Fantasy Football Week 1 Review: Winners and losers, injuries, and everything else you need from every game

We entered Week 1 of the NFL season with a ton of questions, and we exit Week 1 with ... slightly fewer questions! We still don't know who we can trust in Buffalo's backfield or how long we'll have to wait for rookie backs like D'Andre Swift, Cam Akers, J.K. Dobbins, or Zack Moss to be reliable Fantasy starts. However, we did learn that Jonathan Taylor is probably going to be a must-start option for the rest of the season, and we learned that the lead back for the Rams won't be who we thought it was — at least for now.

Every week on Sunday night we'll take an early look at the top waiver-wire options for the following week, and on Monday, Heath Cummings will run through the biggest storylines to separate fact from fiction in his "Believe It Or Not …" series, and now we're introducing a new weekly review column for Monday mornings right here.

I'll go through every game on the schedule identifying the biggest winner and biggest loser, and look into one stat you need to know from that game and one thing you may have missed, along with any injuries from the games. Because I know keeping track of this many games is hard enough when it's not your job. Here's what you need to know from every game in Week 1 so far.

Texans at Chiefs

Winner: Clyde Edwards-Helaire. There were some not-great signs, but you have to really be intent on picking nits to focus on that on a night when a rookie rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut. This was by no mean's a time share, and it shouldn't be moving forward.
Loser: Mecole Hardman. You weren't drafting Hardman to help you in Week 1, so you probably shouldn't be dropping him in Week 2. This is all about a long-term upside play. That being said, one measly target, while Sammy Watkins went off for 7-82-1 on nine targets is not what you want to see.
One stat to know: Watkins had 46.8 Fantasy points in Week 1 last season and seemed primed for a career year with Tyreek Hill's injury; he had just 91.7 points the rest of the way. Don't go crazy adding him if he's out there.
One thing you might have missed: If you insist on picking nits, here's one to grab: Edwards-Helaire had seven carries inside the Houston 10-yard line and had -2 yards on them. On the one hand, even getting that many touches that close is a great sign; on the other, there's always the concern that the team will tire of watching him struggle and go to Darrel Williams in close. I like to think the Chiefs are too smart for that, but it'll be something we'll want to watch.
One more thing: David Johnson ran 33 routes, the second-most in the league for running backs entering Monday's games. His 16 snaps out of either the slot or split out wide are by far the most of any back. And with Duke Johnson likely out for Week 2, Johnson should have another big role in the passing game.

Jets at Bills

Injury: Le'Veon Bell left with a hamstring injury. Given that he had issues with that in camp, this is definitely something to monitor. Josh Adams got a late garbage time touchdown instead of Frank Gore.
Winner: Josh Allen. The Jets are a total mess, but Allen has faced bad teams before and had never thrown for more than 300 yards before. Sure, it took him 46 attempts, but even that suggests a newfound confidence in his ability from the coaching staff.
Loser: The Jets. Just … all of the Jets. Jamison Crowder is the only player who had a good Fantasy game, and it seems like reports out of Jets camp about the struggles on both sides of the ball weren't overblown. It's just one game, but this certainly looked like the worst team in the NFL in Week 1.
One stat to know: Devin Singletary played 59% of snaps, compared to 45% for Zack Moss. Singletary also ran 27 routes to Moss's 20.
One thing you might have missed: As good as Allen's numbers were, he left points on the field on two separate occasions, overthrowing wide-open receivers in the end zone while scrambling left. He had time to set himself and make better throws in both situations, so there was still some bad there.

Dolphins at Patriots

Injury: DeVante Parker left with a hamstring injury and did not return. He was limited in the final week or so of training camp with a hamstring injury, so this is definitely a concern for Week 2.
Winner: Cam Newton. 15 carries for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That's even more than we could have reasonably asked for. The receiving corps might be an issue, but if Newton is still his old self running the ball, he's going to be a must-start Fantasy QB.
Loser: Matt Breida. Somehow, Myles Gaskin, he of the 36 carries 2019, led the Dolphins in rush attempts. It's bad news for Jordan Howard, too, but Breida didn't even receive a target in the game — Gaskin had four and Patrick Laird had two more.
One stat to know: Patriots running backs combined for 30 touches, but nobody had more than Sony Michel's 10. There's no obvious answer here. Michel, Rex Burkhead, and James White all saw 19 snaps.
One thing you might have missed: Preston Williams saw a lot of Stephon Gillmore in this one, which makes the two-catch showing a little easier to stomach.

