Rejoice! Rejoice! The newest season of the National Football League is upon us at last! 2024 will be a different story for each of the 32 franchises as they march on through the new campaign. As some teams are looking to (re)capture playoff appearances, others continue to brave through rebuilds. With Week 1 of regular season football in the books, it is now time to recap everything we miss about NFL football, and what we’d like to forget about it.
Here are some of the best, the worst, and the okay highlights of the 2024 season’s inaugural week.
NFL Week 1 Review
The Good
Derek Carr/Baker Mayfield
The NFC South has garnered much vitriol for the mediocrity of its four teams. But New Orleans’ Derek Carr and Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield put the league on notice this past Sunday. Both quarterbacks had nearly flawless days at the office while leading their teams to dominant wins over their opponents. Both Mayfield and Carr lead the league in passer rating with a score of over 140.0 out of 158.3 each after one week of professional play.
Chris Boswell’s Six Field Goals
The game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons was not very much to write home about. But one kicker’s efforts made all the difference in this contest. Pittsburgh’s 18-10 victory came through the leg of kicker Chris Boswell, who went six-for-six on the day and accounted for all of the Steelers’ 18 points scored. Not to mention that half of the field goals he made came from 50< yards out. Looks like his Fantasy Football stock just skyrocketed.
The Bad
Deshaun Watson
The Browns’ signal-caller has not played up to the billing he’s received, even in his third year with Cleveland. Deshaun Watson has only played 13 total games as a Brown so far, and his performance against Dallas is not helping his case as “The Guy” moving forward. Watson got sacked six times and only completed only 53.3% of his passes, all the while boasting a 9.2 out of 100 QBR. That five-year, $230M signing is starting to look more and more like another ill-advised investment on the Browns’ part.
NY Giants/Carolina Panthers
“Misery loves company,” as they say. The New York Giants cannot get anything done with Daniel Jones, as the Minnesota Vikings did whatever they wanted in the 28-6 rout over the G-Men. Carolina, on the other hand, is ruining Bryce Young‘s career, without a shadow of a doubt. Yes, they drafted Xavier Lagette to start building around Young. But a humiliating 47-10 defeat to a division rival illustrates everything that’s wrong with the Panthers right now.
The “Meh”
Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow has had his fair share of injuries over the years. But he, along with Bengals fans everywhere, is looking at 2024 as a clean slate. But he will have to do without offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, who became the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans. In Cincinnati’s first game against the New England Patriots, Burrow completed 72.2% of his passes. But his 164 passing yards and zero touchdowns were not enough to avoid the upset defeat of 16-10 to a rebuilding Patriots squad.
Geno Smith
Speaking of the Patriots, their next opponent awaits them in the form of the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle quarterback, Geno Smith, is off to a decent start to the new year. Completing 72 percent of his passes, while throwing for only 171 yards with one TD and one INT, isn’t the most eye-popping stat for a Week One outing. But Seattle beat Denver 26-20, which is more important at the end of the day. Smith will have to improve his game if he and the Seahawks want to avoid a similar fate that Cincinnati suffered.
Main Image: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
