Luckily, David Tepper didn’t have a drink nearby on Sunday — or anything the Carolina Panthers team owner might throw in a fit of anger.
The Panthers worked hard this offseason to improve after going 2-15 last season. They hired a new head coach in Dave Canales and strengthened the team around quarterback Bryce Young. And nothing was different Sunday.
The Panthers’ newfound optimism was dashed before halftime of their season opener. Not even two quarters into the season, they were down 30-0 to the New Orleans Saints. Young, who had struggled mightily as a rookie despite being the No. 1 draft pick after the monster trade the Panthers made to acquire him, threw a terrible interception on his first pass of the season. He threw an even worse interception early in the second half, tossing a pass far beyond a free Adam Thielen. The Saints turned that interception into a touchdown to take a 37-3 lead. Young’s performance at that point was horrible: 6-of-14 completions for 50 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and an almost impossible 13.1 passer rating.
Young inflated his numbers a bit after the game got completely out of hand and the Saints won 47-10, completing 13 of 30 attempts for 161 yards.
If Young hadn’t been the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, there probably would have been talk of benching him. Canales has only played one game in his NFL head coaching career, but team owners are very impatient, so they must be a little concerned about how much longer he can keep coaching if Sunday’s results are in line with expectations for the rest of the season.
You can’t draw conclusions from one game, but the Panthers’ performance has been so bad that it’s hard not to assume the worst. Carolina was the worst team in the NFL last season, and Young was awful. The Panthers spent more than $150 million in free agency on two guards, drafted a receiver in the first round, a running back and a tight end early on, acquired receiver Diontaie Johnson in a trade, and made other additions. It all seems for nothing.
Tepper is not a patient player under any circumstances, and after investing so much in him and then losing so badly in Week 1, you have to imagine he’d be even more nervous than usual.
Young’s struggles on Sunday are the biggest concern. The Panthers have probably already realized they made a mistake by selecting Young over C.J. Stroud, but one season wasn’t enough to give up on Young. But there’s no room for optimism after Sunday’s game. If Young is as bad as he was in his one game in Year 2, it will set the Panthers back for years, especially considering what they sacrificed to acquire him.
There’s still a long way to go this season, and the Panthers may not be as bad as they were in the season opener, but with a team that bad, big changes will come — and it may not take until the end of the season for Tepper to make them happen.
Here are the remaining winners and losers from Week 1 of the NFL season:
winner
Jim Harbaugh: It’s been a long time since Harbaugh lost a football game.
Coming off a 15-0 season at Michigan, Harbaugh won his first game back in the NFL, leading the Los Angeles Chargers to a 22-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Harbaugh wanted the run, and the Chargers got it Sunday thanks to J.K. Dobbins. The oft-injured former Baltimore Ravens running back rushed 10 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. The Chargers defense played well, holding the Raiders to just one touchdown.
The upcoming schedule will present even bigger challenges, and Harbaugh probably won’t have another undefeated season, but his return to the NFL has been a rewarding one.
Dallas Cowboys: There will be plenty of time to talk about the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson’s awful performance, but don’t forget to praise the Cowboys along the way.
The Cowboys had another offseason filled with negative news, but they started the regular season strong and swept the Browns, 33-17, on Sunday. They outplayed the Browns with superior offense, defense and special teams play. Watson struggled, but the Cowboys defense also contributed greatly. Dak Prescott played clean and efficient, and Kavontay Turpin’s punt return touchdown effectively sealed the game.
Whether Dallas can do anything in the playoffs remains to be seen. On Sunday, Dallas looked just as good as it has the past three seasons.
Buccaneers receivers: One of the reasons Baker Mayfield was able to turn his career around last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was because he had a talented group of receivers to throw passes to.
That momentum carried over into the season opener, where Chris Godwin and rookie Jalen McMillan each scored a touchdown and Mike Evans scored two. Mayfield’s season started off strong, throwing for 289 yards and four touchdowns in the Buccaneers’ 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders.
The Buccaneers won the NFC South last season, and the Falcons were the favorites to win the division this season. Judging by the Falcons’ mediocre performance in Week 1, it may be tough for them to overtake Tampa Bay in the division.
Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs: The Houston Texans knew they had a chance to win before CJ Stroud signed a contract that ultimately made Dak Prescott look like a bargain. The Texans’ two big moves were the trades that brought in Mixon to bolster their running back corps and Diggs to further bolster their already talented receiver corps. Both moves paid off big in the season opener.
Diggs scored two touchdowns, the second of which was a big one on fourth down in the fourth quarter to extend the Texans’ lead over the Colts to 29-20. Mixon seemed to have grown immensely as a running back, rushing for 159 yards. With the Colts trying to get the ball back with two minutes left, Mixon had a big run on third down and three yards to seal the win, 29-27.
The Texans finished last season on a high and made some aggressive moves in the offseason, and after a week in review, those moves look like smart ones.
Dolphins passing game: The Miami Dolphins can pass the ball very well this time around.