Browns at Ravens

Injury: David Njoku left with a hamstring injury and was unable to return,
Winner: Marquise Brown. We expected a step forward, and he led the team with five catches for 101 yards on six targets. He didn't find the end zone, but Brown might be the 1b to Mark Andrews' 1a in this offense, as hoped.
Loser: Mark Ingram. I don't think Mark Ingram has just lost the goal-line role. But, if he's splitting it with J.K. Dobbins, he's probably no more than a low-end No. 2 back most weeks.
One stat to know: Nick Chubb played 51% of the Browns snaps, Kareem Hunt played 47%. If this is a true time share, that would be bad enough for Chubb, but he also had just 10 carries to Hunt's 13. On the bright side, Chubb did run eight routes split out wide or in the slot, the second-most of any running back this week.
One thing you might have missed: Hunt was stopped on a goal-line carry and Chubb came in to replace him — only for David Njoku to score on play action. This could have been a better day for one of them.

Colts at Jaguars

Injuries: Marlon Mack left with what is feared to be a torn Achilles. He is an impending free agent and may have played his last game with the Colts.
Winner: Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines. Injuries are always unfortunate, but Mack's is a particularly tough one to swallow. But there's no doubting Taylor and Hines have a big opportunity here. I'm viewing both as No. 2 backs moving forward, especially in PPR.
Loser: D.J. Chark. A touchdown helped salvage what was a pretty uneventful game, and he was out-targeted by both Keelan Cole and Laviska Shenault. I'm not worried, given that Gardner Minshew only threw it 20 times, but it's not an ideal start.
One stat to know: Phillip Rivers threw to his running backs 17 times. That's a massive number. Somehow, however, he was only middle of the pack in attempts behind the line of scrimmage, at 23.9%. There aren't just a lot of RB targets available here — they're very valuable targets, too.
One thing you might have missed: You'll see Hines' two scores in the box score and assume it was a fluke, but he had four touches inside the 10-yard line and another from the 12.

Eagles at Washington

Winner: Peyton Barber. It was very much a Peyton Barber kind of game — he scored two touchdowns and did very little else with his 17 carries, while blocking a back Fantasy players are much more excited about. Some things never change.
Loser: Carson Wentz. To be clear, this wasn't his fault — the Eagles are falling apart around him. The line was an absolute mess today, and it needs to get better quick.
One stat to know: Carson Wentz was chucking the ball down the field all game long, finishing with 520 intended air yards in the game, more than 100 more than any other QB this week. It didn't lead to big production, but it could have. He'll either need better protection or he'll need to get rid of the ball a bit quicker.
One thing you might have missed: Zach Ertz had a crushing drop on a fourth quarter fourth down, and was totally outplayed by Dallas Goedert all game long.

Bears at Lions

Winner: Adrian Peterson. Speaking of things never changing, Peterson rushed for 93 yards on 14 carries. Kerryon Johnson had seven carries and no targets, while D'Andre Swift rushed the ball three times for 8 yards with a touchdown, to go along with three catches on five targets.
Loser: Marvin Jones. Jones has huge weekly upside, but you never know when you can trust him — presumably, Kenny Golladay being out means you can, right? He responded with four receptions for 55 yards, so not a nothing performance, but it certainly won't make you feel confident enough to start him when Golladay returns.
One stat to know: Anthony Miller and Allen Robinson were both in the top five among wide receivers in Week 1 average depth of target. That might have been a product of the Bears playing from behind, but it's what you want to see if both are going to be Fantasy relevant.
One thing you might have missed: One of Swift's five targets was a heart-breaking drop on a late fourth down that likely sealed the Lions' loss. Hopefully Matt Patricia won't hold that against him, but you'll want to watch Patricia's comments this week to see.

