* After Week 1, the Steelers and the Texans are the team’s in sole possession of their division lead.  Seattle would join them if the Jets beat the 49ers tonight.

* The Jets need to win to stay out of sole possession of last in the AFC East.  All three of the other teams in the division won, even New England.

* This from Scott Kacsmar:

Good thing we get Cowboys-Saints next week to immediately judge if the Saints could be that glow-up team in the NFC this year.

Cause I’m not sure where else it’s coming from. Don’t even think of saying Minnesota.

* This from The Athletic:

The Colts have now gone 11 seasons without winning their opener, the longest such streak in the league.

On the other side of the ledger, the Saints extended their opening game winning streak to what is currently an NFL-best run of six seasons in a row.

* Two NFC South teams that went 9-8 last year, Tampa Bay and New Orleans, overwhelmed inferior opponents in Week 1.  Are they really contenders in the NFC?  Week 2 is big in that regard as the Buccaneers go to Detroit and the Saints go to Dallas.  Both on FOX.

– – –

With the start of the regular season, teams do not seem worried about letting their opponents start on the 30 after a kickoff.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.comhas the numbers:

The NFL’s new kickoff rule was supposed to make returns more common and touchbacks more rare. And through 15 games, it has. But not by much.

In the first 15 games of the 2024 season, 63.5 percent of kickoffs have gone for touchbacks. That’s a decline in touchbacks from last year, when 73.0 percent of kickoffs were touchbacks.

But it’s not the significant decline that was advertised when the NFL adopted the “dynamic” kickoff rule. The idea at the time was that most kickoffs would be returned, and that simply hasn’t happened. Most of the time, kicking teams are choosing to put the ball in the end zone, and returners are choosing not to take the ball out of the end zone.

The decision to spot the ball at the 30-yard line after touchbacks, rather than keeping the old XFL rule of putting the ball on the 35 after a touchback, has incentivized kicking teams to boot the ball deep. If the ball went out to the 35, kicking teams would be more likely to try to pin the receiving team deep in its own territory, which would lead to more returns.

The new rule is here for the 2024 season, but in 2025 the league will re-evaluate, and the teams will vote on whether to keep the rule, modify it, go back to the old kickoff rules or try something completely different. The early returns suggest the new rule hasn’t been as dynamic as the NFL hoped.

CHICAGO

If you just followed the progress of the scoreline, you might surmise that QB CALEB WILLIAMS started slow, then got hot to lead the Bears to a dramatic win in his debut.  As Bill Barnwell explains, you would be wrong.

Surprising: The Bears came back from down 17-0 to win without scoring an offensive touchdown

As you can probably guess, it’s difficult to win if you spot the opposing team two touchdowns at halftime. It’s even more difficult if you don’t manage to put the ball in the end zone with your (highly touted for several months) offense. Since 2000, if you took the teams that were trailing by two or more scores at halftime and that didn’t manage to add a passing or rushing touchdown to their ledger before the end of the game, their record was unsurprising: 2-306.

The Bears have upped that mark to 3-306 after Sunday, as they launched a furious comeback in the second half against the Titans and scored 24 unanswered points to win 24-17. For all of the progress Chicago fans were hoping to see with a more complete roster after adding quarterback Caleb Williams, running back D’Andre Swift and wideout Keenan Allen to the mix this offseason, this was a win straight out of the second half of 2023. Heck, it was a win straight out of the Rex Grossman era.

Special teams played a huge role. Earlier in the game, the Bears had lost a possession when Velus Jones did what might have been the most surprising thing of Week 1. It’s virtually impossible for a kick returner to muff a kickoff under the new rules, because there’s a buffer preventing the coverage team from crossing midfield until a player has caught the football, which would seemingly give a returner plenty of time to fall on a bouncing ball. The only way to lose it would be for the returner to have the ball go through his hands and kick it forward off his foot toward the coverage team, which is exactly what Jones did.

The Bears took Jones off return duties the rest of the way, replacing him with DeAndre Carter, who took a kickoff 67 yards to set up their first field goal. (It seemed to be one of the few plays in which the special teams used a designed run concept, with Chicago running some version of a counter to get an extra blocker on one side of the field.) The special teams picked up points directly when blocking a Ryan Stonehouse punt and returning it 21 yards for their first touchdown, with Daniel Hardy busting through the line and Jonathan Owens scooping and scoring.

Matt Eberflus’ defense accelerated the Bears’ rebuild in the second half of last season by creating turnovers at the league’s second-highest rate over that stretch. That’s tough to sustain over a full season, but gifts from the opposing team help, and Tennessee’s Will Levis gave them a present in the fourth quarter. As he was falling down, the second-year quarterback attempted to avoid a sack by making a Carson Wentz-esque push pass to his checkdown. He became one of three quarterbacks Sunday to elicit an horrified “Oh no” from the color commentator before the pass found its target, as Tyrique Stevenson signed for the package and waltzed into the end zone with a cavalry of teammates.

It’s easy to just point at the bad decision and chalk it up to a mistake by the quarterback, but good defenses force those plays. A sim pressure from Eberflus on third-and-6 created an overload on the right side of the offensive line, which flushed Levis from the pocket and encouraged him to make a game-altering attempt to play hero ball. Levis was pressured on nearly 37% of his dropbacks Sunday, the fourth-highest rate for any quarterback in Week 1 so far.

And while the Titans had some success running the football, this was a promising effort from Chicago’s secondary. The Bears eventually forced three turnovers. Darrell Taylor, whom the team added last month in a trade with the Seahawks, managed two sacks on 38 snaps. Levis & Co. had just 104 net passing yards on 35 dropbacks. The Bears will face tougher quarterbacks as early as next week when they get Stroud and the Texans in Houston, but this team should also get more out of its own quarterback after a difficult debut.

