1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The ageless GOAT Tom Brady completed his 49th game winning drive in the 4th quarter or overtime during the regular season. He trails Peyton Manning (54) and Drew Brees (53) on the all-time list.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
If the Chiefs can’t coax better play out of their defense, the peerless Patrick Mahomes may not be able to keep KC this high in the rankings.
3. Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford’s debut lived up to all the hype in the Ram’s home opener.
4. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson and first year offensive coordinator Shane Waldron clicking in Week 1 with Wilson 18 of 23 for 254 yards and 4 TDs, including a 69 yard TD to Tyler Lockett just before halftime.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh scored 23 second half points after falling behind 10-0 in the first half. T.J. Watt, the 2020 NFL sacks leader, collects two sacks and a forced fumble after signing a 4-year, $112 million contract extension to make him the NFL’s highest paid defensive player. Ben Roethlisberger now has 36 career fourth quarter comebacks, placing him in a tie for 3rd place all-time with Drew Brees.
6. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo’s offense crossed midfield on 8 of its 11 possessions, but managed only one touchdown and three field goals.
7. New Orleans Saints
Perhaps no team was more impressive to start the season than the hurricane-displaced Saints who dominated in their “home” opener in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ home stadium. Sean Payton once more proved to be one of the best offensive minds in the game as his attack saw Jameis Winston throw 5 TD passes on just 148 yards passing.
8. Baltimore Ravens
Frustration has to be an understatement for how Baltimore had to feel about this game as it saw the Raiders rally three separate times to tie the score in the fourth quarter. Prior to losing this one in overtime, Baltimore had won five straight season openers.
9. Cleveland Browns
The Browns are 1-21-1 in season openers since their return to football in 1999. This year’s loss makes it 17 straight defeats.
10. Miami Dolphins
Xavien Howard sealed the victory for Miami by forcing and recovering a fourth quarter fumble on the Patriots last drive of the game.
11. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers built a 47-10 lead before Detroit scored two touchdowns in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. Jimmy Garoppolo improved his regular season record as San Francisco’s QB to 23-8.
12. Arizona Cardinals
Chandler Jones’ 5 sacks in the Cardinals’ 38-13 crushing of the Tennessee Titan’s are the third most for a player in Week 1. At this pace, he’ll finish with an incredible 90 sacks on the season. The incredible Derrick Thomas had 6 sacks in the season opener back in 1998 for the Chiefs.
13. Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert continued to impress, despite a fumble into the end zone and a red zone interception. Herbert threw for 337 yards, with his lone TD pass of the day securing the win for the Chargers in the fourth quarter. Herbert led an offensive attack that converted 14 of 19 third downs.
14. New England Patriots
Mac Jones NFL debut was impressive as he went 29 of 39 for 281 and 1 TD.
15. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts drop their eighth straight season opening game.
16. Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott has an incredible return from his devastating and gruesome ankle injury in Week 5 last year. Prescott threw for 403 yards and 3 TDs.
17. Denver Broncos
Teddy Bridgewater was impressive in his Broncos debut. If Bridgewater can sustain this level of play, paired with a strong Broncos defense, Denver may be a surprise team this season.
18. Green Bay Packers
Under Matt LaFleur the Packers are 1-5 in games played in Florida or California. They are 27-4 in games played everywhere else.
19. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders won their first game in front of fans in Las Vegas. Derek Carr authored three game-tying drives in the 4th quarter before throwing the game winning 31 yard TD to Zay Jones with just 3:38 remaining in the OT period.
20. Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota’s outstanding RB Dalvin Cook had a rough day after gaining only 61 yards on 20 carries and fumbling in overtime to set up Cincinnati’s game winning field goal.
21. Tennessee Titans
Rough day for Tennessee as Arizona jumped to a 17-0 lead. Tennessee was dominated on both sides of the ball.
22. Washington Football Team
Very unfortunate start to the season for Washington as it possibly lost QB Ryan Fitzpatrick for the season after he suffered a right hip injury in the second quarter.
23. Chicago Bears
The Bears are in a tough spot. Their defense , once the team strength, has regressed the last couple of seasons. While there is hope in the form of Justin Fields, once he plays he will need improved offensive line play and more weapons than are currently on the roster if the Bears hope to take advantage of his seemingly enormous potential.
24. Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow was outstanding in his return from reconstructive knee surgery as he passed for 261 yard on 20 of 27 pass attempts, with 2 TD passes.
25. Philadelphia Eagles
Jalen Hurts may make Philly fans quickly forget Carson Wentz if Hurts’ Week 1 form holds. Hurts threw for 3 TDs on 27 of 35 pass attempts for 264 yards. He rushed for an additional 62 yards.
26. Detroit Lions
The Lions, who are expected to struggle this season in rebuilding mode, took a tough hit when cornerback Jeff Okudah was lost for the season with an Achilles injury. Okudah, the third overall pick in the 2020 draft, is expected to be a key building block for Detroit.
27. Carolina Panthers
Ex-Jets QB Sam Darnold had a nice day throwing for 279 yards, including a beautiful 57 yard TD pass to ex-Jets WR Robby Anderson. Darnold did throw one interception, but also scored a second TD on a 5 yard run.
28. Atlanta Falcons
Just two field goals in a rough start for the Falcon’s in Arthur Smith’s head coaching debut.
29. Houston Texans
The Texans are widely expected to be one of the worst teams in football this season, but they exceeded expectations in Week 1 by dominating the Jaguars.
30. New York Giants
Since winning their fourth Super Bowl in February 2012, the Giants have had only one playoff appearance (2016).
31. New York Jets
Zach Wilson appears to be the answer at QB for long suffering Jets fans, but he’ll need improved play from the offensive line as he was sacked six times on Sunday.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars
First overall draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Trevor Lawrence, had an admittedly bad day as he three three interceptions. Lawrence said after the game that he had never before thrown that many interceptions in a game at any level. Urban Meyer made his NFL coaching debut after three national championships at the collegiate level and an overall record of 187-32.