Figuring out what we learned in Week 1 of the NFL season is never easy because of the hard-to-escape overreaction vortex that takes over our social media feeds.
For example, the Steelers and Jets combined for 66 points in one of the most exciting games of the Sunday slate. It’s probably way too soon to say these two offenses will finish in the top 10 in points scored per game. Many expected Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields to battle in a low-scoring game with several field-goal attempts. Chris Boswell did, however, bail out Pittsburgh with a monster 60-yard field goal in the final minutes of the Steelers’ 34–32 victory.
The opposite occurred in the Rams’ 14–9 slugfest win over the Texans. To criticize myself for a bit, I spent the offseason worrying about the back end of the Los Angeles defense, only for the linebackers and defensive backs to shut down C.J. Stroud’s pass catchers. Still, I’ll sidestep the overreaction of saying the Rams’ defense will be just as good as the Broncos’ defense.
Speaking of those Broncos, the defense racked up six sacks in their 20–12 victory, but how much can you take away from them after beating up on the Titans during Cam Ward’s starting debut?
As for one nonoverreaction: Brock Purdy has the clutch gene, and he proved that again in the 49ers’ 17–13 win against the Seahawks. Here’s what else we learned from the Week 1 games on Sunday.
Pump the brakes on Nix after ugly Broncos’ win
Perhaps Bo Nix can one day reach the superstar bar that coach Sean Payton raised for his second-year quarterback when he spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer over the summer.
However, Nix still has a long way to go, evident from his rough three-turnover performance against the underdog Titans, who gave the overhyped Broncos a scare before falling short. Denver was lucky that Ward (12-of-28 for 112 yards) made several rookie mistakes in his regular-season debut and that his receivers had a bad case of the drops in the second half.
Even with the win, it’s fair to say that the preseason Super Bowl chatter surrounding the Broncos was premature. The Broncos’ defense is legit, but it remains to be seen whether it’s special enough to carry a young quarterback still finding his way in the league. Nix finished 25-of-40 for 176 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Overall, the Broncos’ depth at the skill positions didn’t do much for Nix. Perhaps this Denver squad needs a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver to help Nix reach the superstar club.
Purdy shows why he was deserving of superstar money
Whenever a non-elite quarterback cashes in with a massive contract extension, there’s constant chatter about whether that certain signal-caller was deserving of a contract that has an annual average salary north of $50 million.
But that’s the wrong way to look at these next-in-line QB deals. The big four of Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are in a separate category. For the rest, it’s pretty simple: Are you consistently better than average and capable of being a top-10 quarterback on Sundays?
The QB tiers were easy to spot in the NFC West battle between the 49ers and Seahawks. Purdy made the clutch plays and Sam Darnold couldn’t, leading to a come-from-behind road victory for San Francisco.
Purdy (26-of-35 for 277 yards, two TDs and two INTs) making off-scripted magic on his game-winning four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Tonges is the perfect example for why the 49ers didn’t hesitate to give the 2022 seventh-round pick a five-year, $265 million extension.
Yes, mistakes will happen with Purdy, but he often delivers in the biggest moments. Let’s not forget he went toe-to-toe with Mahomes in the Super Bowl two years ago. Purdy overcame a shorthanded skill-position group—George Kittle left early with a hamstring injury—by leaning on second-year wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (four catches, 108 yards) and star running back Christian McCaffrey (142 total yards).
Darnold, who joined Seattle on a three-year, $100.5 million contract, dropped a 40-yard dime to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but ended the final drive with a killer fumble that Nick Bosa recovered. There were too many up-and-down plays for Darnold (16-of-23 for 150 yards) and not enough clutch plays in his Seahawks debut.
Jets made the right decision to go with Fields over Rodgers
Rodgers enjoyed sticking it to coach Aaron Glenn and anyone associated with the Jets during the Steelers’ thrilling come-from-behind victory. The 41-year-old Rodgers had a sensational performance against his former team, going 22-of-30 for 244 yards and four touchdowns.
Still, the Jets made the right decision to move on from Rodgers in the offseason because Fields was just as impressive as the future Hall of Famer. Fields’s mobility and chemistry with Garrett Wilson (seven catches, 95 yards, TD) allowed this new-look New York offense to score four touchdowns and rack up 182 rushing yards against a stout Pittsburgh defense. Despite all the trade rumors, running back Breece Hall had a game-high 107 rushing yards, with Fields contributing 48 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Also, for those saying Fields (16-of-22 for 218 yards, TD) should have held on to the ball on the failed fourth down, the odds weren’t great attempting to pick up three yards against multiple defenders, even with his elite athleticism. Fields made the right call to throw the ball to Wilson with the game on the line. Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey just made the better play, lighting up Wilson with a game-sealing tackle to make up for a rough defensive performance for the Steelers.
Both sides should be thrilled about what they saw from their respective offenses and very concerned about the other side. It seems it’s going to take Glenn time to get this defense trending in the right direction, and age could be catching up to a veteran-filled Steelers’ defense.
Mayfield was right about rookie WR Egbuka
I can’t recall the last time a starting quarterback boasted as much as Baker Mayfield did about a rookie receiver who hadn’t played in a regular-season game.
It seems the hype Mayfield provided for Emeka Egbuka was warranted based on his dominant performance in the Buccaneers’ 23–20 win against the hated Falcons. Mayfield backed up his words by trusting the 2025 first-round pick with the game on the line, as the two connected on the go-ahead 25-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left in regulation.
The Buccaneers’ late rally held up after Atlanta kicker Younghoe Koo missed the potential game-tying 44-yard field goal with six seconds left. It wasn’t Mayfield’s best performance, but the chemistry with Egbuka (four catches, 67 yards) paid off in the form of two touchdowns. Mayfield finished 17-of-32 for 167 yards and three touchdowns.
On the opposite side, Falcons coach Raheem Morris has to be pleased with the performance and fight from second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (27-of-42 for 298 yards and two total TDs). Penix made a wild lunging play on fourth-and-goal to give Atlanta the go-ahead touchdown and three-point advantage with 2:17 left in regulation.
However, the Falcons are going to be kicking themselves for a while for not having a better performance on the ground. Most of Bijan Robinson’s production occurred through the air, with six catches for 100 yards and one touchdown compared to 12 rushes for 24 yards.
Giants need to bench Russell Wilson and start Jaxson Dart in Week 2
The Giants’ horrific offense in their embarrassing 21–6 loss to the Commanders served as a reminder to ignore preseason performances.
Just when it seemed Brian Daboll was on the verge of getting his offense back on track, the Giants’ coach instead got a dismal performance from Russell Wilson (17-of-37 for 168 yards) and a ton of questions about when he’ll turn to rookie Jaxson Dart.
Again, it’s never a good idea to put too much stock into preseason. Still, Daboll’s job security is on the line, and it’s better to go down swinging with a promising rookie signal-caller than the rollercoaster that is past-his-prime Wilson. Daboll is out of excuses after back-to-back losing seasons, and perhaps the only thing that could save his job in New York is by showing team owner John Mara that Dart has what it takes to become a franchise quarterback.
The Giants only produced 231 total yards and 74 rushing yards. Daboll needs to bench Wilson and start Dart next week against the Cowboys, who no longer have Micah Parsons.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as What We Learned in NFL Week 1: Giants Need to Start Jaxson Dart.