Will Brinson of CBSSports.com on the debut of QB CALEB WILLIAMS:

Let’s remember playing quarterback in the NFL is hard and it’s really hard when you’re a rookie quarterback who was taken high in the draft, because you’re likely going to a less-than-desirable situation.

Now that wasn’t the case for Caleb Williams, per se, but you wouldn’t have known he was loaded to — ahem — bear with weapons with how Williams and the Chicago offense performed on Sunday afternoon. Granted, the Bears won, but they did it thanks to Will Levis throwing an absolute melt of a pick six, Chicago scoring another special teams touchdown and the offense generating a total of 148 yards. 2.8 yards per play is ugly. Trust me, I know, I watched my Wolfpack on Saturday night do the same against Tennessee. But the Titans aren’t as good defensively as the Vols, making this a very auspicious start for the Bears, even if it resulted in a win. Caleb finished with, and this is not a typo, 93 passing yards. Not great, Bob! He didn’t use his legs and the Bears didn’t use Rome Odunze either. The draft capital felt wasted and all eyes should be skeptically on Shane Waldron’s offense moving forward.

DETROIT

Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com:

The Lions’ grit can’t be overstated

It sounds cliche. It really does. Ever since Dan Campbell’s arrival, everyone and their brother cites Detroit’s toughness as a driving force of the team. But resilience was reality for this team on Sunday night. Jared Goff wasn’t perfect. Amon-Ra St. Brown didn’t have a major splash. The defense had second-half hiccups. And yet the end result was the same as it was in January, when these two teams met on an even bigger stage. Why? They never quit. You could see it in the way Penei Sewell paved lanes, or the way David Montgomery trucked through one defender after another in overtime, or the way Carlton Davis laid out to get in front of multiple Matthew Stafford passes late. This is a team built to survive even tight ballgames.

GREEN BAY

The late injury to QB JORDAN LOVE in the game in Brazil is somewhat serious, but apparently not a calamity.  Bryan DeArdo of CBSSports.com:

Friday night was not a good one for Green Bay Packers fans. In addition to seeing their team lose a tightly contested game to the Philadelphia Eagles, Packers fans saw their quarterback, Jordan Love, sustain a knee injury near the end of Green Bay’s 34-29 setback.

Tests have revealed that Love sustained an MCL sprain, as confirmed by CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, following a previous report from NFL Media that Love’s ACL was intact. He’s expected to be out 3-6 weeks. There is optimism that Love could return sooner than later pending a second opinion. ESPN has reported that Love will miss 3-4 weeks, so the general thought is that he won’t be out for more than a month.

Love will miss the team’s upcoming home game against the Colts, Green Bay’s Week 3 game at Tennessee and its Week 4 home matchup with Minnesota. At the earliest, Love could be back for the team’s Week 5 road matchup against the Rams.

Love’s injury have somewhat impacted the Packers’ odds moving forward. Green Bay’s win/loss projection dipped from 9.7 to 9.2 games, according to SportsLine’s principal data engineer Stephen Oh. The team’s odds at winning the division went from 39.8% to 32.9%, and their playoff odds dropped from 63.3% to 55%.

The injury occurred during the Packers’ final possession on Friday when Love was hit by linebacker Josh Sweat and defensive tackle Jalen Carter while getting the ball to running back Josh Jacobs.

The is obviously not the start of the year the Packers envisioned for Love, who signed a massive contract extension this offseason following his successful first year as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. He threw 32 touchdowns during the 2023 regular season while helping lead the Packers to an unexpected wild card berth. He then compiled a near-perfect passer rating during Green Bay’s upset win over Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.

So, what does Love’s injury mean for the Packers? And who could be some possible replacements?

Love’s backup is 25-year-old Malik Willis, who Green Bay traded a seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for just a couple weeks ago. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst chose him over Sean Clifford (who is now on the practice squad) and Michael Pratt, so could they simply move forward with the former third-round pick out of Liberty?

Willis doesn’t have much NFL experience, as he’s started just three games, winning one of them, and has thrown for a total of 350 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. However, Willis has made clear strides in his development over the past few seasons, and is an intriguing dual-threat talent.

If the Packers do decide to find Love’s replacement outside of the building, here are a few options:

Ryan Tannehill

Speaking of former Titans quarterbacks, not only is Tannehill the best available free-agent quarterback, but he knows a little bit about coming in and saving a team’s season. Back in 2019, Tannehill replaced Marcus Mariota under center and helped Tennessee win seven of its final 10 games. The Titans earned a playoff berth thanks to their strong finish, then defeated Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the wild-card round, and the No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens on their home field before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. It earned Tannehill NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors.

Tannehill retained the job of starting quarterback for the Titans for the next four seasons, going 39-24 as the starter with two AFC South titles. After being sidelined due to an ankle injury in 2023, he was replaced by rookie Will Levis.

The 36-year-old Tannehill said this offseason he was looking for the right opportunity. While he will have to come in and quickly learn the offense, opportunities don’t get much better than this.

Jameis Winston

The Packers would need to trade for Winston, who is currently slated as the Cleveland Browns’ backup behind Deshaun Watson, but the former No. 1 overall pick would be an excellent replacement for Love. Not only is the 30-year-old veteran a natural leader whom the young Packers could rally around, but he’s one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL who can still sling it.

Winston is famous (infamous?) for the first-ever “30 and 30” season in 2019, where he threw 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions while leading the league in passing yards with 5,109 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After being replaced by Brady, Winston signed with the rival New Orleans Saints and threw for 20 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and won six of 10 starts in four total seasons.

Bailey Zappe

The Western Kentucky product found himself on the outside looking in with the Patriots QB room, and he is now on the practice squad of the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs. Packers fans know a little something about Zappe, as his first NFL action came at Lambeau Field. When Brian Hoyer went down with a concussion in a Week 4 matchup vs. the Packers back in 2022, the rookie Zappe came in and completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and one touchdown, while taking Aaron Rodgers to overtime.

