NFL panic meter: How worried should we be about Week 1 letdowns?

One bad game to start the year can be all it takes for a team to sap any and all optimism its fans had built up during the offseason.

Patience is key for most situations this early in the season, but there's no denying some performances provided legitimate cause for concern. Let's assess where things stand for a few of the more high-profile disappointments from Week 1.

Dolphins

Panic meter: 😟😟😟😟😟

Everything about this Dolphins team felt off heading into the season, and an embarrassing blowout loss to the Colts only amplifies those concerns tenfold. The offensive line wasn't any better than it looked on paper, and now the underwhelming group is dealing with multiple injuries. All fears about the state of the secondary were also confirmed, if not exceeded, by allowing Daniel Jones to throw for 9.4 yards per attempt, his best mark since 2022.

More than anything else, though, Mike McDaniel's offense appears to have gone stale. He has no counterpunch for adjustments made by opponents, and Tua Tagovailoa looks lost. The Dolphins may be on the fast track toward a fire sale at the deadline, potentially making them a sneaky contender for the No. 1 overall pick.

Caleb Williams

Panic meter: 😟😟

Ben Johnson's arrival was supposed to spark a major breakout for Caleb Williams. After a flawless opening drive Monday night against the Vikings, it seemed like that's exactly where things were headed. But the rest of the game wasn't so encouraging. The former No. 1 pick finished the season opener with eight incompletions charted as inaccurate passes, the worst among all quarterbacks in Week 1, according to TruMedia and PFF.

We're certainly not going to write off a supremely talented player this early in his second season. After all, this was essentially his first game having the support of a competent coaching staff, and the Vikings' defense poses a challenge to even the best quarterbacks. However, while Williams still possesses the arm talent, creativity, and athleticism to become a star at this level, he needs to refine his timing within Johnson's offense and sharpen his accuracy. I'd bet on Williams taking meaningful steps forward throughout this campaign. The concerns will be more warranted if we continue to see the same issues in December.

Texans offense

Panic meter: 😟😟😟

Plenty of good vibes surrounded the Texans' offense this summer, with a coordinator change creating a clear sense of optimism after a frustrating 2024 season. If Nick Caley's system could clean up the issues in pass protection, there was reason to believe that C.J. Stroud would get back to the player he was as a rookie. Combine that with a dominant defense on the other side of the ball, and there would be nothing stopping Houston from emerging as a legitimate contender. That was the logic, at least.

Failing to find the end zone in a season-opening loss isn't exactly the best way to inspire confidence on that front. The offensive line resembled last year's unit far too closely, yielding pressure on 41.2% of dropbacks. Still, one game against a good Rams pass rush probably isn't enough to go into full-scale panic. Stroud looked good against the pressure he faced (8-of-11, 79 yards), and he wasn't shy about taking off as a runner. It's also probably only a matter of time before Nico Collins gets going and helps this offense take off. However, Houston's ceiling will be capped if the front five doesn't make meaningful improvements. We're still in wait-and-see mode there.

Bryce Young

Panic meter: 😟😟😟😟

This is supposed to be Bryce Young's breakout campaign. The former No. 1 pick appeared to take a major step in the right direction after a brief benching last year, again flashing the unique playmaking traits that made him such an exciting prospect coming out of Alabama. From Week 12 through the end of the regular season, Young was tied with Patrick Mahomes for the 13th-best performance by EPA/dropback. Heading into Year 2 in Dave Canales' offense, continued growth seemed like a fair assumption for him. Perhaps that's how it'll still play out as the season progresses, but Sunday's opener was a crucial reminder that development isn't always a linear process.

Young couldn't take advantage of a suspect Jaguars defense Sunday, completing 18 of 35 passes for 154 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. His 4.4 yards per attempt was tied for 30th among all quarterbacks in Week 1, and his 49.0 passer rating is the worst of the bunch. Is it all his fault? Of course not. Carolina's addition of wider receiver Tetairoa McMillan was an important step in getting Young the support he needs, but the Panthers aren't a good football team. At some point, it would be nice to see a player with this kind of draft pedigree consistently elevating the situation around him. Young's panicked throwaway on a critical fourth-and-1 play from the 5-yard line was particularly dejecting in that regard. It's fair to wonder whether he's ever going to get there.

Bengals

Panic meter: 😟😟😟

The Bengals narrowly avoided another Week 1 disaster, edging the Browns 17-16. On one hand, a win is a win. It's nice to see Cincinnati open the year with a victory for only the second time across Zac Taylor's seven seasons as head coach. Given this team tends to turn it on after a slow start, this could bode well for the campaign ahead. The Bengals' Week 1 loss to the Patriots in the previous year ultimately proved to be the difference in their missing the playoffs.

On the other hand, it's tough to convince yourself that a legitimate contender would ever look like that against the Browns. While the state of the defense dominated the conversation around Cincinnati throughout the offseason, it was the offense that struggled in Cleveland. Only the Titans managed fewer than the Bengals' 141 yards in Week 1. That output was cratered by a mere 7 yards in the second half. An offense featuring Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins will certainly be better moving forward, but you don't have the benefit of playing the Browns every game. They have another chance to get things rolling against the Jaguars next Sunday before a gauntlet stretch against the Vikings, Broncos, Lions, Packers, and Steelers. We should have a good idea about what the Bengals can be by mid-October.

Steelers defense

Panic meter: 😟😟😟

Pittsburgh putting up 34 points in the opener should be cause for celebration. Aaron Rodgers became the first Steelers quarterback to throw for four touchdowns since Ben Roethlisberger in 2020. Even if that's not quite the level of production we can expect from the 41-year-old across an entire season, it seems pretty clear that he at least gives the offense more juice than it's had in a long time. Considering the way the Steelers typically play defense, the prevailing thought has been that average quarterback play might be enough to make this team a contender. But what if the defense takes a step back?

That's something we probably have to consider after the opener against the Jets. Justin Fields was excellent against his former team, completing 16 of 22 attempts for 218 yards and a touchdown while adding 48 yards and two more scores on the ground. His 0.54 EPA/dropback was tops among all QBs in Week 1, easily representing the best performance of his career. And with Breece Hall topping the century mark, New York finished the day with 182 rushing yards. Although Pittsburgh can maybe chalk up the defensive struggles to a combination of Week 1 oddities and a matchup with a funky Jets offense, the issues in the run game, in particular, date back to the end of last year. From Week 10 through the end of the regular season, the typically stout Steelers defense ranked 24th in rush EPA and 22nd in rush success rate. Pittsburgh will be hoping that Derrick Harmon's eventual return makes the difference here. That's a lot to ask of a rookie defensive tackle.

Lions offense

Panic meter: 😟

The first look at the Lions' offense without Ben Johnson wasn't great. Detroit's run game topped the 100-yard mark in all six of Johnson's contests against the Packers over the past three years, but the usually dominant rushing attack managed just 46 on 2.1 yards per carry in the 2025 season opener. That put Micah Parsons and the Green Bay pass rush in a position to get after Jared Goff, and the Lions had no answer. Goff's 4.2 air yards per attempt was the lowest mark among all QBs in Week 1.

There's a legitimate reason to be concerned that Johnson's departure, along with some key losses on the interior offensive line, will make it tough for Detroit's offense to avoid any sort of significant drop-off this season. But perhaps we avoid hitting the panic button after one game. There's too much talent in place for this team not to maintain at least some level of high-end offensive play. Though every game in the NFC North figures to be a battle, drawing the Packers' defense in your first outing while trying to navigate all of these changes is quite the challenge. The Lions will be better, and they'll have to be with the Bears and Ravens on deck.

Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.