Welcome to the Week 1 grades.
The first week of NFL action is in the books and it ended with a shocker on Monday night in every sense of the word. The first shock came when Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game after suffering an ankle injury on New York's fourth offensive play of the game. The next shock came when the Jets actually managed to beat the Bills, despite losing Rodgers.
The Jets win capped a surreal 24 hours at MetLife Stadium, a span that also saw the Cowboys beat the Giants 40-0 on Sunday night. The Cowboys and Jets were two of our teams that earned at least an 'A' this week.
We have grades to hand out, so let's get to them. (If you're looking for a deeper dive on the Lions' shocking 21-20 win over the Chiefs that was played on Thursday, be sure to click here.)
N.Y. Jets 22-16 over Buffalo in OT
| D |  |
| If the Bills are going to win the AFC East for the fourth straight year, they're going to have to figure out what's wrong with Josh Allen. After the Bills jumped out to a 10-point lead, this game appeared to be all but over, especially with Aaron Rodgers out, but Allen almost single-handedly kept the Jets in the game. Not only did the Bills quarterback throw three interceptions, but he also lost a key fumble with under five minutes left to play in the game. Those four turnovers led to 13 points for Jets. If Allen continues to play erratically, the Bills reign as the best team in the AFC East could soon be coming to an end. | |
| A+ |  |
| This team could have given up after losing Aaron Rodgers on the fourth snap of the game, but instead, they pulled off the most dramatic comeback win of Week 1. After Rodgers went out, the Jets were able to keep things close thanks to a defense that forced four Josh Allen turnovers while also sacking the Bills QB five times. The Jets absolutely have a Super Bowl caliber defense and they proved it in this win and no one came up bigger than Jordan Whitehead, who had three picks. Without Rodgers, the Jets offense struggled at times, but it did come up in the clutch. Oh, and let's not forget about the Jets special teams performance, Not only did Greg Zuerlein hit three field goals, but Xavier Gipson won the game in overtime with a 65-yard punt return TD. It was an all-around amazing Jets performance and they better enjoy it since their might not be much left to enjoy this season if Rodgers' injury ends up being serious and it's looking like that's going to be the case. | |
Cleveland 24-3 over Cincinnati
| F |  |
| The Bengals spent 60 minutes flailing in the rain on Sunday. The offense never got going, as Joe Burrow threw for 82 yards and converted just 2 of 14 third downs before being pulled in the fourth quarter. The offensive line struggled with Myles Garrett and the Browns pass rush, which left the Bengals defense at a disadvantage since they had to spend the majority of the game on the field. No one is panicking in Cincy, but this was a gross season opener. We look forward to seeing what the Bengals are capable of when the sun comes out. | |
| A |  |
| This was the season opener Browns fans wanted to see, even though they spent an entire afternoon in the pouring rain. Deshaun Watson looked motivated on offense and pulled off some nice scrambles, while the defense completely dominated Burrow's offense. Get excited about what Jim Schwartz can potentially do with this front seven in 2023. | |
Bengals-Browns grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
San Francisco 30-7 over Pittsburgh
| A |  |
| San Francisco jumped all over Pittsburgh early and never allowed the Steelers to make a serious threat at getting back into the game. The 49ers dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball while being the far more physical team. Led by Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers' skill players made both the big plays as well as the small but meaningful ones. The defense frustrated Kenny Pickett and never let Najee Harris and the Steelers' running game get going. McCaffrey led the 49ers' offense with 152 yards rushing. Drake Jackson was among the 49ers' defensive standouts with three sacks of Pickett. The 49ers also had the better quarterback on this day in Brock Purdy, who started 10 of 12 on Sunday while showing that his success last season was anything but a fluke | |
| F |  |
| If dominant was the word to describe the 49ers' performance, sloppy and lethargic would be two words that could sum up Pittsburgh's afternoon. The Steelers looked out of sync on offense, while their defense struggled to get the 49ers' skill players on the ground. Mike Tomlin was forced to take several bad timeouts that included one on a fourth-and-12 play with the 49ers about to attempt a field goal. Even before the game got out of hand, the Steelers never got their ground game going. That made things even harder for Kenny Pickett, whose frustration was compounded by the fact that the Steelers lost Pat Freiermuth and Diontae Johnson to injuries during the game. Defensive linemen Cameron Heyward and DeMarvin Leal also left the game early with injuries | |
49ers-Steelers grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Atlanta 24-10 over Carolina
| C |  |