In all, Zappe is 4-4 as a starter and has thrown for 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. If you’re looking for a younger player with a big arm who once caught the eye of Bill Belichick, you have it in Zappe.

MINNESOTA

Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com notes that QB SAM DARNOLD was outstanding in Week 1:

Surprising: Sam Darnold had the hottest Week 1 start of any quarterback

If you’ve held onto your Darnold bags all these years, your time might have arrived. Once picked with the hopes he would torch bad defenses in the Meadowlands, Darnold returned to his old stamping grounds and laid waste to the Giants, starting his Vikings career by completing his first 12 passes in what would eventually be a 28-6 Minnesota victory.

If you remember Zach Wilson’s out-of-body half against the Chiefs last season, you know any quarterback can get hot for a stretch. And indeed, Darnold has had quarters and even weeks in which he has looked like a very solid quarterback, most notably during the first few weeks of his time with the Panthers in 2021. Nobody has doubted his arm or physical talent all these years, and he had no trouble making throws Sunday.

What was most impressive about Darnold, though, was his anticipation and ability to throw into open spaces. He hit a seemingly covered Justin Jefferson for 44 yards on a pass that threw the star wideout open. His most impressive throw of the day might have been a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor, where he worked from one side of the field to the other and then back, resetting his feet each time, before lobbing a pass under duress to Minnesota’s third wideout for a score.

While Darnold threw an interception later in the game on a pass in which he was hit in motion, this was a clean day for the 2018 third overall pick. He looked and performed like a player who was in control of his surroundings, something that simply hasn’t been the case for him over much of his career.

I can hear what you’re saying: It’s the Giants, who looked lost on both sides of the football for the second opener in a row. Adoree’ Jackson, who was re-signed at the end of camp after the organization saw what they had at cornerback, played 17 snaps and committed a 36-yard pass interference penalty. Offensive lineman Evan Neal, the team’s seventh overall pick two years ago, was active but didn’t play a single snap, even in a game where the new-look offensive line struggled. Quarterback Daniel Jones managed just 186 passing yards on 42 attempts and threw a pick-six directly to Andrew Van Ginkel on a screen in which the former Dolphins lineman had no trouble penetrating into the passing lane.

Things are about to get much tougher for Darnold and the Vikings. They get the 49ers next week, then follow that with matchups against the Texans, Packers and Jets before their bye week. I’ve been skeptical of Darnold’s ability to thrive when he has to stand up against heavy pass rushes and throw in obvious passing situations, and he has struggled when we’ve seen him in those moments in the past. What we saw from him in Week 1, though, can only give him confidence as he begins what could be a career-redefining stretch of games.

DALLAS

After stalling his deal for months, the Cowboys knuckle under and let QB DAK PRESCOTT set the market with $60 million per year.  Bill Barnwell:

Surprising: Dak Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million deal Sunday afternoon

The deal Prescott signed shouldn’t be surprising. It was hardly a well-kept secret around the NFL that he was going to be the first $60 million player in league history when he signed his next contract, whether that deal came with the Cowboys or another franchise. And while he could have maximized his leverage by waiting until after the season or entering unrestricted free agency next March, he was able to realize a 50% raise on what he had been making on his prior deal without needing to move out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Unless he ended up in another state with no income tax, this might have ended up being an even bigger deal than what he could have earned in unrestricted free agency.

We’re still waiting on the full details of the guarantees within the contract, but it would be a surprise if Prescott wasn’t locked into the starting role through 2027, if not 2028. Dallas will have to make changes as it pays Prescott, wideout CeeDee Lamb and eventually edge rusher Micah Parsons what will be north of $130 million per season across their respective contracts once it gets the star pass rusher’s deal done, but losing Prescott would have set back the franchise. The Cowboys gave Trey Lance a long look in the preseason, but the former 49ers quarterback looked overmatched and woefully rusty across 113 pass attempts, 44 more than any other passer attempted in August. Lance is still younger than some rookies in the 2024 draft class, but he’s not ready to step in as a starter and might never get to that point.

What’s interesting about this deal to me is the timing. While most people in the league expected the Cowboys to eventually sign Prescott to an extension, and the organization has a habit of pushing deals to the brink of deadlines before getting those contracts done, I’m not sure anyone expected it to come in about an hour before the first Sunday kickoffs of Week 1. The timing — and Lance’s usage in the preseason — suggests the Cowboys might have given Lance a real look before deciding that they were going to commit to Prescott on another deal.

More realistically, I can see arguments for both sides wanting to wait until the beginning of the season before announcing this contract. From Prescott’s side, he was able to get the record-setting deal he wanted without having to endure months of headlines about how he might perform after getting his money. The headlines about his contract were quickly buried by updates on Tyreek Hill’s brief detainment and everything else that went down on the field. Prescott won’t be able to avoid criticism if the Cowboys struggle, but the conversation about him getting paid will disappear by Tuesday morning.

And for the Cowboys, who spent months seemingly arguing with themselves or procrastinating on a Prescott extension, getting the contract done now will avoid conversations about why this didn’t get done earlier. They could have had more clarity about their budgets and been more aggressive this offseason if they had managed to get this deal done in April. (Even better, they could have saved money by doing it last offseason.) There was never going to be a significant discount for him given his leverage, so it’s hardly as if they could have waited out their quarterback. Instead, the “all-in” Cowboys spent most of the offseason out of the free agent market before eventually doing what everyone expected and paying up for Lamb and Prescott.

– – –

A knee injury for TE JAKE FERGUSON.  Todd Archer of ESPN.com:

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson could still play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints after being diagnosed with a bone bruise and a minor sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, a source told ESPN on Monday.

Ferguson had an MRI on Monday morning after leaving the Cowboys’ 33-17 victory against the Cleveland Browns following a 2-yard catch in the third quarter. He landed awkwardly while attempting to leap linebacker Jordan Hicks and immediately grabbed his knee.

