Which NFL teams most need to get off to fast starts in 2023 season?
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The runaway hype of the preseason is about to give way the cold reality of Week 1 in the NFL.
While any team's opening statement hardly defines its season, there's little doubt that getting off on the right foot can set a promising tone for any campaign. And in a fun bit of correlation − but not necessarily causation − nine of the last 10 eventual Super Bowl champions opened up their title runs with a 1-0 start.
So with that in mind, we asked writers, editors and columnists from USA TODAY Sports: Which NFL team most needs to get off to a fast start this season?
Their answers:
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New York Jets
It’s got to be the Jets. Aaron Rodgers was playing from behind all last season, needing a win in his final game with Green Bay to reach the playoffs, and he couldn’t help the Packers beat the Lions. Rodgers won’t take too kindly to the New York tabloids and constant pressure unless he can get out in front of it like he has most of the offseason. And wins over the Bills and Cowboys would be the perfect start to the season for Robert Saleh’s group. – Safid Deen
New England Patriots
I’m going to go with the Patriots. They’re suddenly in a stacked division in which all three rivals have legitimate shots to contend for an AFC crown. The offense, after last season’s disaster with former co-coordinators Matt Patricia and Joe Judge running the show, lacked an identity until very late in the season. This year, the unit needs to get off to a hot start under Bill O’Brien with a clear philosophy in place. Primarily, that’s because New England will soon have to make a decision on the future of quarterback Mac Jones and whether he can be a viable option as a franchise player.
The schedule the Pats will play is brutal and picking up victories as soon as they can is essential. Otherwise, New England could be in danger of missing out on the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 1999-2000. – Lorenzo Reyes
Green Bay Packers
I suspect there will be a lot of votes for Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets … and justifiably so given the league’s most-hyped team opens against the Bills, Cowboys, Patriots, Chiefs, Broncos and Eagles. But let’s look at Rodgers’ former team, the Green Bay Packers, and the man who replaced him. Jordan Love has started one NFL game heading into his fourth season but, unlike Rodgers, faces a fairly favorable lineup of opponents early in the season: Bears, Falcons, Saints, Lions, Raiders and Broncos – none of them playoff qualifiers in 2022. This isn’t to suggest the new Leader of the Pack and his team break from the gate 6-0, but this could be a key opportunity to build confidence for a club that could make some noise in the NFC – if Love proves ready to justify his first-round billing from 2020. – Nate Davis
Denver Broncos
Hello, Mile High Hopes. If the Denver Broncos are going to fast results from the injection of energy and brainpower with Sean Payton, they need to come out of the gate and make a statement that the new Sheriff is not messing around. And that goes double for Russell Wilson, coming off the worst season of his career but now under the watch of the crafty Payton.
The Broncos open on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, and it's a great opportunity to demonstrate that things will be different for a franchise that floundered with six straight losing seasons and owned last place in the AFC West in 2022 (again, for the third year in a row) with the disaster of a 5-12 season. The Raiders are far from the ultimate test, but they have owned Denver in recent years with five consecutive victories against the Broncos. And if Denver can't handle the Raiders, then surely it wouldn't stand a chance to compete in the coming weeks against the kings of the AFC West and defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs. And "fast start" in this case also means that Payton and Wilson need to trigger the type of potent offense that hasn't been seen in the Rockies since Peyton Manning retired. And with that top-shelf defense? So, here's the kickoff set-up for Sean & Company: Win, win at home, claim a division W and snap a losing streak against a rival. Surely, that would pump up the base.
After that, the Commanders come calling in Week 2 as the Broncos begin with back-to-back home games before trips to Miami and Chicago. Remember, Payton went on record to declare that he would be "pissed" if he doesn't guide the Broncos to the playoffs in his first season. Well, for that to happen, they need to start fast. Especially when the slate in October and early November includes the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and two matchups against the Chiefs, featuring Patrick Mahomes. – Jarrett Bell
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers pushed Jimmy Garoppolo out the door and gave up on their Trey Lance experiment after just two seasons marred by limited snaps and injuries. Their decisions are a rousing endorsement for Brock Purdy. Purdy took the entire NFL by surprise when he won his first seven starts as a rookie (including playoffs) before losing to the Eagles in the NFC championship game. But are the 49ers certain Purdy’s performance wasn’t fool’s gold? Is Purdy ready for NFL action following offseason elbow surgery? Furthermore, what happens when opposing defenses have more film on the second-year QB? Regardless of how Purdy performs, the decision to give him the quarterback keys is a gamble. The 49ers admitted their Lance gamble didn’t work. If Purdy and the 49ers don’t get off to a fast start, questions about the club and their quarterback choices will begin to arise. – Tyler Dragon
Detroit Lions
I’ll go with the team that already has a victory under its belt, and an impressive one at that, with a season-opening victory over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Detroit entered 2023 with the high expectations and the NFC North wide open. The Lions were a popular pick to win the division thanks to their strong finish to 2022, winning eight of their final 10 games but falling short of the playoffs because of a tiebreaker with the Seattle Seahawks; Detroit fell to Seattle 48-45 in Week 3 at home.
To meet the exterior pressure, the Lions could do themselves a favor by banking a few wins early in the year, thus supplying themselves with some wiggle room avoiding a repeat of 2022. The path exists. They host Seattle in Week 2 (sound familiar?) and have three games against the weak NFC South, with a Thursday night game against the Packers sprinkled in, by Week 6. – Chris Bumbaca
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