5 NFL teams who won in Week 1 but still won’t make the playoffs

With 16 NFL games on tap for Week 1 there were always going to be some surprise winners. Of course, they sparked speculation over whether the losers were overrated or just off to a bad start.

Now comes the time to put a damper on the expectations of some teams that squeaked out a win when they really shouldn't have. Enjoy your victory Monday because you're probably not going to have a ton of them this season.

These teams got the W but won't see many more

5. New England Patriots (def. Cincinnati Bengals 16-10)

Patriots fans should definitely feel good about their team after Sunday's upset over Joe Burrow and the Bengals. The defense looked solid and quarterback Jacoby Brissett assured New England's coaching staff that rookie Drake Maye won't have to make a premature appearance (for now). But let's not jump the gun. This team won't win many other games this year (sorry, Boston Connor).

It's fair to ask the question 'how much of Sunday's win was New England being good and how much of it was Cincinnati being bad?' Burrow historically has always gotten off to slow starts in his career. He has a 1-8 record in Weeks 1 and 2 with Cincinnati. So, pump the breaks, Patriots fans. Three of your next five games are against 2023 playoff teams.

4. Minnesota Vikings (def. New York Giants 28-6)

Let's be real about this, Vikings fans. The Giants are terrible and Minnesota took advantage of that. Sam Darnold played very well but, like New England, this was another case of 'really bad team loses' not 'good team wins easy game.' Darnold threw for 208 yards and a score but he also an interception that was entirely preventable.

Darnold will get pressured, a lot more than New York threw at him, throughout the season. How he handles that pressure will define Minnesota's season because Justin Jefferson is going to be open and Aaron Jones (when healthy) will grind first downs. Three of their next four games before the early bye week are against 2023 playoff teams. They'll be 1-4 by that point with a tough 11 week stretch after that.

3. Chicago Bears (def. Tennessee Titans 24-17)

Sunday's win was for two reasons and two reasons only: Chicago's defense and Titans quarterback Will Levis. Credit where credit's due, the Bears pressured Levis enough to force the offense off the field but it was all Levis' stupidity that handed the game-winning score them.

Rookie quarterback and 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams put up atrocious numbers under center on Sunday. 93 yards on 14 completions and a sack was a less-than-ideal start to Chicago's new era. Through Week 10 the Bears will see the bye week and an easy stretch of Carolina, Washington, Arizona and New England but don't chalk those up to four wins. The Bears know they're not making the playoffs so there's no reason kidding anybody about it.

2. Los Angeles Chargers (def. Las Vegas Raiders 22-10)

This is where we start entering fringe territory. The Chargers had an impressive outing against a tough Raiders defensive front. First round addition Joe Alt (No. 76 in blue) made the Raiders' Maxx Crosby (No. 98 in white) look like a pee-wee player in Sunday's win, allowing zero pressures in 19 pass blocking snaps.

But even with an improved pass protection for quarterback Justin Herbert, he still only completed 65 percent of his passes for a single touchdown pass. It seems the offense runs more through rusher J.K. Dobbins, who tallied 135 yards and a score on the ground Sunday. So, the question for the rest of the year becomes: what happens when defenses plug up the run game? Can Herbert utilize a downgraded receiver core to rack up wins? Unlikely.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (def. Atlanta Falcons 18-10)

The Steelers have a team that is playoff-caliber on paper but the quarterback conundrum and just the fact that they are in the same division as the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals might be too much to overcome. The most impressive aspect of Sunday's win was the defense, particularly the wrecking ball that is TJ Watt.

The biggest issues for Pittsburgh will be health and taking advantage of a relatively soft first half of its schedule. They must win the games they're favored to win and injuries could hamper that effort. Just in the next nine weeks (sans the bye week), Pittsburgh has five games it should win. That would give it a 6-3 record heading into its first divisional matchup against Baltimore. But history shows no team stays fully healthy all year, especially Watt who has missed time due to injury eight times since 2021.