| There are almost always going to be some growing pains when you start a rookie QB and the Panthers found that out the hard way in Atlanta. On a day where Carolina's defense held the Falcons to under 225 yards, the Panthers lost because they kept giving away the football. Carolina had three turnovers, including two interceptions thrown by Bryce Young, and the Falcons ended up scoring 17 points off those turnovers. It was a rough start for Young's career and the Panthers will now be hoping that things only get better from here, because if they don't, it could be a long year. | |
| B+ |  |
| The Falcons spent their first-round pick on a running back this year, and right now, they're looking pretty brilliant for that. On a day where the Falcons put up just 221 yards of offense, Bijan Robinson ended up providing nearly 40% of that with 83 total yards and a touchdown. The Falcons also look brilliant for signing safety Jessie Bates, who had two key interceptions. The Falcons offense wasn't perfect, but it was unstoppable in the red zone with Atlanta making three trips and coming away with a touchdown all three occasions. | |
Jacksonville 31-21 over Indianapolis
| B |  |
| After missing a year due to a gambling suspension, there was a thought that Calvin Ridley might be somewhat rusty in this game, but apparently rust has no effect on him. The Jaguars receiver caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown and ended up being a big reason why Jacksonville won. Defensively, the Jags weren't perfect, but they did a good job of bottling up Anthony Richardson and that was mostly thanks to Josh Allen, who recorded three of Jacksonville's four sacks. A loss to Indy to start the season would have been disastrous, but the Jags managed to avoid disaster by escaping the upset. | |
| C+ |  |
| The Colts came up with some big plays on defense -- like DeForest Buckner's 26-yard fumble return for a TD -- but offensively, they struggled at almost every key moment. The two biggest problems for the Colts is that they couldn't convert on fourth down -- they went just 1 of 5 -- and they couldn't punch the ball in the end zone (They were only able to score one TD on three trips to the red zone). When a rookie is running your offense, you're going to go through some growing pains and the Colts definitely went through a few of those with Anthony Richardson in this game. | |
Tampa Bay 20-17 over Minnesota
| B+ |  |
| The Buccaneers might want to think about re-opening those Mike Evans contract talks. The veteran receiver was a big reason why Tampa Bay was able to pull the upset in this game. Evans caught six passes for 66 yards, including a 28-yard TD pass in the second quarter that tied the game. Overall, the Buccaneers offense wasn't pretty, but it seemed to come through with a big play whenever Tampa needed it, including a fourth down conversion by Baker Mayfield in the fourth quarter that set up a 57-yard field goal that ended up being the deciding points. Defensively, the Bucs got burnt by Justin Jefferson in the first half, but then clamped down on him in the second half. Between that and forcing three turnovers, it was an impressive day from Tampa's D. It's only one win, but there's no reason to think the Bucs can't contend in the NFC South. | |
| C |  |
| Vikings fans seem to have a love-hate relationship with Kirk Cousins and there's probably not much love right now after the way Cousins played against the Bucs. The Vikings quarterback lost two fumbles in the FIRST 10 minutes of the game on a day where he had three total turnovers. Cousins also seemed to forget that Justin Jefferson existed in the second half. After going off for 138 yards in the first two quarters, Jefferson had just 12 yards in the second half. The Vikings were unbeatable in one-score games last year and it appears the law of averages just finally caught up to them, because in the NFL, you can't win every one-score game every week. | |
New Orleans 16-15 over Tennessee
| C+ |  |
| It's a miracle the Titans kept this game close considering how bad Ryan Tannehill was. Not only did he complete under 50% of his passes, but he also threw three interceptions. The Titans made the decision to stick with Tannehilll for the 2023 season and after just one game, that decision already looks like it's backfiring. The Titans defense teamed up with Nick Folk -- who had five field goals -- to keep this game close . | |
| B |  |
| In his first game with the Saints, Derek Carr wasn't pretty, but he got the job done. Carr's best throw of the game came on a third down with under two minutes left when he hit Rashid Shaheed for a 41-yard gain that iced the win. Of course, the star of this game was a Saints defense that shut down Derrick Henry while also picking off Ryan Tannehill three times. The defense also kept the Titans out of the end zone, which is a big reason why New Orleans was able to walk away with the win. | |
Baltimore 25-9 over Houston
| C |  |
