What We Learned From Each Team In Week 1 Of The 2024 NFL Season

Week 1 of the NFL Season is in the books and there’s a lot of surprises from week 1. It gave us a good look at what’s in store for the season and we broke down one thing learned from each team from their first game of the season.

Arizona Cardinals: They need to get Marvin Harrison Jr the ball. 

The Cardinals first round draft pick that they took at #4 overall finished with the same amount of yards in his rookie debut, 4. Kyler Murray targeted him only three times in the game. There was a play where MHJ was wide open near the end zone that he could have easily made, but Kyler wasn’t even looking in his direction. This is a huge problem and Kyler needs to target the rookie more, especially with the draft investment they made to give him a new #1 receiver. 

Atlanta Falcons: Kirk Cousins needs more time to heal. 

Coming off a torn achilles that cost him most of last season & the offseason, it was apparent that Kirk Cousins could use more time to recover. He looked very rusty in his Falcons debut throwing 2 interceptions and a passer rating of only 59 which was worse than Justin Fields. Atlanta has a tough next two games against Philadelphia and Kansas City before getting to a more manageable stretch. Hopefully over these next 2 games, the team can learn to work together and Kirk can get used to playing again. 

Baltimore Ravens: Isaiah Likely is the new #1 tight end. 

It wasn’t until the second half that Mark Andrews was even targeted. There were plenty of opportunities up until then that Lamar could have done so, but instead opted to hit Zay Flowers & Isaiah Likely more often. Isaiah Likely is the clear #1 target of Lamar after week 1 and we think he’s here to stay. Last year, when Andrews was out, Likely stepped up big time. With a larger role in the offense this year, Likely could jump into the top 10 tight end in the league conversation.

Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen can do it all. 

Finishing with 4 touchdowns on the day, 2 on the ground & 2 through the air, Josh Allen was stellar in the game. He had a passer rating of 137.7 with only 5 incompletions in the game. Even without playmakers Stefon Diggs & Gabe Davis who left in the offseason, Josh Allen was able to pull out the win for the Bills and proves the offense revolves around him. 

Carolina Panthers: The Panthers are going to need to start planning for next year’s draft.

Bryce Young looked absolutely terrible even with new wide receivers Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette in the picture. He went 13 of 30 with 2 interceptions and it looked like it could’ve been a whole lot worse. It’s pretty clear that Bryce Young is not panning out to what the Panthers wanted and they might want to start thinking about the quarterback options in next year’s draft. 

Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams needs to prove he’s not a bust. 

In arguably one of the worst debuts to a #1 overall pick’s career, Caleb Williams managed a measly 93 passing yards in the game with zero offensive touchdowns in the game. The Bears were 2-13 on third down and with the plethora of receivers at Caleb Williams’ disposal, he should have done much better against a Titans team that is not much better. The Bears were a joke in this game and Caleb Williams was at the center of that. We know the Bears move on from quarterbacks quickly, so if this is the trend for the season, it’s going to be a long road ahead for Bears fans. 

Cincinnati Bengals: They need to cut the sloppy mistakes. 

In a game they were heavily favored to win, the Bengals choked in Bengals fashion. Fumbling outside the end zone, missing tackles, & lack of execution on offense was what cost the Bengals the game. The Bengals always start off the season slow, but mistakes that could have been easily avoided were what led to them getting embarrassed against the Patriots in the season opener. 

Cleveland Browns: The Browns need to find a way to terminate Watson’s contract.

Regardless of one’s opinion on Watson’s character & views of him as a person, his play is horrendous. He is not the $200 million guaranteed player that the Browns were hoping for. He was awful in his appearances last season before getting injured for the year and in his first game this season, he looked even worse. Watson’s tenure in Cleveland is not going to last long if the Browns can find a way to get out of paying him. 

Dallas Cowboys: This might be the best defense in the NFL. 

We knew this defense was good but they shined mightily in the season opener. They held the Browns essentially to only 10 points for the game until a last second garbage time touchdown from Jerome Ford. The unit had six sacks, multiple interceptions, and a punt return touchdown in the game. This could be the year Micah Parsons finally wins Defensive Player of the Year and we are here for it!

Denver Broncos: Bo Nix has a lot of learning to do. 

In his rookie debut, Bo Nix looked awful. He threw 2 interceptions and only managed 138 total yards of passing. The part about those 138 yards that’s even worse is it was on 26 completions for an average of only 5.3 yards per completion. If he wants to succeed in this league, he’s going to need to throw the ball deeper down the field. 

