This past weekend marked the first week of the NFL season, which will culminate in Super Bowl LX. Between now and then, fans can expect snow games, rookie breakouts, rivalry matchups, improbable victories and demoralizing defeats. Opening week did not disappoint, setting the stage for intrigue and featuring some of the best early-season games in years.
To start the season, the Kansas City Chiefs, led by two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, and the Los Angeles Chargers, led by Justin Herbert, traveled to São Paulo for the NFL’s second-ever Brazil game. The Chiefs, coming off a Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, entered as three-point favorites. But after a five-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston, the Chargers held the lead en route to a 27-21 upset victory.
Herbert was the game’s MVP, with 318 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, as well as 32 yards on the ground. The Chargers’ wide receivers—Ladd, McConkey, Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston—all shared targets in a dynamic passing offense, and rookie running back Omarion Hampton handled the bulk of the ground game. For the Chiefs, a first-quarter injury to receiver Xavier Worthy seemed to hamstring the offense, and the Super Bowl contender is left as the only winless team in the AFC West after a disappointing Week One effort.
The game of the week was undoubtedly Sunday night’s primetime matchup of the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens. The two juggernauts, led by MVP-winning quarterbacks, met last year in the AFC Divisional Round, with the Bills edging the Ravens 27-25. The Ravens were out for revenge this season.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry established the ground game early, rushing for a combined three touchdowns and 239 rushing yards, averaging a mammoth 9.9 yards per carry as a tandem. Ravens receiver Zay Flowers would explode offensively as well, with 143 receiving yards to go along with a touchdown. The Ravens scored 40 points and had more than twice as many rushing yards as the Bills, but it would not be enough to stop an ascendant Josh Allen.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen spread the ball around, targeting five receivers four or more times. Alongside a rushing touchdown, Allen would throw for 394 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Bills trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter, but two touchdowns, combined with a crucial Derrick Henry fumble, set the stage for a last-second field goal. The Bills’ kicker was good from 32 yards, and the team stunned the Ravens 41-40.
Whether a team has Super Bowl aspirations or expects to finish near the bottom, fans look to rookies as a source of hope for the franchise’s future. Highly touted first-overall pick Cam Ward struggled in his debut, completing only 43% of his passes amid an uninspiring Titans offense. Rookie standouts included Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka, who scored two touchdowns and had 67 receiving yards; Indianapolis’ Tyler Warren, graded the fourth-best offensive player leaguewide by PFF in his NFL debut; and the Jets’ Armand Membou, who allowed zero sacks and pressures in Week One — one of only two tackles leaguewide to do so.
After an offseason filled with excitement, this week of football proved to be worth the wait, establishing narratives that could last the whole year, and sharpening the excitement of football fans across the country. With three of the top five teams according to ESPN’s Super Bowl odds heading into the season losing in Week One, there is much intrigue heading into a Week Two slate of games highlighted by a Super Bowl rematch: The Eagles head to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs.