NFL Game Recaps: Week 1, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Chiefs 27, Ravens 20

One team played its starters in the preseason, while the other did not. It was evident which was which right away because the Ravens were not accustom to the league’s new illegal formation rules. Baltimore was called for four illegal formations on the opening drive and several others throughout the rest of the evening. Ronnie Stanley was the primary culprit, as he did not understand where to line up for a while.

The Chiefs were able to use this to their advantage by jumping out to a 13-7 lead, thanks to a Xavier Worthy touchdown on an end-around. The Chiefs even had the ball near midfield with a chance to expand that lead prior to intermission, but Patrick Mahomes made a rare blunder, throwing an interception while under heavy pressure. Instead of leading 20-7 or 16-7, the Chiefs kept Baltimore alive, but at least had a goal-line stand to limit the damage to a field goal.

Mahomes’ interception was far from the only mistake the Chiefs made in the opening half. Isiah Pacheco dropped a potential touchdown, while JuJu Smith-Schuster dropped a definite touchdown. Travis Kelce also dropped a pass. However, Kansas City was a completely different team following intermission. The Chiefs played a clean game and constantly led by two scores. Worthy found the end zone once again on a wide-open 35-yard reception.

Baltimore, however, hung around, thanks to the brilliance of Lamar Jackson and unlikely hero Isaiah Likely. Jackson avoided pressure and drilled Likely with a 49-yard touchdown, and Likely made so many other plays, outclassing Mark Andrews, who looked decrepit coming off injury. The Ravens, ultimately down 27-17, kicked a field goal and then got the ball back with 1:50 remaining. Jackson hit numerous passes to Likely before launching a 38-yard bomb to Rashod Bateman, taking the ball down to the Kansas City 10-yard line. Jackson had Likely open in the end zone on the next play, but missed him. Jackson whiffed on another open player, Zay Flowers, on the next snap. The third time appeared to be the charm when Jackson hit Likely for a touchdown, but replay review ruled that Likely’s toe was out of bounds by an inch.

The Chiefs made amends for last year’s opening-night loss, beating the Ravens in a game that could decide home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. Kansas City’s offense looks much better this year, and Marquise Brown hasn’t even taken the field yet.

The Ravens, meanwhile, have some issues. Their offensive line had problems protecting Jackson, resulting in a low depth-of-target number that the NBC crew mentioned repeatedly. On the bright side, Likely looks like a stud. With Andrews clearly not 100 percent, Jackson can rely on Likely as a dominant intermediate target.

Eagles 34, Packers 29

Several players complained about playing in Brazil ahead of this game. It was the fans’ turn to complain once the game started because the field conditions were miserable. Players were slipping on the surface as if they were on ice skates. It began when Saquon Barkley slipped and lost five yards on his first run. Jordan Love then slid on the next drive while trying to throw the ball. Christian Watson was the next victim, doing so in the end zone, which prevented a touchdown from being scored. This occurred throughout the opening half, and it didn’t stop being a common theme until the players changed their cleats during intermission.

The poor field conditions aside, this was an exciting shootout with numerous big plays from both teams. At one point in the third quarter, it seemed as though this game might ultimately be played in the 40s.

Both teams, however, made big mistakes. An early Love deep touchdown to Jayden Reed was negated by offsetting penalties. Jalen Hurts, meanwhile, made a couple of blunders. He was picked on a horribly telegraphed floater over the middle of the field, setting up a field goal, and later made a dumb throw across his body in the red zone to be intercepted a second time, wiping three potential points off the board. There were numerous other errors, including two botched snaps by Jason Kelce’s replacement, Cam Jurgens, one of which resulted in a lost fumble. A Philadelphia defender dropped a sure Love pick-six, while the Packers nearly intercepted Hurts on a couple of other occasions.

It looked like the Eagles were going to be in for a long night following Hurts’ first interception and the initial Jurgens botched snap, but they got their act together and were able to esablish a rhythm. Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 67-yard touchdown bomb, while Saquon Barkley made numerous big plays, including a 34-yard run and an 18-yard touchdown reception.

All of this gave the Eagles a two-point lead, which appeared as though it would balloon to nine in the final minute when they reached the Green Bay 1-yard line. However, Jurgens’ second botched snap forced Philadelphia into a field goal. Down five with 30 seconds remaining, Love drilled a 33-yard pass to Reed, setting up for a possible Hail Mary. Instead, Love and center Josh Myers were injured on the ensuing play, forcing Malik Willis into action. Willis ended up throwing an incompletion and getting sacked to end the game.

It’s difficult to take much out of this game because of the travel and horrible field conditions, but Philadelphia’s offense will be lethal if Hurts and Jurgens get their act together. Barkley can almost have the same impact for Philadelphia that Christian McCaffrey had for San Francisco.

As for Love’s injury, it appears to be an ankle sprain of sorts. He was helped off the field, but seemed better as he and Josh Jacobs went into the locker room following the game.

Dolphins 20, Jaguars 17

This was expected to be the highest-scoring game of the day, but the Dolphins couldn’t get anything going offensively for much of the afternoon. Tua Tagovailoa’s accuracy was off in the early going, as he overthrew Tyreek Hill for what should be a routine touchdown for the duo. The offensive line, meanwhile, couldn’t open up any running lanes for Raheem Mostert or De’Von Achane, with the latter needing to get most of his production in the passing game.

The Jaguars, conversely, were humming offensively. Brian Thomas drew a deep interference flag to set up a Travis Etienne touchdown, while Brian Thomas Jr. made an impressive toe-tap grab to put Jacksonville up 14-0.

Things began to unravel for the Jaguars, however, in the third quarter. Melting away in the sweltering heat, the offensive line began having major problems protecting for Trevor Lawrence, while Etienne lost a fumble into the end zone while up 17-7. Tagovailoa immediately found Hill for a touchdown bomb to get to within three points. The Dolphins had a chance to tie the game after a failed fourth-down conversion by Jacksonville, but Jason Sanders missed a chip-shot field goal.

Jacksonville continued to have new life, but Lawrence’s pocket continued to collapse. The Dolphins, granted one final possession, saw Tagovailoa put the team into field goal range, and Sanders was able to redeem himself with a 52-yard field goal to win the game.

This has to be a crushing blow for the Jaguars, who looked like they would be able to upset one of the “big boys” in the AFC. Perhaps the Miami heat was too difficult for them to overcome, but pass protection is a huge problem.

The Dolphins were able to impressively come from behind to prevail despite their impending Thursday game against Buffalo. Their pass rush was relentless, which is encouraging because Bradley Chubb’s not even healthy yet.

Steelers 18, Falcons 10

The Steelers had a very shaky quarterbacking situation heading into the season, which was even murkier with Russell Wilson’s injury heading into this game. Justin Fields was forced into a starting role in this contest, which caused the spread to rise in Atlanta’s direction from -3 to -4.

What bettors didn’t take into account was that Pittsburgh’s defense would dominate Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta offensive line. The Falcons struggled to consistently keep the chains moving throughout the afternoon, as they were 2-of-9 on third down. Pittsburgh’s defense also forced some turnovers. Kirk Cousins was intercepted with a telegraphed throw over the middle of the field, which allowed Pittsburgh to convert one of its six field goals. Cousins also had a late throw that was intercepted when trailing 15-10 to give Pittsburgh another field goal. Cousins was actually very fortunate he didn’t have a couple of other turnovers, as T.J. Watt, who was a nightmare for Atlanta, made some splash plays that were negated by penalty.

With Watt and the rest of Pittsbrugh’s dominating, all Fields needed to do was take care of the ball, and that’s exactly what he did. Fields didn’t commit a single turnover, and even better, he misfired on just six occasions. Fields didn’t have many huge plays, though he was able to deliver a 40-yard bomb to George Pickens. He also had some timely scrambles. Fields didn’t put together the great DFS performance his owners were anticipating, but he won the game, which means that he could keep his job moving forward.

The Steelers have an amazing defense, so they need a quarterback who can take care of the ball and make a few big plays on occasion. This was Fields in Week 1. It was one game, however, and Fields had an erratic offseason, so it remains to be seen if he can keep up this level of play.

As for the Falcons, there will be better days ahead, as Cousins was playing his first game with a new coaching staff. He won’t face nearly as many dominant defenses, so Cousins should play better soon.

