On the other hand, things went better than last year. You can look at the glass as half full.
The problem with the offense and kickoffs is where we start our review of week one:
▪ Anyone hoping for fireworks on Sunday was surely disappointed. Only five teams managed to score 30 points and ten stayed under 20. The Bears and Steelers won without scoring an offensive touchdown. That was the first time since Week 7 of 2011 that two teams managed that in the same week.
And before Monday night’s game, only two of 30 quarterbacks threw for 300 yards (Tua Tagovailoa with 338 and Matthew Stafford with 317). More than half (16 of 30) threw for less than 200 yards, and Derek Carr barely managed 200 yards.
It was the fewest passing Week 1 since the 2002 realignment, with teams averaging just 187 passing yards. According to OptaStats, Sunday’s games had the fewest passing yards and total yards in the last 20 years.
But to be fair, this Week 1 was better than last year. This year, 45.5 points per game were scored (through Monday night), compared to 41.0 last year. The league-wide passer rating of 84.9 was better than last year’s 83.2 after Week 1.
What these numbers tell us, however, is that the NFL has a “slow start” problem. Defense should be ahead of offense this time of year, but not to this extent. My completely unscientific and purely observational hypothesis: While the NFL has made training camp safer and reduced the kind of muscle strains and soft tissue injuries that often linger into the season, coaches have not adapted to the new training restrictions and are unsure how to prepare their teams for Week 1.
▪ The new “dynamic kick-off” was also a disappointment, although statistically it represented an improvement over the previous year.
Through Monday night, the games featured a touchback rate of 63.5 percent and a return rate of 34 percent, both of which are disappointing. But that compares to 77.6 percent and 20.5 percent last year in Week 1.
This year’s touchback rate was the NFL’s lowest in Week 1 since 2016. The return average of 27.2 yards was up from 22.9 last year and 19.9 in 2022. And Arizona’s DeeJay Dallas had a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown, the league’s first in Week 1 since 2018.
Not to mention, touchbacks typically decrease toward the end of the season when the weather gets cold and the ball doesn’t travel as far. So even though there were still too many touchbacks in Week 1, the NFL will let the season play out before judging the rules a success or failure.
▪ Week 1 was a modest one for the rookie class. Three rookie quarterbacks started, but none threw a touchdown pass (more on that below). It was a quiet start for the receivers, too. The Giants’ Malik Nabers led the rookies with 66 yards on five catches. Broncos seventh-round pick Devaughn Vele led the way with eight catches, while Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had a solid day with six catches for 58 yards.
Brian Thomas, Ladd McConkey, Jalen McMillan and Xavier Worthy (rushing and receiving) were the only rookies to catch touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Marvin Harrison Jr., selected No. 4, had just one catch for 4 yards in the Cardinals’ loss, Rome Odunze had one catch for 11 yards in the Bears’ win, and Ja’Lynn Polk had one catch for 6 yards in the Patriots’ win.
No rookie running back scored a touchdown. Dallas Turner of the Vikings and Jared Verse of the Rams had the only sacks, and Calen Bullock of the Texans and Darius Muasau of the Giants had the only interceptions.
▪ The Eagles’ game against the Packers in Brazil brought good ratings to Peacock, with a peak audience of 15.3 million. But everything about the game had the feel of a low-budget preseason, from the terrible turf that kept players slipping throughout the game, to the low energy of the crowd with little music or artificial stadium noise, to Peacock’s boring presentation. The NFL is considering a return to Brazil in 2025, but may want to reconsider.
▪ The Patriots’ game against the Bengals featured some incredible punting performances. Bengals undrafted punter Ryan Rehkow was perhaps the best rookie in the NFL on Sunday, setting a single-game record with a punting average of 64.5 yards. His four punts were of 51, 57, 70 and 80 yards, the latter of which was the Bengals’ franchise record.
Brenden Schooler of the Patriots was not to be outdone. He had three solo tackles on the Patriots’ five punts and also forced a fair catch after hitting 22.42 mph, the highest top speed of any player in Week 1, according to NFL Next Gen.
Rookie QB Watch
Caleb Williams, Chicago: He threw for just 93 yards and completed just 48 percent of his throws, giving him a league-worst passer rating of 17.2. The Bears beat the Titans thanks to a blocked punt return touchdown and a pick-6.
Jayden Daniels, Washington: Couldn’t keep up with the Buccaneers in a 37-20 loss, but at least showed promise, completing more than 70 percent of his passes, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt and running for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Bo Nix, Denver: In a whopping 42 attempts, he only managed 138 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Sean Payton said Nix didn’t seem overwhelmed, but 3.3 yards per attempt tells a different story.
Drake Maye, New England, and Michael Penix, Atlanta: DNP/Coach’s decision.
Quick hits
▪ No, I’m not worried about the Bills’ offense after Josh Allen threw two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 34-28 win over the Cardinals.
▪ Kyler Murray is going to be a problem this year. And Anthony Richardson is quickly becoming a must-see on TV, for better or for worse.
▪ Kickers are still incredible. Through Monday, there have been 19 field goals of at least 50 yards, the most in a week in NFL history (previous record: 15). Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell and Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn have made three each.
▪ Bryce Young – still a flop.
▪ The Saints won six games in a row in Week 1.
▪ This year’s rising star: Ravens tight end and Cambridge native Isaiah Likely.
▪ Jerod Mayo and Mike Macdonald won their coaching debuts, while Brian Callahan and Dave Canales lost. Jim Harbaugh won his debut with the Chargers, while Dan Quinn, Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce lost.
▪ The Giants played like a team from the 1920s in those hideous uniforms.
▪ Non-surprise of the week: Raiders cornerback Jack Jones was ejected for a fight.
▪ Despite all the fuss about the penalties for illegal positioning, only 13 of them had been imposed as of Monday evening, five of them in the Ravens-Chiefs game and three in the game against the Browns.
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].
