SB Nation Reacts: Fan’s confidence level plummets in Colts after Week 1 upset; Week 2 fan picks

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts where SB Nation gets fan reactions from the previous week’s results, as well as asking questions about the coming week’s slate. We also take a look at the weekly changes in confidence level from the team’s fans.

For the Indianapolis Colts, and their fans, Week 1 was not a resounding success to say the least. The Colts took a major shot to the chin in their 27-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Philip Rivers threw two picks — a third that was negated due to a Jaguars’ penalty — and Marlon Mack was lost for the season after a reception in the second quarter, and needless to say, the fans were not impressed.

To say that the fan base lost their confidence level from the upper 90 percents to where that number stands today is a massive understatement. Fans let their disdain be heard as that number now sits at 57 percent, and their Week 2 home opener against the Minnesota Vikings now becomes critically important to the state of Colts’ fans.

This series should technically be called SB Nation overreacts, because that’s exactly what’s going on here. Yes, Rivers had a couple of terrible throws and his arm doesn’t look any stronger than it did last year, and yes the Colts’ defense looked as soft as a loaf of bread, but it’s still only Week 1.

Rivers threw some great balls while under pressure or being hit, he showed that he has ultimate control of the huddle and the line of scrimmage, his accuracy was overwhelmingly on point, and he’s as competitive as it gets.

The Colts’ defense was not aggressive for the most part in Jacksonville, that much is obvious. However, Matt Eberflus does have the ability to dial up additional pressure, to use creative looks pre-snap in order to keep opposing offenses on their toes, and the Colts have some real playmakers on that side of the ball as well.

The Colts still largely have everything Colts’ fans were hopeful about heading into this season aside from Mack in the backfield. That may be an issue going forward, but the team’s pass catchers are still very compelling, the offensive line is that same group that bullied teams last season, and they have the ability to be diverse with their backfield.

It isn’t all bad simply due to one poor outing. The team hasn’t won a Week 1 game in as long as many of us can remember (2013), but the Colts are 48-48 in that time frame. This isn’t a point to make you feel like the Colts are bound for the playoffs this season, rather to point out that the team isn’t sliding down the sewer either.

The Colts will bounce back, it’s a long season. It may or may not be in Week 2, but this team is too talented not to hold their own for a solid stretch of a 16-game season.

Now let’s move on to the fan picks for the Week 2 NFL slate.

As I mentioned above, it may not be Week 2 in which the Colts bounce back. And it appears as if the rest of the SB Nation community believes that as well. Despite the Colts being early favorites for their home opener, they aren’t being picked by those taking part in our weekly survey.

Here are the rest of the week’s picks as voted on via the survey:

Bengals (0-1) over Browns (0-1)

Bears (1-0) over Giants (0-1)

Cowboys (0-1) over Falcons (0-1)

Rams (1-0) over Eagles (0-1)

Buccaneers (0-1) over Panthers (0-1)

Steelers (1-0) over Broncos (0-1)

Cardinals (1-0) over Washington (1-0)

Packers (1-0) over Lions (0-1)

Titans (1-0) over Jaguars (1-0)

Chiefs (1-0) over Chargers (1-0)

Ravens (1-0) over Texans (0-1)

Bills (1-0) over Dolphins (0-1)

49ers (0-1) over Jets (0-1)

Seahawks (1-0) over Patriots (1-0)

Saints (1-0) over Raiders (1-0)