Vikings 28, Giants 6

It seemed questionable that the Vikings were favored heading into this game, considering that Sam Darnold would be starting on the road. As it turns out, this line was completely warranted, as Minnesota dominated New York in every aspect.

Things did not begin well for the Vikings when fullback C.J. Ham fumbled well shy of the opening marker on a third-and-long play. This set up a field goal for the Giants, but this was false hope, as Minnesota outscored New York the rest of the way, 28-3.

Darnold, inexplicably, was unstoppable. He completed his first 12 passes for 145 yards. The Giants have one of the worst secondaries in the NFL, but this still shouldn’t have been possible because, frankly, it’s Sam Darnold, but the Giants couldn’t get Minnesota off the field when this game was still in question. On one sequence, Darnold completed a 44-yard bomb to Justin Jefferson and then hit Jefferson for a touchdown on fourth down.

Once the Vikings got out to a big lead, their defense began to dominate. The pass rush swarmed Daniel Jones, whose offensive line continued to be dreadful. Jones took five sacks and never had a chance. However, Jones also made some mistakes himself. He was intercepted twice, one of which was a telegraphed throw that Andrew Van Ginkel easily jumped and took back to the house. Minnesota just sat on the ball after that.

It’s difficult to say if the Vikings are better than people anticipated, or if the Giants are just one of the worst teams in the NFL. The answer could be both, as Kevin O’Connell appears to have done a great job with Darnold. Having said that, Darnold will need to prove himself against teams that actually have talent in their secondary. It won’t help that Jordan Addison suffered an injury in this game.

The Giants, meanwhile, seem to be in play for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Shedeur Sanders could be the target, but I have an interesting scenario for them in my 2025 NFL Mock Draft.

Patriots 16, Bengals 10

The Bengals, quite simply, did not show up to this game. It’s unclear why. Perhaps it was because they had an impending battle against the Chiefs next week. Maybe it’s because they didn’t take New England seriously at all. It could be that there was a distraction with Ja’Marr Chase’s contract situation.

Whatever the reason, Cincinnati is now 0-1 with an embarrassing defeat as an eight-point home favorite to New England. The Bengals had a chance to win this game, but had a comedy of errors. For example, there was a sequence where Mike Gesicki appeared to score an early touchdown, but the call was overturned because replay review showed that the ball grazed the ground. On the very next play, Tanner Hudson appeared as though he was going to score after catching a pass from Joe Burrow, but he fumbled the ball at the New England 1-yard line. Instead of tying the game at seven, the Bengals continued to trail 7-0.

Cincinnati’s offense continued to be dreadful, trailing 10-0 in the third frame. The Bengals were given possession with a chance to put something on the board for once, but they lost a fumble on a kick return to set up a field goal for New England.

Because of this relinquished field goal, the Bengals were forced into a field goal to eventually trim the deficit from 16-7 to 16-10. They needed one stop to get a chance at the end, as the Patriots obtained possession with slightly more than two minutes remaining. However, the Bengals simply could not stop the run, as D.J. Reader was sorely missed. Rhamondre Stevenson picked up a pair of 9-yard gains to allow the Patriots to move to victory formation.

Again, this was a humiliating loss for the Bengals, but it’s not like this defeat will preclude them from making a deep playoff run. Two years ago, they suffered a defeat as seven-point home favorites to the Steelers, but ultimately advanced to the AFC Championship. Last year, they were dreadful versus the Browns, but eventually looked like one of the top teams in the NFL prior to Burrow’s injury. The Bengals can similarly rebound, but they really need to fix their run defense.

As for the Patriots, they had a cute victory, but they won’t win many more games this year. They barely survived a Cincinnati team that looked completely disinterested.

Bears 24, Titans 17

The Bears won this game, but they were thoroughly outplayed by Tennessee. They trailed 17-0 at one point and were ultimately outgained 244-148. They achieved only 11 first downs and converted only two third downs the entire afternoon.

So, how did Chicago mount a comeback and ultimately prevail? The answer is Will Levis, who had one of the worst implosions anyone will ever see in a single game. The special teams began the disaster, as they had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. They then handed the baton off to Levis, who surrendered a fumble on a strip-sack while up 17-13. This set up a field goal for the Bears. Levis then heaved a pick-six while under pressure despite winning 17-16 in the fourth quarter.