He went to the locker room and did not return. After the game, multiple sources said Ferguson’s anterior cruciate ligament remained intact but the MRI was needed for the full diagnosis.

“God is good,” Ferguson posted to X on Monday morning.

Ferguson finished with three catches for 15 yards. Last year, he established himself with 71 catches for 761 yards and five touchdowns and was added to the Pro Bowl as a replacement.

“I think we dodged a big one,” quarterback Dak Prescott said Sunday after the game. “Obviously he has to get some X-rays [Monday], but talking to him, he gave me a lot of confidence that he will be OK. He will be able to respond whether it is nothing or a couple of weeks.

“I cannot even think what we would miss without him. His mentality, what he brings to the game, where we’ve grown in our connection, we will be fine. He will be fine. He gave me the news, so I am just going to try and think on that and get him back out there as quick as we can.”

NEW YORK GIANTS

This –

@_MLFootball

🚨INSANE STAT: Since signing a $160 million contract with #Giants, Daniel Jones has thrown more touchdown passes to the  OPPOSITIONS THAN TO HIS OWN TEAMMATES.

😳😳😳

MORE PICK-SIXES THAN TD PASSES TO HIS OWN GUYS.

(Via AP)

It’s true.  Seven games, 2 TD passes, 8 INTs, 3 of which were pick sixes including Andrew Van Ginkel’s 10-yard INT return for the Vikings on Sunday.

– – –

Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com on the plight of the Giants:

Brian Daboll: Maybe the Minnesota Vikings turn out to be one of the NFL’s surprise teams. But it’s probably more likely we saw Sunday just how bad the New York Giants will be this season.

Daboll was considered one of the head coaches on the hot seat coming into the season, and it’s about to get a lot worse. The Giants got embarrassed 28-6 at home by a Vikings team practically everyone picked to finish last in the NFC North. In the first half, the Giants had 87 yards and five first downs in 30 plays. The defense was being shredded by Sam Darnold. When Darnold threw his second touchdown of the game, the Giants trailed 21-3. Darnold was very good, completing 16 of 21 passes for 208 yards, but that might say something about the Giants’ secondary.

It’s not good. It’s not good for general manager Joe Schoen either, who went against co-owner John Mara’s wishes and let Saquon Barkley leave to the Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley had three touchdowns in the opener. If the Giants are as bad as they looked on Sunday, Daboll in particular might be in trouble early this season.

ATLANTA

Judy Bautista of NFL.com with this assessment of the Falcons debut of QB KIRK COUSINS:

The biggest free-agent signing of the offseason, Kirk Cousins, completed just 16 passes for 155 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, including one late in the fourth quarter with the Falcons trailing the Steelers by five points. Cousins is coming off an Achilles tear he suffered while with the Vikings in the middle of the 2023 season, and he looked a tick slow, with plenty of rust. He also made some head-scratching decisions Sunday, throwing under heavy pressure, which led to the two picks. The Steelers’ T.J. Watt was everywhere wrecking the game, of course.

CAROLINA

Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com on the Panthers Week 1 implosion:

Hopefully David Tepper didn’t have any drinks nearby on Sunday. Or anything else the Carolina Panthers team owner could throw in anger.

The Panthers spent and spent this offseason to improve after going 2-15 last season. They hired a new head coach, Dave Canales. They improved the team around quarterback Bryce Young. And nothing was different on Sunday.

The Panthers’ renewed optimism was burned to the ground before halftime of the season opener. They trailed the New Orleans Saints 30-0 before their season was even two quarters old. Young, who struggled badly as a rookie after being the first overall draft pick following the Panthers’ monster trade to go up and get him, threw a bad interception on his first pass of the season. He threw a worse interception to start the second half, throwing well past an open Adam Thielen. The Saints turned that interception into a touchdown and a 37-3 lead. At that point, Young’s line was horrific: 6 of 14, 50 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a nearly impossible 13.1 passer rating.

Young padded his stats a bit after the game was completely out of hand, and the Saints rolled to a 47-10 win. Young finished 13-of-30 for 161 yards.

If Young wasn’t the first pick of last year’s draft, there would probably be talk of benching him. Canales is one game into his NFL head coaching career and because his team owner is so impatient, he has to be a little worried about how long he’ll get if Sunday’s result is what we can expect the rest of this season.

One game isn’t enough to make any conclusions. But the Panthers’ performance was so bad, it’s hard to not think the worst. Especially since Carolina was the worst team in the NFL last season and Young was dreadful. The Panthers spent more than $150 million on two guards in free agency, drafted a receiver in the first round, and a running back and tight end in the early rounds, traded for receiver Diontae Johnson and made other additions. Yet it all looks like a waste.

Tepper isn’t patient in any situation, and you have to imagine losing so badly in Week 1 after all of those investments will have him on edge more than normal.

Young’s struggles Sunday are the biggest concern. The Panthers already presumably figured out they made a mistake picking Young over C.J. Stroud. But one season wasn’t enough to throw in the towel on Young. Yet there can’t be a ton of optimism after Sunday. If Young is as bad as he has looked through one game of his second season, that will set the Panthers back years, especially considering what they gave up to trade for him.

There’s a long way to go this season, and perhaps the Panthers won’t be as bad as they looked in the opener. If they are that bad though, major changes will be coming. And it might not take Tepper until the end of the season to make them.

And that was before Tom Pellissero of NFL.com dropped this bomb on Monday:

Derrick Brown’s follow-up to his first Pro Bowl season has hit a snag.

The Panthers defensive tackle is potentially out for the rest of the 2024 campaign after suffering a meniscus injury in Carolina’s blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported. Brown will need surgery, which will determine the exact timeline for return, per Pelissero.

Brown’s situation might sound familiar to Vikings fans, who were disappointed to learn their rookie quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, would miss the 2024 season due to a meniscus injury that ultimately required a repair, ending his first campaign after one preseason contest. Like McCarthy, Brown will have to undergo surgery before knowing whether he’ll be able to return in 2024.

