After a long offseason, the NFL has finally returned. All the preseason hype and speculation was finally put to rest as week one has come to an end. From Jalen Carter’s immediate ejection to Buffalo’s shocking comeback, let’s breakdown every game that took place.
Thursday Night Football – Eagles begin Super Bowl defense with win over Cowboys
This game started off with a bang, with an injury, skirmish, and ejection occurring before the opening snap. The ejection of Jalen Carter came after he spat on Dak Prescott whilst he was under the impression that the Dallas quarterback spat at him previously. The game was tale of two halves, but in this scenario, halftime was before and after the weather delay. Before the delay, both teams scored points on every possession (with an exception of a Dallas turnover deep in Philadelphia territory). Meanwhile, 0 points were scored after the delay, with both defenses standing strong to end the game.
Final Score: Cowboys 20, Eagles 24
São Paulo Game – Chargers upset the Chiefs in thriller in Brazil
In the NFL’s second game in Brazil, the Chargers were able to defeat the Chiefs for the first time since 2021. Justin Herbert played a phenomenal game for the Bolts, accumulating 318 total yards and 3 touchdowns. Meanwhile for the Chiefs, their already depleted wide receiver core got worse to begin the game, after star wideout Xavier Worthy collided with Travis Kelce on a crossing route, with Worthy being ruled out for the rest of the game. Kelce’s was able to stay in the game, with his highlight coming on a 37-yard touchdown reception.
Final Score: Chiefs 21, Chargers 27
Cardinals hold off Saints in nail-biting finish
The Arizona defense managed to hold on the final drive of the game to defeat New Orleans. The Saints drove down to the Cardinals’ 18-yard line to end the game, but were able to prevent the opposing offense from finding the end zone on four straight attempts. Rattler had a mediocre day up to that point, passing for under 200 yards on over 30 pass attempts. Meanwhile for the Cardinals, they also struggled through the air, only accumulating 163 total yards, with 132 of those yards coming from Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr.
Final Score: Cardinals 20, Saints 13
Colts shock Dolphins in blow out win
Daniel Jones may be making a case for MVP. No, that’s not a joke. After six rocky years as the starter for the New York Giants, Jones had arguably the best game of his career, tallying nearly 300 total yards of offense (298 to be exact), 3 total touchdowns, and zero turnovers. Meanwhile for the Dolphins, they couldn’t get anything going against the Colts defense, as Miami didn’t get onto the board until 6 minutes left in the game. They barely hit 200 total yards, as Tua Tagovailoa was benched for Zach Wilson after three turnovers.
Final Score: Dolphins 8, Colts 33
Smith, Carroll shine in Raiders debut
Despite the rainy conditions and presence of Ashton Jeanty, the Raiders torched the Patriots defense through the air in route to Geno Smith’s first win with the team. After being traded by Seattle in the offseason, Smith passed for 362 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Jeanty only mustered 2 yards per carry, but did score his first NFL touchdown. Drake Maye also came out slinging with 46 pass attempts but was unable to overcome the Raiders defense.
Final Score: Raiders 20, Patriots 13
Rodgers leads Steelers to victory in high-scoring contest
In his return to MetLife stadium against his former team, Aaron Rodgers passed for 4 touchdowns and 244 yards. Justin Fields also had a stellar day against his former team, going for 266 total yards and 3 total touchdowns. New York actually outgained Pittsburgh in total offense, but Jalen Ramsey and the Steeler defense came up in a big way on the final drive of the game, as a crucial pass breakup on 4th down sealed the win.
Final Score: Steelers 34, Jets 32
Commanders dominate Giants in Wilson’s debut
Russell Wilson struggled in his Giants debut as New York fell to Washington. Wilson only passed for 168 yards as the Giants failed to score a single touchdown. Meanwhile for the Commanders, although they struggled against the Giants improved defense, they eventually got through to score a trio of touchdowns. Jayden Daniels went for just over 300 total yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Deebo Samuel had a great debut for his new team, with 77 receiving yards, adding a 19 yard rushing touchdown on the day.
Final Score: Giants 6, Commanders 21
Jaguars dominate after weather delay
With just over 8 minutes left in the second quarter, a weather delay was issued for the Jaguars and Panthers clash which lasted for over 75 minutes. The Jaguars held a 10-3 lead before, but expanded that to 26-10 by game’s end. The Jaguars ground game was the star of the show, amounting for 200 total yards, with 143 of those yards coming from Travis Etienne. Rookie Travis Hunter primarily featured at wideout, with six catches for 33 yards. Meanwhile, Panthers’ quarterback Bryce Young struggled mightily, with 3 total turnovers.