Packers at Vikings

Winner: Aaron Rodgers. Without question, Rodgers is one of the biggest winners of Week 1. He started off pretty conservatively, but started taking some real shots and put together a massive performance. If Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard took a step forward this offseason, it could be a huge deal for Rodger.
Loser: There isn't really a good option here, but if you were hoping A.J. Dillon would have an early role, his five snaps were a blast of cold water.
One stat to know: Adam Thielen had eight of the Vikings 25 targets. That's a 32% target share and, while he won't sustain that, the fact that other Vikings player had more than four targets seems like a pretty good sign of how much Thielen is going to get used.
One thing you might have missed: Aaron Jones had a touchdown overturned, and the Packers turned it over on downs on the next play. That's what touchdown regression looks like.

Seahawks at Falcons

Winner: Russell Wilson. Did … did they let Russ cook? In a game that saw the Seahawks get off to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and hold that for the entire second half, he threw the ball 35 times compared to only 20 rush attempts — one of which was a Wilson scramble. If he's going to throw that much, Wilson will probably be a top-three Fantasy QB.
Loser: Chris Carson, if you have to pick someone. The passing game usage was great, but it's a tiny bit concerning that Carlos Hyde had more carries than him.
One stat to know: Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Russell Gage all had 12 targets for nine catches and over 100 yards.
One more stat to know: We saw both sides of DK Metcalf Sunday. He was one of only four players to have two receptions that traveled 20+ yards down the field; he was also one of only four players to have two drops.
One thing you might have missed: Todd Gurley got three straight carries inside the 5 to cap off a second-quarter drive with a touchdown.

Raiders at Panthers

Winner: Josh Jacobs. I don't care that Josh Jacobs scored three touchdowns. It's nice, obviously, but it tells me nothing about his value moving forward. I care very, very much about his six targets, compared to four combined for Devontae Booker and Jalen Richard. If Jacobs is a 60-to 70-target back, he's probably a top-five RB.
Loser: Christian McCaffrey. Okay, look, McCaffrey was still awesome. But he only had four targets, and while that might just be a one-game thing, he does have a new QB and head coach, so it's worth considering the possibility that he may have a smaller role in the passing game. Not that you'd trade him, but it would limit his league-best ceiling.
One stat to know: Jacobs' 78% snap share was higher than any game as a rookie. And he ran 18 routes to just four five combined for Richard and Booker.
One thing you might have missed: D.J. Moore was overthrown on a deep attempt in the red zone and then earned a personal foul after getting into it with the corner. Not a great look.

Chargers at Bengals

Injury: Justin Jackson left with a quad injury after just two carries.
Winner: Joshua Kelley. Maybe it was because Justin Jackson was dealing with a quad injury, but Kelley was definitely the backup Sunday, getting 12 carries to Jackson's two. If that's the case moving forward, he's going to be a very valuable Fantasy option.
Loser: Austin Ekeler. Like with McCaffrey, this may just be a one-game thing. However, one of the concerns with the move to Tyrod Taylor at QB was that he'd be more willing to take off and run than dump off to his backs, and that was the case Sunday, as he targeted running backs just once. That bears very close watching.
One stat to know: Joe Mixon played 59% of the Bengals snaps. The path to a truly elite Fantasy season is awfully narrow if he's still ceding that many snaps to Giovani Bernard, especially in the passing game.
One thing you might have missed: Mike Williams could have had an even better day than his very encouraging 4-69 on nine targets — he had one early catch ruled out of bounds and drew a defensive holding on another. He looked great in his return from a shoulder injury.

