NFL Winners and Losers: After 'kick in the balls' opener, Dolphins might already be in trouble

Nothing is decided after one week of an NFL season. Teams can have a bad game, and still have four months to rebound from it. We overreact because it’s the only new data point we have after an offseason of anticipation.

But in the Miami Dolphins’ case, Sunday didn’t seem like a one-off. They might just be bad this season.

No team looked worse than the Dolphins in the first set of games on Sunday. The were absolutely outclassed by an Indianapolis Colts team that practically nobody is picking to make the playoffs. The Colts got an easy 33-8 win, shutting out the Dolphins until the final minutes and gaining 418 yards of offense against a thin Miami defense.

If the Dolphins looked that bad against the Colts, is it going to get much better?

“This was a big kick in the balls for us,” Hill said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.

The offseason didn’t have many good vibes for the Dolphins. It started as last season ended, when Tyreek Hill said he wanted out and those feelings had to be smoothed over. Mike McDaniel admitted that players would show up late to meetings despite previously being disciplined for it. Tight end Jonnu Smith, who was the focal point of the offense for most of last season, wanted a raise so Miami traded him. They traded Jalen Ramsey along with him, though they got Minkah Fitzpatrick back from the Steelers in the deal.

Still, there was some optimism that the Dolphins could be decent this season. There were still some exciting star players on offense to build around. And they got to start the season against the Indianapolis Colts, who aren’t exactly a scary opponent.

And the Dolphins were down 20-0 at halftime.

Tua Tagovailoa had 42 yards passing at the half and his most notable play was an overthrow of Hill that was intercepted. Tagovailoa also had a terrible interception to start the second half, throwing it right to defensive end Laiatu Latu when he dropped in coverage. Hill was shown getting upset on the sideline; the drama with Hill is never too far away and won’t subside if the Dolphins fall apart this season. The Dolphins didn’t score until 6:21 remained, after the Colts had taken a 30-0 lead.

The defense for the Dolphins wasn’t better. Daniel Jones, who was cut by the Giants last season, had 197 yards passing in the first half, and also threw for a touchdown and had another on a quarterback sneak. Jones looked very good, and we’ll wait to find out if that’s more due to career revival or a bad Miami defense. The Dolphins were out-gained 255-43 at halftime against a Colts team everyone considers mediocre at best. The Colts had three scoring drives of 14 or more plays.

If Sunday was a preview of what to expect from the Dolphins this season, it seems very unlikely they’ll look the same by the end of the season and certainly there will be offseason changes. Hill could be put on the trade block. McDaniel has to be a candidate to be the first coach fired if it gets really bad. Tagovailoa’s future beyond this season will be debated endlessly.

It could get ugly for the Dolphins this season. It already looked pretty ugly on Sunday.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 1 of the NFL season:

WINNERS

Cincinnati Bengals, barely: The Bengals just aren’t good early in the season in the Zac Taylor era. They needed a lot of luck to get a win on Sunday.

The Bengals offense was bad most of the game and they probably should have lost, but Browns kicker Andre Szmyt missed two huge kicks in his NFL debut, blowing a field goal and missing a 36-yard attempt wide right that would have given the Browns the lead late in the fourth quarter. Cleveland also wasn’t helped by a crucial Jerry Jeudy drop on a fourth down, or a play in which Cedric Tillman couldn’t haul in a pass, tipped it up and DJ Turner II picked it off. Cincinnati had just 141 yards of offense, and that came after starters played in the preseason in hopes of getting off to a faster start in the regular season.

Even with many breaks going their way, the Bengals still needed to hold on for the final 19 seconds after the Browns got yet another possession. But this one started from inside their 5-yard line and needed a miracle that they didn’t get. The Bengals held on to win 17-16.

The Bengals need to play better than they did on Sunday if they want to make it back to the playoffs. But at least they didn’t lose, as they have often done in September under Taylor.

Marvin Harrison Jr.: Harrison’s rookie season for the Arizona Cardinals wasn’t bad. It just didn’t live up to the massive hype that followed him into the NFL.

