Story summary
The NFL season officially kicked off with Week 1 games for all 32 teams, but analysts caution against overreacting to such limited data. Each team played just one game, which represents only 5.9% of the entire 17-week regular season. Despite this small sample size, media pundits and fans often draw sweeping conclusions about a team's prospects for the rest of the year.
Fox News sports writer Dan Zaksheske emphasizes that it is premature to make definitive judgments based on one game alone. For instance, while some may be concerned about the Los Angeles Rams' receiver corps after their performance in Week 1, others like the Chicago Bears are generating hype despite limited evidence. Similarly, reactions regarding the Los Angeles Chargers might be premature and require more patience.
Zaksheske urges caution, noting that drawing substantial insights from such a small portion of the season is akin to making significant decisions about buying a house based on only 5.9% of an inspection report. He predicts that wild conclusions will continue to be drawn in the media, despite their lack of statistical validity.
Written for “NFL Week 1 Reactions” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
All 32 teams have now played exactly one game.
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teams → play → game
Yet, people are going to act like that one out of 17 games is plenty of information to inform us about how the rest of the season will go.
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rest → go → season
After months of practically zero information, we finally saw teams on the field playing games that matter.
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that → see → games
But we must remember that Week 1 accounts for 5.9% of the entire season.
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Week → remember → season
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.
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that → create → newsroom
People in the sports media are going to arrive at wild conclusions based on that minuscule sample size.
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People → go → size
What if you hired a home inspector for a house you wanted to buy and the inspector came back and said, "Hey, here's 5.9% of my report on this house and nothing more.
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% → hire → house
You ready to make an offer?
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You → make → offer
But here we are, every season, making decisions based on less than 6% of the information.
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we → make → information
Let's take a look at some of the vast overreactions seen across the landscape and break them down.
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's → let → them
The Rams are going to miss the playoffs
Of course, this is a major overreaction.
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this → go → playoffs
The Rams entered the season as favorites to win the Super Bowl, rightfully so, and it seems like everyone is quickly jumping off the bandwagon.
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everyone → enter → bandwagon
Rich Eisen Show producer and on-air contributor Chris Brockman predicted the Rams’ "dream team" would follow the 2011 Eagles and miss the playoffs.
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team → predict → playoffs
Honestly, the Rams were way too cocky going into the game and traveling across the globe 28 hours prior to kickoff was a clear miscalculation.
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traveling → go → kickoff
The 49ers went to Australia a week in advance to adapt to the weather and time change.
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49ers → go → weather
Aaron Donald didn't play, and Myles Garrett played through a lingering knee issue and is now out for at least four games.
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Garrett → play → games
Los Angeles didn't generate much pass rush and didn't sack Brock Purdy a single time.
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Angeles → generate → Purdy
That's not going to continue throughout the season.
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That → go → season
Also, sometimes a team can get caught drinking its own Kool-Aid.
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team → catch → Aid
No team entered the season with more hype, with some calling them a "super team" where a Super Bowl seemed like the only option.
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Bowl → enter → option
If anything, Week 1's disastrous result might have been the best thing that could have happened.
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that → happen → ?
The Rams got an early wake-up call and I expect them to bounce back in a big way over the next few games.
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them → get → games
The Bears offense is going to be historic
The Bears obviously looked great in Week 1, dropping a team-record 59 points in a season opener.
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Bears → go → opener
Caleb Williams showed off his athleticism and playmaking abilities throughout the afternoon, and Bears fans have reasons to be excited.
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fans → show → reasons
Bucky Brooks posited that Chicago might average 40 points per game, which would easily set the record for points in a season.
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which → posit → season
But let's pump the brakes just a tad, shall we?
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we → let → brakes
The team gave up some big numbers last season, including 42 to New England and 40 to Buffalo.
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team → give → Buffalo
Teams don't play their starters much during the preseason which puts defenses at a big disadvantage.
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which → play → disadvantage
A lot of these guys have barely hit any opponents at full speed since last season and practices have gotten much less physical due to concussion and injury concerns.
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practices → hit → concerns
Chicago also benefited from several positive luck factors.
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Chicago → benefit → factors
The Panthers turned the ball over three times and committed 11 penalties for 84 yards.
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Panthers → turn → yards
The Bears converted all four red zone drives into touchdowns and picked up 10-of-14 third downs.
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Bears → convert → downs
Yes, that's what good offenses do, but that ridiculous efficiency is unsustainable over 17 games.
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efficiency → do → games
Three different Bears (Williams, D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai) all had at least one carry of at least 29 yards and four different pass catchers (Kalif Raymond, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and Cole Kmet) had at least one reception that went for 20+ yards.
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that → have → yards
Again, great offenses produce explosive plays, but this was an outlier.
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this → produce → plays
The Bears are going to be good, and the offense is going to score points, but we shouldn't set the expectation at 40 points scored per game.
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we → go → game
The Mike McDaniel–Justin Herbert pairing was a mistake
The Chargers looked terrible in a Week 1 upset loss against the Arizona Cardinals as nine-point home favorites.
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Chargers → look → favorites
The Cardinals blocked a punt, intercepted Justin Herbert and held Los Angeles to just 117 yards of offense in the second half.
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Cardinals → block → half
…and 15 more, not listed.
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