The NFL arguably had its most exciting Week 1 in years, living up to the offseason hype generated by all the player movement over the spring and summer months. The league had five games decided by a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime, tied for the third-most such games in Week 1 (and the most since 2002).
Four teams overcame deficits of at least 10 points to win or tie in Week 1, the first time that happened in 20 years. 2022 kickoff weekend was also the fourth time that multiple teams overcame a deficit of at least 16 points to win or tie in Week 1, which has occurred three times in the last four years (2019 and 2020).
With all the madness in Week 1, it’s hard to gauge the outlook of each team after the opening week of the season. There are still some things to take away from each team, which we’ll unravel with Week 1 in the books.
Blitzing Patrick Mahomes was destined to fail: With no J.J. Watt available, the Cardinals threw the kitchen sink to try and stop Mahomes. Vance Joseph should have known that wasn’t going to work based on what Mahomes has shown in the past. The Cardinals blitzed Mahomes more than he had ever been in his entire career, and the Chiefs quarterback torched them for four touchdown passes against the blitz — and all five of his scores were against man coverage.
Mahomes was blitzed a league-high 54% of the time in Week 1. Teams have been avoiding blitzing Mahomes because of his success against it. The Cardinals tried the opposite.
That strategy should work other weeks, but not against arguably the best quarterback in the league.
Same old Falcons: The Falcons earn