After a quiet first few seasons, Brown finally broke through in 2023, recording 103 tackles (seven for loss), two sacks and proving to be a stud in advanced metrics, leading all defensive tackles in run stops with 79, per Next Gen Stats. With a notable improvement in run defense and a pass-rushing ability that saw him log 37 QB pressures in 2024, Brown made an overdue appearance on the greater NFL radar by securing his first Pro Bowl nod of his career.

The 2024 campaign was supposed to be the season in which the rest of the league would see Carolina’s first-round investment (Brown was the seventh-overall pick of the 2020 draft) pay off. Instead, he’s headed toward an uncertain few days, which could either mean Brown is out for a handful of weeks, or done for the season.

There is good news for Brown: He signed a four-year, $96 million extension with the Panthers in April, receiving the financial reward he’d earned after shining amid a difficult year for Carolina. We’ll soon learn whether he’ll be able to resume his pursuits of excellence in 2024.

TAMPA BAY

Frank Schwab:

Buccaneers receivers: One of the reasons Baker Mayfield turned his career around last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was he had a good group of receivers to throw to.

That carried over to this season’s opener. Chris Godwin and rookie Jalen McMillan each scored a touchdown and Mike Evans had two. Mayfield’s season got off to a great start with 289 yards and four touchdowns in the Buccaneers’ 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders.

The Buccaneers won the NFC South last season. This season the Falcons were the popular pick to win the division. Based on how mediocre the Falcons looked in Week 1, Tampa Bay might be tough to overtake in the division.

DENVER

Zak Keefer of The Athletic with this summation of the first game of QB BO NIX’s career:

In Seattle, the Mike Macdonald era started with a win after his defense gave Bo Nix fits all afternoon. The Denver Broncos’ rookie starter was intercepted twice, and without some drops by Seahawks defenders, it easily could’ve been a few more. It took Nix 34 attempts just to climb past the 100-yard mark, and each of Denver’s first six possessions of the second half ended in a punt or a turnover.

BALTIMORE

No sign of QB LAMAR JACKSON at Monday’s Baltimore practice:  Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com

According to multiple reporters on the scene, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was not on the field for Monday’s practice.

It’s currently unknown why Jackson was absent from the session. Head coach John Harbaugh is slated to speak to the media after practice at around 3 p.m. ET.

The first Ravens injury report of the week won’t be released until Wednesday.

Jackson threw for 273 yards with a touchdown and a lost fumble. He rushed for 122 yards in Baltimore’s season-opening loss to Kansas City.

Via Jeff Zrebiec of TheAthletic.com, cornerback Nate Wiggins, receiver/return specialist Deonte Harty, outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (eye), and outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (hamstring) were also absent from Monday’s practice.

The Ravens will host the Raiders on Sunday for their 2024 home opener.

CINCINNATI

Scott Kacsmar:

@ScottKacsmar

“Joe Burrow is 5-1 against Mahomes and Allen.”

Okay, he’s also 0-5 against Baker Mayfield and Jacoby Brissett.

CLEVELAND

Coach Kevin Stefanski says that the rest of the Cleveland offense helped make QB DESHAUN WATSON ineffective. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Browns had an ugly start to the season with Sunday’s 33-17 loss to the Cowboys, with the offense looking non-competitive for most of the contest.

While Cleveland was playing without its starting offensive tackles, Dallas registered a whopping 17 quarterback hits on Deshaun Watson along with six sacks.

“Yeah, he got hit way too often,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said in his postgame press conference. “We can’t let that happen to him. He fought like crazy, and listen, the football team fought like crazy to the end. But bottom line is, we have to protect our quarterback better than that.”

Watson finished the game 24-of-45 passing for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Also among the many issues, the Browns had several false start and illegal procedure penalties that kept the team in unfavorable down-and-distance situations.

“Yeah, it’s disappointing. We’ll look at ways that we can fix that,” Stefanski said. “We don’t practice that way, you can’t play that way because that’s just, again, it’s hard to win in this league. Don’t want to make it harder on yourself.”

With a new coordinator in Ken Dorsey, the Browns overhauled much of their offense during the offseason. With injuries and Watson coming back from shoulder surgery, the full group didn’t get all that much time together in practice or preseason games. But Stefanski said that’s not an excuse.

“I think we just — there’s things that I know we can do better, things that right away you saw that was not how we wanted to do it, but we had plenty of time to prepare,” Stefanski said. “Just did not get it done today.”

Jason Lloyd of The Athletic does not agree, laying the bulk of the blame squarely on Watson – although at the bottom of the story we find out a mitigating issue:

How long? How much longer do Browns fans have to wait to see the quarterback they were promised?

We’re into Year 3 of the Deshaun Watson Experience and the first lap around the track didn’t feel any differently. Is it too late to speak to a manager and request a refund?

It’s supposed to be different this year. He’s healthy now. The suspension is long behind him. The offense has been rebuilt to suit his strengths. The Browns have overhauled their entire operation to make him more comfortable.

Success can still happen. It’s only one game and this offense had little time together in the preseason and training camp. That was evident during Sunday’s 33-17 embarrassment at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.

Watson should’ve played at some point in the preseason. That’s an organizational failure. It was 300 days from his broken shoulder last season until Sunday’s opener. We’ve been through this before with Watson and long layoffs. We know how it ends by now.

It may not have made a difference in Sunday’s outcome, but it’s impossible to watch the Browns’ first game and believe they were ready for the start of the season. They weren’t. Whether they’ll be ready for the start of the season by Week 2 is debatable at this point.

But the bulk of this mess belongs to the quarterback. His minus-0.36 EPA/play was tied for second-worst on Sunday. Yes, there were far too many drops by his receivers, but his expected completion percentage was still less than 64 percent. That was fourth-worst for Week 1 entering Sunday night’s game.