Cardinals at 49ers

Injury: George Kittle left with some kind of leg injury at the end of the first half, and while he was able to return, he did not have a target after the injury. He missed time in training camp with a tight hamstring, so we'll watch the practice reports this week, though he did downplay it after the game.
Winner: DeAndre Hopkins. So much for the Cardinals spreading the ball around. For one game, at least, Hopkins was the only receiver Kyler Murray could see, drawing a 40% target share en route to 14 catches for 151 yards on 16 targets.
Loser: Everyone else on the Cardinals expect for Kenyan Drake, I guess. We'll see if that Hopkins-heavy game plan was just a one-week think, but it'll be tough for Christian Kirk to have his breakout if Hopkins dominates work like he did in Houston. I wouldn't drop Kirk yet.
One stat to know: 49ers wide receivers had four catches for 41 yards on 11 targets. Yeah, there's going to be a significant opportunity for Brandon Aiyuk if he's past his hamstring injury next week.
One thing you might have missed: Hopkins' game could have been even better, but his 34-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter that was original called a touchdown was overturned. You had to settle for a mere 29.1 PPR points.

Buccaneers at Saints

Injuries: Chris Godwin left late in the game with what looked like a head or neck injury. We haven't gotten any update as of publication, but that's definitely one to watch; Michael Thomas also left late with an ankle injury, and this one is a serious concern as we learned Monday he suffered a high-ankle sprain. He plans to play through it, but I'm definitely concerned about the impact it will have on his production.
Winner: Ronald Jones. 27 carries or targets went to a Buccaneers running back, and Jones got 20 of them. He dominated work early, with Leonard Fournette not even seeing the field until the second quarter. Jones only played 47% of the team's snaps, Fournette only played 13%; LeSean McCoy got 36%, but he just isn't a real threat. Jones won the first round of the battle against Fournette.
Loser: Tom Brady. It's the first game with a new team after an incredibly weird offseason, so this may be nothing. Or maybe Brady was at least part of the reason New England's offense was so lackluster last year. He's got the weapons, but he needs to get on the same page with them.
One stat to know: Michael Thomas has only had one career game with fewer than his 17 receiving yards Sunday. This was just kind of a weird game on both sides, so I wouldn't take much from it — as long as he's healthy.
One thing you might have missed: Rob Gronkowski actually played 77% of the snaps snaps, more than O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate combined. That's fascinating, because Howard had six targets to Gronkowski's three. Maybe this game wasn't as bad as it looked for him?

Cowboys at Rams

Injury: Blake Jarwin left with a knee injury, and it is feared to be a torn ACL. There isn't another tight end worth mentioning on this roster right now, so my expectation is we'll see a further consolidation between Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb. All three are viable starters in my eyes.
Winner: Malcolm Brown. Brown was sort of the afterthought on this offseason between Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, but at least for one week, this was his backfield. He rushed for 79 yards on 18 carries and a pair of touchdowns, all team highs, and he led all running backs with three catches on four targets for 31 yards. Henderson's return from a hamstring injury surely played some role, but Brown didn't get the Rams any reason to think he should have a smaller role next week.
Loser: Cooper Kupp. It's not anywhere close to time to be concerned, especially because Kupp actually only played one fewer snap than Robert Woods, a welcome improvement from the last few games of 2019. But Woods was a lot more productive and a lot more involved in the offense, while Kupp mostly failed to stand from the crowd. In an offense this top-heavy, that's not a great sign. But, like I said, it's too early to be concerned at all — one of the downsides of doing this kind of exercise is, well, someone has to be the loser, even if there isn't a great answer.
One stat to know: Brown played 60% of the snaps, to Akers' 33% and Henderson's 7%; he also ran 21 routes compared to just 11 for the other two combined.
One thing you might have missed: Dak Prescott had a few big plays wiped out by penalties. One was a touchdown to Ezekiel Elliott that got called back - Elliott scored on that drive later - and the other was a 47-yard catch by Michael Gallup that Jalen Ramsey earned a pretty tacky-tacky offensive pass interference on. That's eight points in a 6-point-per-touchdown league just left off the board through no fault of Prescott's. Add in a rushing touchdown that was overturned upon replay review, and this could have been a really big game — as it is, a 19-point effort seems like his floor. Prescott is still one of the elite options.

