Aaron Rodgers Isn’t Washed, Packers are Contenders, and What Else We’re Learning in Week 1

Ben Arthur and 4 more

Old faces in new places. New faces in unfamiliar places. It’s a bevy of debuts as Week 1 of the NFL’s 106th season continues, with veterans such as Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson starting over with new teams, and top draft picks such as Cam Ward and Travis Hunter starting their NFL careers.

We’ve got you covered across the league. FOX Sports’ NFL experts provide the lessons we’re learning from every Sunday game and what they mean for each team going forward.

Giants: Time is going to run out fast on head coach Brian Daboll.

This was supposed to be the year his offensive genius finally came through. He got a quality, veteran quarterback in Russell Wilson. The Giants strengthened the line, they had weapons, they even had a defense to help out. They were sure they had built a team capable of competitive football and at least competent offense.

But this was the opposite of all that. Instead, the offense looked so oddly familiar in their 21-6 loss to the Commanders. The Giants had just 231 yards in the game and didn’t get into the end zone. Wilson was a very unimpressive 17-of-37 for 168 yards, while running eight times for a team-high 44 yards. He had no chemistry with No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers, who caught 5 of 12 targets for 71 yards. The Giants’ running backs ran 15 times for 30 yards.

In Year 4 of Daboll, with an 18-33-1 record and coming off a 3-14 season, they are out of excuses, and so is he. If he can’t fix this offense soon, he might not make it to the end of the year.

Commanders: Washington is loaded enough to overcome a sloppy start.

Nobody in D.C. is going to be happy about the Commanders’ 21-6 win over the Giants, even though it was pretty convincing. The truth is the Washington offense looked off most of the game, and did just enough to beat a pretty bad team. Jayden Daniels was 19-of-30 for 233 yards and a touchdown and ran 11 times for 68 yards. The Commanders ran for 220 yards overall, which certainly has to be encouraging.

But there is so much more they can do. Terry McLaurin, fresh off his holdout, had just two catches for 27 yards. Zach Ertz had three for 26 yards and a touchdown. They are so loaded on offense, especially now that they can rely on almost anyone to carry them when needed. This time it was RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt (10-81-1) and WR Deebo Samuel (7-77 and a 19-yard touchdown run). But there’s more that they can do. That’s a lot different from last season when they rode on Daniels’ shoulders most of the year. — Ralph Vacchiano

Buccaneers: Welcome to the Emeka Egbuka show.

It’s hard to imagine a rookie having more preseason hype than Emeka Egbuka did for the Bucs — and he still found a way to exceed expectations in his NFL debut. Two touchdown catches, one for the lead with less than two minutes left, were a nice part of the Bucs pulling out a hugely important divisional win. To see the confidence that Baker Mayfield had in his rookie receiver was evident for the past six weeks, and it showed up Sunday. A huge debut, showing that the ceiling is high for the former Ohio State receiver.

Falcons: Penix sets the table with a strong 2025 debut.

It looked like the kind of rally that would have been exactly what Michael Penix Jr. would want in his 2025 debut. He dived for the pylon on one fourth-down play, then dived for a touchdown for the lead. Even his last-minute drive to set up a tying field goal was compelling, but Younghoe Koo’s missed field goal made this a different story. Penix did his part — no turnovers, making plays with his arm and his legs. If the rest of the team can do its part, that will be a recipe for better outcomes that the Falcons ended up with Sunday. — Greg Auman

Bengals: Cincinnati will have a respectable defense in 2025.

I know — holding the Browns to 16 points isn’t what many league observers would consider a massive accomplishment, and 40-year-old Joe Flacco is a bottom-third starting quarterback in the NFL. Cleveland’s run game is filled with uncertainty. The Browns killed themselves with critical drops too. But so often over the past couple of years, we’ve seen the Bengals’ defense have its worst moments during the important junctures of games. That wasn’t the case in Week 1 — Cincinnati allowed zero points and got a key interception of Flacco in the fourth quarter. It could be the first sign of a defense that will be closer to league average this season.

Browns: Cleveland needs Quinshon Judkins – badly.

The Browns’ leading rusher in Sunday’s loss was rookie fourth-rounder Dylan Sampson, who had just 29 yards on 12 carries. It’s just one game, but that’s obviously not going to cut it moving forward, especially when your pass game is also squandering opportunities to make plays (Cleveland had three drops in the fourth quarter alone). Judkins, who finally signed his second-round rookie contract Sunday amid legal troubles, could be that steadying force or hammer on the ground to keep the Browns’ offense on schedule. He could make his debut as soon as next week against the Ravens. – Ben Arthur

Dolphins: Mike McDaniel could be the first coach fired in 2025.

