Week 1 Takeaways for the 2024 NFL Season
Week 1 always excites, which is why I need to provide an immediate disclaimer: please don’t overreact. You’ll see shock results and major conclusions drawn with the smallest of sample sizes. Unless they confirm what you already knew, they could be mirages. I’ll be touching on the Thursday night kickoff game, the special Friday night game, and everything in between. Rookie QBs made their official debuts, several teams hit the ground running, and others remained stuck in the mud. Find out who the stars and the goats were in my week 1 takeaways for the 2024 NFL season!
TNF Kickoff Game: Chiefs Win AFC Championship Rematch by a Toe
The first game of the season never disappoints. We got a fantastic battle between the Chiefs and Ravens, the two teams who played in last year’s AFC Championship game. KC won that one by 7, and they did so again, claiming a 27-20 victory that came down to the wire. Things started in a hurry, with Baltimore running right down the field. New RB Derrick Henry (13/46/1) capped the drive off with a TD. The Ravens reversed their plan from before; RBs had only 6 attempts in last year’s battle, and QB Lamar Jackson had 8. This time around, Baltimore ran the ball 32 times, with Jackson taking half of those. It wasn’t perfect though.
Baltimore got called for FOUR illegal formation penalties for tackles being lined up in the backfield, and that was after their first violation resulted in a warning. One of these penalties even offset a PI call that would’ve been a huge gain. I guess this was the point of emphasis that the league decided to hammer this year. The NFL always picks something, whether it’s holding, chop blocks, or pass interference. This time, they went for offensive line alignments. With Shawn Hochuli as the referee, you knew that everything was going to get called. Only the Ravens earned this particular penalty though.
KC scored easily on their first drive, but subsequent marches proved challenging. One drive featured killer drops by RB Isiah Pacheco (15/45/1; 2/33 receiving) and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, the latter of which would’ve been a TD. With no Hollywood Brown due to injury, the Chiefs needed other weapons to step up. First-round rookie WR Xavier Worthy took his first NFL touch for a 21-yard rushing TD, and he caught 2 passes for 47 yards and another score on which he broke free from coverage. Returning receiver Rashee Rice (7/103) is the WR1 of this operation, finding open space time and time again. As long as his legal issues don’t derail his season, he’s primed for a big year.
The Chiefs’ defense really clamped down on Baltimore though, letting the home team retain the lead for the remainder of the game. Star DT Chris Jones drew double teams all game but still got home, earning a strip sack that the Chiefs recovered. Credit fellow DT Mike Pennel for keeping Jackson away from the ball, preventing a Baltimore recovery. CB Jaylen Watson, taking over for the departed L’Jarius Sneed, looked rock solid, preventing the Ravens from trying any deep passes and earning a game-high 11 tackles. For most of the game DC Steve Spagnuolo was cooking.
I know you want to hear about the QBs. Patrick Mahomes (20/28, 291 yards, TD, INT)was mostly his usual self. He had one weird play where he threw under pressure and tossed the ball right to LB Roquan Smith for an INT. Nobody else was within 10 yards of the ball, so that was peculiar. Other than that, he was great. Jackson (26/41, 273 yards, TD; 16/122 rushing) was a mixed bag throwing the ball, mostly succeeding on short passes; RB Justice Hill (6/52 receiving) did great work with those. He was an electric runner though, breaking big gains and continuously moving the sticks.
The final drive was where we saw the difference between the two QBs. Down 7 and in the red zone with under 30 seconds left, Jackson missed two wide-open TD throws. With 5 seconds left, it looked like he hit TE Isaiah Likely for the tying/go-ahead score, but the high pass forced him out of bounds. The replay showed that Likely’s toe was on the line, and the game was over. Give Likely (9/111/1) credit for a great game though; he’s a real threat to break out this year. Both of these teams are true playoff contenders, but only one seems to have the passer to go the difference. That’s what separated Baltimore and KC here.
FNF: Eagles Down Packers in Sloppy Brazil Shootout
Let’s start with the obvious: the NFL should not have played a game in Sao Paolo. Between security concerns and logistical issues, this simply wasn’t a good idea. Once we got on the field, that too was a problem. Players were slipping and sliding everywhere, and although the game went smoothly otherwise, I think the league was overly ambitious here. Beyond the conditions, the Eagles and Packers were sloppy in their play as well. The teams combined for 17 accepted penalties, and it became a joke by the 3rd quarter. How so, you ask? Referee Ron Torbert lost his voice due to his big role.
Each team had a new DC and a new starting RB. For Green Bay, Jeff Hafley has not yet fixed the defense. They got gashed repeatedly, ceding 410 yards of offense. RB Josh Jacobs (16/84; 2/20 receiving) had two chunk gains of 22 and 32 yards, but the rest of his carries were lackluster. He does seem to have the burst he lacked last year though. In Philly, Vic Fangio also has his work cut out for him, as his defense yielded 414 yards. However, his unit did hold the Packers to a pair of field goals on drives that started in Eagles territory. I see minor improvements from last year, and they should get better with time.