| In C.J. Stroud's first career game, the rookie QB wasn't bad and he might have been better if he didn't spend half the day running for his life. Stroud was sacked five times by the Ravens, but despite the pressure, he was still able to complete 28 of 44 passes for 242 yards. Although the scoreboard says blowout, this was close for a while. It was only 7-6 at halftime and the Texans might have been able to put a scare into the Ravens if they had done a better job of converting on fourth down (They failed on two different fourth-and-ones). The Texans defense played surprisingly well, holding the Ravens to under 270 yards of offense while also forcing two turnovers. The Texans might not win a lot of games this year, but don't be surprised if they're able to keep most of them close. | |
| B+ |  |
| After sleepwalking through the first half, the Ravens seem to kick things into gear during a dominating second half where they outscored the Texans 18-3. The Ravens defense suffocated C.J. Stroud, sacking the Texans rookie five times on a day where they also held Houston to under 75 rushing yards. Although the Ravens were mostly impressive on defense, the same can't be said for the offense, which looked a little rusty at times. Lamar Jackson turned the ball over twice, but the he did seem to turn up the gears during a third quarter where the Ravens scored two touchdowns. Sure, the win wasn't pretty, but all wins count the same in the NFL and that's all that matters. | |
Washington 20-16 over Arizona
| B |  |
| Do the Cardinals deserve a B? Maybe not, but when everyone expects you to be the worst team in the NFL and you open the season by nearly pulling off an upset, you get a B. The Cardinals offense was just as bad as everyone thought it would be, but their defense was actually impressive. Not only did the unit sack Sam Howell five times, but the Cards also got their only TD of the game from their defense after Cameron Thomas returned a Howell fumble two yards for a score. If Arizona's defense plays like this all season, the Cardinals might be able to eventually pull off an upset. | |
| C |  |
| There are no style points in the NFL, which is good news for the Commanders, because they might have pulled off the ugliest win of Week 1. One of Washington's biggest concerns going into the season was the offensive line and that definitely appears to be a valid concern. The Commanders struggled to get into rhythm on offense and a big reason for that was because Sam Howell was sacked FIVE times. The error-prone Commanders also lost two fumbles to go along with a Howell interception, which is a big reason Arizona was able to stay in the game. The good news for the Commanders is that they were playing the Cardinals, so the fact that they struggled didn't end up mattering much. | |
L.A. Rams 30-13 over Seattle
| A+ |  |
| It looks like Matthew Stafford finally figured out how to relate to his younger teammates. Stafford silenced his critics with a 334-yard performance that proved that he does still seem to have it. Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua both ran circles around the Seahawks secondary as reach receiver finished with exactly 119 yards. Defensively, the Rams didn't let the Seahawks have a single drive that went longer than 10 yards during a wildly impressive second half. This was a statement win for a Rams team that most people wrote off before the season even started. | |
| F |  |
| If Pete Carroll is smart, he'll set fire to all the film from the second half of this game. After jumping out to a 13-7 halftime lead, the Seahawks got steamrolled in the second half. Their offense and defense both suffered a total collapse. The offensive failures were probably worse, with the Seahawks only putting up 12 total yards over the final two quarters. Not to be outdone, the Seahawks defense surrendered more than 300 yards of offense to the Rams in the second half. It was a total failure and the ugly part for the Seahawks is that it came at home against a division rival that they were favored to beat. | |
Las Vegas 17-16 over Denver
| B |  |
| In his first game with Las Vegas, Jimmy Garoppolo is already making Raiders fans forget about Derek Carr. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Garoppolo completed 4 of 5 passes for 60 yards during a 75-yard scoring drive that ended with the Raiders scoring the go-ahead TD. Garoppolo seems to already have a lot of chemistry with both Jakobi Meyers (nine catches, 81 yards, two touchdowns) and Davante Adams (six catches, 66 yards). It's only one game, but the Raiders offense looks like it could end up being dangerous, especially once Josh Jacobs gets his legs under him (He rushed for just 48 yards after missing the most of the preseason due to a contract dispute). | |
| B- |  |
| There was good news and bad news for the Broncos in this game. The good news is that although Sean Payton didn't fix everything yet, the offense looked much more efficient with three scoring drives of at least 75 yards. The bad news is that Payton's decision to make a change at kicker this offseason has already backfired with Wil Lutz missing an extra point and a field goal in this one-point loss. Payton might soon be kicking himself for his decision to keep Lutz if the kicker costs Denver any more games this season. | |
Miami 36-34 over L.A. Chargers
| A- |  |
| It feels wrong to overlook the Vic Fangio-led defense, which was an absolute sieve against Austin Ekeler and the Chargers' ground game. But let's be real: all the questions about Miami coming in related to Tua Tagovailoa staying upright and proving 2022 wasn't a fluke. Well, the guy balled out, and Tyreek Hill clearly remains at peak speed. Their pairing was unstoppable for 99 percent of Sunday's showdown. We know they can score points if they must! | |
