Week 1 of the NFL is tough to read.
Famously, the Patriots opened the 2003 season with a 31-0 loss to the Bills — who would finish 6-10 — then lost only one more game in a Super Bowl-winning season.
Last year, the season opened with the Bears beating the 49ers, the Steelers winning in Cincinnati and the Commanders defeating the Jaguars. The three losing teams would combine to win five playoff games. The three winning teams each failed to make the postseason.
Last year, Week 1 also tried to let us know the Rams wouldn’t repeat (losing to Buffalo, 31-10), the Giants were worth watching (winning at Tennessee) and Aaron Rodgers’ final season in Green Bay would be a mess, beginning with a 23-7 loss in Minnesota.
This season, we don’t yet know who is for real and who are the frauds. But Week 2 offers another clue.
These are the teams with the most to prove:
Giants (at Cardinals, 4:05 p.m., Fox): It was among the worst losses in franchise history, but the 40-0 beatdown by the Cowboys doesn’t have to define the season. A loss at Arizona — widely projected in the preseason as the NFL’s worst team — however, would crush any hopes of a playoff return. The Giants follow with four straight games against playoff teams from last season (49ers, Seahawks, Dolphins, Bills).
Jets (at Cowboys, 4:25 p.m., CBS): The Super Bowl dream is dead, but the season can still be salvaged. The defense will be dominant. The backfield will be electric. Garrett Wilson will pull rabbits out of hats. If Zach Wilson can avoid being the worst quarterback in the NFL again, the postseason isn’t out of reach.
Lions (vs. Seahawks, 1 p.m. ET): The offseason hype didn’t get to their heads in Kansas City, where the Lions upset the defending champs. But expectations have grown exponentially in the past week for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game in 32 years, and there is danger the Lions could let their guard down. A visit from a talented Seattle team — coming off a loss — should allow us to gauge if the Lions are truly contenders.
Bengals (vs. Ravens, 1 p.m. ET): After back-to-back seasons competing for a championship, this popular Super Bowl pick — including mine — faceplanted in a 24-3 loss in Cleveland. Returning home to face the Ravens, Joe Burrow needs to demonstrate why he was worth the richest deal in NFL history and prevent the Bengals from slipping further in the league’s toughest division.
Jaguars (vs. Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET): If Trevor Lawrence and Jacksonville’s young core are going to make the leap this season, a win over the Chiefs — with star defensive tackle Chris Jones back in the lineup — would give legitimacy to a new contender in the AFC.
Dolphins (at Patriots, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): The AFC East is up for grabs after Aaron Rodgers’ injury and Buffalo’s Week 1 loss. Tua Tagovailoa is now the co-favorite for MVP after throwing for 466 yards and three touchdowns in a shootout win against the Chargers. Can the Dolphins quarterback do it against a tougher defense in New England? Can he stay healthy?
Browns (at Steelers, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC): Cleveland could be a postseason team for just the second time in two decades. With Deshaun Watson available from the start of the season, the Browns could be a sleeper in the AFC. A prime time game in Pittsburgh will be a good test to that theory.
Read more:
???? Aaron Rodgers on ‘road to recovery’ after Achilles injury surgery
⚾ Yankees salvage doubleheader split thanks to Game 2 offensive outburst/David Wells rips A-Rod
???? CANNIZZARO: Giants cannot lose to Josh Dobbs-led Cardinals
⚾ Kodai Senga leads dominant Mets win over Diamondbacks/SHERMAN: David Stearns’ first Mets bar a low one to clear
???? BROOKS: Peter Laviolette & Co. will bring fresh, cross-generational eyes to Rangers
It carries the scent of 2009, when LeBron James confirmed he would test free agency and consider leaving the hometown team that drafted him.
“It would make no sense for me to sign that contract if I didn’t keep my options open,” James said prior to the final season of his first run with the Cavaliers.
It has the feel of 2018, when Kevin Durant looked forward to free agency after winning back-to-back titles with the Warriors.
“I think to keep my options open, it was the best thing for me,” Durant said at the start of his final season in Golden State. “I could have easily signed a long-term deal … but I just wanted to take it season by season and see where it takes me.”
Two of the biggest free-agent coups in NBA history were telegraphed many months before pens touched paper.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is now following their lead. Despite playing on a championship contender that posted the best record in the NBA last season, the two-time MVP has made it known in multiple interviews that he is prepared to leave Milwaukee as a free agent next summer if he believes the Bucks are not set up to win another title.
“I would not be the best version of myself if I don’t know that everybody’s on the same page, everybody’s going for a championship, everybody’s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do,” Antetokounmpo told the New York Times. “And if I don’t feel that, I’m not signing.”
It is possible Antetokounmpo, 28, is simply placing pressure on the Bucks’ front office to improve his talented but aging supporting cast. In 2020, the Bucks superstar passed on a chance to leave the team that drafted him and signed an extension to stay with the cold-weather, small-market franchise.
Since then, the Bucks won their first championship in 50 years and opened a new $1.2 billion arena.
“This is my home, this is my city” Antetokounmpo wrote on Twitter after signing the deal. “You took a chance on [me] eight years ago and now putting my signature on a contract like this is unreal.”
In less than 10 months, Antetokounmpo will sign another deal that will make him the highest-paid player in league history.
Wherever he lands, his team will be among the favorites to win it all.
The Knicks are expected to be contenders for his services. And unlike in past years when fans were crushed by James’ and Durant’s dismissive attitudes toward the franchise, Antetokounmpo reportedly had interest in playing in New York, which features — unlike previous pursuits of superstars — a talented roster with playoff experience and a proven head coach.
But it also wouldn’t be surprising if the Knicks were passed over again. Antetokounmpo ultimately may decide to keep his legacy with one team. Or, a more appealing offer may be presented elsewhere.
The Lakers are also reportedly a team of interest to Antetokounmpo, who could replace James as L.A.’s next marquee attraction. The Warriors can free up cap space without Chris Paul and Klay Thompson, making Steph Curry the greatest teammate of Antetokounmpo’s career. The Spurs could build a jaw-dropping frontline by pairing the “Greek Freak” with 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama under the winningest coach in league history (Gregg Popovich). Pat Riley and the Heat could lure another superstar south, should their dream of acquiring Damian Lillard die. And if winning is most important, teams with young and talented cores such as Oklahoma City and Utah could enter the fray for Antetokounmpo, whose history in a small market should open the door to numerous suitors.
Title or bust.
Following a headline-catching offseason and dominant regular season, the New York Liberty enter the WNBA postseason as co-favorites — along with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces — to capture the first championship in franchise history.
It has been 21 years since the Liberty have made the Finals. It has been six years since the team reached the second round.
But the history is irrelevant. It happened before two-time Finals MVP — and 2023 WNBA Player of the Year — Breanna Stewart came to New York, before she was joined by Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot, before former No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu set the record for most 3-pointers in a single season.
While many are projecting a title series matchup against the Aces, the No. 2 seed Liberty (32-8) first must get past the No. 7 Washington Mystics (19-21) — led by two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne — in the first round.
Game 1 tips off Friday night in Brooklyn (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).
The teams split four games this year, with Washington taking Sunday’s regular-season finale at Barclays Center on a buzzer-beater.