Week 1 is supposed to be about fresh starts and clean slates. Instead, two NFL teams were already getting hit with tanking chatter before the first Sunday was even over.
In Cleveland, Jeff D. Lowe lit the fuse while the Browns were still in the middle of getting run over by Jacksonville.
With 30 minutes left in the game, he posted, “If the goal is to lose all of their games, then you gotta keep trotting Deshaun Watson out there.” He had already said playing Watson was the fastest way to the worst record in football.
The Jaguars finished the job, rolling to a 34-10 win. Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdowns, while Watson finished 16-of-22 for 205 yards, one score, one interception and five sacks. Cleveland’s opening drive also ended with an interception, and the first half in Jacksonville was already 24-0.
That’s the backdrop for why Lowe’s clip spread so quickly. Todd Monken had named Watson the starter over Shedeur Sanders, and Shedeur is still on the roster.
So when Watson took the field and Cleveland looked this rough out of the gate, the draft-position conversation was never far behind. Even the visor excuse only made the afternoon look uglier.
Miami got dragged into the same kind of talk for a different reason. Before the Dolphins even kicked off in Las Vegas, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote, “Seven years ago, the Dolphins were seemingly trying to lose,” he wrote. “As the 2026 season begins, some in league circles are wondering whether the Dolphins are tanking all over again.”
That line landed because the old story never really went away. Stephen Ross had already been accused of paying Brian Flores to lose games during the 2019 chase for Joe Burrow.
The league later said Miami did not tank, but the suspicion lingered. With a new coach and a roster that looks thin, the label popped right back up on opening weekend.
The league hates this conversation in September. Tank talk usually waits for December.
This time, it showed up before dinner. One team started the quarterback most of the building doesn’t want.
The other walked into Las Vegas looking like a rebuild already in progress.
In Other News...
Dolphins Suddenly Have A Week 1 Pass Rush Twist Fans Need To See
The Dolphins are already juggling long-term cap concerns, but for now the focus is on what they can get out of their pass rush in Week 1 against the Raiders on Sept. 13. Miami activated defensive end Clelin Ferrell to the active roster for the game, giving the defense another veteran body up front as the team prepares to open the season with several rookies also expected to see the field.
It is a reminder of how much turnover and uncertainty still sits around this roster, even before the first snap matters. Miamis 2026 cap picture is already lopsided, with more money tied up in players not currently on the roster than those who are, so every live rep from a player like Ferrell carries a little extra weight as the Dolphins try to sort out which pieces can actually help them now. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Week 1 Decision Raises Eyebrows At One Position
Jalen Tolbert being among Miamis six inactives for its first regular-season game is the sort of opening-week roster call that immediately stands out. The Dolphins also sat cornerback Reese Taylor, guard DJ Campbell, tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick, tight end Justin Joly and emergency third quarterback Brady Cook, trimming the game-day group before the season even got fully underway.
The list is notable because Tolbert arrived with the kind of veteran profile that usually suggests at least an early role, and instead he was left on the sideline for Week 1. Miamis choices also came against a Raiders inactive list that included tight end Brock Bowers after a knee procedure, along with Aidan O'Connell as the emergency third quarterback, underscoring how quickly early-season availability can shape a game-day plan. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Face Tanking Talk Again As Their Rebuild Gets Tested
Talk of tanking has started to hover around the Dolphins again, this time with the franchise trying to work through a difficult roster and cap picture while also putting real pieces in place for the future. Miami still carries significant dead money from Tua Tagovailoas contract, and the front office has been busy making moves that point more toward stabilization than teardown, including signing quarterback Malik Willis and keeping DeVon Achane in the fold.
For a team that has already lived through accusations of intentional losing back in 2019, the optics matter almost as much as the record. The Dolphins are trying to sell a different story now, one built on rebuilding and a new culture rather than short-term sacrifice, but any season that starts with cap stress and quarterback uncertainty is going to invite the same old questions until the on-field results quiet them. [Read more 🡒]