Miami was a tough team to peg entering the season, but it’s hard to anticipate the Dolphins being down 30-0 to the Colts in the fourth quarter in Week 1. No plays longer than 21 yards, little life on either side of the ball. Three turnovers, two from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — this is the kind of game that puts a clock on Mike McDaniel, who now faces a trio of divisional games, none of which look like easy wins. If Miami opens 0-4 and 0-3 in the AFC East, how much more leeway does he have before he’s the first NFL coach fired in 2025?

Colts: Indy Jones, swashbuckling QB?

Quite a Colts debut for Daniel Jones. Fans liked the upside of Anthony Richardson, but Jones stepped in and hit 75 percent of his passes and scored three total touchdowns in one of the more surprising big games of Week 1. This was a huge day for the Colts defense, dominating the Dolphins for three quarters, but Jones played mistake-free football to make life easy for the defense. If the Colts can force three turnovers without committing any, that will beat a lot of bad opponents. — Greg Auman

Raiders: Though Ashton Jeanty disappointed in his debut, Geno Smith makes Raiders dangerous.

The Raiders’ big offseason of change brought in coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Geno Smith and running back Ashton Jeanty — among others. Those three were going to work with star tight end Brock Bowers to be the bedrock of this new-look offense. And even with Bowers hitting the century mark and promptly suffering a knee injury, the Las Vegas offense looked solid behind Smith.

It doesn’t look like they have every question answered. The running game needs to get better, with Jeanty finishing with 19 carries for 38 yards and one touchdown. There’s no deep passing game. But even so, Smith looked dangerous when attacking the intermediate areas with Bowers, Michael Mayer and Jakobi Meyers.

Patriots: This was not exactly a new-and-improved version of Drake Maye.

In Year 2, you want to see big steps of progress from a quarterback. Maye didn’t show us that in Week 1. He put the ball in harm’s way with one interception and one fumble (not lost) and four sacks. He nearly fumbled again on a close-call incompletion where Raiders edge Maxx Crosby hit the ball as it came out of Maye’s hands. In part because of Crosby’s constant pressure, Maye’s footwork looked jittery.

This was one of his biggest issues last year and we chalked it up to a lack of supporting cast. Now, it’s possible this year’s supporting cast is similarly bad. Left tackle Will Campbell killed an opportunity to try to convert a fourth-and-5 with a false start. Receiver Stefon Diggs had just 57 yards. Highly touted rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson finished with 51 scrimmage yards. We’ll soon see whether the Patriots are still dragging Maye down. But we can see so far that he’s not yet pulling them up. — Henry McKenna

Cardinals: Kyler Murray is still a roller-coaster ride for the Cardinals.

Murray, who dealt with an illness heading into the contest and gutted his way through the game, did his best Jalen Hurts impersonation in Arizona’s nailbiter of a win at New Orleans. He played efficient football, completing 72.4% of his passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Murray also ran seven times for 38 yards, and he didn’t turn the ball over. However, Murray also was sacked five times, including one late in the game when Arizona needed one more first down to put the game away. The Cardinals brought back all their offensive weapons, but still managed just 20 points against a New Orleans squad projected to be one of the worst teams in the league.

There were some bright spots for the Cardinals, most notably Marvin Harrison Jr. being more involved in the offense, finishing with five catches for 71 yards and a score, including a 45-yard reception on a go route. The Cardinals host Carolina at home next week, so we probably won’t find out if Murray and the Cardinals are for real until a Week 3 game at San Francisco.

Saints: Time to let the Tyler Shough era begin.

Look, Spencer Rattler was not the reason the Saints lost this one. He made the plays that were in front of him and didn’t turn the ball over. However, Rattler is now 0-7 as a starter in the NFL. New Orleans generated just 13 points on offense. The longest play from scrimmage for the Saints was 21 yards. Under the direction of defensive guru Brandon Staley, the Saints are solid on a defense led by aging veterans Demario Davis, Cam Jordan and Chase Young. But they need to generate more explosive plays on offense.

That’s why it’s time to switch to Shough, their 2025 second-round pick. While raw and inexperienced, Shough gives New Orleans a better opportunity to push the ball down the field and create more explosive plays to get more points on the board. And for a team that likely will be picking high in the draft next year, the Saints should play Shough as much as possible now to see if he is the answer at quarterback. We already know what they have in Rattler. — Eric D. Williams

Steelers: The old Aaron Rodgers — not old Aaron Rodgers — is back.

