Column: In the NFL, first impressions are often the worst impressions

Here’s what we knew after Week 1 of the 2014 NFL season:

Minnesota receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was the league’s most dangerous multi-purpose weapon, as evidenced not by his catches and kickoff returns, but his three runs for 102 yards and a touchdown in a 34-6 pounding of St. Louis.

(In the next 15 games, Patterson rushed for a total of 15 yards.)

The Tennessee Titans were a solid playoff contender. They easily handled Kansas City, 26-10, brushing aside a Chiefs team that had won 11 games and made the playoffs the year before.

(The Titans finished 2-14, tying Tampa Bay for the worst record in the league.)

The San Francisco 49ers appeared headed for the NFC title game, where they had been the previous three seasons. They handed Dallas a 28-17 defeat, prompting then-coach Jim Harbaugh to proclaim: “There’s been a lot of rhetoric. This game was about steel in the spine. When it comes to 49ers players, that’s where they excel.�

(By season’s end, Harbaugh had left the building, as had any hope.)

It was the beginning of the end for the New England Patriots. They lost their opener to Miami, 33-20, a clear indication the balance of power had shifted in the AFC East. Oh, and quarterback Tom Brady was toast.

(The disheartened Patriots sobbed their way to another Super Bowl victory.)

In other words, don’t read too much into what happened Sunday, when we might have been inclined to think:

The Seattle Seahawks are done, and so are the Indianapolis Colts.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is a lock for offensive rookie of the year.

Tyrod Taylor is clearly the answer to Buffalo’s quarterback question; Keenan Allen is going to shatter the receiving records in San Diego; and kickers are going to miss extra points every week.

That’s not to say Week 1 conclusions are all fool’s gold. Some of what we saw will continue, maybe throughout the season. But it was only a glimpse, and Week 2 will be another.

“As I told the football team — of course we are watching video right now of it — it does count as one loss only,� Tampa Bay Coach Lovie Smith said Monday, a day after Mariota and the Titans blasted the Buccaneers, 42-14. “There are a lot of other teams that are disappointed with one week into the season. One disappointing game does not define our season. We won’t let it.�

While it’s dicey to make projections based solely on the opening week, that first game cannot be dismissed, and some of last season’s playoff teams already are in uncomfortable positions.

The Seahawks, for example, are 0-1 after losing a division game against St. Louis, and Sunday night face a daunting challenge at Green Bay. Seattle doesn’t have the fallback of playing in a weak division, so there’s little wiggle room for teams that get off to slow starts.

Detroit lost at San Diego on Sunday after taking a 21-3 lead in the second quarter. The Chargers came to life and scored 30 unanswered points in a 33-28 victory. The Lions play at Minnesota on Sunday, which is no gimme.

Indianapolis is trying to regroup after a 27-14 loss at Buffalo that was as lopsided as the score suggests. The Colts play host to the New York Jets — 31-10 winners over Cleveland — and likely will be without receiver T.Y. Hilton, who has a bruised knee. The saving grace for the Colts is they play in a lousy division.

Baltimore is coming off a 19-13 loss at Denver, one in which neither Peyton Manning nor Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass. The Ravens play a Week 2 game at Oakland without linebacker Terrell Suggs, the former NFL defensive player of the year who suffered a season-ending Achilles’ injury in the opener. Of course, the Raiders have injury issues of their own.

Although it’s absurdly early to be discussing the postseason, it’s worth noting that teams that start 0-2 have a tough road. Since 2007, 66 teams have lost their first two games of the season, and only five of those recovered to make the playoffs.

Now that the season is underway, there is precious little time for remorse and regret.

“We talked about yesterday’s game and about going forward and how I urged them to get to bed early tonight and again tomorrow night,� New York Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said, fresh off a 27-26 loss at Dallas. “Because sometimes it’s a couple of days before it really hits you. And then come to work Wednesday morning excited about looking forward, not backward.�

The Patriots took that to heart in 2003 in what was perhaps the best example of the outside world’s reading too much into a Week 1 outcome.

New England began the season with a 31-0 loss to Buffalo, ended the season with a 31-0 defeat of Buffalo, and wound up hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

[email protected]

Twitter: @LATimesfarmer