I don’t necessarily think this statement is true. You give the example of the Lions, but the Colts could have run the clock down much further and probably won had they not called an ill advised timeout. Also, neither the Broncos nor the Pats without Brady and Gronk are flashy, quick strike offenses, and they beat two of the best teams in the league (Carolina and Arizona) by methodically moving the ball and playing good defense (or dirty defense, as the case may have been in Denver).

In fact, the teams with dynamic passing offenses did pretty badly in week one. The Cards lost, the Saints lost, the Falcons lost, the Giants almost lost to a backup QB. If anything, week one showed that good defense, good balance, and avoiding turnovers are the keys to winning. Obviously it’s a long season though, so it’s important not to overreact to small sample sizes, especially when the games were so close.