Detroit Lions:  Improvements at their weakest positions was huge. 

The two weakest positions from their roster last year were at the secondary and wide receiver position outside of Amon-Ra St.Brown. Jameson Williams stepped up with over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. He looks to play a larger part in the offense and a good complement to St.Brown. In the secondary, new faces in Terrion Arnold & Carlton Davis III were good at limiting the yards after the catch in their first game against the Rams. The growth in these two areas was huge and proved that they are a legitimate contender in the NFC. 

Green Bay Packers: The Packers are going to struggle without Jordan Love. 

When Love was playing, him & the entire offense just looked a bit sloppy at times. There were times they showed a lot of promise, but more so looked like they weren’t aligned together. With Love set to miss some time, it’s going to feel like forever until he’s back. In the 2 plays that Malik Willis did come in for, it looked horrendous. 

Houston Texans: This offense can compete with anyone in the league. 

Outside of the 4 sacks that CJ Stroud took, the offense looked unstoppable. CJ Stroud completed 75% of his passes to 8 different targets. 2 of those players were newcomers Joe Mixon & Stefon Diggs who make this offense look complete. Any game this season, it can be a different player that takes over the game and with the abundance of options, it’s going to be hard for defenses to single in on any one player. This team can be dangerous down the stretch. 

Indianapolis Colts: They need more than just explosive plays. 

Anthony Richardson has a cannon for an arm which he showed off with multiple deep balls to Alec Pierce and a touchdown to Ashton Dulin. Outside of those big plays, his accuracy was not there. He only finished 9 of 19 on the day and 3 of those were passes for more than 50 yards. Excluding those 3 passes, he only had 6 other completions for less than 60 passing yards for the remainder of the game. This was not great. He needs to be more consistent for the rest of the game. 

Jacksonville Jaguars: No more collapsing in the second half. 

The Jaguars failed to score a single point in the second half after leading 17-0. The decision to run the ball on 4th down on your own 32 was an awful decision. It was a poor choice to go for it to begin with and even poorer that you went for it and did not let your $275,000,000 man Trevor Lawrence throw the ball. The Jaguars collapsed a couple times in the second half last season and they need to have better clock & game management to keep the momentum under their control if they want to make the playoffs. 

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs hit a home run with Xavier Worthy. 

The Buffalo Bills are going to be kicking themselves all season long as they seriously let the Bills walk away from the draft with Xavier Worthy. We only got a glimpse into what Worthy can do but it was electrifying. Worthy scored two touchdowns on very improbable plays & should grow into a larger role into the offense throughout the season. 

Las Vegas Raiders: The offensive line is rough. 

Minshew felt a lot of pressure throughout the game and it was clear the offensive line was a problem. Minshew was sacked 4 times and it could’ve been a lot more. Minshew also fumbled once and Zamir White fumbled as well. If this offense has any chance of competing, it starts with the front 5. 

Los Angeles Chargers: JK Dobbins is back! 

It felt like a lifetime ago that we saw JK Dobbins healthy and in his first game in Los Angeles, he looked electrifying. Dobbins finished with 135 yards on only 10 carries with a touchdown. Dobbins is going to be a major weapon for Justin Herbert and the offense. 

Los Angeles Rams: The defense can survive in a post Aaron Donald era.

No one will ever be able to replace the future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald, but the Rams stood their ground against a Lions offense that ranked 3rd last year. The Rams held Goff to only 200 yards passing and rookie EDGE Jared Verse recorded his first sack early in the game. The combo of Verse & Young can be dangerous and we look forward to what’s to come from the duo. 

Miami Dolphins: The offense needs to rely on more than just Jaylen Waddle & Tyreek Hill.

The Dolphins finished with 400 total yards of offense with 239 of those yards coming from Waddle & Hill. The two were explosive, but the rest of the offense struggled to make plays. The running back room that finished 6th in average yards per game last year only managed to put up 81 yards with an average of only 3.2 yards per rush which is almost 2 yards less than what the group averaged last year. 

Minnesota Vikings: Sam Darnold will land a starting job in the NFL next year. 

Starting the season at MetLife Stadium, six years ago, Darnold probably never envisioned it would be with the Vikings, especially after the tumultuous career he’s been through. For Darnold getting the chance to start was the opportunity he needed to turn his career around. After starting off the game with 12 straight completions, Darnold held command over the Giants all game. If he keeps this up, he’s on his way to earning Comeback Player of the Year and a starting job somewhere across the league. 

