The NFL regular season is unlike any other in North American sports. Teams only play 17 games, which makes every contest feel like it’s the most important matchup in the world. This also leads to fans and media members making blanket statements about how the season will play out based on the result of just a single game. With that in mind, let’s analyze some of the hottest takes to come out of Week One and determine if they’re an overreaction or not.
The Bills are the best team in the AFC.
They might have the best quarterback in the NFL right now, but top-to-bottom, they are probably the second-best team in the AFC. Even though they lost, the Ravens have a better roster than the Bills. Their running back, WR1, linebackers, and secondary are better than Buffalo’s. Josh Allen is only a tad better than Lamar Jackson. The offensive and defensive lines are fairly even. The loss means that the Bills were better that day. It doesn’t mean they are a better team overall.
Overreaction
Micah Parsons should be the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Since the 2012-13 season, there have been nine people who have won the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Six of those nine individuals have been defensive linemen and/or pass-rushing specialists. As things currently stand, eight people have a really strong shot at winning the 2025 DPOTY Award: Pat Surtain II, Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa, Roquan Smith, Zack Baun, Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, and Trey Hendrickson. Parsons, even on a limited snap count, looked like the league’s best defensive player in Week One. If he can continue to play at the level we saw in Week One, while playing more and more each week, then he’ll win the Defensive Player of the Year Award when the regular season concludes.
Proper reaction
The Detroit Lions’ Super Bowl window has closed.
Week One is usually an anomaly for most teams because they haven’t established their identity for the season yet. The Philadelphia Eagles started last year 2-2, while the New Orleans Saints were 2-0 to open the 2024-25 campaign. The Lions are breaking in a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator, and a few new offensive linemen. Those sweeping changes will take time to get used to. Detroit may have looked bad in Week One, but they will play more like a championship-caliber team as the season goes on. Once you make it into the playoffs, anything can happen, so it’s premature to shut the door on the Lions.
Overreaction
On September 10th, 2025, the ‘Phins are the worst team in the NFL, technically speaking. They are 0-1, like 16 other teams in the league, but they have the worst point differential in football (-25). Based on those two factors, they are the league’s worst team. The Cleveland Browns and the Saints kept their games close, while the Carolina Panthers have a better point differential than Miami. Nobody looks worse than the Dolphins right now, but that could change in Week Two.
Proper reaction
The Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty is over.
A six-point neutral site loss to a divisional rival in the first week of the season does not signify the end of a dynasty. It might mark the beginning of the end, but it’s not like the Chiefs are suddenly going to be a losing organization while still employing Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and Steve Spagnuolo. With that being said, this does feel like the weakest Chiefs team of the Patrick Mahomes era, so there’s a shot that they miss out on the Super Bowl for the first time since 2022. Regardless, not making the Super Bowl shouldn’t be viewed as the end of the world or the end of the best North American sports dynasty of the 2020s.
Overreaction
Bo Nix will have a really bad sophomore slump.
The Broncos have a much harder schedule this year than they did last season. During the 2024-25 campaign, they beat up on bad teams like the Jets, Panthers, Raiders, Saints, Browns, etc. This year, it only looks like Denver has two easy wins: vs. the Giants and vs. the Jaguars. On top of that, it’ll be very difficult for Bo Nix to replicate last year’s performance, when he threw the second-most touchdowns ever by a quarterback in his rookie season. The TD numbers will be down, and the turnover numbers will go up this year.
Proper reaction
The Chicago Bears need to move on from Caleb Williams.
He holds onto the football too long in the pocket. He resorts to scrambling too often. He is still taking a long time to read through his on-field progressions. But the talent is so clearly there. All you need to do is look at the first-quarter pass he made to Rome Odunze on the sideline while scrambling outside of the pocket. He’s a former number-one overall pick who still looked promising in his first game under a new head coach. Quarterbacks need time to develop. It would be foolish for Chicago to start looking for a new QB after this season. Caleb Williams has too much potential.
Overreaction
The Philadelphia Eagles are not the best team in the NFL.
As I said yesterday, the defense is bound to take a noticeable step back. They lost seven key contributors on that side of the ball alone, which basically guarantees that this unit will not be as effective as it was last year, when it finished the regular season ranked in the top two in points and yards allowed. At the same time, the Eagles are starting a new right guard and already dealing with an injury to Landon Dickerson, which will make it difficult for this group to be as dominant as it was last season. With a meat grinder of a schedule to boot, the Eagles will not be the league’s best team this year.
