NFL Week 1 Tuesday Whip-around: Key Takeaways from Every Game

Last night concluded the NFL's week one action, and now all 16 teams have given their fans a chance to see what they've got this year. As it pretty much impossible to catch all 16 games of NFL action in a given week, here's a list of key takeaways from each game this weekend so you can get caught up on all the action!

Broncos 49, Ravens 24

1. Peyton's arm strength still isn't looking that great in the Denver air, but already this year he reminded everyone of what a legend he is by throwing seven touchdown passes and putting previous unknowns on the map (had you ever heard of Julius Thomas before Thursday?).
2. Broncos' defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio needs to find a way to create a pass rush, as without All-Pro linebacker Von Miller the Broncos struggled to create pressure.
3. This new Ravens defense was supposed to be better even with the loss of legends Ray Lewis and Ed Reed....that may take some more time.
4. Joe Flacco's weapons struggled to help him out all game; this team desperately misses Dennis Pitta and Anquan Boldin.

Patriots 23, Bills 21

1. No matter what kind of talent he has around him, Tom Brady is still Tom Brady in the clutch.
2. Injuries are already starting to hurt the Patriots, as the injury report will now include receiver Danny Amendola, running back Shane Vereen and tight end Zach Sudfeld in addition to start tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Pats struggled to be efficient through the air and those losses aren't going to help.
3. EJ Manuel's NFL debut wasn't booming, but being one Tom Brady clutch drive away from victory against the reigning division champions isn't anything to sniff at, either.
4. The Bills defense looked very during the day, registering two sacks and forcing two turnovers, including one around the goal line.

Seahawks 12, Panthers 7

1. Russell Wilson has clearly never heard of such a thing as a sophomore slump.
2. Seattle's offensive line struggled to contain Carolina's tough front seven. They're going to need to step it up if the Seahawks want to take down the 49ers next weekend and take the lead in the early race for the division.
3. The Panthers' front seven is every bit as good as advertised so far.
4. There's a reason Cam Newton is often left out of the conversation when talking about the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. Russell Wilson made sure his team pulled this game out at the end, and Cam did not.game

Bears 24, Bengals 21

1. Above everything else, the Bears' offensive line beating the Bengals' vaunted defensive line and allowing no sacks on Jay Cutler is the story of this game.
2. The Bears' defense continued making plays like they did at the beginning of last season. It will be interesting if they can keep that up this year or if they will start to slow down in the second half of the season like last year.
3. Andy Dalton overall had a solid day, but he needed to step up at the end of the game and failed to do so (no points in the 4th quarter). He has to do better than that if he wants this team to contend in January.
4. Benjarvus Green-Ellis had a brutal day running the football (14 carries for just 25 yards), and rookie Giovanni Bernard may start eating into his snaps.

Dolphins 23, Browns 10

1. Brandon Weeden didn't get much help from his receivers during the game, but he still has to perform much better if he wants to stick around in 2014.
2. The Miami Dolphins apparently don't know how to run the football (23 rushing attempts for 20 yards).
3. So far Mike Wallace has been used as a $60 million decoy on the field, and he doesn't seem too happy about that.

Colts 21, Raiders 17

1. Andrew Luck is absolutely unbeatable in close games.
2. Terrelle Pryor might actually make the Raiders fun to watch this year if he keeps this up.
3. The Colts still have a lot of work to do on defense, as Pryor's mobility gave them trouble all game.

Jets 18, Buccaneers 17

1. Like EJ Manuel, Geno Smith didn't light the world on fire with his NFL debut, but he performed admirably and surprised everyone by leading the Jets to a win. Kudos to you, Geno.
2. Rex Ryan can still coach a mean defense, if nothing else.
3. Josh Freeman did nothing to help his job security, and Greg Schiano might start looking longer and longer at rookie Mike Glennon.
4. Apparently nobody told Lavonte David that stupid personal fouls at the end of games are no-no's in the NFL.