Final Score: Panthers 10, Jaguars 26
Bengals scrape out a win in defensive showcase
The Bengals held on for a one point victory in a defensive showcase. For the Bengals, the offense couldn’t get going, with under 150 yards of total offense. After the best season in his career, Joe Burrow could only muster 113 passing yards and a single passing touchdown, while Jamarr Chase finished with two catches and 26 yards after winning the receiving triple crown the year before. Meanwhile for the Browns, turnovers were the name of the game, with Joe Flacco accumulating 290 passing yards, but throwing two interceptions.
Final Score: Bengals 17, Browns 16
Falcons lose to Bucs after game-tying field goal misses
In a dramatic final quarter, the Buccaneers held on to defeat the rival Falcons. With two and a half minutes left in the game, Michael Penix dove for a touchdown to close out a 91-yard drive, a drive in which 11 of the 18 plays came inside Tampa’s 25 yard-line. Tampa Bay would march down the field for the go-ahead score, with Emeka Egbuka scoring his second of the game. However, a missed PAT and a minute on the clock left the door open for Atlanta to drive down the field with a chance to tie the game with a field goal. But despite this, Younghoe Koo pushed the 44-yard field goal wide right.
Final Score: Buccaneers 23, Falcons 20
Jake Tonges late touchdown gives 49ers win in Seattle
After losing starters Jauan Jennings and George Kittle early in the game to injury, it was third-string tight end Jake Tonges who came up big with a touchdown inside of the two minute mark. Both offenses struggled mightily throughout the game, with the only standout performances coming from Christian McCaffrey and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. McCaffrey accounted for over 140 all-purpose yards, while Smith-Njigba had 124 of his quarterback’s 150 passing yards. Despite these efforts, they weren’t enough to overcome two turnovers from both offenses.
Final Score: 49ers 17, Seahawks 13
Broncos defeat Titans in Cam Ward’s debut
In an ugly game for both offenses, Denver managed to produce enough points to squeeze by Tennessee. Number one pick Cam Ward struggled mightily against a stout Denver defense, only completing 12 of his 28 passes, and only gaining 112 yards. Ward also accounted for one of the team’s two fumbles, and was sacked six times. However, it was an even worse day for Bo Nix. The second year quarterback accounted for three total turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble, while only mustering 176 passing yards.
Final Score: Titans 12, Broncos 20
Packers upset Lions in dominant NFC North win
One of the top offenses of the last few seasons was held without a touchdown until the final minute of play, as the Lions made it 0-2 for 2024 playoff one seeds in week one. Detroit was held under 250 total yards, as Jared Goff threw one interception and took four sacks. Meanwhile, Jordan Love had his way with the Detroit defense, as he threw for two touchdowns, and suffered 0 sacks as he pretty much faced no pressure from the Lions defense. Micah Parsons also recorded a sack for his new team in the win.
Final Score: Lions 13, Packers 27
Rams survive thanks to late game fumble
Nate Landman played hero late in the 4th quarter, as he forced a fumble with less than two minutes in the game to give the Rams the win over the Texans. The Texans made it to the Rams 25-yard line down by 5 before Landman’s great play. Up to that point, Stroud and Texans offense struggled mightily, as Stroud only passed for 188 yards and an interception. Puka Nacua led the way for the Rams, as despite going into concussion protocol for large portion of the game, still finished with 10 receptions and 130 yards.
Final Score: Texans 9, Rams 14
Sunday Night Football – Bills pull off shocking comeback against Ravens
Buffalo was down by 15 points with about four minutes left to play. The defense had only forced two punt he the entire game, and were unable to stop the Ravens rushing attack, which accumulated 238 rushing yards, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. What happened next seemed impossible. Buffalo scored a touchdown with less than four minutes in the game. 40 seconds later, the defense forced a fumble in Ravens territory. One Josh Allen rushing touchdown later, and we have a two point game. Once again, the Buffalo defense would stand strong, forcing a three and out, giving Josh Allen the ball with 1:33 left on the clock. And in typical Josh Allen fashion, he managed to march the Bills down the field, with Matt Prater kicking a 32-yard field goal for one of the most miraculous comebacks you will ever see.
Final Score: Ravens 40, Bills 41
Monday Night Football – JJ McCarthy rallies in NFL debut to lift Vikings to victory
The game couldn’t have started much worse for the Vikings. After missing the entirety of his rookie season with a torn ACL, JJ McCarthy could not get anything going offensively for the Vikings. For the first three quarters, the Vikings scored just six points on nine drives. The rest of those drives consisted of six three and outs, and a pick six. Come the fourth quarter, McCarthy became a different player, leading the Viking offense to three straight touchdown drives, which included two passing and one rushing touchdown. Despite obvious improvement from last season, Caleb Williams was unable to respond, as the Bears blew a 17-6 lead to their division rivals.
Final Score: Vikings 27, Bears 24