RB Saquon Barkley (24/109/2; 2/23/1 receiving) was the main attraction. He caught a TD pass on a wheel route and scored twice more on the ground. We always knew his talent, but his success this year will be defined by his ability to stay healthy. New OC Kellen Moore is helping him by designing more plays with QB Jalen Hurts under center. Hurts (20/34, 278 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs; 13/33 rushing) had a decent game overall. He threw some really nice passes, with WR AJ Brown (5/119/1) as the primary beneficiary. In particular, Brown scored a 67-yard TD early in the third to energize the offense.
Hurts did have his struggles though. He threw an INT to S Xavier McKinney and then fumbled a snap on his first two drives. I should note that he has a new center in Cam Jurgens, who has a tough task replacing the retired Jason Kelce. Hurts would fumble again in the final 2 minutes of the game on a tush push near the goal line, but Philly recovered that one. Speaking of the “brotherly shove”, the Eagles went 1/3 on that play this game. They were 25/27 last year, and they already equaled their misses. Is this because Kelce is gone, or have teams figured it out? Time will tell, but there’s work to do all around.
Packers CB Jaire Alexander had a mixed game. He picked off a Hurts pass in the end zone, and he nearly had another, but Brown broke it up. Otherwise, he was victimized by Brown on several occasions. Philly’s top defender was undoubtedly new LB Zack Baun. He covered well, and he had 15 tackles and 2 sacks, including one on the final play of the game when QB Malik Willis wanted to attempt a Hail Mary. Why was Willis in the game? On the final drive, with GB trailing 31-26, Jordan Love went down awkwardly and was in serious pain. He needed help getting to the sideline. Hopefully he ends up being ok.
Even excluding the injury, it wasn’t a great day for Love. He only completed 50% of his passes (17/34), throwing for 260 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Those numbers were inflated by the great YAC work of WR Jayden Reed (4/138/1; 1/33/1 rushing). The second-year wideout was sensational, and he should be the focal point of the passing attack. For Love, it was telling that GB scored their first TD on a drive when he had 0 completions. The early reports are that Love has a sprained MCL, so he might only miss a few weeks. When he returns, his accuracy and consistency need to improve for the Packers to return to the playoffs.
Bengals Post Another Pathetic Week 1 Showing Against Lowly Pats
No, I didn’t copy and paste this from last year. This is actually my third straight year writing about the “contender” Bengals embarrassing themselves in week 1 of a season. I have no actual data to support this, but there must not be a more horrible 3-year stretch of week-1 play in league history. So what went wrong this time? It wasn’t really QB Joe Burrow with his early-season struggles. He didn’t light the world on fire (21/29, 164 yards), but he did nothing stupid this time around. WR Tee Higgins (hamstring) was out, while Ja’Marr Chase (6/62) reported and played, but he didn’t have a major impact.
Pretty much everything else was a disaster. On one series, Burrow led the Bengals to the red zone and threw a TD to TE Mike Gesicki. However, it was questionably overturned upon review. On the next play, Burrow threw another would-be TD to TE Tanner Hudson, but he fumbled near the goal line and turned the ball over. Hudson also had a drop that stalled a later drive; it’s safe to say that TEs and receivers not named Chase really let Burrow down. Punt returner Charlie Jones coughed up the ball as well, giving NE the ball at the CIN 23. The running game was fair, but Cincy didn’t stay committed to it, running the ball just 16 times.
Defensively, the Bengals were decidedly mixed. The pass defense was solid, and New England only scored 16 points. That number looks even better when you consider the turnovers and the 8-minute time of possession disparity. Against the run, things were much worse. The loss of DT DJ Reader, now with Detroit, literally loomed large, as the Bengals could not contain RB Rhamondre Stevenson (25/120/1). He kept drives going, leading to points and burning enough clock that Cincinnati couldn’t come back. In a 16-10 game, his running was the deciding factor.
You have to give new Patriots HC Jerod Mayo a lot of credit. He called a great game and had his team believing despite their status as a huge underdog. His defense was typically excellent, and QB Jacoby Brissett (15/24, 121 yards, 32 rushing yards) managed the game well. This was more about Cincinnati’s repeated week 1 problems, and it’s a game that will have massive ramifications down the line for both the #1 pick and playoff seeding/spots. The Bengals may rue this one by week 18, while New England, scrappy as they may be, still isn’t likely to win many games and harmed their draft positioning.
Justin Fields-Led Steelers Beat Falcons with Russell Wilson Inactive
While one AFC North team couldn’t get out of their own way, another…well, they didn’t do a whole lot right on offense either, but their defense and special teams were so smothering that they got the job done anyway. Russell Wilson, the starting QB by default, was a surprise scratch with a calf injury, so Justin Fields got to play instead. As expected, he was dangerous as a runner (57 yards). His passing stats looked efficient (17/23 for 156 yards), but he couldn’t lead one TD drive and would have lost without the elite play of this new Steel Curtain. New OC Arthur Smith got revenge against the Falcons, but he had nothing to do with it.