His first game with the Steelers, against his old team the Jets, started with him flat on his back, sacked by Jets DT Quincy Williams on his first play from scrimmage. But everything else after that was everything the Steelers could have hoped for from Rodgers. The 41-year-old QB completed 22 of 30 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Steelers to a 34-32 win over the Jets.

Every part of his usually stellar game was on display. He showed off his strong arm, his uncanny accuracy, and his cool ability to make all the right reads. His mobility — or lack thereof — is clearly going to be an issue, and everyone in Pittsburgh is going to be holding their breath to see how long his body will hold up. But if it does, they’ve taken a step up in quarterback ability in Pittsburgh, which is why the Steelers have a chance to be a Super Bowl contender.

Jets: Justin Fields’ arm might be the Jets’ secret weapon.

Make no mistake: Aaron Glenn wants the Jets to be a running team. He doesn’t want to have to lean on the 26-year-old Fields. And that showed in their 34-32 opening day loss to the Steelers when they ran for an amazing 182 yards. But my goodness, if Fields is going to throw the ball like he did in Week 1, the Jets might end up winning a lot more games than people think they will. He went 16-of-22 for 218 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. And while he did a lot with his legs, too (12 carries, 48 yards, two touchdowns), it was his passing that kept the Jets in this surprising shootout.

All summer long, Fields looked erratic. He’d show off a canon of an arm and some pinpoint accuracy, but then would follow it up by air-mailing a receiver on the next pass. But in this game, he harnessed everything. The Jets aren’t likely to lean on his arm most weeks. And it’s not like they needed him to throw a ton in this game. But it sure had to feel good to them to know that they can ask him for more through the air. — Ralph Vacchiano

Panthers: The run defense is still so bad that they can’t compete.

Last year, the Panthers had a lot of fatal flaws, but the one that topped the list was that they couldn’t stop the run. Well, we’re one game into 2025 and not a whole lot has changed. Carolina’s run defense didn’t do a whole lot to stop Travis Etienne, who was at the center of the Jaguars’ rushing attack. He had 143 of the team’s 200 rushing yards, which made life easy for quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The Panthers invested in defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton and safety Tre’von Moehrig during free agency, but maybe it was a bad sign that Moehrig led the team in tackles with 11. It was an indicator of how many times Jaguars players broke into the second level of the defense.

Jaguars: Travis Hunter didn’t have a big impact, but it’s early.

The No. 2 overall pick spent 39 snaps on offense (61.9%) as a receiver, lining up tight for three snaps (8%), in the slot for 23 snaps (59%) and wide for 13 snaps (33%). On defense, he played six snaps — all at left cornerback. By game’s end, he had six catches for 33 yards and one tackle.

What do all those numbers mean? He didn’t have the impact that Jacksonville GM James Gladstone envisioned — not in Week 1 at least. Remember: The Jaguars traded a future first-round pick along with 2025 second- and fourth-round picks for Hunter. Obviously, there is plenty of time for his role to develop and expand. But he suffered an injury in training camp (which is always a risk for a guy trying to play two ways) and that likely hampered his ability to practice one position, let alone two. That helps explain why he barely played on defense and why his offensive yardage might feel a little ho-hum.

The question is — and will continue to be — whether he’ll have enough practice time to master two positions. — Henry McKenna

Titans: Cam Ward is going to be just fine.

Ward’s numbers were very mediocre: 12-for-28 for 112 yards, no touchdowns and six sacks. The back-to-back sacks he took in the fourth quarter (a combined loss of 27 yards), after a special teams takeaway put the Titans in scoring position, will be something he must learn from. But overall, Ward was very poised in his NFL debut, and he was so close on two throws on a last-gasp drive. He appeared in control of Tennessee’s offense, even if penalties and drops and bad pass protection and poor execution from those around him hurt the unit overall (and his stat line).

Playing in a tough Denver environment at altitude against an elite defensive front is no easy task for a rookie quarterback under any circumstances, let alone a debut. So for Ward to be calm and composed in a stressful environment is why I think he’ll be fine in time, even if the Titans continue to be bad in 2025.

Broncos: We may be witnessing the start of a sophomore slump for Bo Nix.

Despite Denver’s win, Nix was underwhelming, throwing for just 176 yards with two interceptions and a 60.0 passer rating. There were errant throws, and ill-advised ones, too. And it’s not like the Titans are expected to be good defensively. Their defense is filled with questions outside of the Jeffery Simmons–T’Vondre Sweat tandem on the interior D-line.

