NFL Week 1: What we learned from all 13 games on Sunday

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. 

Bears 24, Titans 17

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

Saints 47, Panthers 10

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 on — he has 15 touchdown passes in his past 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

Vikings 28, Giants 6

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 could be over soon after it 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 No. 3 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

Bills 34, Cardinals 28

Patriots 16, Bengals 10

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 its 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 reaffirmed 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 29, Colts 27

Texans: The talent the Texans have at receiver 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 wideouts. 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 Indianapolis, 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 no. 23 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 defensive player taken in the 2024 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

Dolphins 20, Jaguars 17

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. Later, with the Jags still leading by three, Etienne ran left before reversing field for a loss of two on fourth-and-1. The turnover on downs felt like a clear indication the game had slipped entirely out of Jacksonville’s hands. It’s an auspicious start for the Jaguars, who balked at the opportunity to take down a playoff team despite leading 14-0 in the first half. It’s the type of loss that makes it tough to take them seriously as a contender.

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, he was efficient in closing out the game.) McDaniel’s reliance on the ground game was refreshing to see. Too often last year, McDaniels would get away from running the ball late in games — even when it was working — and force the pass to win. 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

Steelers 18, Falcons 10

Steelers: The Steelers continue to show they don’t need much from the quarterback position to win football games. With Russell Wilson sidelined by a calf injury, Justin Fields made his Steelers debut on Sunday, and while he didn’t lead the offense to any touchdowns, he did enough and avoided mistakes in a win over the Falcons. Fields threw for 156 yards and rushed for another 57, and most importantly, he had zero turnovers in a game in which the Falcons had three, including two Kirk Cousins interceptions. Does Fields remain the starter next week? If he’s healthy, does Wilson get a shot at payback against the Broncos in Denver? It won’t matter much who starts under center if Pittsburgh’s defense can hold opponents to 10 points as they did in Sunday’s win.

Falcons: For all the excitement that Kirk Cousins could take Atlanta’s offense to another level this season, that didn’t happen Sunday, as the Falcons mustered only 45 yards in a scoreless second half. In his six previous season openers, Cousins had thrown 11 touchdown passes against two interceptions, but on Sunday, there were no touchdowns and two picks, one in the fourth quarter. The Falcons went just 2-for-9 on third downs, and despite their defense holding the Steelers out of the end zone, they couldn’t put together any kind of consistent drive in the second half. The lack of big plays was obvious Sunday — Bijan Robinson rushed for 68 yards, but no carry longer than 13 yards — and none of 26 pass plays went for more than 20 yards. — Auman

Chargers 22, Raiders 10

Raiders: Gardner Minshew earned the starting quarterback job over second-year pro Aidan O’Connell in training camp, but the Raiders still have an issue at the most important position on the field. Though he completed 75.8% of his passes, Minshew was sacked four times and held onto the ball too long a handful of other times. He also turned the ball over twice, on an interception and a fumble that led to a field goal for the Bolts. And it wasn’t just Minshew making mistakes: Running back Zamir White also lost a fumble, and kicker Daniel Carlson missed a 49-yard field goal. With a defensive-minded team, coach Antonio Pierce just needs an offense that makes the most of its opportunities in the red zone. In the opener against the Chargers, Minshew and the rest of the offense fell well short of that goal. 

Chargers: The offense looked woefully inadequate under backup Easton Stick during the preseason. With starter Justin Herbert back healthy, the Bolts didn’t look much better at the start of the game on Sunday. The Chargers finished 0-for-7 on third down in the first half and had just 83 total yards. But then running back J.K. Dobbins took over, finishing with 135 rushing yards on 10 carries as the Chargers wore down the Raiders in the second half. The Chargers want to run the football under new head coach Jim Harbaugh, and they finished with 176 yards on the ground. But while the ground-and-pound approach is important, the Chargers are going to need their talented quarterback to throw for more than 144 yards if they’re going to come out of the AFC West with a playoff berth. — Williams

Seahawks 26, Broncos 20

Broncos: Bo Nix looked every bit of the rookie quarterback he is on Sunday, completing 61.9% of his passes (26-for-42) for just 138 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions and a rushing score in the loss. There were a couple of receiver drops in there, and a costly fumble by running back Jaleel McLaughlin. But the No. 12 overall pick in this year’s draft missed a handful of wide-open targets and had a couple near interceptions on top of the two picks. Nix averaged a pedestrian 3.3 yards per attempt, too. It was just one game, and rookie quarterbacks have historically struggled in their debuts. But it feels like this entire season will be a work in progress for Nix, coach Sean Payton and the Broncos offense. Of their next six opponents, five ranked in the top 12 in scoring defense last season. 

