The 2024 NFL season has begun, and it already feels like this is going to be another exciting season. There are just too many teams with legitimate Super Bowl hopes, too many offenses with the potential to explode, and too many young quarterbacks developing into stars. Yes, there will be a lot of talk about whether the Kansas City Chiefs can become the first team to win three games in a row in the Super Bowl era. Just as much attention should be paid to the teams that could prevent that from happening, because there are a lot of them.

That fact was evident throughout Week 1. The Baltimore Ravens were just feet away from tight end Isaiah Likely pulling off a big win in Kansas City last Thursday night. The Eagles and Packers then gave the Brazilians an offensive showcase nearly 24 hours later. Eight of Sunday’s 13 games were decided by one point. Hell, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill started his day in handcuffs outside Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and ended it by making the Jacksonville Jaguars wish they had their own reliable method of restraining him.

The first weekend of the season is always exciting because we spend months talking about what could Then the games start and we see what Strictly speaking is possible. It’s easy to overreact to the good and the bad because that’s just human nature. The cool thing is that we’re just getting started and it’s about five months before everything is sorted out.

So, let’s get started on real NFL football and the first regular season episode of The First Read. Week 1 had plenty of surprises. Here are the five that caught the author’s eye the most…