NFL Week 1: What we learned from all 13 games on Sunday
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The 105th NFL season is now in full swing, and we’ve got you covered. FOX Sports’ NFL experts provide the biggest takeaways from every Sunday game and what they mean for each team going forward. Check back throughout the day for updates.
Titans: The biggest question coming into this season was if Will Levis is the guy in Tennessee. After Week 1, I’m not sure we have any clarity on that. Levis converted some crucial third downs, like one on third-and-15 to new Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley in the first half. But then Levis threw a pick as he was being tackled that ended up in the end zone for the Bears. The good news is that Tennessee has found its running back in Tony Pollard. He was a consistent and significant contributor, averaging more than five yards a carry in Sunday’s opener. Tennessee’s defense made things difficult for Caleb Williams & Co. and should prove to be much better than most expected coming into the season.
Bears: The time of possession was lopsided. The quarterback had a subpar completion rate. And yet, the Bears won thanks to defense and special teams. It’s very clear this is a new offensive system with a lot of new pieces, including a rookie quarterback who looked predictably uncomfortable in his first start. But as Caleb Williams settled in, so did the other phases, keeping Chicago in the game. The Bears forced multiple turnovers, including a scoop and score by safety Jonathan Owens on a blocked punt. It wasn’t the picture-perfect start the Bears wanted for their young star under center, but it was a signal that Chicago should figure it out eventually, if for no other reason than the defense will give Williams all the chances he needs. —Carmen Vitali
Panthers: An opening loss to the Saints was to be expected for Carolina, but regression from Bryce Young? Give him a mulligan for a new offense Sunday, but Carolina changed playcallers multiple times last year, and his passer rating was never as low as the 32.8 he had against the Saints. His 30% completion percentage was his second-lowest ever, trumped only by his other game in New Orleans last season. Carolina’s offense will be a work in progress, but this was a rough debut. They rushed 20 times for 58 yards, none longer than 8 yards, and the top two receivers — Diontae Johnson and rookie Xavier Legette — totaled 54 yards on 13 targets. Lots of room for growth for Dave Canales’ offense.
Saints: Everything went well in the Saints’ opener, but most promising might be Derek Carr going an efficient 19-for-23 for 200 yards and three touchdowns. In 160 career games, it’s his second-highest passer rating ever at 142.5 — a 59-yard score to Rashid Shaheed got it started, and he also had touchdown throws to tight ends Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson. It comes against a bad Carolina team, but it continues a tear that Carr finished last season with— he has 15 touchdown passes in his last five games, after totaling 13 in his first 13 games with the Saints. The competition will get tougher in a hurry, playing at Dallas this coming week and then at home against the Eagles. —Greg Auman
Giants: There’s real potential for this to be a very long year in New York — and very possibly the last year for QB Daniel Jones and head coach Brian Daboll. Everything in Week 1 was terrible for the Giants, just like it was a year ago. And Jones, in his first start since tearing his ACL last year, might have been the most terrible of all. He was 22 of 42 for 186 yards with two ugly interceptions. He was overthrowing receivers, skipping balls to them and generally looked jittery. What was really odd was that his offensive line, which so often is the Giants’ problem, wasn’t bad. This was more about Jones and receivers who couldn’t seem to get open. The Giants thought they had a better offense this year, but 240 yards and six points says otherwise. And now the clock is already ticking on a season that may be over before it really starts.
Vikings: Whatever optimism there was in Minnesota this offseason was mostly about rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. But it turns out his replacement, Sam Darnold, might be pretty good. He certainly got off to a strong start against a bad Giants secondary, completing his first 12 passes en route to a 19-for-24, 208-yard, two-touchdown performance. He stayed mostly out of trouble (his one interception came when his arm was hit as he threw by DT Dexter Lawrence) and made good use of his strong array of weapons, hitting Justin Jefferson on a 44-yard pass and for a short touchdown. He’s certainly surrounded by a lot of talent. And to be honest, Darnold — the third overall pick of the 2018 draft — has always had talent. He’s just mostly had terrible coaching throughout his career in Carolina and with the Jets. With Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell now calling the plays for him, he’s got a real chance for a revival season, which could help the Vikings be a surprising team. —Ralph Vacchiano
Cardinals: The much-anticipated rookie debut of No. 4 overall selection Marvin Harrison Jr. turned out a dud for the Cardinals. Harrison Jr. had looked polished running routes and at times unguardable in practice. However, the Ohio State product had a drop early in the game and finished with just one reception for four yards on three targets. That included quarterback Kyler Murray appearing to miss a wide-open Harrison down the field on the final possession of the game with the Cardinals driving for the winning score. Harrison’s struggles were part of a larger issue of pushing the ball down the field for the Cardinals, who finished with just two receptions of 20-plus yards. Arizona also had trouble protecting Murray, who was sacked four times by Buffalo’s defense.