Harrison and the Cardinals had a nice start to this season. Harrison caught a touchdown and the Cardinals barely held on to beat the New Orleans Saints 20-13. Harrison had five catches for 71 yards and that made a big difference.

The Cardinals still had to hold on at the end. The Saints drove into the red zone in the final seconds, but after a spike to stop the clock, Spencer Rattler threw three straight incompletions to end the game. It wasn’t the prettiest win for the Cardinals, but it’s a 1-0 start to the season.

Baker Mayfield, and Michael Penix Jr. too: Penix seemed to give the Atlanta Falcons a huge win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with two enormous fourth down runs, one in which he barely got the first down inside the 5-yard line, and another for a score on fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes left.

Mayfield wasn’t done though. Mayfield, who had struggled to get much going on Sunday, led the Buccaneers on a great drive that ended with rookie Emeka Egbuka’s second touchdown grab of the game with 59 seconds left.

Penix still had a rally left though, after the Buccaneers missed the extra point. He got the Falcons in position for a 45-yard game-tying field goal, but Younghoe Koo pushed it wide right and the Buccaneers held on to a 23-20 win.

Mayfield came through when it mattered. So did Penix, multiple times, though Atlanta fell just short. That could be a fun divisional rivalry for a while.

LOSERS

Brian Daboll: Well, Jaxson Dart could have done that.

The New York Giants are in a bit of a bind. They have to know that veteran Russell Wilson has a very low ceiling at this point in his career. They have Dart, a first-round pick who had a fantastic preseason, on the bench. But the concern is starting Dart before he’s ready. So the Giants are just going to live through what we saw on Sunday until the inevitable happens and Wilson is benched.

Wilson was unimpressive and the Giants meekly fell to the Washington Commanders. The Giants had a chance to be at least competitive with a little bit of offense, but they couldn’t find the end zone. With 7:09 left Deebo Samuel scored for the Commanders to give them a 21-6 lead, and Washington went on to win by that score. The Giants offense couldn’t keep them in the game. Wilson had just 168 yards on 37 attempts and didn’t lead the Giants to a touchdown.

The problem for Daboll is if the losses pile up, the chances of him being fired during the season increase. He doesn’t want to play Dart before he’s ready, but losing games with Wilson is not a thrilling option either. Daboll could have made the quarterback change on Sunday and nobody would have argued with him. But he didn’t.

New York Jets: The Jets played well enough to win. The Pittsburgh Steelers were just slightly better.

In a fantastic Week 1 game, the Steelers came back to beat the Jets 34-32. Chris Boswell hit a 60-yard field goal in the final two minutes, then on a fourth down new Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey had a huge hit on Garrett Wilson, knocking the ball loose and incomplete on what would have been a first down. Aaron Rodgers had a win over his former team.

The Jets weren’t bad. Justin Fields had a strong outing with two rushing touchdowns and one passing. A fumbled kickoff return in the second half by the Jets was a huge turning point in the loss. The Steelers escaped with one. The Jets will regret letting it get away.

Drake Maye: The anticipation for the New England Patriots in Maye’s second season was high. Maye had a promising rookie season and got plenty of help in the offseason.

There’s a lot of season to go but Sunday wasn’t a good first act. Maye mostly struggled and the Patriots started with a 20-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The conditions were wet, which wasn’t ideal for Maye, but the Raiders’ defense isn’t expected to be very good. And Maye did very little against it, missing many throws. Mike Vrabel didn’t cover himself in glory either, punting on fourth-and-10 with less than five minutes left and the Patriots trailing by 10 points. That waved the white flag.

It probably didn’t matter because Maye wasn’t good enough to rally the Patriots anyway. Maye was 30 of 46 for 287 yards, which weren’t bad numbers but don’t really reflect his play. The Patriots weren’t very good on offense, and New England has to hope it looks better in more favorable weather conditions.

NFL Winners and Losers: After ‘kick in the balls’ opener, Dolphins might already be in trouble

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