Winners and Losers from a captivating week 1 of the NFL season

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills staged a stunning 41-40 comeback win over Baltimore on Sunday night, cementing themselves as early Super Bowl contenders.

Football has made its triumphant return in the first week of the season, already featuring its fair share of truly shocking and enthralling moments. While it may have only been one game, it would not be sports journalism if we did not significantly overreact to every game that went down over the weekend. 

Irony aside, there were, in fact, some teams that stole the headlines and established themselves as top-end championship contenders. In contrast, some teams have already caused their fans to spiral into an existential crisis that can only be cured by a win from their team in the very near future. We will look at multiple teams on different sides of the ever-changing landscape of the National Football League (NFL). 

Clear Winner: Buffalo Bills

On Sunday night football, the Bills' hopes of starting off this crucial season with a win looked practically impossible as Baltimore led 40-25 with 11:42 minutes left in the game. But thankfully, for the sanity of Western New Yorkers, the Bills emphatically displayed their talent and resilience in an electrifying 41-40 conquest over their bitter rival. 

Josh Allen was awe-inspiring all night as he finished the game with almost 400 yards passing and four total touchdowns. As long as Buffalo has Allen under center, they are never out of a game, and it is the main reason why many believe that he can lead his team all the way to California for the Super Bowl in February.

Clear Loser: New York Giants

Giants fans came into this season with a bevy of optimism ⁠and hope after a promising preseason, but these hopes were quickly crushed with a dismal 21-6 loss at the hands of the Washington Commanders. It was not even the fact that the Giants lost the game against a superior opponent; it was the complete and total malaise that seemed to surround the entire team the whole afternoon. 

New York’s offensive line was the main concern as veteran quarterback Russell Wilson was pressured and smothered by a formidable Commanders defensive front throughout the length of the game. Their defense wasn’t much better as the Commanders ran for over 220 yards at an astounding 6.9 yards per carry. Overall, it was a putrid day for the Giants, and things must change quickly for  New York or they may be facing more organizational turnover in the near future.

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

The main highlight coming into the Jets versus. The Steelers game was Aaron Rodgers’s return to MetLife Stadium after his thoroughly maligned tenure with the Jets. Rodgers did not disappoint in the slightest and was able to get revenge against the Jets as the Steelers came away with the win, 34-31. 

Rodgers was excellent as he tossed four touchdown passes with zero turnovers. This was an amazing outcome for the Steelers, and the 41-year-old quarterback proved he has a lot left in the tank. Clearly, the city of Pittsburgh has a lot to be excited about.

Loser: Miami Dolphins

Calling the Dolphins' performance on Sunday an unmitigated disaster might just be selling it short. Miami lost to the Indianapolis Colts 33-8, in complete disarray on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a particularly rough performance as he only threw for 114 yards and had two interceptions. 

Defensively, the Dolphins were exposed by the Colts, who scored on every possession of the game—a feat that had not been achieved since 1977. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who has had an up-and-down career in the NFL, was phenomenal against Miami’s defense. For a team that has not won a single postseason game in 23 seasons, the urgency and effort were not nearly enough to instill confidence in the fans that this drought will end anytime soon.

What is great about week one of the NFL season is that oftentimes, we believe the first game of the season for many teams is indicative of how they will play the rest of the season. In reality, that could not be farther from the truth, as the NFL season is a grueling and arduous 18-week-long journey. The constant upheaval and unpredictability of the NFL fuel the excitement that keeps football in the spotlight season after season.