Levis was inexplicably guilty of two turnovers while winning in the fourth quarter. He gift-wrapped the victory for the Bears, who became just the 29th team to win with fewer than 150 net yards of offense dating back to 1989. Teams with fewer than 150 net yards were 28-231 heading into Week 1. Chicago celebrating the win, but the team should consider itself extremely lucky.

Levis’ ball security was horrendous and inexcusable. Tennessee made some terrific upgrades to its roster this offseason, assembling a potential top-five defense and acquiring nice skill players for the offense. Levis was the only real question mark, and he proved his detractors correct. The Titans need to consider benching Levis in favor of Mason Rudolph.

The Bears, meanwhile, need to be realistic about this game. They were outplayed for most of the afternoon, but lucked into a victory. Caleb Williams, who had just 93 passing yards, will need to improve, though it should be noted that this matchup was an extremely difficult one.

Bills 34, Cardinals 28

The Bills looked like they were going to mimic the Bengals and blow a game to an inferior opponent despite being big home favorites in Week 1. They were down 17-3 in this contest, though variance worked against them. The opening drive saw a horrible call when the official ruled that Murray was hit late on a third-down scramble even though the Buffalo defender barely grazed him. Rather than holding the Cardinals to a field goal, Arizona scored a touchdown three plays later. On the ensuing drive, Josh Allen lost a fumble on a strip-sack. Allen later had a touchdown run negated by a face mask penalty.

All of these misfortunate events allowed the Cardinals to establish a two-touchdown lead in the early going. The tide turned, however, as it was Murray’s turn to lose a fumble. The turnover gave the Bills a touchdown to break a tie. It appeared as though there was a chance Buffalo would run away with this game, but DeeJay Dallas scored a touchdown on the kickoff, becoming the first player to do so under the new rules.

This touchdown, however, gave the Cardinals nothing but false hope. Their dreadful defense couldn’t stop anything the Bills were doing offensively. They had one chance at the end, with Murray moving the ball into Buffalo territory with some completions to Trey McBride and Greg Dortch. However, a questionable run on third down forced Murray into a situation where he had only one final chance on fourth down. He beat the Bills on the “Hail Murray” four years ago, but couldn’t quite repeat that feat, as his deep shot to Dortch fell incomplete to give the Bills the victory.

This was a close game for the Bills, but they were matched up against an underrated Arizona squad. The important thing is that Josh Allen showed some chemistry with Keon Coleman, though the matchup was an easy one, as Arizona, despite its talent elsewhere, is very weak in the secondary. Unfortunately for Allen, he suffered a wrist injury, but it doesn’t seem to be overly serious.

The Cardinals once again showed well in a tough road game. They lost at Houston by five last year, and they were able to destroy the Steelers and upset the Eagles. They nearly got the win versus Buffalo. This is not a team that should be slept on, but the cornerbacks are anemic.

Texans 29, Colts 27

There are going to be many exciting matchups between C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson in the coming years, and this was the first one that lasted the entire game. Richardson made a number of terrific plays in this contest, including a 60-yard touchdown bomb to Alec Pierce while he was slipping. Richardson later hit Pierce with another deep pass and eventually scored on a scramble.

If Richardson had nothing but positive moments in this game, the Colts would have pulled the upset. Richardson, however, showed the downside at times. He overthrew Adonai Mitchell twice for potential touchdown and then gave the ball away with a horrible interception in field goal range where he showed terrible accuracy.

The Texans gave Richardson some help in the third quarter when their special teams surrendered a blocked punt, which gave Jonathan Taylor a quick touchdown. However, C.J. Stroud more than made up for it with some clutch conversions. He converted 7-of-14 third downs, distributing the ball extremely well all over the place, as eight different players caught passes. This includes the newly acquired Stefon Diggs, who caught two touchdowns. Stroud continued to show the best rapport with Nico Collins, with the two connecting on a third-and-11 pass on the final drive.