Bills: QB Josh Allen is still doing Josh Allen things — both good and bad. He fumbled on a strip sack by Arizona nose tackle Roy Lopez on the fourth offensive play. That led to an Arizona field goal as the Cardinals jumped out to a 17-3 lead. Allen now has 76 turnovers dating back to the start of the 2020 season, the most in the NFL over that time frame. However, like he’s done in years past, Allen put on his Superman cape when his team needed him most. He finished 18 of 23 for 232 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also ran seven times for 41 yards and two scores. Allen suffered a left-hand injury on his second rushing touchdown and had to be taped on the sideline near the end of the game. With Stefon Diggs now in Houston, Allen completed passes to nine different pass-catchers on Sunday. —Eric D. Williams
Patriots: If there were two teams everyone expected to lose this week, it was the Patriots and the Panthers. And, really, it was the Patriots and the Patriots. But New England pulled off the upset against Cincinnati despite entering the game as 7.5-point underdogs. The recipe was simple: Let the defense and Rhamondre Stevenson do the work. Because the Bengals didn’t have Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase wasn’t full-go after a long hold-in, Cincinnati looked totally bottled up by the Patriots’ elite defense. Jacoby Brissett averaged five yards per attempt and Stevenson averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Those stats should show how reliant New England was on their rushing attack. The takeaway: The Patriots found a recipe for a win. The question: Can they actually replicate it? (As you can probably sense, I’m dubious.)
Bengals: You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. Yes, I’m talking about the Bengals refusing to pay Ja’Marr Chase. Against the Patriots, the receiver situation looked like an enormous problem. Joe Burrow was a mess without Higgins and with a diminished Chase. We shouldn’t have had to see the Bengals struggle to know they needed to extend their star receiver. But the game absolutely further affirmed how badly they need him back at practice on a new deal. His time off the field has not helped Burrow coming back from injury. Chase needs to reestablish his rapport with the team’s franchise QB. Cincy can’t hesitate getting Chase back into the fold, because they have the Chiefs next week. And the Chiefs defense looked stout enough against Baltimore in Week 1. More notably, however, the Chiefs offense looked like it had new life. An 0-2 start looks totally possible. Maybe even probable. —Henry McKenna
Texans: The talent the Texans have at the pass-catching spots will be a huge talking point throughout the year, and for good reason. Between Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs, Houston has three No. 1-caliber wide receivers. Can’t forget about standout tight end Dalton Schultz either. But tailback Joe Mixon could very well be the X-factor for one of the NFL’s most talented teams, and he showed why in Sunday’s season-opening victory at the Colts, rushing for 159 yards on 5.3 yards per carry. His tough running was integral for Houston pulling out the victory. Last season, the Texans were overly dependent on C.J. Stroud and the passing attack, with the league’s 23rd-ranked rushing offense. With Mixon in the picture, the Texans are poised to show a more balanced offense throughout 2024.
Colts: Despite their season-opening loss, the Colts could be an underrated AFC contender because of their pass rush. They had four sacks and 10 quarterback hits on Stroud. The depth up front was on display, with four different players recording at least half a sack (DeForest Buckner, Tyquan Lewis, Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo). Nose tackle Grover Stewart and linebackers Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed also added a quarterback hit apiece. Rookie edge rusher Laiatu Latu, the first defender taken in the draft, didn’t register a stat in his debut, but he’s expected to be a force as well. A year after the Colts posted their Indianapolis-era record 51 sacks, they should once again have one of the league’s best pass rushes, which gives them tons of playoff upside with quarterback Anthony Richardson — who had three total touchdowns Sunday — back after an abbreviated rookie season. —Ben Arthur
Jaguars: That loss felt a bit like the Jaguars jaguarsing. Travis Etienne had two notably catastrophic carries that sunk Jacksonville. With a 10-point lead, he fumbled the ball into the end zone, where Miami recovered for a touchback. And then with a three-point lead on fourth-and-1, Etiene ran left before reversing field for a loss of two. The turnover-on-downs felt like a clear indication the game had slipped entirely out of the Jaguars’ hands. It’s an auspicious start for Jacksonville, which balked at the opportunity to take down a playoff team despite the Jaguars leading 14-0 in the first half. It’s the type of loss that makes it easy to see Jacksonville as a team incapable of playoff contention — yet again.
Dolphins: Mike McDaniel trusted his rushing attack more than he trusted his passing attack at the end of this game. (And while I do think that reflects somewhat poorly upon Tua Tagovailoa, I also think the quarterback was efficient in closing out the game.) McDaniel’s reliance upon the rushing attack was refreshing to see. Too often last year, McDaniels would get away from his run game at the end of the game — even when it was working. McDaniels would force his passing attack to win the game. But not on Sunday. It was reassuring to see McDaniel rely upon the run, even when Miami was trailing or tied. That helped set up Tua — and the entire team — for success in crunch time. —McKenna
The following writers contributed to this story:
NFL reporter Ben Arthur (@benyarthur)
NFL reporter Greg Auman (@gregauman)
NFL reporter Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis)
NFL reporter Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams)
NFL reporter Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano)
NFL reporter Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV)
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