Steelers at Giants

Injury: James Conner left with an ankle injury in the first half, and though he stayed on the sidelines with his helmet on, he did not return to the game. This will obviously be a key one to watch for any details this week.
Winner: Benny Snell. We'll see what happens with Conner's ankle, but Snell should be a high priority waiver wire option on the chance he gets to start in Conner's place — reports that Conner may not miss any time knock him below Malcolm Brown and Nyheim Hines for me. Snell looked great filling in for Conner, rushing for 113 yards on 19 carries and looking like the more explosive back we heard about camp. He was only targeted once, however, despite positive reports in that regard in camp. The hope is if Snell gets a start, he'll play more in the passing game, and he looked good enough in Week 1 that it's at least worth wondering whether he might be able to push a healthy Conner for playing time. However, if Conner is active for Week 2, I don't think you can reasonably start either, so that'll be key
Loser: Evan Engram. The expectation is that this is going to be an offense that spreads the ball around, and that was the case, with each of Engram, Saquon Barkley, Darius Slayton, and Sterling Shepard getting at least six targets each. Unfortunately Engram just had a miserable showing, getting his hands on several balls but only catching two for 9 yards - he also negated a 24-yard gain with an offensive pass interference. I'm certainly not giving up on Engram yet, but with Golden Tate likely returning in Week 2, this was a wasted opportunity.
One stat to know: In the first quarter before Conner's injury, he played 12 snaps to Snell's three. It was, as expected, Conner's backfield. From the second quarter on, Snell played 27 snaps while Jaylen Samuels played 20 - 19 of them on pass plays compared to just seven for Snell. At least for this week, Snell wasn't a true three-down back, just like last season.
One thing you may have missed: The overall line for Diontae Johnson was pretty solid, but he had a rough first half. He did most of his work in the second half en route to his 6-57 line, and he was Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target by far. I didn't want to start him in Week 1, but the chemistry he showed with Roethlisberger in the second half positions him as a WR3 candidate, and the trust he showed after the rough start was a great sign. But, to be clear, JuJu Smith-Schuster is still the best receiver here.

Titans at Broncos

Injury: Phillip Lindsay left with a foot injury in the second quarter and did not return from the locker room. Royce Freeman saw a few snaps, but it was the Melvin Gordon show in the second half. He'll be a workhorse and must-start back if Lindsay misses any time, while Freeman would be worth adding only in deeper leagues — especially with so many other enticing running backs worth your time on waivers this week.
Winner: Courtland Sutton. I know, he didn't play, but he was a game-time decision, so he shouldn't be gone long, and things went pretty well for him in his absence. Primarily because Jerry Jeudy didn't look like he was ready to challenge Sutton for the No. 1 receiver role. Most accounts out of training camp made it sound like that was the case, but this put it in front of our eyes. Jeudy wasn't bad, and there were definitely flashes of his prodigious talent, but he also left several plays on the field. Sutton is going to be a must-start Fantasy WR and the top option here when healthy.
Loser: A.J. Brown. I want to be clear — I am not worried about Brown. But if you had to pick out a loser from this game, Brown is the a clear choice. Brown matched Corey Davis for the team lead in targets with eight (an 18.6% target share), but Davis was the star in this one as Brown finished with five catches for 36 yards compared to Davis' seven for 101. Again, not worried. But the hope was Brown would dominate targets in this offense, so a rare high-volume game not turning into a huge performance is a big disappointment.
One stat to know: The assumption was originally that Gordon would be the primary back after signing with Denver, but training camp brought word that it would be much closer to an even split, and Week 1 brought evidence of that - at least when Lindsay was healthy. Gordon played 17 snaps in the first half (11 on pass plays) compared to 19 for Lindsay (nine on pass plays). Lindsay's injury is a complicating factor - as is a matchup against that ferocious Steelers defense in Week 2 - but it looks like this may be a true committee when everyone is available.
One thing you may have missed: Brown had a chance to salvage his game late when he easily beat the coverage on a fade to the corner, but misjudged a slightly overthrown ball that would've won the game — they won it on a field goal on the next play, no worries. Coming off a rookie season where absolutely everything that could have gone right did, Brown was just off on a few plays, and Ryan Tannehill was way off on a few more. Hopefully all of that regression we expected was coming for Brown this season got out of the way in one game.