While Stroud played an excellent game, it was ultimately another new addition who helped the Texans prevail. That was Joe Mixon, who had a number of tough runs, particularly at the end of the game. The Colts couldn’t get Mixon off the field, as some Mixon runs allowed the Texans to ultimately go into victory formation.

Houston was billed by many to be a Super Bowl contender. So far, so good. Some may be skeptical of a two-point win over the Colts, but Indianapolis is one of the most underrated teams in the NFL. There were no signs of any sophomore slump with Stroud.

The Colts lost, but should be encouraged by this performance. Richardson had some poor moments, but was great at times as well. He also didn’t get hurt in a game for the first time in his career.

Saints 47, Panthers 10
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: What a disaster. That’s all I have to say.

The game was complete domination from the opening kickoff, and it was over by halftime. Bryce Young struggled tremendously while Derek Carr shredded the Carolina defense relentlessly. The Saints offense scored on each of their first nine possessions and didn’t punt until late in the fourth quarter when Carr had left the game.

On the opening drive, the Saints took the lead with Carr making a phenomenal play, stepping into a hit while lofting a perfectly placed bomb to lead Rashid Shaheed for a 59-yard touchdown. Bryce Young’s first play of the season was an overthrow easily intercepted by Will Harris, which spotted the Saints a field goal. Before the first quarter was over, Carr connected with Foster Moreau on a short touchdown toss, putting New Orleans up 17-0. The Saints defense continued to swarm Young, and after a long punt return from Shaheed, Carr threw another touchdown to Juwan Johnson. Carolina produced a field goal on the final play to make it 30-3 at halftime.

To open the third quarter, Young had another overthrow, which was an easy interception for New Orleans, and it turned into an Alvin Kamara touchdown. In garbage time, Young had a short rushing touchdown, but the Saints responded with points from their offense and added a blocked punt.

This was a great start to the season for the Saints, as they dominated on offense, defense, and special teams. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak called a good game, and their 2023 chemistry issues looked resolved. Carolina has many new players, a new scheme, and a new coaching staff, and they have the potential to improve, but there is no doubt that this was a horrific start to the season.

Seahawks 26, Broncos 20
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I was on a draft show back in April, and I expressed my disdain for Bo Nix being a projected first-round pick. I was so brutal on Nix that the hosts said I need to print a shirt saying, “I hate Bo Nix.” I may print that and sell in the WalterFootball Merch Store.

Both teams struggled in the first half, but the second half was all Seattle to get Mike Macdonald a win in his debut as an NFL head coach. Broncos first-round pick Bo Nix looked like a rookie making his initial start, but he flashed at times and should improve as he gains experience.

In the game’s opening minute, Seattle allowed a sack, and then Geno Smith threw a terrible interception to Alex Singleton that spotted Denver a field goal. Passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba led to the Seahawks tying the game. The Broncos were putting a nice drive together before Julian Love intercepted Nix at the one-yard line. However, offensive lineman Anthony Bradford was called for a holding in the end zone to gift Denver a safety. The Seahawks’ blunders continued with a muffed punt that set up the Broncos inside the Seattle 10, but Denver could only manage a field goal. Seattle’s offense finally got moving and found the end zone, with Smith taking off on a 34-yard touchdown run. Shockingly, Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen whipped Laken Tomlinson at the one-yard line to produce a second safety for the Denver defense to go up 10-9. Nix threw a pretty pass to Josh Reynolds to set up a field goal and a 13-9 lead at the half. In the third quarter, Kenneth Walker put Seattle in the lead with a 23-yard touchdown. A Broncos fumble spotted a field goal to put the Seahawks up 19-13 entering the fourth quarter. On the opening play of the fourth, Charbonnet got wide open on a wheel route, and Smith lofted in a 30-yard touchdown strike. Late in the fourth quarter, Nix finally led a touchdown drive that ended with him scampering into the end zone from a few yards out. Seattle was able to pick up a first down and kneel out the clock.

The Broncos do not figure to compete for the playoffs this year as they build around Nix, and seeing improvement from Nix over the course of the season is the top priority. Seattle could compete for a wild card in the NFC, but their offensive line will need to play much better in the coming games to earn a postseason berth.