Seahawks: Seattle is filled with talent at the offensive skill positions (DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker III), but it won’t matter much if it can’t consistently put them in situations to be successful. And that feels like something to at least be wary of considering the offensive line’s struggles in the first half of Sunday’s opener, despite the victory. The Seahawks offense got hot in the second half — Walker (103 rushing yards) led the charge — but the early mishaps up front could prove to be more detrimental against a stronger team. Geno Smith’s interception on the second play from scrimmage was due in large part to a breakdown on the interior offensive line. Seattle also gave up two safeties in the first half. The Seahawks were completely anemic on offense through two quarters. Their O-line wasn’t expected to be good to begin with, but on Sunday it lost right tackle George Fant to a knee injury — Fant was already replacing starter Abe Lucas, who’s on the PUP list to begin the year. Limited personnel-wise on the offensive line, my hunch is that Seattle will be leaning heavily on Mike MacDonald’s defense in 2024 despite its offensive firepower. — Arthur

Cowboys 33, Browns 17

Browns: Can we please get these guys another quarterback? Deshaun Watson was 24 of 45 for 169 yards at 3.8 yards per attempt. He had one touchdown and two interceptions and took six sacks. For so many reasons, it’s time for the Browns to move on from Deshaun Watson. (They can’t actually let him go. Cutting him would incur a $92 million cap hit with $120 million in dead money.) They can simply make him inactive every week. And that’s only fair for Cleveland because it was the idiotic organization to give him all that money. The Browns might as well wear a scarlet letter every week on their inactives list. In the meantime, they should start Jameis Winston and trade for Mac Jones. Heck, bring back Joe Flacco. Just, please, jettison Watson into the football ether. This defense is too good to waste.

Cowboys: Cue up “Takin’ Care Of Business.” Hot dang, that must’ve been fun for Cowboys fans. Most important, Dallas pummelled a supposedly elite Browns defense. But the context is important, too. The Dak Prescott contract came in right before the game. The CeeDee Lamb contract came in a few weeks ago. Micah Parsons is probably next, but Dallas has some time on that one. Owner Jerry Jones finally took care of business by paying his players. They delivered on Sunday. And while those contract disputes had the potential to impact the on-field product, the Cowboys throttled the Browns in every phase of the game. — McKenna

Buccaneers 37, Commanders 20

Commanders: Washington’s defense was terrible last year — dead last in points and total yards allowed — and if there was hope of that improving drastically in 2024, there wasn’t much to show for that in this loss to the Bucs. The Commanders gave up 37 or more points in six games last year, double any other team in the NFL, and the Bucs did so without forcing any takeaways against Washington. Poor tackling played a role in that, though Dan Quinn said it was no excuse to cite the lack of physicality allowed in training camp. Third down was a particular problem — the Bucs went 9-for-13, converting at a higher rate than any Washington opponent last season.

Buccaneers: If there was uncertainty about whether the Bucs offense could be the same with a new coordinator in Liam Coen, Baker Mayfield and company answered that emphatically on Sunday. Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns — two to Mike Evans — and was exceptional on third downs, helping the Bucs go 9-for-13 for one of the best conversion rates in their history. Coen, taking over after Dave Canales left to become Carolina’s head coach, had a solid mix of runs and passes — Tampa Bay didn’t score 30 or more in a game until Week 9 last season, but did in their first game with him calling plays. Mayfield’s passer rating of 146.4 is the second-best ever against Washington for a quarterback with at least 30 pass attempts — the only one better came from the Giants’ Y.A. Tittle in 1962, long before the Bucs existed as a franchise.— Auman

Lions 26, Rams 20

Rams: There might not be a better coach-QB combo in the NFC than Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford. On a night when their offensive line was devastated by injuries and then they lost wide receiver Puka Nacua, they somehow figured a way to generate just enough offense. The Rams used a ton of quick passes to offset the Lions’ pass rush and quick throws to the outside to move the ball just enough. The fact that they can change their approach and philosophy on the fly to do whatever works is impressive. And the fact that they were able to generate 387 yards of offense (and 317 passing yards from Stafford) when they were so banged up and playing one of the NFC’s best teams really bodes well for the rest of the season.

 Lions: This wasn’t necessarily the reason why they beat the Rams, but one of the best things to come out of the opener for the Lions is that they seemed to have fixed their biggest weakness from last season: the secondary. The additions of free agent Carlton Davis and first-round pick Terrion Arnold frustrated Matt Stafford and the Rams receivers for most of the game. Other than one big play to Tyler Johnson (63 yards) and a late drive, they gave the Rams little room to operate and not many yards after the catch. And they really shut them down when they needed to in the end. Coupled with a strong Aidan Hutchinson-led pass rush, the Lions defense finally looks complete — which it definitely wasn’t last season. If they’ve really fixed their biggest problem, it could be enough to help them to a return trip to the NFC championship, at least. — Vacchiano

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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