Week 1 of any NFL season is always like drinking straight from the firehose. There’s so much going on — especially during the eight-game early afternoon slate — that it can be challenging to decipher how teams and players actually performed during their season openers.
Let’s take a step back and assess whose stock is up and whose is down after Week 1 of the 2024 campaign. Which players started on the right note this year, and which are already looking forward to Week 2?
Stock Up and Stock Down From NFL Week 1
Stock Up | Bills QB Josh Allen
So much for Josh Allen missing Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.
While Allen has always been the driving force of the Bills’ offense, that’s never been more true than this season, when the superstar quarterback’s top wideouts are Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and second-round rookie Keon Coleman.
It didn’t matter on Sunday when Allen took matters into his own hands in Bufflalo’s 34-28 win against the Cardinals. Although none of the Bills’ pass catchers managed more than four receptions (and only Coleman saw at least five targets), Allen still completed 18 of 23 attempts for 232 yards and two touchdowns.
And that wasn’t all. Allen added 39 yards and two more scores on the ground while finishing as the Bills’ second-leading rusher.
Bills QB Josh Allen has 55 career rushing TDs. 😤
The only player with more? Cam Newton with 75 pic.twitter.com/HQuNqcbVTW
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 8, 2024
Allen posted 0.46 expected points added (EPA) per dropback against Arizona, the best mark for any quarterback through Sunday’s early slate, per TruMedia. To give you an idea of how efficient Allen was in Week 1, Brock Purdy’s 0.34 EPA per dropback led the NFL in 2023.
The Bills won’t get to play the Cardinals’ porous defense every week, but Allen will keep Buffalo in the mix in every game.
Stock Up | Steelers QB Justin Fields
Justin Fields started for the Steelers in place of Russell Wilson, whose summer calf injury popped back up during the week and sidelined the elder quarterback. While head coach Mike Tomlin named Wilson Pittsburgh’s starting QB after the preseason, Fields might’ve done enough in the club’s 18-10 victory over the Falcons to hold onto No. 1 duties.
Fields missed on just six of 23 attempts on Sunday, averaging 6.8 yards per attempt. He took only two sacks and didn’t turn the ball over. The Steelers never found the end zone, but Fields — who added 14 carries for 57 yards — routinely put Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell in position to hit six field goals.
First-year Steelers OC Arthur Smith — locked in a revenge game against Atlanta — mostly wanted Fields to throw short passes. But Fields hit one deep shot, a 40-yard completion to George Pickens that eventually allowed Pittsburgh to go up by eight in the fourth quarter.
Fields wasn’t perfect (he bobbled his very first snap), but it was an encouragingly calm performance from a quarterback whose previous ups and downs have looked like an EKG. If Tomlin doesn’t stick with Fields against the Broncos in Week 2, we’ll be surprised.
Stock Down | Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals vs. Week 1 seems to be a tale as old as time.
Cincinnati lost its third consecutive season opener on Sunday, but today’s loss was even more excruciating than previous Week 1 defeats.
Joe Burrow and Co. were 8.5-point home favorites against the Patriots, a team widely projected to be among the NFL’s worst in 2024. But Cincy exited 0-1 after a 16-10 loss.
The #Bengals are 1-10 in Weeks 1-2 in the Zac Taylor era and 0-5 in the last 5 despite being favored in all of them, and favored by at least 7 in 3
Today vs. NE – 8.5 points
Week 2, 2023 vs Balt – 3.5
Week 1, 2023 at Cleve – 1.5
Week 2, 2022 at Dal – 7
Week 1, 2022 vs Pitt – 7— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) September 8, 2024
The Bengals repeatedly cost themselves points in Week 1. After Mike Gesicki couldn’t hold onto a TD catch that would have tied the game in the second quarter, fellow TE Tanner Hudson fumbled just before crossing the goal line. Punt returner Charlie Jones later fumbled in the third quarter, giving the Pats three free points.
Cincinnati hoped to go 3-1, at worst, during its season-opening quarter. Now, with a Week 2 date against the Chiefs on tap, Zac Taylor’s team is staring down an 0-2 start.
Stock Up | New Orleans Saints
Nearly everything went right for the Saints, who scored more points — 47 — on Sunday than in any previous season opener.
Derek Carr was efficient, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt on 23 throws while tossing three touchdowns, including a 59-yarder to WR Rashid Shaheed. Per TruMedia, Shaheed has four games with a 50-yard YD catch since 2022. Only Tyreek Hill (five) has more.
New Orleans beat the division-rival Panthers in Week 1 and watched the Falcons lose to the Steelers. The Bucs are playing in the late afternoon slate, but the first week of the season has gone according to plan for the Saints thus far.
Stock Down | Carolina Panthers
Carolina was on the other side of New Orleans’ dominant victory. Bryce Young’s second NFL campaign could hardly have gotten off to a worse start.
Last year’s No. 1 overall pick threw an interception on his first pass of the year and tossed another pick in the Panthers’ beatdown.
