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Another action-packed Sunday in Week 1 of the NFL, another mountain of storylines to sift through after nonstop drama.

The opening games of the 2024 NFL season are almost set, the only thing missing is Monday Night Football between the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers.

It was an exciting, action-packed day on Sunday, which began with the news that Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill was “briefly arrested” on his way to the stadium.

Here are the key storylines from Sunday’s games.

Sunday Night Football between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams was a context-rich game; the two teams’ starting quarterbacks – Jared Goff of the Lions and Matthew Stafford of the Rams – were traded for each other in 2021.

The two met for the first time since last season’s Wild Card playoff game, where Detroit came out on top.

And once again, it was Goff and the Lions who had the last laugh on Sunday when David Montgomery’s one-yard touchdown run in overtime secured a dramatic 26-20 victory for Detroit.

Things got off to a slow start at Ford Field. Jahmyr Gibbs’ touchdown run gave the Lions a 10-3 halftime lead. A 52-yard touchdown catch by Jameson Williams by Goff extended Detroit’s lead and it looked like the Lions would win the game.

But with a comeback in the second half, the Rams fought their way back into the game.
First, Kyren Williams ran home from close range late in the third quarter, and then Stafford threw a nine-yard toss to Cooper Kupp, giving LA a 20-17 lead with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Lions kicker Jake Bates equalized the game to 20:20 a few seconds before the end and sent the game into overtime.

And after winning the overtime coin toss, Detroit marched down the field and covered 70 yards – 60 of them on the ground – in four minutes and 41 seconds before Montgomery sealed the victory.

According to the NFL, it was Detroit’s first overtime win since Week 9 of 2016, when Stafford threw a game-winning touchdown to Golden Tate.

For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, it was an important start to the season for Detroit, which benefited from Williams’ career play: five catches for 121 receiving yards, including the long touchdown.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell praised Williams highly after the win.

“Yeah, listen, I expected him to play pretty well, better, and he did,” Campbell told reporters. “I mean, that was a big game to catch some of those points and get through. And the best part was he didn’t even play his best ball.”

“There’s still so much to improve, but it also shows the work he’s put in and he’s improving and he’s a better player and he wants it and he keeps working on it. And he just keeps making those steps. So as long as he keeps doing that and keeps playing, he’s just going to keep getting better. So yeah, I’m proud of him, I’m proud of where he is, but he still has so much room to continue to grow.”

The loss was even more painful for Los Angeles because one of their star receivers, Puka Nacua, was taken out of the game at halftime after suffering a knee injury in the second quarter.

After a season break full of questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys, everything has now come together for “America’s Team”: The last piece of the puzzle fell into place just hours before the clash with the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.

Just weeks after CeeDee Lamb signed a generous contract extension with the team, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott agreed to a record four-year, $240 million extension to stay in Texas, making him the highest-paid player in the NFL.

And the money seemed to be well spent for the Cowboys, as both Prescott and Lamb performed excellently in Dallas’ impressive 33-17 win over the Browns on Sunday.

Prescott threw a touchdown, running back Ezekiel Elliot ran for another and kicker Brandon Aubrey made four field goals as the Cowboys claimed the win in Ohio.

Perhaps the star of the whole thing, however, was the team’s defense, which intercepted Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s pass twice and sacked him twice.

Micah Parsons was a threat throughout and consistently took advantage of Cleveland’s injuries at the tackle position.

“We haven’t opened the whole bag,” Parsons said afterward. “I think the sky’s the limit. This is just the beginning.”

It was a disappointing afternoon for the Browns, with the offense struggling to move the ball. The crowd at Huntington Bank Field expressed its displeasure at Cleveland’s first-half performance with loud boos.

Watson – who has not impressed since his controversial transfer in 2022 – threw 24 of 45 passes for just 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions as he was under pressure all day.

Since Cleveland’s team also has high hopes for this season, it was a promising start for head coach Kevin Stefanski’s team.

But Watson said he and his Browns teammates should not lose faith after a disappointing start to the 2024 season.

“We have 16 more chances. It’s the NFL, anything can happen. I started 2018 0-4. We won 11 games in a row, so it’s one game at a time,” Watson told reporters. “Take it week by week. You get ready, whether you win or lose, you have to put that one game aside and get ready for the next week. So anything can happen.”

The game also marked NFL legend Tom Brady’s commentary debut, sitting in the Fox booth for the first time in the regular season.

It wasn’t pretty, but Caleb Williams’ life in the NFL started with success.

The No. 1 overall pick in 2024 struggled with a shaky offensive line and, understandably, a lack of rookie experience in the Chicago Bears’ opener against the Tennessee Titans.

The Bears fell behind by 17 points and it took a heroic effort from Chicago’s defense and special teams to pull them out of that hole.

First, Jonathan Owens – the husband of US gymnast Simone Biles – converted a blocked punt into a touchdown, thus initiating the comeback. The seven-time Olympic champion seemed overjoyed at the moment and wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK.”

Then, after a couple of field goals by Cairo Santos to tie the game, Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson intercepted a pass from Titans quarterback Will Levis and carried it back 43 yards for a touchdown that gave Chicago a 24-17 lead and the win, starting the Williams era at Illinois on a high note.

Williams – who completed 14 of 29 throws for 93 yards – became the first No. 1 quarterback in more than 20 years to win in his Week 1 debut and only the fourth ever.

Despite the obvious room for improvement, Williams was not worried about his performance.

“Yeah, I don’t care about stats. I feel great,” Williams said. “To be honest, I feel great.”

He added: “Offensively, we obviously didn’t play the way we wanted to. We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included. I didn’t play the way I wanted to.”
I missed a few passes that I don’t normally miss. All these other things.”

Away vs. Home (winner in bold)

Pittsburgh Steelers 18:10 Atlanta Falcons

Arizona Cardinals 28-34 Buffalo Bills

Tennessee Titans 17-24 Chicago Bears

New England Patriots 16:10 Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans 29:27 Indianapolis Colts

: Jacksonville Jaguars 17-20 Miami Dolphins

Pittsburgh Steelers 10-47 New Orleans Saints

Minnesota Vikings 28-6 New York Giants

: Los Angeles Lakers – 10-22 Los Angeles Chargers

Denver Broncos 20-26 The Seattle Seahawks

Dallas Cowboys 33-17 Cleveland Browns

Washington Commanders 20-37 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Los Angeles Rams 20–26 (overtime) Detroit Lions