NFL Week 1 Takeaways

By Tucker Harlin

Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books, and honestly, it wasn’t the best introduction to a season we’ve ever seen.

We didn’t see too many surprises in Week 1 or learn about the strengths of different teams that we didn’t know about before.

That said, I only have a handful of takeaways following the first week of NFL football.

CLEVELAND NEEDS TO GET RID OF DESHAUN WATSON

Credit: Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns knew the high risk, high reward gamble they were taking when they acquired Deshaun Watson from Houston amid his massage therapy debacle.

They locked Watson in on a five year, $230 million, knowing he hadn’t seen the field in over a year due to his off the field issues.

Yes, he was an electrifying quarterback in his time in Houston. But when a guy doesn’t play one and three quarters of a season, he’s going to be out of practice.

Watson had to miss 13 games due to suspension in 2022, and it was too late to make a playoff push by the time he returned.

He had very little to do with the Browns’ 2023 playoff run as he lasted a little over a month before going down with a season ending injury, letting Joe Flacco do the rest.

After watching his performance in the 33-17 loss to the Cowboys, it’s clear Watson is what’s holding the Browns back.

With Watson at quarterback, you’ve basically have the same team the Jets were in 2023. Championship level defense without a pulse on offense.

Watson reportedly has another lawsuit on the horizon, and it may be exactly what Cleveland needs to terminate his contract with cause.

TENNESSEE PLAYED RIGHT INTO THE NATIONAL MEDIA’S PREDICTION

Credit: Tennessee Titans

It hurts to type this out, but my hope in the Tennessee Titans has decreased substantially after watching their performance on Sunday.

The defense played an incredible game against Caleb Williams. It surrendered a few chunk plays here and there, but no touchdowns.

The offense and special teams are where the issues lie.

The punt block touchdown gave me flashbacks to Ryan Stonehouse getting his leg destroyed last season. Tennessee fired Craig Aukerman for that mistake last season, and apparently it has yet to learn from the mistake.

The Will Levis that carved up the Atlanta Falcons secondary in his NFL debut was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the guy that threw three interceptions in Neyland Stadium traveled to Chicago with the Titans this week.

Carson Wentz exists, so I’m not sure the pick six Levis threw is the worst pick I’ve ever seen an NFL quarterback throw. But given the lack of pressure compared to Wentz’s picks and the fact I’ve never seen a Titans play that bad in my life, it made me reassess my expectations for my beloved Titans.

I cannot stop watching Will Levis fall to his knees and just sit there after throwing the game-losing pick 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ITO3VFFrvH

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 8, 2024

I have a feeling the game against the Jets in Nissan Stadium will be a bloodbath.

TAMPA BAY STILL CONTROLS THE NFC SOUTH

Credit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I never bought into the Atlanta Falcons hype before the season, and Week 1 did nothing to change my stance.

I understand the Steelers are going to challenge everyone defensively, but Kirk Cousins looks horrible post Achilles tear.

Baker Mayfield looked terrific in the Buccaneers’ 37-20 win over Washington, a redemption story that continues to get sweeter for Mayfield.

Nothing that happened between the Saints and Panthers did anything to suggest the Bucs are in danger of losing their streak of NFC South crowns.

The Saints won 47-10 because the Panthers are absolutely putrid. I can almost guarantee the New Orleans offense won’t produce the way it did in Week 1 next week against the Dallas defense.