Junior Seau was supposed to take the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl. The St. Louis Rams were supposed to be the class of the NFC and New England a prime contender in the AFC.

And Green Bay, of course, was going to dominate the otherwise dismal NFC North, as it did last season.

Sorry, but the NFL isn’t that easy.

Despite losses Sunday, the Dolphins, Rams, Patriots and Packers remain contenders. But everything that happens the first week is magnified, and when a team looks as bad as those four did in losing, it becomes much worse.

Or, as Ricky Williams said of the Dolphins’ 21-20 loss at home to second-year Houston: “It’s humbling.”

Of the four contenders who lost, the Dolphins’ setback was, by far, the most shocking (OK, humbling). Miami was a two-touchdown favorite, had won 11 straight season openers, and entered the game 30-3 since 1983 at home in the September heat.

The Rams’ loss to the Giants wasn’t unexpected. New York, a playoff team with high expectations, won in St. Louis last season and pummeled Kurt Warner two years ago in a 15-14 loss.

New England’s defeat in Buffalo also wasn’t a big surprise, especially after team captain Lawyer Milloy was released by the Patriots and signed by the Bills. The move left Patriots players shocked and the Bills fired up.

Even Green Bay’s loss to Minnesota at the opening of the new Lambeau Field wasn’t a big shocker. The Vikings always play the Packers tough, and Randy Moss always seems to play well at Lambeau. He had nine catches for 150 yards and a touchdown Sunday.

“It’s a great rivalry. I don’t see why that should change,” said Brett Favre, who didn’t help the Packers by throwing four interceptions.

Still, there have to be concerns.

Houston’s win in Miami probably stemmed from the Dolphins’ casual attitude entering the game.

“We could have played a pee wee team, and we still would have lost,” cornerback Sam Madison said.

The loss raises questions about Miami’s Dave Wannstedt.

Wannstedt keeps getting toys to play with — Williams last season and Seau this year– but missed the playoffs in 2002 and was shocked Sunday. (To be fair, the acquisition of Seau, who is 34 and injury-prone, was probably overhyped.)

Still, the head coach’s job is to keep his players from letting down.

If you’re a Wannstedt fan, don’t listen to talk radio in South Florida this week.