1 – Marcus Mariota shines; Jameis Winston not so much
You couldn’t have scripted a better debut for Marcus Mariota in Tennessee. And you’d have a hard time scripting a worse start for Jameis Winston in Tampa Bay, as his first pass was returned for an interception touchdown. In the much-anticipated top-two draft pick showdown, the former Heisman winner, Mariota, threw four touchdowns against just three incompletions while leading the Titans to an easy 42-14 victory. Winston rebounded to toss two touchdowns, but his QBR of 6.7 leaves a lot to be desired moving forward.
2 – Peyton Manning: Time to panic?
Peyton Manning was one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL near the end of the 2014 season. His supporters dismissed that as the result of a torn quad muscle, which severely hindered his ability to throw. But now Manning is healthy, and a lackluster preseason led to arguably his worst game in a Broncos uniform. In Denver’s 19-13 win over Baltimore, Manning completed 24 of 40 passes for 175 yards, plus an interception touchdown. He also took four sacks and led Denver to just a single offensive touchdown. While he did square off against one of the league’s better defenses, it’s fair to wonder if Manning, who is closer to 40 than 39, is declining quicker than expected. It won’t get easier, as Denver faces a stout Kansas City defense on the road on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.
3 – Costly comeback for ‘Boys
Give credit to Tony Romo and the Cowboys, who overcame a 23-13 fourth-quarter deficit to stun the New York Giants 27-26 on Sunday Night Football. The game-winning touchdown strike to Jason Witten capped off a game in which the Cowboys lost star wide receiver Dez Bryant to a broken bone in his foot. Bryant is expected to miss at least a month after surgery. Dallas also lost rookie pass-rusher Randy Gregory to a high ankle sprain. For now, the win outweighs the injuries, but times won’t be easy for Dallas moving forward.
4 – Rex Ryan, Tyrod Taylor dazzle in debut
The most impressive team in Week 1 was the Buffalo Bills, whose team easily handled the Indianapolis Colts, one of two AFC finalists from 2014. Making his first NFL start, and his first start in more than five seasons, Tyrod Taylor didn’t turn the ball over and produced 236 total yards. On defense, the league’s most intimidating unit flustered the game’s top young quarterback all day, with two sacks, two interceptions and just 14 points allowed. The rest of the NFL was quickly put on notice, as Rex Ryan became the first Bills head coach to win his debut since the franchise began more than a half-century ago. The true test for the Bills now comes in the form of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, who travel to Orchard Park in Week 2.
5 – Nick Foles TKOs Seahawks in OT
The most surprising Week 1 quarterback performance has to go to Nick Foles, who defeated the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks in overtime. A Chip Kelly castoff, Foles showed that he might be more than the system quarterback everybody labeled him from his stellar 2013 season. Foles threw for 297 yards and a touchdown on just 27 passes, despite playing without his top two running backs, his top wide receiver, and a mostly-rookie offensive line. After a sack fumble touchdown in the fourth quarter, Foles connected with tight end Lance Kendricks for a game-tying 37-yard touchdown in the final minute. In overtime, Foles placed a perfectly thrown 22-yard ball over Richard Sherman, which led to the eventual game-winning field goal.
6 – Seahawks self-destruct in loss
After an offseason in which everybody talked about the infamous decision to pass the ball instead of handing off to Marshawn Lynch in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl, you had to know the Seahawks would be faced with a similar situation in 2015. On 4th and 1 with the game on the line in overtime, the Seahawks handed off to Lynch, who was stuffed by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Aaron Donald. Earlier in the game, Carroll elected to try a surprise onside kick to begin overtime, but the ball was easily recovered by the Rams, who turned the questionable play call into an easy field goal. It was a series of poor choices that handed the Seahawks a costly Week 1 loss at the hands of the division rival St. Louis Rams.
7 – Angry Brady dominant as ever
Whether you buy into the narrative that Tom Brady will take out his anger from Deflategate on the rest of the NFL in 2015, that’s exactly what happened in Week 1. The Patriots defeated the Steelers 31-24 on Thursday Night Football, with Brady tossing four touchdowns, including three to Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots head to Buffao now for arguably the toughest defense they’ll face all season.
8 – Houston in QB hell
With the number one pick in the 2014 draft, the Texans elected to take once-in-a-generation pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney instead of a quarterback like Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, or Johnny Manziel. More than a year later, the Texans have no idea who will be their future at quarterback. In the 2015 season opener, head coach Bill O’Brien benched Brian Hoyer after three dismal quarters. Backup Ryan Mallett fared much better, throwing a touchdown and leading Houston to 11 fourth-quarter points. But neither is the answer, and O’Brien refused to comment on his choice as Week 2 starter. With a defense that is seemingly too good for the team to earn a high draft pick next year, the Texans could be stuck in quarterback purgatory unless O’Brien finds a way to make something happen.
9 – Eli Manning elects to throw instead of taking sack
The worst decision by any player in Week 1 came when Eli Manning, a 12-year veteran, elected to throw the ball away on third-and-goal in the closing minutes against the Dallas Cowboys. Had Manning just taken a sack, the Giants would have run out 40 seconds of game time, which would have prevented Tony Romo’s last-second game-winning touchdown drive. As a result, Manning, who just signed a new contract giving him a record $65 million in guaranteed money, is staring at yet another disappointing season in New York.
10 – Johnny Manziel shows flashes, but still not the answer
Against all odds, 36-year-old journeyman Josh McCown failed to make it through the 2015 season without getting injured or losing hi starting job. In fact, McCown lasted just one quarter before a failed helicopter dive into the end zone knocked him out of the game with a concussion. Enter Johnny Manziel, the first-round pick for the Browns last year, a player the organization seemingly gave up on this offseason despite Manziel barely playing as a rookie. Although Manziel showed flashes, including a perfectly-placed 52-yard touchdown pass Travis Benjamin, his carelessness with the ball resulted in two fumbles and showed that the former Heisman winner has a long way to go before he can be safely regarded as a future starter in the National Football League.