It’s not just that Carolina lost in Week 1 — it’s how bad everything looked.
Young completed just 13 of 30 attempts for 161 yards while taking four sacks. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to rebound this season, but Young is running out of excuses.
The Panthers hired head coach/offensive play-caller Dave Canales, hoping he could turn Young’s career around after he did so with Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. They traded for WR Diontae Johnson and handed out massive free agent contracts to offensive guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis.
If a 47-10 loss is the best Carolina could muster after their offseason overhaul, what’s the upside here? Will Canales eventually turn things over to veteran backup Andy Dalton if Young continues to struggle?
Stock Up | Texans-Colts Rivalry
Let’s hope this is what Texans-Colts looks like for the next decade.
Houston emerged with a 29-27 win in a Week 1 game that came down to the final possession.
Reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns, but Indy had more trouble stopping the Texans’ ground attack. Offseason trade acquisition Joe Mixon handled the third 30-carry performance of his career en route to 159 rushing yards.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson only completed nine passes, but he was still incredibly impressive. His 60-yard touchdown pass to wideout Alec Pierce might’ve been the highlight of Week 1. Richardson also rushed six times for 56 yards. All six of his runs were “successful” — meaning they generated positive EPA — and five went for first downs.
Stock Up | Vikings QB Sam Darnold
If Sam Darnold is going to take advantage of his luxurious Vikings offensive situation and become the latest in a long line of NFL late-bloomer quarterbacks, Week 1 was a good start.
Darnold completed his first 12 passes in Minnesota’s 28-6 win over the Giants, finishing 19 of 24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He hit Justin Jefferson for a game-high four completions but otherwise spread the ball around, connecting with eight different receivers in Sunday’s victory.
Jordan Addison’s ankle injury could put a damper on an otherwise outstanding Week 1 for the Vikings. Still, head coach Kevin O’Connell has to be pleased with how Darnold played in his Minnesota debut.
Stock Down | New York Giants
Daniel Jones might have to worry about his contract structure eventually getting him benched. But if he keeps playing like he did in New York’s Week 1 loss to the Vikings, Jones might get pulled before any financial questions come into play.
Jones went 22 of 42 for 186 yards (4.4 yards per attempt), threw two interceptions (including a pick-six), and took five sacks. He found first-round rookie wideout Malik Nabers five times for 66 yards, but there wasn’t much more to get excited about for Big Blue.
VAN GINKEL PICK-6! 🚨
📺: #MINvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/dTkLrnbCOh— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
Jones is facing a make-or-break campaign. The Giants spent all offseason trying to find Jones’ replacement and will almost surely cut him in 2025 — barring a drastic turnaround.
Week 1 didn’t give us any hope that Jones is capable of reversing fortunes.
Stock Up | Dallas Cowboys
It’s been a good few weeks for the Cowboys. Not only did Jerry Jones strike last-second contract extensions with QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb before Week 1, but Dallas easily defeated the Browns to earn a season-opening 33-17 victory.
The Cowboys won in every phase of the game. Prescott only averaged 5.6 yards per attempt, but he didn’t need to be amazing for Dallas to beat Cleveland. According to TruMedia, Dak was pressured on only 20% of his dropbacks on Sunday, tied for the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL (pending SNF and MNF).
Mike Zimmer’s defense put the clamps on Browns QB Deshaun Watson (more on that shortly), KaVontae Turpin returned a punt for a 60-yard touchdown, and Brandon Aubrey converted four field goals, including two from 50+ yards.
Stock Down | Browns QB Deshaun Watson
Is that Jameis Winston’s entrance music?
Browns fans probably didn’t think things with Deshaun Watson could get much worse after a suspension and injuries limited their starting quarterback to just 12 games over his first two years in Cleveland.
But Watson somehow regressed against Dallas, averaging just 3.75 yards per attempt while throwing for 169 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions while taking six sacks.
Hoping for Watson to ever look like the quarterback he was during his heyday with the Texans is a fool’s errand — and it might be asking too much for him to offer even league-average QB play.
The Browns boast one of the league’s best rosters. How long will head coach Kevin Stefanski give Watson before turning to Winston?
Stock Up | Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield
Think about where Baker Mayfield was at this point a year ago. After a rough 2022 campaign split between the Panthers and Rams, Mayfield had signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Buccaneers, hoping he could get back on track.
Now, he’s fresh off taking Tampa Bay to a Divisional Round playoff game — and Mayfield kept the good vibes going in Week 1.
The 2018 No. 1 overall pick hit 24 of 30 attempts for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and no picks in the Bucs’ authoritative 37-20 win over the Commanders. Mayfield found Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Rachaad White for five-plus catches each while throwing TDs to Evans (two), Godwin, and rookie WR Jalen McMillan.
Mayfield ranked first among all quarterbacks in EPA per dropback (0.64) in Week 1. He finished third in success rate behind only Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. Mayfield will face a much stiffer defensive test when the Bucs play the Lions in Week 2, but he took care of business on Sunday.