New England Patriots: Moving on from Bill Belichick was the right choice. 

In his first game as head coach, Jerod Mayo led the New England Patriots to one of the biggest opening day upsets in recent history. The Bengals were one touchdown favorites at home and lost to a New England team starting Jacoby Brissett. The Patriots toughed it out in an ugly win with good coaching and passion from first year head coach Jerod Mayo and it gave Patriots fans hopes for the future of the franchise under his leadership. 

New Orleans Saints: Their secondary is elite. 

The Saints secondary combined for 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, & 3 sacks. Their competition might have only been Bryce Young but this unit led by Alontae Taylor and Tyrann Mathieu looked legit. They are going to be a tough group to face all season long.

New York Giants: The season is going to be worse than we thought. 

The only bright spot for the Giants was Malik Nabers who was the leading receiver in the game with 66 yards. Outside of him, the Giants don’t have much going for them. Daniel Jones was 22 of 42, Singletary only managed 37 rushing yards, and the defense let Sam Darnold look like a pro bowler. The Giants have a legitimate chance of ending up with the #1 pick. 

New York Jets: Aaron Rodgers can do better. 

At least this year we were able to see Aaron Rodgers play more than 4 snaps, but he didn’t look perfect in his debut coming off a torn achilles. His arm looked solid, but his mobility was subpar and in a league where pass rushers are getting faster & stronger each year, Rodgers is going to need to either throw the ball faster if he’s staying in the pocket or work on his agility, something he always struggled with in his career. 

Philadelphia Eagles: Saquon Barkley was the perfect offseason acquisition. 

Despite struggles from Jalen Hurts & the offensive line, Saquon Barkley was a bright spot in the Philadelphia Eagles win. Barkley was the best player of the game finishing with 3 touchdowns for the Birds. Barkley made the right move by going to Philadelphia and giving himself a chance to be with a legitimate playoff contender. 

Pittsburgh Steelers: The offense needs to get their act together. 

The only reason the Steelers got past the Falcons was Chris Boswell’s impressive 6 field goals and was the lone player to score for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The offense only managed 270 total yards of offense which was somehow better than the Falcons but should’ve been a lot more. Thankfully for the Steelers, they don’t face tougher opponents until much later in the season. If Russell Wilson can play, maybe this will spark some new life into the struggling group. 

San Francisco 49ers: The offense can survive without Christian McCaffrey.

When news broke that the 49ers were going to be without star running back Christian McCaffrey from the season opener, fans were worried about a game against a tougher Jets defense. Nerves quickly were eased as Jordan Mason completely took over the game and had over 140 yards rushing. When CMC returns, we expect the offense to let Jordan Mason play a larger role in this offense in his 2nd year in the league to keep CMC healthier as he’s always at risk of an injury with how much of a workhorse he is. 

Seattle Seahawks: The running back room does not look like it’s going to be a committee. 

In what looked like it was going to be a committee with Kenneth Walker & Zach Charbonnet splitting carries, Walker was the clear #1 option with 20 carries compared to Charbonnet’s 8. With Charbonnet only managing 1.5 yards per carry, it looks like his playing time will dwindle if he continues to play like that. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield earned every penny of his contract extension. 

If making the playoffs last year wasn’t enough to convince you that Mayfield was worth keeping him around for another 3 years, Mayfield starts off his 2024 campaign with a commanding victory. He had 4 touchdowns to go with almost 300 yards and continues to prove doubters wrong which he’s done plenty of in his career. 

Tennessee Titans: Will Levis needs time to develop. 

The Titans invested in talent around Will Levis with the signings of Calvin Ridley & Tyler Boyd. They also added Tony Pollard to the backfield, but did not utilize him as much in the passing game. In fact, Levis did not utilize the 2 new receivers much either with Calvin Ridley being the leading receiver on the day with 3 receptions for 50 yards. Will Levis struggled and it’s not due to the lack of talent around him. He needs to air the ball out more and spread it across the field. It’s going to take a longer time than Titans management would’ve hoped for. 

Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels will be a favorite for rookie of the year. 

Jayden Daniels is the real deal and he proved that even in a loss by 17 points. Daniels reminded us a lot of Lamar Jackson as he threw for nearly 200 yards and rushed for nearly 100 yards with 2 touchdowns on the ground. The Commanders found their quarterback in Jayden Daniels and he is the clear frontrunner for rookie of the year.