I trust everyone had fun overreacting after Week 1, and many of us will continue overreacting after Week 2. But it’s all good because it’s not healthy keeping things inside, especially if you were bounced so early from your knockout pool or your fantasy team suddenly has the look of the 2017 Browns.
If you’re not sure you meet the Serby Says standards for overreaction, our crack staff turned to Google for you to provide a definition:
To respond to something with an emotion that is too strong or an action that is unnecessary.
That was you, all right.
And will be you again. And again. And again and again. Welcome to Any Given Overreaction Sunday in the NFL.
Serby Says solicited former Jets quarterback and rising star Fox NFL analyst Mark Sanchez for reactions to some of the Week 1 overreactions:
OVERREACTION: The 49ers are the best team in football: Brock Purdy with those weapons? With that defense? With Kyle Shanahan calling plays?
SANCHEZ: “You might be onto something there.”
(Now what if they’re upset by the Rams on Sunday? And the Rams move to 2-0 without Cooper Kupp? Your Week 2 overreaction: Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford will be back in the Super Bowl.)
OVERREACTION: The Giants are the worst team in the league. A loss 40-0 to the Cowboys takes some doing, right? What the hell was that? Brian Daboll was Coach of the Year in 2022 last time I checked, and general manager Joe Schoen has upgraded the talent level. Now, if the right side of the offensive line — specifically RT Evan Neal and RG Mark Glowinski — betrays Daniel Jones against the Cardinals, with the 49ers on deck Thursday night … some of you will be dreaming about how Tom Coughlin’s 2007 Super Bowl champion Giants started 0-2 … and some of you will be quick to remember how Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge never made it to Year 3.
SANCHEZ: “No chance. Too much talent. One bad game, no big deal.”
OVERREACTION: Broncos head coach Sean Payton is overrated. (No, Nathaniel Hackett did not flood the ballot box on this one.) Maybe it just takes a new head coach a little time after he institutes a Gilligan hat ban. He can’t fix Russell Wilson overnight, and quite possibly never, but he’ll make him better and challenge for a playoff berth.
(But what do you suppose Hackett might be saying, to no one in particular, if Payton’s Broncos lose to the Sam Howell Commanders at home?)
SANCHEZ: “Check the résumé. Be patient.”
OVERREACTION: The Lions are Super Bowl contenders. Jared Goff hasn’t been picked in 359 attempts, and just wait until electric Jahmyr Gibbs is unleashed. When does Motor City Dan Campbell start spewing “Lions Country, let’s ride!?” Uh, never. But look, these guys are legitimate threats to win the pedestrian NFC North.
(But if they lose to the Seahawks and their banged-up O-line in their home opener? Same Old Lions, who have never won a Super Bowl.)
SANCHEZ: “Give me another couple of weeks and I’ll let you know.”
OVERREACTION: Tyreek Hill will win MVP. No receiver — not even Jerry Rice, not even Justin Jefferson in 2022 — has won the AP award. Hill has promised a 2,000-yard season, and good luck to all cornerbacks trying to cover Cheetah. Tua Tagovailoa has jumped the MVP favorites list, but let’s hope he can stay healthy.
(I’ll stay with Lamar Jackson winning his second MVP — the 39th time a quarterback will have won it. Hill? He’s +5000 to win it. Also, did you catch Cheetah’s stats since 2018 against Bill Belichick? average of 4.6 receptions, 46 yards per game.)
SANCHEZ: “He’s on a fast track to win it. Where would be if everybody stopped at, ‘Nobody’s ever done that?’”
OVERREACTION: The Bengals are overrated. A rusty Joe Burrow won’t be Joe Brrrrrutal again after the disaster in the rain at the Dawg Pound, and Tee Higgins won’t get shut out again, but I’ll give you this — reaching a third consecutive AFC Championship game won’t be easy.
(If the $55 million QB beats the Ravens at home? Who Dey, and all that.)
SANCHEZ: “Traditionally slow out of the blocks. With Joe Burrow there you always got a shot.”
OVERREACTION: The game has passed Belichick by. C’mon, please. He might never win that seventh Super Bowl without Tom Brady, but he had the Eagles in a death struggle, the Patriots’ defense is no joke, and Mac Jones looked like a first-round draft pick under coordinator Bill O’Brien.
