NFL Week 1: Peyton Manning starts to look his age as the Broncos struggled to a win

ANALYSIS

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Football is back and there were plenty of talking points across the NFL in week one. Zander Swinburne evaluates the teams that got off to a hot start, which players had their best day, as well as which teams continue to make the same mistakes.

1) Gronk’s availability for the Patriots is just as important as Brady’s

With 'Deflategate' dominating the headlines over the off-season, one could be forgiven for thinking that the New England Patriots’ season rested entirely on whether Tom Brady’s four game ban would be overturned. After a farcical face-off between the league and the Patriots, Brady’s ban was eventually overturned and thus another Super Bowl could possibly be added to the increasingly cramped trophy cabinet in Foxborough. Whilst Brady’s importance is apparent, there is one other player making a case as the team’s MVP.

Thursday night’s season opener showed that tight end Rob Gronkowski is fast becoming the Patriots most important asset. In a convincing 28-21 win over the Steelers, Rob Gronkowski was instrumental in making Pittsburgh’s secondary look amateurish. Despite just four receptions, Gronk amassed three touchdowns and an average of 19 yards-per-catch.

Gronk’s toughest opponent has often been injury, and this is evident in the fact that he has failed to play an entire 16 game schedule since 2011. If the talented tight end can stay fit throughout the season, his presence in the Patriots huddle may become equally, if not more important than Brady’s.

2) Peyton Manning starting to look his age

Something is not clicking in Denver, and for the first time since 2011, when Tim Tebow was at the helm, the quarterback is the main issue. Whilst one can argue that the Broncos did in fact win their opening game 19-13, and against a promising Ravens team, Denver’s offence was far from the fast-paced touchdown scoring juggernaut that it had once been.

To make matters worse, the Broncos’ problems start at the quarterback position. With no touchdowns, an interception and a host of poor reads and overthrows, Peyton Manning failed to convince the doubters that he was still capable at playing at the highest level of football. Manning showed nothing in the pre-season or in week one that proves he is still able to play at the level expected of him.

It seems inconceivable that Peyton Manning could ever be a team’s problem rather than its solution, but at 39 and several surgeries removed, the five-time MVP may be on the slippery slope to irrelevance. The 1-0 start for the Broncos certainly won’t be feeling as good as it should.

3) Marcus Mariota gives the Titans a little bit of hope

In what was a fascinating tale of two quarterbacks from this year’s draft, Marcus Mariota’s Tennessee Titans dispatched Jameis Winston’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers 42-14 was certainly an unexpected scoreline. Whilst both franchises represented the two worst teams in the NFL last season, the Titans shook off their reputation as an often boring and totally inept outfit, and this was down to the play of their new star quarterback.

With more touchdowns (four) than incompletions (three) Mariota showed not only the Buccaneers but also the rest of the league that he probably should have been picked one spot higher in the draft. The Bucs took Winston first ahead of the Oregon standout.

The Titans looked a completely different franchise under Mariota, with the most surprising aspect being that they are now exciting to watch. Whilst it is easy to get carried away, especially as Tennessee’s opposition was the worst team in football barely nine months ago, Mariota is showing that for some teams it takes just one player to completely alter a franchise. Whether the young quarterback can continue to change the Titans remains to be seen.

4) Four beasts in the East

The season has only just begun but Sunday showed that there is at least one division whose champion won’t be an easy one to predict. The AFC East saw all four of its teams win during week one and in relatively convincing fashion. The defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, emphatically beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21, a team widely regarded as an AFC contender.

The scoreline suggests the game was closer than it was and the Patriots’ performance shows that any doubters who based their conceptions on New England’s pre-season recital should think again. New York state then witnessed two of its teams enjoy their first victory of the season. Rex Ryan’s tenure at Buffalo got off to a winning start, silencing Andrew Luck and his Indianapolis Colts. Ryan has shown that his talents for defensive schemes are unrivalled, but it was his offence that won the day with quarterback Tyrod Taylor proving why he was named starter, impressing on the ground and in the air.

The New York Jets then quickly finished the Cleveland Browns 31-10 with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick managing the offence with very few faux pas. The only questionable hiccup was with the Miami Dolphins who claimed a 17-10 win over the Washington Redskins. Despite an early deficit and a tight scoreline, quarterback Ryan Tannehill limited his mistakes so as to not compromise his team’s ability to win. The AFC East has for the last decade been dominated by the Patriots - maybe this year will be different.

5) Last season’s woes continue to haunt a number of teams

Usually the start of the NFL season brings about renewed hope for the majority of football fans. The clean slate allows supporters to dream that this year might just be the one. The conclusion of the opening weekend does, however, bring about scenes that are unfairly familiar for those fans that were hoping to see some improvement. The most obvious culprit is the Oakland Raiders. After finishing last season with only three wins, a good start was essential to restore some faith in the franchise.

In a cruel twist of fate, Oakland couldn’t have had a worse return to football. In their 33-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, not only did they fail to score any points when the win was still attainable, but the future of the franchise, Derek Carr, walked off with a hand injury. The Raiders weren’t the only team that failed to inspire their fan base. Tampa Bay were completely inept despite their shiny new toy at quarterback. Jameis Winston had no answer to Marcus Mariota’s Tennessee Titans, and the loss will no doubt leave some fans in Florida wondering whether their team picked the right quarterback in the draft.

Cleveland were much the same in their 31-10 loss to the Jets. Despite a positive start, they were unable to keep their momentum, soon descending into a spree of needless penalties and turnovers. Whilst the season remains young, for some teams, the spring and summer months was not enough to help fix last season’s problems.