| B |  |
| They could've easily won this game, and Austin Ekeler deserves an "A" for his efforts alone. Joshua Kelley was also efficient for L.A.'s surprisingly dynamic rushing attack. But the red flags were perhaps even more jarring than those of Miami: Herbert committed a critical intentional-grounding penalty with the game on the line, the in-game coaching from Brandon Staley remained suspect, and it's debatable at this point if Staley even intends to field a productive defense. The secondary was torched over and over. We just can't fail them for going blow for blow in an offensive showcase. | |
Dolphins-Chargers grades by Cody Benjamin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Green Bay 38-20 over Chicago
| A- |  |
| The Packers couldn't have asked for much more from Jordan Love in his debut as the team's full-time starting QB. He put together Aaron Rodgers-esque performance against the rival Bears, tossing three touchdowns and no interceptions. The only offensive hiccups occurred when Love wasn't decisive enough throwing the ball away when the pocket tightened enough, but other than that and a couple deep ball misfires, the future looks bright for the Packers offense. Defensively, the Packers got great production from some of their first- and second-year players. Lukas Van Ness racked up a physically imposing sack of Justin Fields, hurling him out of bounds for a 7-yard loss in the red zone. Devonte Wyatt totaled 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. | |
| D+ |  |
| Justin Fields entered 2023 in his second season under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and this time around he had a legit, top wideout in DJ Moore. However, the results in Week 1 looked a lot like the results from 2022. He totaled 216 yards, one touchdown, and a pick-six on 24 of 37 passing in addition to 59 rushing yards and one fumble lost on nine carries. He could only muster 14 points prior to garbage time. The Bears offensive line remains a work in progress. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears new linebacker duo of Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards couldn't provide much resistance against either Jordan Love or Aaron Jones. | |
Packers-Bears grades by Garrett Podell (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Philadelphia 25-20 over New England
| B |  |
| The performance wasn't pretty, yet the Eagles found a way to hold on to a 16-point lead in a tough environment and go 1-0. The defense looked as if it was coached in its first game under Sean Desai, as the Patriots exposed the middle of the field and found ways to move the chains. Jalen Carter was dominant in his debut (including a third-down sack in the red zone in the final minute), while Desai's defense had takeaways on consecutive plays that led to 13 points. The offense was conservative in the rain, then not aggressive enough in the second half. A helter-skelter performance by the Eagles, but they got the win in Foxborough. That's hard to do. | |
| B- |  |
| Give credit to the Patriots for outgaining the Eagles in this game, as Bill Belichick's team could have packed it in after being down 16-0. The offense had three touchdown drives as Mac Jones looked more than comfortable in Bill O'Brien's offense. Mistakes early and in critical moments cost New England an opportunity to overcome a huge deficit and steal a win. Belichick's defense held the Eagles to 4 of 13 on third down and just 251 yards of offense. The defense will be carrying New England this year and the offense actually seems to have potential -- unlike what transpired last year. | |
Eagles-Patriots grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Dallas 40-0 N.Y. Giants
| A |  |
| The Cowboys clearly don't believe in mercy, because they didn't show any in this game. Dallas absolutely destroyed the Giants and the impressive part is how it happened: The Cowboys were up 19-0 before they even scored their first offensive touchdown. The Cowboys got a special teams score to start the game (Noah Igbinoghene returned a blocked field goal for a TD) and then they let their defense do the rest. The Cowboys defense spent its night terrorizing Daniel Jones. Not only did they sack him seven times, but they also added two interceptions, including a pick-six from DaRon Bland. Oh, and they also forced five fumbles. The Cowboys get a lot of hype before every season, but this year, it's already starting to look like they might actually live up to that hype for the first time in 28 years. | |
| F |  |
| The game was an all-around disaster for the Giants from start to finish. In the first 13 minutes of the game, they surrendered a special teams touchdown and a pick-six, and then things only got uglier from there. They couldn't run the ball, they couldn't throw the ball and the offensive line couldn't protect Daniel Jones, who got sacked seven times. The only positive takeaway from this game for the Giants is that there's no possible way they can look worse this season than they looked on Sunday night. | |