If we’re being honest, this rebuilt offense had a “the orange is oranger” type of feel to it. Nothing really looked much different from what we’ve seen previously other than a deeper disdain to run the ball. There were only a handful of RPO calls and at least one of them was negated by penalty. Watson was still under center for a decent amount of time.

Watson was hit 17 times and sacked six. The 17 hits were easily the most of any quarterback in Week 1. But the one narrative we can’t have this week, the one talking point I won’t stand for is that Watson was hit too much because his protection broke down and he didn’t have enough time to throw. It’s a lazy assumption based on the statistics and the most outrageous lie you’ll hear all week. It is categorically false. Even Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has been duped.

“He got hit way too often,” Stefanski said. “We can’t let that happen to him. … We have to protect our quarterback better than that.”

Or, and hear me out, the quarterback has to protect himself better than that.

Dallas’ defense blitzed on one-fourth of its snaps, which was fairly average compared to other Week 1 teams. Here are the important numbers to know, according to a deep dive on data provided by TruMedia and PFF. All of the league-wide rankings are through all Week 1 games before Monday night.

• Watson averaged 4.16 seconds to throw per pressured dropback Sunday, the eighth-best time under pressure. On sacks that resulted from pressure, he held the ball for 4.29 seconds, the sixth-best time in Week 1.

• On the six sacks he did take, his average time to throw was 4.87 seconds — which ranked 10th.

• Since he joined the Browns in 2022, Watson has been the slowest from snap to throw on pressured dropbacks of any quarterback across the league (4.60 seconds). Tom Brady, who coincidentally called the game for Fox, was the fastest at 3.26 seconds.

Part of what has made Watson great throughout his career is his ability to hold the ball and extend plays. It’s disingenuous to then turn around and blame his line for protection breakdowns when they are giving him more time to throw against pressure than any other offensive line in the NFL the past two-plus seasons.

This isn’t a protection issue. It’s a Watson issue.

There were costly procedure and false start penalties Sunday on both of the Browns’ starting tackles. That has to get cleaned up. But there was at least one sack that occurred because Watson was standing where he wasn’t expected to be so the protection wasn’t angled that way.

It’s rhythm and timing issues. It’s “feel” issues. It just doesn’t seem like he’s seeing the field well. Or he’s not processing what he’s seeing.

There were receivers open down the field Sunday, Watson was just busy throwing the ball 7 yards out of bounds on sideline routes and fade routes into the end zone.

It was awful. It was worse than awful. It was some of the worst quarterback play in the league during Week 1.

Forty-five minutes after Sunday’s game ended, while most players had showered and long departed the locker room, Watson was still unshowered wearing stained football pants and chatting with backup quarterback Jameis Winston.

It was an emotional few days for Watson, whose father died this week. He was estranged from his father for most of his life, according to a Houston Chronicle story in 2017. But navigating grief is never easy.

“I’m not going to use that as an excuse for why we played bad, but it was a heavy heart these last couple of days,” Watson said. “But again, I don’t want to use that as an excuse.”

PITTSBURGH

Dan Graziano of ESPN.com doesn’t think that QB RUSSELL WILSON was Wally Pipp’d by his calf injury:

Justin Fields will keep the Steelers’ starting quarterback job all season

Fields lost a training camp competition to fellow Steelers newcomer Russell Wilson, but then Wilson aggravated his training camp calf injury Thursday, and Fields ended up having to start the opener in Atlanta. The Steelers won the game 18-10 thanks to six Chris Boswell field goals. Fields was 17-for-23 for 156 yards, rushed 14 times for 57 yards and most importantly did not turn the ball over.

It was a conservative game plan by Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who eight months ago was the Falcons’ coach and brought with him a healthy respect for the playmakers on his old team’s defense and a strong faith in his new team’s offense. On this day, though, it was good enough. It remains to be seen whether Wilson’s calf will feel good enough this week to allow him to play the Steelers’ Week 2 game against one of his former teams in Denver, but the Steelers are 1-0 with Fields as the starter.

Verdict: OVERREACTION

The main reason Wilson won the competition for the starting job was that the Steelers still don’t fully trust Fields as much as they trust Wilson to process what he’s seeing from opposing defenses and be accurate on short- and midrange throws. They view Fields as a developmental player who has enough skill and experience that they can play him if need be — but he isn’t their top choice just yet.

The game Smith called Sunday proves that. Fields’ average throw in the first half went 3.9 yards downfield, which is half of what he averaged last season in Chicago. As long as the Steelers have edge rusher T.J. Watt — who dominated the second half Sunday and ended the game with a cherry-on-top sack of Cousins and then bowed to the many, many Steelers fans in the crowd for a road game — it might not matter whether Wilson or Fields plays quarterback. But Wilson is Pittsburgh’s choice right now if both guys are healthy, and I believe you will see him in there once his calf is healed.

HOUSTON

Even with three elite receivers, Bill Barnwell is surprised and impressed with Houston’s willingness to run the ball.

Surprising: Joe Mixon got 30 carries in the win over the Colts

In all of the excitement surrounding the Texans and the moves they made in the offseason, I’d argue their new running back got lost in the shuffle. Everyone was understandably intrigued by Stefon Diggs and his arrival into what might have immediately become the league’s deepest receiving corps. The addition of Danielle Hunter in free agency as the replacement for Jonathan Greenard gave the Texans a veteran pass rusher with a lengthy track record of success. I think I even talked more about Azeez Al-Shaair than I did about Mixon and what he might accomplish for the Houston offense.

Well, it was a day for the new guys. Diggs scored two touchdowns, albeit in a game in which he turned 32 routes into just 33 receiving yards and had an average depth of target of 1.6 yards. The more impactful player was Mixon, who did something that just six other players accomplished a year ago: Rack up 30 carries in a single game.

