Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season is in the books and for many fans it's just in their nature to overreact. With changes in coaching staffs, players, and sometimes an overall feel of an organization, it's easy to get either too high or too low after just one week. Sure, there are only 17 games, so every game means a lot to most teams, but it's also "just one game".
Let's take a look at just last season when on opening day we saw the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Bears. The Niners went on to not only change their quarterback, but also amassed an impressive 13-4 overall record. The Bengals also lost on opening day, and lost 3 games for the rest of the regular season. Meanwhile, a team like the Texans who lost 13 games last season, didn't lose on opening day, and the Washington Commanders won as an underdog, yet didn't finish over .500.
We can go back through the years, and find constant instances like these. If your team won it's time to feel good and cross one win off of how many you need to make the playoffs, or win a division, but don't assume there will be nothing but good times ahead. The same can be said for a loss on opening day. The Chiefs have some issues after losing Thursday night, but by no means should they get down or throw in the towel.
The NFL season is a rollercoaster of emotions. The league itself dubbed the term "on any given Sunday" because of it's turbulent week to week nature. Opening day is just an escalated version of those feelings. Fans have waited 200+ days to see their new team. They have lived through free agency, the draft and summer camp, all leading up to this very moment ... except it's not this moment, but rather a series of 17 of them. Don't allow yourself to get caught up in the web of ups and downs after just one week. Win or lose, your team is likely the same team you thought it would be 7 days ago.
Week 2 however presents a totally different scenario. 63% of teams that have started the season 2-0 have made the playoffs since 1990. So, while week 1 might not be vital, week 2 starts to be very important. If you happened to go 0-1 in week 1, then week 2 becomes almost a must win because less than 10% of teams that start the year 0-2 have made the playoffs. Don't overreact now, but you have permission to overreact after next week.
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