So, while it’s just one game, it’s not difficult to imagine how this could be the start of a tough Year 2 for Nix. Like all second-year quarterbacks, he has to contend with the fact that every opponent has a full season’s worth of film on him. How he deals with that through the course of 2025 remains to be seen. But how he looked to open this year was disappointing. — Ben Arthur

49ers: Christian McCaffrey looks healthy — bad news for the rest of the league.

After appearing on the injury report with a calf issue, McCaffrey, who missed 13 games last season due to Achilles and knee injuries, looked like his old self against Seattle. The Stanford product finished with 142 scrimmage yards and served as the engine of the offense with San Francisco stalwarts George Kittle (hamstring) and Jauan Jennings (shoulder) forced out of the game due to injury.

Kittle’s replacement, Jake Tonges, made three catches on the winning drive, including the go-ahead score on a 4-yard reception from Brock Purdy. Second-year pro Ricky Pearsall also made some big plays on the perimeter, finishing with four catches for 108 yards. But in a game in which Purdy wasn’t at his best, throwing two interceptions, a healthy McCaffrey carried the offense, which is a good sign for San Francisco’s postseason aspirations.

Seahawks: Sam Darnold disappoints in first chance to create magic for Hawks.

Seattle paid big money to sign Darnold with the belief that he could deliver in the clutch. But given the opportunity in the team’s season opener at Lumen Field, the USC product failed to deliver in a loss to San Francisco. With the game on the line and trailing San Francisco by four points with under two minutes remaining, Darnold delivered a strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a double move, putting Seattle in the red zone.

Three plays later, however, Darnold fumbled when defensive end Nick Bosa pushed right tackle Abe Lucas into him. Bosa recovered on San Francisco’s 13-yard line to seal the win. The play was a stark reminder of Darnold’s struggles in heightened situations late last year after performing at an MVP-level for most of 2024. For Seattle’s sake, Darnold needs to be better in those got-to-have-it moments later in the season. — Eric D. Williams

Lions: The coordinator departures were a problem, after all.

Detroit spent the offseason shooing away questions about Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn leaving for head coaching gigs. And it’s fair that the Lions didn’t want to keep answering those questions. But I hate to say it: They’re going to have to keep answering those questions. Against the Packers in Week 1, both their offense and defense looked like they were lacking the same spark, creativity and physicality. That has to be, in part, stemming from the brain drain in their coaching ranks.

Packers: The Packers look like the team to beat in the NFC.

The Micah Parsons trade made plenty of sense for Green Bay. But it makes even more sense now that we’ve seen where the Packers are at to start the season. They look as good as the Philadelphia Eagles — if not better. Jordan Love looked like the guy everyone loved back in 2023. The defense looked fierce, with Parsons contributing three pressures and a sack. There might be some (small) questions, particularly about whether they can win it all with these receivers. But Green Bay wanted to let everyone know in Week 1 — the Packers think they’re the team to beat in the NFC. — Henry McKenna

Texans: O-line protection still an issue for C.J. Stroud and Houston’s offense.

Houston’s revamped offensive line struggled to protect quarterback C.J. Stroud consistently. The Ohio State product was sacked three times and pressured 41.2% of the time, according to Next Gen Stats. Facing his former team, new Houston offensive coordinator Nick Caley’s unit mustered just 265 total yards of total offense and nine points, as Houston failed to get into the end zone.

A playoff team last season, the Texans are expected to once again lead the AFC South. But Stroud will have to get better protection and Caley must clean things up offensively for that to happen.

Rams: Matthew Stafford stays upright, but the Rams are now led by their defense.

Out most of training camp because of a back issue, L.A.’s 37-year-old signal-caller made it through the game healthy, completing 72% of his passes for 245 yards and a touchdown. But as a whole, the Rams looked rusty on offense, scoring only 14 points. Fortunately for Stafford, this team is now led by its defense. The Rams filled up the stat sheet on that side of the football, totaling three sacks, four pass breakups and seven quarterback hits.

The most important play was made by linebacker Nate Landman, who executed a perfect “Peanut Punch,” dislodging the ball from Houston running back Dare Ogunbowale, with Rams defensive lineman Braden Fiske recovering at L.A.’s 16-yard line to seal the victory. At some point, with talented playmakers Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams and Davante Adams, the offense will catch up. But for now, the Rams will lean on their defense to carry them. — Eric D. Williams

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