NFL Sunday Week 1 Takeaways: Bengals, Browns, Panthers, Dolphins

• Our NFL Sunday Week 1 Takeaways look at the Bengals, Browns, Panthers, and Dolphins
• Joe Burrow had a poor first game, especially for bettors
• Joe Flacco had a mediocre start
• A David Tepper blowout is pending if the Panthers repeat this performance
• The Dolphins’ start could only have been worse if Tua Tagovailoa had gotten hit in the head again

Bengals 17-Browns 16

Burrow’s shaky performance is not unusual for his first game in a season

Joe Burrow was 14 for 23 for 113 yards in the Bengals’ 17-16 win over the Browns in Cleveland. He threw for 1 TD and no picks. He acknowledged that his team escaped with a win despite playing poorly. For a QB who threw for 43 TD passes in 2024 and accrued nearly 5,000 yards, this was a stunningly weak performance.

Still, this is the third consecutive season in which Burrow had a shaky opening week.

Against the Patriots in 2024, he was 21 for 29 with no TDs or picks. He amassed just 164 yards in Cincinnati’s upset loss to New England.

In 2023, in a loss to the Browns, he was 14 for 31 for 82 yards, no TDs and no interceptions.

As the weeks passed, he found his groove and put up the numbers we’ve become accustomed to.

It’s tempting to automatically look at Burrow’s props for completions, attempts, yards through the air, and TDs and expect him to surpass them, but it’s important to gauge certain underestimated aspects like history in Week 1 games.

Expect the chorus to quickly start murmuring for Shedeur Sanders

The Browns’ defense is better than people think. They have the game-breaking Myles Garrett and a solid secondary led by Pro Bowler Denzel Ward. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz brings the unit in well-prepared.

Veteran QB Joe Flacco completed 31 of 45 passes for 290 yards, threw 1 TD and 2 picks. They scored 16 points against a Bengals’ defense that is not held in high regard. While it’s unlikely they would have been better and probably would have been worse with Shedeur Sanders, the entire Browns’ existence has turned into a planet that rotates around the Shedeur star, media and lineage-created though it may be.

If the offense sputters, the calls for Shedeur will rise until it become a real possibility to quiet the noise and keep fans interested in the Browns.

The Panthers May Have Had Unrealistic Expectations for 2025

Was Bryce Young’s second-half performance in 2024 evidence of a young, struggling player turning the corner? Or was he credited for being competent after he’d been so terrible before?

It’s one game, but the Panthers were a trendy pick to take a big jump in 2025 and that is undoubtedly what owner David Tepper expects.

A 26-10 loss to the Jaguars with what was supposed to be an improved Panthers’ offense is a bad omen. Young was 18 for 35 and accrued 154 yards through the air. He ran for 40 yards on 5 carries.

The Panthers’ schedule is not overly intimidating until Week 8 when they play the Bills. They face the Cardinals, Falcons, Patriots, Dolphins, Cowboys, and Jets. All are winnable.

Tepper will likely explode sooner than later if the team reverts to what it was in the first half of 2024 and all of 2023.

The Prophecies of Doom for the Dolphins Came True in Week 1

The only way Week 1 could have gone worse for the Dolphins was if QB Tua Tagovailoa had gotten another concussion.

The Colts blew out the Dolphins 33-8 in a non-competitive game for Miami. Tua completed 14 of 23 passes for 114 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception. He ran once for 7 yards. When he runs, the entire league holds its collective breaths hoping he doesn’t get another head hit.

This is a problem.

Former Jets #2 overall pick Zach Wilson replaced him late in the game and completed 5 of 8 passes for 32 yards.

But this went beyond Tua. Giants washout Daniel Jones started his first game for the Colts and had an efficient 22 for 29 games with 1 TD. He ran for 26 yards on 7 attempts.

The Colts did a number on the Dolphins from start to finish. If Miami is going to save head coach Mike McDaniel’s job, they need to win games against teams in a similar position as the one they’re in.

The game in Carolina in Week 5 could end up being “which coach, Dave Canales or Mike McDaniel, gets fired for losing?”

NFL Sunday Week 1 Takeaways Were Eerily Predictable

These games elicited few surprises. They did give several areas to watch in the coming weeks, notably what the teams that came out on the short end do if they don’t show improvement…fast.

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