Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m not too proud to admit I briefly turned off the Bills-Ravens game in the fourth quarter.
In today’s SI:AM: 🏈 Week 1 MMQB 🗽 Why Dart needs to start 🎾 U.S. Open wrap-up
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Biggest stars of Week 1
The first NFL Sunday of the season is in the books, and I’d say it was a good one. Of the 13 games played yesterday, nine were decided by a single possession and four saw the lead change hands in the final two minutes. Here are a few of the players who stood out the most.
Josh Allen – QB, Bills
Allen looked every bit like a worthy MVP in the final quarter of Buffalo’s comeback win over the Ravens.
The Bills seemed dead after they were forced to punt the ball away with 9:32 on the clock, trailing 40–25. But they got the ball back quickly and Allen led a long scoring drive to cut into the deficit. Then Buffalo got lucky when Derrick Henry fumbled the ball right back to the Bills, setting them up with good field position and leading to an Allen rushing touchdown. After another defensive stand, the ball was back in Allen’s hands, trailing 40–38 with 1:26 on the clock and no timeouts. Two long completions by Allen put Buffalo in field goal range and set up the game-winner by Matt Prater as time expired.
In the fourth quarter alone, Allen threw for 251 yards and had a 131.3 passer rating. He threw for one touchdown and ran for two more. That makes him the first player since at least 1978 with 250 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns in any quarter of an NFL, according to ESPN. Allen’s 251 passing yards in the fourth quarter were more than what 19 of the 26 teams that played on Sunday had over all four quarters.
Puka Nacua – WR, Rams
The Rams’ offense wasn’t anything special in its opener, tallying a so-so 296 total yards in a 14–9 home win over the Texans, but Nacua remained one of the most reliable receivers in the NFL. The third-year pro had 10 catches for 130 yards, marking the fifth 10-catch game of his unexpectedly excellent career. He also had a clutch catch and run late in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
It was an amazing performance by Nacua after a scary start to his day. He was on the receiving end of a helmet-to-helmet hit in the first quarter that left him with a cut above his eye, but he returned to the field after being evaluated for a concussion and having the cut patched up.
Following Cooper Kupp’s offseason departure, there’s no doubt who Matthew Stafford’s favorite target is. Los Angeles signed veteran Davante Adams to be Kupp’s replacement, but Nacua will be crucial to the team’s offense this season.
Daniel Jones – QB, Colts
While his old team, the Giants, looked miserable on offense, Jones thrived in his debut with the Colts. He completed 22 of 29 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown with another seven carries for 26 yards and two rushing scores in a 33–8 win over the Dolphins.
Jones was brought in to challenge Anthony Richardson Sr. for the starting job and quickly emerged as the favorite in training camp. In Week 1, he validated the team’s decision to hand him the keys to the offense.
Jones’s performance was night and day compared to his six lousy seasons with the Giants. In New York, Jones struggled in particular early in games. But on Sunday, each of the Colts’ four first-half possessions ended with points as they raced out to a 20–0 lead. That marked the first time a team quarterbacked by Jones had scored on all of its first-half possessions, according to CBS Sports.
Harold Fannin Jr. – TE, Browns
The Browns were unexpectedly feisty in a 17–16 loss to the Bengals on Sunday, as Joe Flacco threw for 290 yards in his return to Cleveland. Flacco spread the ball around a lot, completing passes to eight different receivers. Rookie running back Dylan Sampson led the way with eight catches for 64 yards, followed closely by another rookie, tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
Fannin, a third-round pick out of Bowling Green, had seven catches for 63 yards. Three of his receptions went for first downs. His involvement in the offense came as a surprise, considering he’s listed second on the depth chart behind veteran David Njoku. (Njoku had three catches for 37 yards.)
Fannin put up preposterous numbers in his final college season, leading the nation with 117 catches and 1,555 yards. He’s got tremendous size (listed at 6'4", 241 pounds), but also has great athleticism and excellent hands. Flacco clearly trusts the rookie, too, so he could establish himself as a key part of this offense.
Micah Parsons – EDGE, Packers
The stats won’t jump off the page, but Parsons’s impact is already being felt in Green Bay.
Parsons got his first sack as a Packer in the team’s 27–13 win over the Lions, but that was his only tackle of the day. It was a hell of a sack, though, as he fought through two blockers and chased down Jared Goff from behind. There were also plays that won’t show up in the box score, like the pressure he put on Goff on a play late in the first half that led Goff to throw an interception.
It was a good tease of what Parsons could do for this team after his shocking trade from the Cowboys. It’ll take some time until he’s operating at full strength, though. Parsons is still working his way into peak physical condition as he recovers from a back injury and gets back into football shape after sitting out training camp in Dallas. He only played 45% of the Packers’ defensive snaps in his debut.
Still, Parsons’s new teammates were thrilled to have him out there.
“When you get a guy like that, of that talent, you can put him out there and tell him to just stand there,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “And before the play is snapped, they’re going to be looking for him because if you’re not prepared for him, it’s not going to be good for you. So I think just his presence out there alone is intimidating for offenses and he didn’t even play the whole game, so once he gets kind of in his groove and he starts getting more reps under his belt, it’s going to be great.”
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Josh Allen looks even better than last season. Plus, how the Packers helped get Micah Parsons ready, why the Steelers should be optimistic and more in Albert Breer’s Week 1 takeaways. There was no shortage of overreactions to Week 1 of the NFL season.
- Gilberto Manzano separates the truth from the noise and identifies key lessons learned from Sunday’s action.
- Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Jannik Sinner in a thrilling U.S. Open final, showcasing the latest chapter in their growing rivalry. Jon Wertheim reflects on an eventful 2025 U.S. Open with 50 parting thoughts, from on-court drama to behind-the-scenes observations.
- In this week’s Forde-Yard Dash, Pat Forde examines whether the end is near for several coaching greats and offers early CFP bracket predictions.
- This week’s bowl projections drop Florida from the postseason after its loss to USF, bump Arizona State out of the CFP and set up a rematch of the 2013 BCS title game in the Gator Bowl.
- Bob Harig breaks down why one U.S. Ryder Cup player is skipping this week’s action, Larry Nelson’s new role and possible fall schedule changes.
The top five…
… plays from Week 1:
5. A 50-yard touchdown run by Broncos rookie RJ Harvey.
4. Derrick Henry’s 30-yard and 46-yard touchdown runs.
3. DeAndre Hopkins’s one-handed touchdown catch. Photographer Joshua Bessex of the Buffalo Newsgot an amazing shot of how Hopkins barely got his fingertips on the ball.
2. An even better one-handed touchdown catch by Lions rookie Isaac TeSlaa.
1. Josh Allen’s perfect throw to Josh Palmer to get the Bills into field goal range.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Five Standout Week 1 Performances.