Seventy-six of Pittsburgh’s 77 first-half yards also came on that final drive before intermission. It was telling that San Francisco’s response as the third quarter opened was an explosive, 65-yard house call by star running back Christian McCaffrey. The Niners have speed and playmaking across the board at the skill positions and a defense that showed no signs of slowing down, even with Steve Wilks taking over as coordinator.

Aaron who?

In his first game replacing the longest-tenured Green Bay Packer in franchise history, Jordan Love did exactly what he was supposed to do. He protected the ball, read the defense and didn’t force throws and played within his skill set. Perhaps most importantly, he didn’t try to be Aaron Rodgers. Love finished with 245 passing yards and three touchdowns as the Packers demolished the division-rival Chicago Bears — a team Rodgers owned.

To be clear, there is room for improvement and Love, 24, is nowhere near a completed project; coach Matt LaFleur certainly would like for Love to be more efficient than 55.5% completion rate and Green Bay will want Love to feed its wide receivers more. Jayden Reed paced all wideouts with only a pair of catches for 48 yards. Chicago was the worst scoring defense in 2022, so the true test will be when Green Bay faces stiffer competition. All that said, this was a great start.

Even in defeat, Colts QB Anthony Richardson shines

Consider that the Indianapolis Colts have one of the weaker rosters in the NFL, were without star running back Jonathan Taylor and that rookie Anthony Richardson became the seventh different starter at quarterback that Indianapolis has had in as many season openers. Despite that, Richardson showed in a 31-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that — while he remains perhaps a bit raw — he has all the tools to become a star in the NFL.

Credit Colts coach Shane Steichen for crafting a game plan that allowed Richardson (263 total yards, two total touchdowns, one interception) to be quick and decisive in the passing game. Richardson, with his size, speed, strength and throwing power, is a physical prototype for quarterbacks in the modern NFL. His ability to extend plays and gain in short-yardage situations is what separates him from other rookies. The priority for Richardson should be, as Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence shared with him after the game, protecting himself from the wear of NFL hits. Now it’s incumbent on the Colts to build around him.

LOSERS

The Bengals' O-line is a mess

Ja’Marr Chase gave the Browns bulletin-board material and quarterback Joe Burrow missed most of the preseason, so it was imperative for Cincinnati to open rushing lanes and protect Burrow. The Bengals offensive line did neither, allowing Burrow to face constant duress and get hit 10 times. Coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, who relied on passes despite pouring rain and the Browns giving Cincinnati numbers inside the box, deserve plenty of blame.

Still, Cincy was unable to fend off Cleveland’s constant dose of pressure under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The key play of the 24-3 loss came on a fourth-and-4 with 10:32 to play, when Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett blew up a pass play and sacked Burrow, who finished 14-of-31 for a career-low 82 yards with no touchdowns. He was benched with 5:15 to play. Cincinnati is now 1-3 in openers with Burrow starting and has shown it can rebound but, for that to happen, the change must come up front.

One-score Vikings regress to the mean

Last season, no one was better in close games than the Minnesota Vikings. At some point, though, a regression was to be expected. Usually, the close games Minnesota finds itself in are the product of self-inflicted errors. The Vikings gave the ball away three times Sunday in a three-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All fell on Kirk Cousins. The first was a bobble on a quarterback-center exchange; the second was Cousins’ failing to pick up a safety blitz by Antoine Winfield Jr., who recorded the strip sack and recovery; and the final one was a red zone interception.

While the turnovers resulted in only three points for the Buccaneers, the pick came at the end of the first half and robbed the Vikings of the chance to almost certainly come away with at least a field goal. Minnesota is a talented team that can repeat as NFC North champs. But to do so, it needs to learn from last year and put games away.

Murphy’s Law hits the Giants

Coming off of a surprise run to the playoffs in 2022, earning him the AP Coach of the Year award, Brian Daboll saw his second season with the New York Giants start abysmally. New York’s first offensive series against the Dallas Cowboys looked promising, until a field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown. The third possession ended with an interception that was returned 22 yards for a touchdown. By the time that happened, there were still two minutes left to play in the first quarter.

New York had no answer for Dallas’ pass rush, which persistently disrupted the timing of Daniel Jones and sacked him seven times. One of Daboll’s imprints on this team had been New York’s improved protection of the football, giving the ball away a second-best 16 times last season. Against Dallas, the Giants committed three turnovers. Literally, everything went wrong. Place kicker Graham Gano had missed only three field goal attempts last season; Sunday night, Dallas blocked that first try and and then he hooked his second wide left.

Efficient Russell Wilson returns, but one thing missing from Sean Payton's debut with Broncos

No new coach came in with more attention than Sean Payton, who’s tasked with returning quarterback Russell Wilson to form. While Wilson was better (read: efficient) in a one-point loss against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Denver Broncos' offense lacked the downfield passing game that Wilson became known for during his time with the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson completed 27 of 34 passes for 177 yards with a pair of touchdowns, but the team’s leading receiver was running back Samaje Perine (four catches, 37 yards).

Ten different players caught at least one pass, but the longest reception Wilson completed went for just 21 yards. Another issue was that Wilson threw for only 52 yards in the second half. The Broncos were without star receiver Jerry Jeudy, who is nursing a hamstring injury, and they otherwise lack depth at the position. But if Denver cannot develop a consistent downfield threat, Payton’s first season in Mile High might be quite a long one.

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