OLB TJ Watt, who had a sack and two others called back by penalties, was the obvious star. The whole unit was exceptional though, completely dominating new Falcons QB Kirk Cousins (16/26, 155 yards, TD, 2 INTs) in his debut. This wasn’t at all what Atlanta expected from their $180M passer, but it was his first game with a new team and his first appearance since he had Achilles surgery. I think he’ll be fine, just not as quickly as some may have expected. At least new HC Raheem Morris knew that he had Bijan Robinson (18/68; 5/43 receiving) on his team, unlike his predecessor Smith.
If I had to name an MVP, it was clearly K Chris Boswell, who made 6/6 FGs (interestingly, so did SF kicker Jake Moody) with a long of 57 (three overall from 50+), scored every Pittsburgh point, and even had a nice 43-yard punt as a substitute for the injured Cameron Johnston. I wanted to give him a shoutout here, but the question moving forward will be what the Steelers do at QB. For me, if Wilson is healthy, he’s starting. Fields didn’t show me anything to suggest that he’d be a better option (or even score one point without Boswell). Wilson is the guy until he struggles, and I don’t anticipate him losing the job to an injury.
Notable Season, Career, and New-Team Debut Roundup
This is players only; I’ll let others handle Tom Brady’s first broadcast. Honestly, the “season debut” part is just there so I could put in Derek Carr and the Saints’ offense, as well as Baker Mayfield and the Tampa offense. Every player was making their season debut this weekend after all. Carr (19/23, 200 yards, 3 TDs) was crisp and in command, leading the Saints to 47 points against the lowly Panthers. NO still had some red zone stalling issues, but this was great against a bad team, and it’s something the Saints DIDN’T do last year. RB Alvin Kamara (15/83/1; 5/27 receiving) also wants a bounce-back year and is off to a great start.
If Carr was good, Mayfield (24/30, 289 yards, 4 TDs) was great. He looked to be in midseason form, with the same caveat that he was going up against a putrid Washington secondary. In other QB news, Aaron Rodgers made his real Jets debut! I’m not counting that 4-snap appearance last year. He got very little help, with drops and (still) mediocre protection. His one INT was just unlucky, but he otherwise looked pretty good (13/21, 167 yards, TD). Rodgers is going to be better as he knocks off the rust, but this night, he was foiled by the 49ers and RB Jordan Mason (28/147/1), who was excellent replacing Christian McCaffrey (calf).
Among QBs who switched teams, Kirk Cousins has already been discussed above, but his replacement in Minnesota, Sam Darnold, did great. He began the game 12/12 passing and finished 19/24 for 208 yards, 2 TDs, and an INT in a blowout over the struggling Giants. Darnold’s counterpart, NYG’s Daniel Jones (22/42, 186 yards, 2 INTs), was as horrible as he was in the preseason and flung a pick six to new Viking Andrew Van Ginkel. Raiders QB Gardner Minshew (25/33, 257 yards, TD, INT) was average, but he was mostly let down by his running game and coaching decisions.
At RB, new Viking Aaron Jones (14/94/1; 2/15 receiving) looked fully healthy; the former Packer back is a massive upgrade over Alexander Mattison (now a Raider). Joe Mixon (30/159/1) had a monster start to his Texans career and was instrumental in their win. While he didn’t carry the ball, Cardinals RB DeeJay Dallas provided a 96-yard KR TD, the league’s first under the new format. With the close-quarters kickoff formation, RBs who can break tackles may be optimal returners now. JK Dobbins (10/135/1) looked as good as new with the Chargers, helping new coach Jim Harbaugh to his first win in LA.
Along with Mixon, WR Stefon Diggs (6/33/2) made his mark for Houston. Traded from Buffalo this offseason, Diggs reached the end zone twice and seems to be fitting right in. One other WR had to be mentioned: Miami’s Tyreek Hill (7/130/1), who starred minutes after his wrongful detainment before the game. TE Jonnu Smith and DL Calais Campbell, both new Dolphins, got out of their cars to help and were also mistreated. When Hill asks “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?”, everyone should stop and think for a minute about just how serious this situation could have become. I’m glad that everyone is alright.
Finally, let’s get to the rookie QBs. Warning: it was pretty ugly. Chicago’s Caleb Williams became the first #1 pick at QB to win his first week 1 start since David Carr in 2002, but he did nothing to earn the win. In fact, he actively hindered it, going 14/29 for just 93 yards and taking 29 sack yards on 2 sacks. He missed targets by a mile and seemed completely confused by Tennessee’s defense. I said we’d see some growing pains; don’t let this outing dissuade you if you believed in Williams before. This experience is invaluable, and he’ll have the chance to put the team on his back soon enough.
Washington’s Jayden Daniels (17/24, 184 yards; 16/88/2 rushing) had by far the cleanest debut, though his team lost by 17 and he earned most of his yards in garbage time. Still, he rebounded nicely after losing 13 yards on his first play due to a fumbled snap. My biggest criticism is actually a wardrobe one: Daniels needs to put his helmet on better, as it came off twice this week. Bo Nix (26/42, 138 yards, 2 INTs; 5/35/1 rushing) learned that Denver is not Oregon, where he saw wide open windows. He only completed short passes against Seattle and otherwise looked overwhelmed. It’s odd to lose when your defense earns TWO safeties.