Tua Tagovailoa passed for 336 yards, Tyreek Hill had 130 yards receiving, including an 80-yard touchdown, Jaylen Waddle added 108 yards and the Dolphins came from behind to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-17. Jason Sanders sealed the victory with a 52-yard field goal with time running out.
The Dolphins are going to be great offensively again, Tagovailoa is going to have great plays but probably won’t get the respect he deserves, but as long as Miami keeps winning, they’ll be fine.
Steelers pass rush: Pittsburgh may have had issues on offense this season, but they can still get after the quarterback.
The Steelers defense, led by TJ Watt, led Pittsburgh to a blowout 18-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons’ new quarterback, Kirk Cousins, struggled under pressure at times. With the Falcons trailing 15-10 with under three minutes left in the game, he threw a pass under pressure that was easily intercepted, effectively ending the Falcons’ hopes.
The Steelers had to start Justin Fields after Russell Wilson was injured, and he played solidly. The Steelers have to make a quarterback decision by Week 2, but they know their defense will perform every week no matter what.
Buffalo Bills win, barely. The Bills win. On a day when many teams were upset, that was what mattered most.
But it was a lot closer than expected. The Bills were trailing the Arizona Cardinals 17-3 at the half. Josh Allen put in his usual performance to rally the Bills back, holding on when the Cardinals had the ball for the final two minutes to win 34-28. Allen had two touchdown runs and two touchdown passes in the comeback.
The Cardinals may be tough to lose to this season because of their offensive prowess, but if the Bills want to be Super Bowl contenders again, it doesn’t bode well for them to nearly lose to Arizona at home in Week 1. At least they’re 1-0, which is better than any other top NFL team can say in a week.
loser
Bo Nicks: Denver Broncos fans were understandably excited about Knicks, as it had been a while since the Broncos had seen decent quarterback play, but the Knicks had performed well in preseason games against a reserve defense, so it wasn’t a sure thing.
Nicks didn’t play too badly in his NFL debut, a 26-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but he’s still the sixth rookie quarterback of his class. You’re not going to be a CJ Stroud player right from the start. Nicks didn’t do much and was lucky not to get intercepted three or four times in the first half (he was intercepted once). He played too safe to give the Broncos a chance to win. He had less than three yards per pass attempt until the touchdown drive that ended the game. He had just 138 yards on 42 pass attempts. With the Broncos hanging on for dear life late in the fourth quarter, Nicks threw a pass to three Seahawks defenders that was intercepted by Rik Uhlen. This is a teaching moment.
The Knicks have a chance to do well, especially with Sean Payton as coach, but success won’t come right away.
Brian Daboll: The Minnesota Vikings may be one of the NFL’s surprise teams, but Sunday more likely revealed just how bad the New York Giants are going to be this season.
Daboll was considered one of the struggling head coaches before the season began, but things would get even worse. The Giants suffered a humiliating 28-6 loss at home to the Vikings, who almost everyone expected to finish last in the NFC North. In the first half, the Giants went 87 yards and five first downs in 30 plays. The defense was pulverized by Sam Darnold, who led 21-3 when Darnold scored his second touchdown of the game. Darnold was playing very well, completing 16 of 21 passes for 208 yards, but this may have been a sign of the weakness of the Giants’ defense.
That’s not good. It’s also not good for general manager Joe Sean, who traded Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles against the wishes of co-owner John Mara. Barkley scored three touchdowns in the season opener. If the Giants are as bad as they were on Sunday, Daboll, in particular, could struggle early this season.
Will Revis: Revis can make big plays for the Tennessee Titans. The concern is what plays he will allow.
The Titans were leading the Chicago Bears for much of Sunday’s game, but Revis made an inexcusable mistake. With the Titans leading 17-16, Revis was under pressure and, as he was about to collapse, he fired a backhanded pass. The pass never made it to the intended receiver and instead hit cornerback Tyriq Stevenson, who easily intercepted it and returned it 43 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
Then, with two minutes to go, Revis threw the game-winning interception to seal a 24-17 victory for the Chicago Bears in Caleb Williams’ debut. Williams didn’t have a great game, managing just 92 yards passing, but at least he didn’t ruin the game with a backhand flip.
Revis has a season to prove he can be the Titans’ quarterback of the future, and he can’t afford any more mistakes like Sunday’s painful interception six to solidify himself in the Titans’ plans.
Zac Taylor: It’s not too early for a head coach to make the worst decision of the NFL season.
The Cincinnati Bengals fell to 0-1 after a 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots, who destroyed a contender for the NBA championship, and will be a regret for the Bengals all season. Coach Taylor’s fourth quarter decisions were terrible, although they weren’t the only or even the main reason the Bengals lost.
The Bengals were down 16-10 with under 2:30 left and fourth down and five. They were at their own 15, but that shouldn’t matter this late in the game. Taylor punted. It was easy to see what happened next. The Patriots got a first down, the Bengals couldn’t get the ball back, and they lost, 16-10.
The Bengals played badly. They had very little offensive power without Tee Higgins, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury. There’s a lot to fix this season, but the Bengals coach must remember he shares some of the blame.
