NFL Trade Rumors
There’s not a week in the NFL season that feels wackier than Week 1. After months of buildup, speculation and hype, teams finally have to get on the grass and prove themselves one way or another.
The result is always chaos. There’s a lot of rust to be shaken off and the lack of film creates a major unpredictability factor to be reckoned with. There are always some shocking results, and the fun of Week 1 is figuring out which of those are real and which are mirages. Sixteen teams will win, sixteen will lose, but that’s not always indicative of their fortunes the rest of the way.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest takeaways from around the league with most of Week 1 in the books, as well as how telling they may or may not be for the rest of the way:
Both the Chiefs and Eagles got off to rocky starts in 2025, playing on Friday and Thursday respectively to kick off the 2025 season in standalone games. Philadelphia was pushed to the brink by a motivated Cowboys squad, while the Chiefs never led against the Chargers in Brazil.
The Eagles got the win which is the most important thing in the end, but the performance raised no shortage of questions for the defending champs. All summer, the defense was the biggest area of concern due to the personnel losses on that side of the ball, even with a large number of returning key players. Cornerback was a weak spot, prompting a trade with the Raiders for Jakorian Bennett mid-August, and there were questions about the pass rush as well.
Those pain points didn’t go away in Week 1, and ended up being magnified by the ejection of stud DT Jalen Carter before the game’s first snap. Veteran CB Adoree’ Jackson won a starting job during camp, but it might be more accurate to say younger CB Kelee Ringo lost the job despite entering camp as the favorite. Ringo was playing behind Bennett on Thursday despite the latter still trying to catch up in the system. Whether it was Jackson or Bennett, the Cowboys clearly had a plan to go after whichever receiver they were covering.
Without Carter, the Eagles gave up 5.4 yards per carry against a Dallas ground attack that looked uninspiring entering the night. They also mustered no sacks and just one quarterback hit. Those likely led to the signing of DE Za’Darius Smith after the game to give them another proven pass rusher and a bigger body to set the edge. Carter won’t be spitting on opponents anytime soon — at least you’d hope not — so the Eagles should be better up front in the future. But until proven otherwise, the defense is a concern. The game also raised some questions about the offense, including the health of players like WR A.J. Brown (just one target late in the fourth) and OL...