Titans 16, Steelers 9

1. I had previously predicted that the Steelers' offense would struggle behind a weak offensive line and a weak running game. The loss of center Maurkice Pouncey and running back LaRod Stephens-Howling potentially make those situations even worse.
2. This Steeler defense is still struggling to force turnovers, even though the Titans don't figure to be a top offensive team in the NFL.
3. This game featured a kneel-down on a kickoff for a safety. At the NFL level.
4. Even in a upset victory it was hard to be impressed by this Titans offense.

Chiefs 28, Jaguars 2

1. Andy Reid can still coach and Alex Smith is still an efficient passer who won't lose your team games.
2. This Jaguars' offense is bad....REALLY bad....not making it past their own 40 yard line bad.
3. Blaine Gabbert was injured in the loss and is out for week two, but with the way he performed he really shouldn't be in the lineup anyway.

Saints 23, Atlanta 17

1. Welcome back to the NFL Sean Payton, it was like you and your offense never left.
2. This Saints' defense looked a lot better than the awful unit last year.
3. The Falcons' offensive line did look awful, surrendering sacks to pass rushers that weren't even slated to be starters at the beginning of the offseason.
4. Despite once having a 10 point lead and facing the worst run defense in the NFL from last year, and with new free agent running back Steven Jackson (who averaged 7 yards per carry on the day), the Falcons barely ran the ball. Use your new weapons Mike Smith.

49ers 34, Packers 28

1. There's no magic formula to stop Colin Kaepernick, Dom Capers, if you try to keep him in the pocket he will just burn you with his arm, not his legs.
2. Anquan Boldin looks like the steal of the offseason. The Ravens probably wish they could get that 6th round pick back.
3. That launch by Clay Matthews was not smart, and it cost his team a crucial touchdown (and the NFL officials have said the 49ers actually should have received a first down after the penalties, so the Packers cannot blame the officials for that touchdown).
4. If Eddie Lacy can produce, this Green Bay offense becomes scary. On a drive when Lacy started to pound the ball, the Packers marched straight down the field.

Rams 27, Cardinals 24

1. Larry Fitzgerald is back folks! That's good to see.
2. Rams' defensive end Robert Quinn completely dominated left tackle Levi Brown for three sacks on the day, and that was huge in killing some Cardinal drives.
3. Rams' tight end Jared Cook is an absolute beast, and it looks like he's in line for a solid season.
4. Both quarterbacks are looking for redemptive seasons this year, and both had solid, but not flawless, outings that their fans can be proud of.

Cowboys 36, Giants 31

1. The Giants have outstanding weapons in the passing game, with three receivers having over 100 yards on the day, but it looks like they now have no weapons in the running game.
2. With six Giant turnovers, it's a wonder that Tom Coughlin didn't have a hard attack.
3. The Cowboys' offensive line looks a lot better this season, as they gave Tony Romo plenty of time in the pocket to throw.
4. It's hard to believe that Tony Romo just had the "wind knocked out of him" on a hard first half hit. Romo looked injured the entire second half and wasn't nearly as effective, and this will be something to watch going into next week.

Eagles 33, Redskins 27

1. RGIII, as I've previously said, needs to some time to get his groove back, as he was playing tentatively most of this game as he adjusted to full speed football again.
2. The Redskins' running game was a lot weaker without much of a threat of RGIII running.
3. Chip Kelly's offense is going to be fun to watch, and they absolutely stomped all over the Redskins in the first half (this game was not nearly as close as the score would leave you to believe).
4. Chip Kelly also needs to make sure this up-tempo offense keeps his players healthy, as Michael Vick was limping in the second half and was overall much less effective.

Texans 31, Chargers 28

1. For the first three quarters it almost looked like the old Philip Rivers had returned to San Diego....for the first three quarters anyway.
2. Houston executed the first successful fake punt of the NFL season Monday night, and huge credit to Gary Kubiak for having the guts to call that play.
3. Andre Johnson joins Anquan Boldin in leading the charge to prove that older receivers can still ball.
4. Arian Foster still looked like he had some rust to knock off after missing most of the offseason with an injury, so expect him to share carries with Ben Tate for a while until he can prove to the coaching staff he's full go.