You’re Overreacting

Editor’s note: This article was written approximately one hour before kickoff of the Jets-Ravens game and scheduled in advance.

The first game of the season is now in the books. Since this article was written before the game, I can’t say what the final outcome was. A past version of me is the author.

Here’s what I do know for a fact. You are overreacting to the outcome.

Hopefully the Jets blew the Ravens out. Now they seem unbeatable.

Maybe the Jets won a tight game. It’s a sign the bounces will go their way this season.

Maybe the Jets lost a tight game. That one could come back to haunt them, right?

I hope the Jets didn’t get blown out. If they did, I am sure there will be panic after all of the upgrades in the offseason.

Just take a step back for a minute. It was only one game.

Of course the game does count. Any individual regular season game matters. Plenty of seasons have turned based on one result.

Still this week in the NFL is called Overreaction Week for a reason. After a long offseason spanning eight to nine months, we finally have something real to analyze. For the next week it is all we will have.

Anybody who looked great only has good film. The reverse is true of anybody who played poorly.

Of course, Week 1 isn’t always an accurate predictor of what is to come.

Four of Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl winning teams lost their Week 1 game.

The last time the Jets made the Playoffs in 2010, they lost Week 1.

In the eleven Playoff-less seasons that followed, the Jets have won six of their eleven Week 1 games.

For the Jets, this particular Week 1 is likely less of an indicator of what is to come than normal. That is because their starting quarterback was not in the lineup. Zach Wilson’s return will impact the team profoundly when it happens.

Of course sometimes what happens Week 1 actually is an indication of where a season is heading. I can’t tell you with confidence that yesterday’s game was meaningless.

But we don’t have enough data to say that for sure.

I can say this for sure. If the Jets won yesterday, there will be days where things don’t go so well at some point this season.

If the Jets lost yesterday, there will be better moments ahead.

Take it from somebody who could see this coming yesterday. You’re overreacting.