The 30 rushes tied Mixon’s career high, and the former Bengals back turned them into 159 rushing yards and 17 rush yards over expectation (RYOE) in his Texans debut. Mixon had 21 carries for 104 yards in the second half alone, as he helped keep the Colts at bay down the stretch in the 29-27 victory. Eight of his 10 touches in the fourth quarter were successful in terms of keeping the Houston offense on schedule, including his 3-yard touchdown run early in the quarter and the 9-yard run on third-and-3 that sealed the win.

Mixon is not going to be the headline-grabber in this offense, and he won’t be featured on many of their spectacular plays. C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins teamed up to make magic several times against the Colts, including an inch-perfect throw-and-catch on third-and-11 to avoid giving the ball back to Indy with a two-point lead and two minutes to go. Diggs will have his moments. We know what Tank Dell can do.

Houston’s success on offense last season, though, came despite its running game as opposed to through it. An injury-riddled offensive line struggled to develop the continuity needed to thrive on the ground. The coaching staff quickly fell out of love with Dameon Pierce, and while Devin Singletary was a pleasant surprise, the Texans ranked 30th in rush offense DVOA. If Mixon and a much healthier line can indulge coordinator Bobby Slowik’s desire to run the football, it’s only going to make life easier for Stroud and the passing attack.

JACKSONVILLE

Will Brinson wasn’t impressed with QB TREVOR LAWRENCE and the Jaguars offense with the Miami game on the line:

What occurred over the rest of the game is truly inexplicable: newly minted (literally in the sense of him getting paid this offseason) franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence attempted just ONE PASS on the Jags’ final three drives. Technically two — the Dolphins jumped offside and the Jags accepted the penalty, so there was no play. Lawrence also dropped back two more times, on the Jags final possession, and was sacked both times.

The Jags totaled 13 yards on 11 plays on those three drives. Miami managed to get six points on their final three drives and Jacksonville left south Florida as big-time losers. The AFC is going to be highly competitive and the Jaguars handed the Dolphins a critical win early in the season by being outrageously conservative down the stretch. Lawrence was healthy, had been dealing and he was getting great contributions from rookie Brian Thomas Jr., and offseason free agency addition Gabe Davis.

Turtling up made no sense in the moment, not with the ability for Lawrence to stretch the field and force Miami to be honest on defense. It certainly makes no sense in hindsight, either.

BUFFALO

We have to keep an eye on a hand injury to QB JOSH ALLEN.  Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s second rushing touchdown Sunday was a leaping effort into the end zone over Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker that put the team up by two scores in the fourth quarter, but the landing appeared to leave Allen with a left hand injury.

After leaping over Baker, Allen put his hands around the football to brace for impact as defensive lineman Justin Jones tried to push the quarterback from falling into the end zone. As a result, Allen landed with his left (non-throwing) hand around the ball and underneath him.

“The first rushing touchdown, I kind of lowered the shoulder, knowing that was a corner,” Allen said. “Second time, I knew it was Budda, and Budda’s a good player and he’ll lay the boom on you, so I decided to go up and over, but probably can’t make a living doing that, but here we are.”

The Bills went on to recover from a 17-3 deficit with less than three minutes remaining in the first half to win 34-28.

Allen’s left hand and wrist were wrapped by athletic trainers on the sideline after the score, and he played the remainder of the game. He said afterward that his hand was “fine.” When asked whether he would be getting X-rays, Allen said, “Well, probably, yeah, don’t know yet.” After the game and his news conference, Allen briefly went into the X-ray room at the stadium. He did not have his hand wrapped in the postgame locker room.

“Again, we’ll find out — I’m not quite sure,” Allen said. “I’m not a doctor. But just kind of landed on it, I guess.”

The Bills have a quick turnaround with a trip to the Miami Dolphins for “Thursday Night Football” in Week 2. Coach Sean McDermott said in his postgame news conference that he did not have enough information to give an update on any of the team’s injuries.

“Yeah, always concerned anytime anybody is hurt,” McDermott said. “In this case, for sure Josh. I’ll know more, again, hopefully in the next couple of hours. Maybe even when I walk back through the hallway here, so always concerned.”

MIAMI

It’s not every day that an NFL wide receiver finds himself eating concrete with his handcuffs on his wrist – and then being released to score an 80-yard TD.

CNN:

The Miami-Dade Police Department placed an officer on administrative leave Sunday after Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill was detained prior to the start of the season-opening game.

On Sunday morning, just hours before kickoff, Hill was detained for a short time by police after a traffic incident, the team said on social media. Hill’s agent said the wide receiver was ticketed for a moving violation and it’s not clear why the situation escalated.

Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) Director Stephanie V. Daniels said Sunday an investigation has begun into the incident and one of the officers involved is being placed on administrative duties. A second Dolphins player (Calais Campbell)  said he was also handcuffed when trying to discuss the situation with officers at the scene.

“Following the incident involving Tyreek Hill, I have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter. One of the officers involved in the incident has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation is conducted,” Daniels said in a statement. “I’m committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers.”

Hill won’t soon forget the start of the 2024-25 season. After being detained, his day ended with a comeback win against the Jacksonville Jaguars that featured a “handcuffs” celebration after scoring a key touchdown.

Stephen Douglas of SI.com:

Tyreek Hill was detained and handcuffed by police before the Miami Dolphins’ Week 1 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill had seven catches for 130 yards and a touchdown and after scoring he put his arms behind his back as he was “handcuffed” by Jaylen Waddle.

Hill spoke with CBS’s Melanie Collins on the field in the immediate aftermath of the Dolphins’ last-second victory. He was in high spirits following the win, but talked about the pregame incident with police, sharing some new details.

“Little did I know, there was quite a surprise on the way, man, but you know what, at the end of the day, dog. I’ve got a job to do. And my job is to come inside of this stadium and be great.”

