NFL’s Biggest Preseason Week 1 Storylines | Overreaction Monday w/ Rich & Chris Brockman

Preseason Week 1 is in the books, which means Overreaction Monday finally had actual games to chew on instead of headlines. Chris showed up with a list, and he opened on the first overall pick.

The claim: Fernando Mendoza will be the Raiders' starting quarterback by Halloween. Rich did not treat that as crazy. "I don't think this is out of the realm," he said, and Chris clarified the premise driving it. "I'm talking about the Raiders being 0-7."

October is where that math comes from, with Kansas City at home, a trip to New England, then Buffalo and the Rams. Rich has also been entertained by the rookie's public posture, the aw shucks routine about being one of 53 from a Heisman Trophy winner who quarterbacked an undefeated national champion and went No. 1 overall. "Every single time I see that, I can't wait to see what he will look like as the owner of the ship," Rich said.

Kirk Cousins is the reason it may take a while. The veteran went knife through hot butter on the opening drive against the Arizona Cardinals, five of six, finding backup tight end Michael Mayer while Brock Bowers waits for Week 1 against Miami. Rich still landed on no overreaction: "We saw enough in preseason action week one to know why he was clearly the best quarterback in this draft."

Chris went next to Jeremiah Love, arguing it would be shocking if Love is not offensive rookie of the year even with a high ankle sprain. Rich has been glowing about him for a week and hedged only on the volume of hits the position takes. He described the run where Love got outside two unblocked defenders, then left his feet at the sideline, which prompted a note from Michael Robinson and Maurice Jones-Drew on the NFL Network set. "Kid, keep your feet."

Pittsburgh is where Rich pushed back hard. Chris suggested Drew Allar and Will Howard looked good enough that Aaron Rodgers should be on a short leash. Rich called that absurd and said flatly that it is not going to happen. Nobody is benching Rodgers at 42 and sacrificing his final season on the altar of evaluation. What the weekend actually showed, Rich argued, is that Mike McCarthy still knows how to bring young quarterbacks along, which matters most in 2027 when the Steelers go looking for the next one.

Cleveland came up through the Rams. Chris wondered whether the Browns would have a franchise quarterback right now had they drafted Ty Simpson. Rich offered the other explanation. "Sean McVay knows what the hell he's doing and everybody just looks great in his system because he's got them prepared and he knows who's best for it." McVay, he said, is the platinum standard.

Then came the swing and miss. Chris proposed that Aaron Donald's indecision is an indication he does not think the Rams are as good as everyone believes. "You sir have lost your mind," Rich told him, calling it a top five overreaction in the history of the show. "Or I should say top four because I don't want to get sued."

Von Miller to Dallas got no such treatment. Chris called Miller the last piece of a top 10 Cowboys defense, and Rich went further, saying top five is entirely possible. "What a brilliant hire."

Christian McCaffrey and his tightness got filed under overreaction too, with Rich expecting to see him in Australia against the Rams.