(Now, if he can’t unleash his diabolical genius to slow down the explosive Dolphins at home, he’ll be 25-27 without Brady in New England and you might start hearing the whispers growing louder about the hot seat. “I think we’re in a transition phase,” Robert Kraft said in March. Transition to what? Or who?)
SANCHEZ: “Disagree. He’s evolving just like every good coach.”
OVERREACTION: The Cowboys have the best defense in the league. Micah Parsons is the best player in the NFL if Patrick Mahomes isn’t, or Nick Bosa isn’t. A 20-sack season will earn him legitimate comparisons to Lawrence Taylor. And defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is a stud.
(But what if they can’t shut out the Zach Wilson Jets in their home opener? Or worse, they barely survive a Zach versus Dak shootout and fail to cover the spread?)
SANCHEZ: “Wouldn’t be shocked if they’re top-five by the end of the year.”
OVERREACTION: The Chiefs will suffer a Super Bowl hangover: They’re still the class of the AFC West because of Mahomes and Andy Reid, and sure they’ll miss offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy and sure Kadarius Toney is part of a pedestrian receiving corps, but Travis Kelce and Chris Jones didn’t play against the Lions.
(But lose to the Trevor Lawrence Jaguars on the road and drop to 0-2, and they’ll be listening to changing-of-the-guard chatter.)
SANCHEZ: “I know people bag on their defense, but their defense only gave up 14 points last week. Every coordinator in the league would sign up for only allowing 14 points.”
OVERREACTION: Anthony Richardson might be the best rookie quarterback. Sure, his freakish dual-threat gifts are undeniable, but let’s slow the roll on whether Bryce Young will be more Doug Flutie than Drew Brees, and C.J. Stroud will be the next in line to fail to overcome the stigma of Ohio State quarterbacks in the pros.
(If Richardson resembles a vintage Josh Allen on Sunday and outduels Stroud (shoulder), let the buyer’s remorse begin.)
SANCHEZ: “He’ll have probably have the most rushing yards. Too tough to call.”
OVERREACTION: Justin Fields will not make that third-year leap. At least he can help your fantasy team with his legs, right?
(If turf toe keeps Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis III out Sunday, Fields will have a chance to show that he can be accurate and allay fears of Bears fans still praying he can be their savior.)
SANCHEZ: “They need to continue to develop players around him.”
OVERREACTION: Geno Smith is a one-hit wonder. The Comeback Player of the Year got paid, and the Seahawks weren’t interested enough in the 2023 Quarterback Class. Rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba gives him Three Amigos with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. O-line is banged-up at the moment.
(Beat the Lions on the road and he’ll be reminding everyone: “they wrote me off, but I ain’t write back though.”)
SANCHEZ: “No chance, not with all the talent around him, and his perseverance.”
OVERREACTION: The Chargers are doomed with that defense. Coach Brandon Staley, former whiz-kid defensive coordinator for Sean McVay, began the season on the hot seat after blowing that playoff game in Jacksonville against Lawrence.
(Joey Bosa needs to get healthy, but suffocating Ryan Tannehill, especially with DeAndre Hopkins likely out, will soothe the savage beasts for one week.)
SANCHEZ: “That was a potent offensive attack from Miami. … They’ll be fine.”
OVERREACTION: Bijan Robinson will change everything for undervalued running backs for the better.
(A shame he can’t do anything about the current CBA.)
SANCHEZ: “Love his game and versatility. He’s got a chance to be special.”
OVERREACTION: Josh Allen is regressing. Well, he sure is throwing too many picks.
(The Bills Mafia will be likening him to Jim Kelly again if he unleashes his dual-threat magic against the Raiders.)
SANCHEZ: “Relax with all that talk. Yes, he’s gotta take care of the football, bottom line, but he’s too talented and too smart to not figure it out.”
OVERREACTION: Puka Nacua will be the best rookie wide receiver in the class.
(Said no one, we think.)
SANCHEZ: “The longer Cooper Kupp is down, the more the team needs him, so those create opportunities for him to attain whatever goals are in the cards.”
OVERREACTION: The Jets should have signed Derek Carr.
(With the Jets’ luck, Carr will target Chris Olave and torch a Panthers secondary missing CB Jaycee Horn on Monday night.)
SANCHEZ: “Noo, you can’t plan for this stuff.”
OVERREACTION: The Jets should have traded for Jordan Love.
SANCHEZ: “Wait … what? Everybody landed where they were supposed to land, and everybody was happy.”