“I loved that. I was f—— fired up, dog. To see Jonnu, to see Calias. You know, right there in the heat of the battle with me, man. That goes to show that it’s more than about football. The brotherhood that we got outside of just football is amazing. ‘Cause those dudes were like really risking their lives for me.”

Hill also mentioned Drew Brooks, the Dolphins’ director of team security. The fact that he considers what they did as risking their lives says a lot about how serious the situation really was. He had more to say about the incident when he addressed the media.

Hill reiterated what his agent Drew Rosenhaus said about him wanting to be a police officer and said that he wanted to work with the police to turn this into something positive.

“I do want to be able to use this platform to say what if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Worse case scenario? It’s crazy,” Hill said. “I want to be a cop someday. I got a state trooper hat, all that. So I’ve got a lot of respect for cops, man, but, obviously everybody has a bad apples in their situation. I want to be able to use this platform, you know to figure to.. to figure out a way to flip this and make it a positive. On both ends. On my end and also Miami-Dade so that way we can team together and you know, do something positive for the community. ‘Cause that’s what it’s all about. You guys are here to protect us as individuals and you know I have a platform and I want to be able to team up with you guys. That’s all I got to say.”

NEW ENGLAND

Judy Bautista of NFL.com:

Eight head coaches debuted in their new jobs Sunday, going 3-5 — with Jerod Mayo, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Macdonald earning wins — but nobody had a better first day on the job than New England’s Mayo. The Patriots crafted the biggest upset of the day, a 16-10 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals powered by Rhamondre Stevenson’s 120 yards rushing and the Patriots defense, which sacked Joe Burrow three times and held him to 164 yards passing. The offense still doesn’t have much, and the Bengals were without Tee Higgins and had a very limited Ja’Marr Chase. But the Patriots played to their personality — tenacious defense, good special teams and a reliance on the running game. They are still rebuilding and need a lot more dynamic playmakers on offense, but Mayo earned the Gatorade bath he received.

THIS AND THAT

BROADCAST NEWS

Zak Keefer of The Athletic with a long look at the entirety of Troy Aikman’s life.  Here is part of it on the challenges of being an in-game analyst:

“I’ve always felt that my success as an athlete, and as a broadcaster, is not because I’m the most talented guy in the room,” Aikman says. “It’s because I’m willing to do what most people are not.”

He’s also willing to say what others won’t. It’s why Aikman remains one of the top TV analysts in sports: he not only prepares like he’s still playing, but he’s blunt when others tend to back away, unafraid to call it like he sees it. He’s at his best when he says what the fans at home are thinking.

“Troy might be the most honest guy ever,” says Norv Turner, his former offensive coordinator in Dallas.

The routine never changes. Aikman needs it. After the game ends Monday night, he takes notes while he watches a replay on his flight home — Aikman owns his own jet and flies private to and from every game — then starts prep for the following week first thing Tuesday morning. He designed his own spotting boards before his first year in the booth, back in 2001, and he’s been using them ever since. He prints them out on Thursdays, color codes them, then adds notes all the way up until kickoff. He refuses to go into a game anything less than completely prepared.

“It took me about a week of us working together to realize why the guy had won three Super Bowls,” says his on-air partner and close friend, Joe Buck. The pair are the longest-tenured broadcast team in NFL history. Their 23rd season together begins Monday night outside San Francisco, where they’ll call 49ers-Jets.

A few years ago, Aikman sent the spotting boards he uses for broadcasts to Greg Olsen, who was taking his old job at Fox; this spring, he sent them to Tom Brady. (Courtesy of ESPN)

In March 2023, after Aikman and Buck’s first year at the network, ESPN replaced a director and producer on the MNF team. Rumors swirled that Aikman was behind the decision; not true, says a company source. With its first Super Bowl broadcast looming in February 2027, ESPN wanted and needed a better fit for the duo it’s paying a combined $33 million annually. Execs learned Aikman wanted to be coached hard, no different than when he was growing up in Oklahoma or suiting up for the Cowboys. The personalities simply hadn’t meshed.

Aikman’s style isn’t for everyone. He knows this. But he’s not above showing others what works for him: a few years ago, Aikman sent his spotting boards to Greg Olsen, who was stepping into his old job at Fox; this spring he did the same with Tom Brady, who’ll slide into Olsen’s seat beginning Sunday. It was important to Aikman to pay it forward. It’s what John Madden did with him.

He doesn’t know how Brady will do as a broadcaster, but he expects the transition will take time. “It’s not an easy thing to settle into right away,” Aikman says.

Analysts live in 15 to 20-second soundbites. Then the ball is snapped. Someone told Aikman early on that calling a game is like a prizefight — “Body blows, body blows, body blows,” he explains, “then every once in a while you have a chance at a knockout punch.” It took years for him to learn that.

“There’s this idea that ‘I have this wealth of knowledge about the game, and now I get to take people behind the curtain,’” Aikman says. “You don’t have that kind of time. And it’s gotten harder over the years because teams are playing faster.

“Whether it’s Tom or Greg or Tony (Romo), you sort of figure that out as you go.”

Aikman also doesn’t downplay the competitive juices simmering in an industry that has seen salaries explode in recent years. It’s there, whether it’s discussed publicly or not. Two years after Romo made headlines, signing an extension with CBS that pays $18 million a year, Aikman jumped to ESPN on a similar deal. Brady hasn’t even called a game yet and is already the highest-paid commentator in history, starting a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox.

“That’s the competitive nature of me, and I know these guys are competitive as well,” Aikman says. “Every one of us wants to be the best. But whether it’s a new guy coming in or other guys being well-received, it doesn’t affect or change my approach. I go about it the same regardless.”

Maybe it doesn’t change his approach. But Romo’s deal, Olsen’s popularity, the hype surrounding Brady’s debut … it’s caught his attention, right?

Buck, who knows Aikman about as well as anyone, has no doubt.

“We’ve never really talked about this, but it’s only natural. It’s what drives him to watch all that film.”