Chargers 22, Raiders 10

There’s a poor history of interim head coaches receiving the full-time job after a successful finish to their first year. Antonio Pierce is in that situation, and he’s not off to a good start in his first complete season. Pierce made some very questionable decisions, opting to go for it on an early fourth-and-1 that automatically put the Chargers in field goal range once the attempt failed. Pierce was faced with a similar situation later in the game, down just 16-10 in the fourth quarter. His team had the ball over midfield, but he opted to punt on a fourth-and-1. The dejected defense allowed a touchdown, giving the Chargers the victory.

Pierce wasn’t the only one at fault for this defeat, as the two Raider backfield members both committed major blunders. Gardner Minshew fumbled on a strip-sack, while Zamir White lost a fumble as well in Chargers territory. This was a one-score battle for most of the afternoon, so these mistakes really cost the Raiders in a winnable game in which the two teams were pretty much even, yardage-wise.

In fact, it looked as though the Chargers wouldn’t be able to move the chains at all for much of the afternoon. The offense was dreadful through three quarters, as the running game was completely ineffective. However, the Raiders eventually wore down and allowed a couple of big runs to J.K. Dobbins, who looked energized despite coming off a torn Achilles. Justin Herbert was able to capitalize on this, as the Raiders were focused fully on stopping Dobbins. Herbert capitalized on this opportunity with a touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey, clinching the first victory for Jim Harbaugh as the Chargers head coach.

The Chargers were able to prevail, but this wasn’t the most successful victory. They likely would have suffered a defeat if the Raiders didn’t implode with their numerous mistakes.

As for the Raiders, they shouldn’t be completely discouraged by this result because they had more first downs than the Chargers, and they were also leading in yardage for most of the afternoon. They crushed themselves with stupid errors, though that has been par for the course for the Raiders over the years.

Buccaneers 37, Redskins 20

Jayden Daniels was making his NFL debut in a difficult matchup. The Buccaneers were woeful against the pass last year, but they’ve played extremely well versus mobile quarterbacks. Daniels discovered this the hard way, as he struggled to find running room and didn’t have much time in the pocket. The stats may say otherwise, as Daniels was a top-notch performer in fantasy and DFS, but much of his production came in garbage time. There will be better days for Daniels, who needs to work on sliding and keeping his helmet on, as his helmet popped off on several occasions in this game.

Daniels’ inexperience was just part of the recipe for this blowout defeat. The other was Washington’s dreadful secondary. The Redskins made nice improvements to their linebacking corps this offseason, but their secondary was completely neglected. In fact, it got worse compared to last year because skilled players like Kendall Fuller and Kamren Curl departed, but were never properly replaced.

This presented a golden opportunity for Baker Mayfield to have a great game. Mayfield got off to a shaky start when he overthrew Jalen McMillan for what should have been an easy touchdown, but he quickly got his act together. He sliced and diced Washington’s pathetic defensive backfield, as he misfired on just five other occasions, connecting with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for numerous huge plays en route to a blowout victory. The final score isn’t even indicative of how lopsided this game was, as the Buccaneers led 37-14 before a garbage-time rushing touchdown from Daniels.

The Buccaneers will be overrated as a result of this game. This was the best possible matchup for them on both sides of the ball. They still have plenty of concerns that could easily be exposed next week at Detroit.

The Redskins, meanwhile, can’t be too discouraged. Everyone knew this was a rebuilding year for them. Daniels had some positive moments in this game to give Washington fans hope for the long haul, though the front office has its work cut out for itself, given the countless holes on the roster.

Cowboys 33, Browns 17

The Browns got some terrible for news before the game, as Jack Conklin was ruled out. Jedrick Wills was already sidelined, so the Browns were set to miss both starting tackles. This proved to be predictably disastrous against Dallas’ potent pass rush, as Micah Parsons put together a monstrous performance.

Deshaun Watson, as a result, couldn’t move the chains at all. He was able to engineer a garbage-time touchdown, so this result isn’t even indicative of how lopsided this game was. Watson was responsible for two interceptions, looking nowhere near the prolific quarterback we saw in 2020.

