Power Rankings: Miami Dolphins moving after week one victory?

For just the second time since 2008, the Miami Dolphins went on the road and won in Foxborough. For some reason, the Patriots being led by a rookie quarterback were the favorites in this game. The Dolphins made sure to come out with the win. The defense was the big difference in this one. Despite letting the Patriots drive down the field quite a few times they only allowed them to get in the endzone once. The offense was inconsistent a little bit but there were also a few really good drives that allowed people to see the potential of the offense. Overall, it was a very close division win that came down to the wire. Expect the same this week when the Dolphins host the Bills.

Russell Wilson really must be looking hard for that MVP season. He started off hot again with 4 touchdowns in the Seattle Seahawks win over the Colts. The entire offense was on point for the whole day. In addition to the 241 passing yards from Wilson, Chris Carson also racked up 91 yards on the ground. The defense is what was least expected in this one as they allowed just 2 touchdowns and forced Carson Wentz to fumble the ball. They even gave the Colts offensive line problems throughout the game which is something that has not happened often recently. Look for Wilson to continue his MVP campaign.

Huge props to the Dallas Cowboys on opening night. Coming into the game it seemed like that the Cowboys would not be able to hang around with the defending champions but they sure did. Dak Prescott looked very good in his first game back since suffering a major injury early last season. It was even better due to the fact that the Buccaneers are supposed to have one of the best defenses in the NFL this year. Despite not being able to come out with the win, there is something to say about the Cowboys when you force the Buccaneers to have to kick a game winning field goal as time expires.

The San Francisco 49ers nearly lost their season opener after being up by 19 heading into the fourth quarter. If you have a type of defense like the 49ers do, it is unacceptable to blow a big lead to the Detroit Lions who are arguable one of the worst teams this year. On the bright side, the offense looked very good. Jimmy Garoppolo had a solid day despite losing the ball once, as he had 314 yards and 1 touchdown to make up for it. The story of the day came from rookie running back Elijah Mitchell who had 104 yards and 1 touchdown. After losing Raheem Mostert for the season, it looks like Mitchell could be the next surprise running back for this year.

What a game that was on Monday night. Finally opening up their new stadium to fans, the Las Vegas Raiders stole the show. Nobody could have predicted that Derek Carr would lead the league with 435 passing yards after Week 1. It was a heck of a performance to watch from the Raiders. From coming back down 14-0 early on, to winning it in overtime 33-27. The defense was a big part of it as well, as they forced Lamar Jackson to fumble the ball twice which does not happen often. It was overall a great win for the Raiders who fell apart the second half of last year.

The Tennessee Titans had the biggest Week 1 letdown in my opinion. I was expecting a hard fought shootout between them and the Cardinals but it was the complete opposite. There was just nothing was going right for the Titans. It all started with Derrick Henry being shut down for the day and only having 58 yards on 17 carries. The other big issue was with Ryan Tannehill, who turned the ball over 3 times in their blowout loss. Of course the defense did not help by allowing 38 points. I do not think this game is a big concern, but the Titans better clean up the mistakes fast as they go on the road to Seattle next.

Mac Jones had a solid first start as a rookie. It was not the worst but definitely not the best either. The New England Patriots fell in their home opener to the Dolphins. For the Patriots, it felt like every good drive that they had going was just shut down by the Dolphins defense as soon as they crossed midfield. A ton of Jones passes were short throws which is okay as a rookie, but he just did not have any chances downfield against the elite Dolphins secondary. As for the defense, they did a pretty good job handling Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense. If it was not for a late game fumble, the Patriots could very well be sitting at 1-0 right now.

The Los Angeles Chargers start off with a nice win on the road to start the season. It was a hot and cold kind of day for the Chargers. Even with Justin Herbert not looking the best, he still managed to put up 337 yards and 1 touchdown against a very tough Washington defense. The run game had to be the most disappointing part of the offense, but once again they were up against a top defense. The Chargers did luck out defensively when they got to face Taylor Heinicke for most of the game after Ryan Fitzpatrick unfortunately suffered an injury. A road win on the east coast for the Chargers is huge to start the season.

Losing your starting quarterback Week 1 is never good. Hopefully it is not for too long, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is out for the time being and Taylor Heinicke is in. Heinicke did a nice job filling in for Fitzpatrick but it just was not enough. There were plenty of positives to come out of this game though. Including second year running back Antonio Gibson who did not miss a beat and contributed 90 yards on the ground and 18 in the air. The defense still played good against an explosive Chargers offense, but the Washington offense just could not keep up. It was close, but Washington should be in good shape if Heinicke could squeeze out a few wins until Fitzpatrick is back.

The Teddy Bridgewater era with the Denver Broncos started off with a bang. They went into New York and had a complete all around very good team win. Bridgewater had a really good Broncos debut putting up 264 yards and 2 touchdowns. The run game was helpful to the offense as well with a combined 146 yards between Melvin Gordon and rookie Javonte Williams. The Broncos offense have plenty of firepower to cause problems. Their much improved defense also came out in full strength, allowing just a total of 304 yards and 13 points. The Broncos could be an under the radar team if they keep this up.