National Football League

Bills to Super Bowl! Winston a bust! And other overreactions

Published Sep. 15, 2015 2:42 a.m. ET

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Relax, Buffalo. Take it easy, St. Louis. Don't print those Super Bowl tickets just yet.

Tyrod Taylor, Travis Kelce and Marcus Mariota don't need busts in Canton. And let's hold off on the ''Jameis Winston is a bust'' talk.

Impressive performances in Week One have fans, players and coaches thinking big, but it's way too early to get excited.

Plenty of 0-1 teams have had successful seasons, and plenty of 1-0 teams have quickly come back to earth.

Led by their brash coach Rex Ryan and quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-14. On Sunday, Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots go to Buffalo.

''I don't know if much has changed. They're still the hunted in my mind,'' Ryan said Monday. ''They're the world champions, the ones you want to knock off.''

The Bills haven't reached the playoffs since 1999. Even a win over the Patriots doesn't guarantee them anything. They were 3-0 in 2011 and 2-1 in 2012 but finished 6-10 both seasons. They started 2-0 last year but lost three of the next four.

The Rams are flying high after beating Seattle 34-31 in overtime. New quarterback Nick Foles played well and their defense sacked Russell Wilson six times.

You can excuse Rams fans for getting excited, because they haven't had a winning season since 2003. But don't buy playoff tickets yet, particularly in the tough NFC West.

Here are other overreactions from Week 1:

OVERREACTION: The Buccaneers should've drafted Marcus Mariota instead of Jameis Winston with the No. 1 overall pick. Mariota threw four TD passes while Winston threw a pick-6 on his first pass in Tennessee's 42-14 win at Tampa Bay.

APPROPRIATE REACTION: Mariota might be the real deal, but he had a great game against a team that was 2-14 a year ago. Winston wasn't terrible - 16 of 33 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. This battle won't be settled for at least a few years.

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OVERREACTION: Travis Kelce is the next Tony Gonzalez. Kelce had six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City's 27-20 win at Houston.

APPROPRIATE REACTION: Kelce is a top tight end a notch below Rob Gronkowski in fantasy leagues, but don't compare him to a 14-time Pro Bowl player like Gonzalez.

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OVERREACTION: Peyton Manning is finished. Manning had just 175 yards passing, no TDs and an interception that was returned for a score in Denver's 19-13 win against Baltimore.

APPROPRIATE REACTION: The 39-year-old Manning is nearing the end, but he threw for 4,727 yards and 39 TDs last season, and he's still got something left.

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OVERREACTION: Seattle's reign is over. The Seahawks could be 0-2 after losing to St. Louis with a trip to Green Bay coming up.

APPROPRIATE REACTION: The Seahawks were 3-3 last year after a loss at St. Louis, went 9-1 the rest of the way and reached the Super Bowl for the second straight year. If safety Kam Chancellor ends his holdout, it could solve many of their problems.

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OVERREACTION: The Jets are the best team in the Big Apple. The Jets beat Cleveland 31-10. The Giants mismanaged the clock in a 27-26 loss at Dallas.

APPROPRIATE REACTION: Todd Bowles has improved the Jets, but they beat a bad team that lost its starting quarterback. The Giants would've defeated the defending NFC East champions if they properly ran out the clock. It's still unclear if any New York team is playoff quality.

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OVERREACTION: The Raiders won't win a game. The Bengals dominated the Raiders in a 33-13 win at Oakland in Jack Del Rio's coaching debut.

APPROPRIATE REACTION: An 0-16 season isn't impossible, but the Raiders have the Browns, Jets and Bears on their schedule.

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OVEREACTION: Chip Kelly and the Eagles are a fraud. Sam Bradford threw an interception on the last drive, DeMarco Murray had 9 yards rushing on eight carries and the Eagles lost 26-24 at Atlanta on Monday night.

APPROPRIATE REACTION: With 10 new starters, the Eagles still need time to gel and the NFC East doesn't have a dominant team. They should contend to the end.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org

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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi