NFL Week 1 takeaways: Bengals flash contender upside, Bears explode and Packers collapse

I love the NFL and I don't care who knows it.

As sad as I am to see summer coming to an end, I couldn't be more excited that the best league on the planet is back and in full swing.

As you might imagine, I have some thoughts about the first Sunday of the NFL season.

Below, you will find my biggest takeaway from each game.

Takeaway: If the Cincinnati Bengals defense is actually this good, this team is a top-five Super Bowl contender.

Yes, the Bucs scored 27 points.

But that total is misleading: Tampa Bay’s defense scored on a pick-six, and the offense’s final touchdown came against a prevent defense with Cincinnati leading by two scores.

The Bengals held Tampa Bay to 282 yards and forced four turnovers.

If the defense is legit and Burrow stays healthy (he was sacked just once, another major positive), Cincinnati is extremely dangerous.

FORMER NAVY MIDSHIPMAN LANDON ROBINSON SHOWS UP TO HIS FIRST NFL GAME IN FULL DRESS MILITARY UNIFORM Takeaway: There’s no reason for Detroit to panic over a near-historic second-half collapse because the Saints might actually be good.

Obviously, blowing a 21-0 second-half lead is less than ideal.

But Tyler Shough threw for 410 yards , Chris Olave played out of his mind and New Orleans erased that deficit despite committing three turnovers.

Detroit still ran for 165 yards, sacked Shough five times and stopped the potential game-winning 2-point conversion.

The Lions' secondary is a concern, but that comeback probably says more about New Orleans than it does about Detroit.