The Cowboys dominated in two facets in this game. The other was via special teams, as the Cowboys scored on a punt return. The offense was a different story. The unit didn’t have a poor performance, but struggled to maintain drives, with Dallas being just 4-of-14 on third down. Dak Prescott made some nice connections to CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, but this was not a very consistent phenomenon. It didn’t help that Jake Ferguson suffered an injury early in the second half.

Dallas didn’t need the offensive consistency in this game because the Browns were completely dysfunctional without their two tackles. Prescott will need to elevate his game when the defense can’t dominate as much, but he’ll have easier matchups in future weeks. Ferguson’s potential absence could really hurt, however.

This loss for the Browns should be completely dismissed. They didn’t stand a chance without Wills and Conklin. Both seemed close to playing, so perhaps they’ll be able to return in Week 2. If that happens, Cleveland’s offense will be much better.

Lions 26, Rams 20

It’s astonishing that this game went to overtime. The Rams, down their starting tackles entering the evening, had such offensive line issues that they had to constantly shuffle around their blockers, as their backup left tackle and starting left guard were knocked out with injuries. Puka Nacua also got hurt, leaving the game in the second quarter. As a result of these injuries and a poor Matthew Stafford throw in the end zone prior to halftime, the Lions led 17-3 in the third quarter.

The Rams, somehow, clawed their way back into the game despite Jameson Williams making huge plays for the Lions. Stafford caught fire despite all of the absences, as he constantly connected with Cooper Kupp. He abused Terrion Arnold, who was flagged for multiple pass interferences. Following a Jared Goff interception in which he forced the issue in field goal range while up 17-13, Stafford engineered a go-ahead drive in which he completed all eight of his passes. And just like that, Detroit’s 17-3 lead completely vanished, as the Rams went up 20-17.

The Lions had one more chance in regulation. Goff hit some big plays to move into field goal range, but the drive stalled. A field goal later, this game was tied at 20 heading into overtime.

Detroit won the coin toss, and the Rams never saw the ball. The Lions ran the ball on all but one play in the extra session, as the exhausted Rams couldn’t do anything to stop David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Montgomery eventually carried defenders to the 1-yard line and then crashed into the end zone, giving the Lions a 26-20 victory.

The Lions showed some nice resolve in this victory, as they didn’t play their best, but were able to overcome mistakes to prevail. It’s a mystery as to what happened to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was completely silent in this game.

Speaking of resolve, the Rams somehow made this a thriller despite all of their injuries. They’re an underrated team and will be a playoff contender if they can get healthy.

49ers 32, Jets 19

Everyone had anticipated Aaron Rodgers’ debut with the Jets, but his 2023 season was over after just four plays. His first full game would have to wait another year, and it was not the sort of result Jets fans were eagerly awaiting.

The Jets were demolished by the 49ers – this was a 32-13 score before a garbage-time touchdown – but it wasn’t Rodgers’ fault. Rodgers misfired on just eight occasions and made only one mistake, an interception he forced into tight coverage that was deflected. Rodgers otherwise made some terrific throws. The problem wasn’t with the offense, but rather the defense that couldn’t get off the field.

At one point during the third quarter, I tweeted, “It’s felt like eons since the Jets last had the ball.” The time of possession confirmed that, as San Francisco held the ball for 25 of the first 36 minutes. The Jets could do nothing to stop San Francisco’s rushing attack despite Christian McCaffrey’s absence. Jordan Mason bulldozed right though New York’s front, while Brock Purdy was able to capitalize on this with easy throwing opportunities. Of course, it helped Purdy that Sauce Gardner and Michael Carter II both left the game with injuries.

The 49ers ended up winning the time-of-possession battle by 17 minutes, achieving 10 more first downs and generating 135 more net yards in the process. The Jets, meanwhile, shot themselves in the foot with the Rodgers pick and an early Breece Hall fumble that set up one of Jake Moody’s six field goals on the night.

The 49ers made a huge statement by stomping all over the Jets on national TV. They were missing a number of key players from a year ago, namely McCaffrey, Arik Armstead, Dre Greenlaw, and Talanoa Hufanga, and yet, this was still a one-sided affair.

The Jets were completely outclassed. They have to go back to the drawing board, and Robert Saleh must be on the hot seat. His defense was supposed to carry the team, but it was horrendous in this game.