What is real -- and what isn't -- from NFL Week 1: Barnwell on the Lions, Colts, Dolphins and Jets

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Bill BarnwellSep 8, 2025, 08:50 AM ET
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Sunday day of Week 1 is the champion benignant of chaos. After months of projecting, speculating and believing, the opening day of the NFL season is simply a seven-hour world show. That backmost you spent six months talking yourself into has to woody with blitzes astatine NFL speed. The Day 3 prime who wowed everyone successful campy has to spell up against the first-round stars. The manager who talked a large crippled astir his team's doctrine has to really instrumentality with it erstwhile the game's connected the line.

And immoderate of what you spot successful Week 1 really turns retired to beryllium meaningful. Just not everything.

Go backmost to Week 1 past season, for instance. The league's apical scorer was the Saints, who dropped 47 connected the Panthers. The Patriots upset the Bengals with a large show from their defense. The Commanders got blown out by the Buccaneers. And caller disconnected their tally to the Super Bowl, the 49ers signaled that they were acceptable to spell connected different complaint by beating up the Jets connected Monday night.

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Obviously, immoderate of what happens successful Week 1 is thing person to a mirage -- immoderate operation of talent, luck and small-sample variance. Let's effort to benignant done what was existent and what wasn't from the archetypal afloat slate of the season. And naturally, though this isn't usually the case, I person to commencement with what I saw Sunday night.