Big Cats

A recap of Week 1 in the NFL.

Welcome to Glass Slipper! Christian McCaffrey was a scratch, Brock Purdy had zero touchdowns, and Nick Bosa didn’t record a sack, yet the Niners beat up a good team on national television? Uh-oh; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

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Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from Week 1 of the NFL season.

  1. Jayden Reed, superstar.

For those who aren’t convinced that there is a huge difference between combine speed and game speed, this kid is the proof. Reed’s best 40-yard dash time was a 4.45, a solid but unspectacular number. On film, he’s the second-fastest player in the NFL. He’ll be in Orlando for the Pro Bowl.

  1. I can’t stand the Bengals.

Just kidding. I love the Bengals. But I can’t stand that they insist on starting every campaign like this. Here are Joe Burrow’s stats from his last three season openers.

  • Completed 60.2% of his throws

  • 194.7 passing yards per game

  • 2 total touchdowns

  • 5 turnovers

  • 12 sacks taken

  • 0-3 record

Pathetic.

  1. Bobby Slowik gets it.

Stefon Diggs clearly isn’t super comfortable in Houston’s offense yet. We all know the dude gets testy when the targets don’t come. I absolutely love the fact that Slowik dialed up two plays on Sunday specifically for Diggs to get into the end zone. Both worked, and they successfully kept Stefon fully engaged.

Forcing him the ball in the red zone may not be the most productive option long-term, but would you sacrifice a bit of efficiency in order to keep your WR1 locked in? Of course.

  1. Head up, Bryce.

If you remember, I stood firmly in Bryce Young’s corner this offseason. He made me look like an absolute fool on Sunday, but I still believe. His football instincts are too good for me to give up this early. I think Bryce will start to quiet some folks here in the coming weeks.

  1. How long is this leash?

Daniel Jones in his career? 62 passing touchdowns, 66 turnovers. He’s on a $160 million deal.

  1. A Jayden Daniels flash.

I love it. I love Jayden’s game.

The courage in the pocket, the hunger to eke out yardage, the quiet confidence. He needs to do a better job of protecting himself, and there are still moments of hesitation that can be cut out. But Daniels is going to be a flat-out star for the next decade.

  1. The grinders.

Here is a complete list of NFL players that have had 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of the last five years.

  • Alvin Kamara

  • Josh Jacobs

  • Stefon Diggs

  • Mike Evans

  • Derrick Henry

  • David Montgomery

The last guy on that list has somehow gone from an inefficient clog in Chicago to the most underrated back in football. Jared Goff went out for that overtime coin toss, and only dropped back to throw one more time. Seven runs in eight plays, and Detroit bullied its way to a big win.

  1. Nathaniel Hackett is pure comedy.

I’m a better football coach than Nathaniel Hackett. You are, too. That man put together one of the most timid gameplans imaginable, in preparation for the nastiest defense in the sport. You know you’re playing Fred Warner for months, and the grand idea is to call slow-developing, lateral run plays? Yeah, that sounds like an awesome course of action.

  1. Trent Williams is incredible.

Ja’Marr Chase held out, and he looked rather pedestrian on Sunday. Brandon Aiyuk held out, and he was awful last night. Trent Williams held out, and he was… perfect.

Trent is already the best offensive lineman of my lifetime, and he’s somehow still getting better at age 36.

  1. Time to peek ahead.

I’ll be honest, Week 2 is probably the weakest slate of this entire NFL season. Bills-Dolphins is a cool divisional matchup on Thursday night, and we’ll see if that Derek Carr explosion was real when the Saints travel to Dallas. But the headliner happens in the late afternoon slot on Sunday, with the Bengals visiting Kansas City. This is a prime opportunity for the Chiefs to put one of its main AFC foes in an 0-2 hole, and pick up a potentially valuable playoff tiebreaker for the second straight week.

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Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton in 2023.

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