Do you remember your first year at university? You may have felt a bit confused and overwhelmed in the first few weeks as you tried to find your way around. It takes time to get used to the shape of a campus and the social flow of student life.

And then you come back in sophomore year and things are so much easier. You’ve figured out the place. You know where the parties are, who has the best pizza, where to park your car or get reliable public transportation.

Most of the NFL offenses in Sunday’s early window for Week 1 stumbled around like confused freshmen. The average team output was a paltry 16.8 first downs and 283 yards. Fortunately, we had a few sophomores (and seniors) to lean on.

Stroud and Texans show their attacking muscles 💪

Let’s start with one of the most talked about offenses in the league, the Houston Texans. The C.J. Stroud-led offense was the best on show during the 1 p.m. window on Sunday, with 26 first downs and 417 yards. It led to a 29-27 victory in Indianapolis, and plenty of fantasy production to go around.

Newcomers Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs settled in quickly; two more hits to the transfer portal. Mixon turned back the clock with a decisive shredding of the Colts defense (30-159-1 rushing, 3-19 receiving), easily reaching the second level consistently. Diggs caught all six of his targets, and though they went just 33 yards, he scored a pair of short touchdowns.

That was it for the end zone, but there was some hearing from other Texans. Nico Collins flashed during a quick 6-117-0 afternoon (I still think he’s the alpha of this passing game), and Tank Dell offered up 59 total yards, even as four of his seven targets fell short. Stroud was more efficient than bombastic in the opener (24-for-32, two touchdowns, 7.3 YPA), but he didn’t lose the ball or make any major mistakes. And when drives stumbled — the Texans absorbed four sacks — kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn was ready, drilling three field goals of 50 yards and longer.

So while the Texans dropped some points on the field, the offense still put up a high-octane performance. Stroud appears to be on the verge of an MVP run, and it was a win to keep highly regarded OC Bobby Slowik for at least another season. We’ll all get a good look at Houston next week when it hosts the Bears on Sunday Night Football.

Inconsistent Richardson Still Producing

The Colts were on the other side of Houston’s victory, making some big plays but lacking in consistency. Anthony Richardson made a handful of highlight-reel throws — three of his completions went for 50, 57 and 54 yards, two of which were touchdowns — but he lacked play-by-play consistency. If you exclude Richardson’s three home runs (and I get it, they certainly count), he was otherwise 6-for-16 for 51 yards, with an interception. He missed a few wide-open throws (sorry about that, Michael Pittman), and was sometimes slow to process and make decisions.

The erratic play held the Colts to just 14 first downs. It was a boom-and-bust offense for three hours.

The great thing about Richardson, of course, is that he can have a mediocre NFL game and still be a fantasy star. He added 56 rushing yards and one ground score to his 212 passing yards and two scores, which put him at 27.08 in Yahoo Standard Ratings. As always, we’re just in it for the numbers. Just imagine what’s possible when Richardson’s game starts to mature. It’s clear he’s only made five professional starts.

Perhaps the Colts are destined to be one of those carnival teams, with a ton of indoor games and the potential to regularly play shootouts. Next week, they head to Green Bay and face a Packers defense that played poorly in Friday’s loss to the Eagles in Brazil — and the team as a whole is in a bit of an identity crisis following Jordan Love’s injury.

Remark: Think about these notes again and maybe grab a sandwich at the student union. I’ll update this article soon with more notes about week 1.