As any parent or etiquette expert will tell you, first impressions are important. What we'll tell you: First impressions from Week 1 of the NFL season can create expectations that last until February. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to draw too many conclusions from some of the Week 1 results – first impressions, after all, are often overreactions. Not ours, of course. But, are the routinely slow-starting Cincinnati Bengals really as bad as they looked against the New England Patriots? Probably not.
There were a lot of noteworthy firsts on Sunday -- from the greatest player in history calling his first game, to the first real look at one of the most dramatic rules changes in years, to eight head coaches starting new jobs to three first-round quarterbacks starting the season under center.
Here are our impressions of Sunday's biggest firsts.
1) The dynamic kickoff is off to a good start. Even though 70 percent of kickoffs were returned during the preseason, the impact of the new dynamic kickoff -- designed to generate a better return rate than last season's historically low 22 percent -- was unknown heading into the regular season. No coach wanted to show his cards before the games counted, and some pundits wondered if putting a touchback on the 30-yard line was enough of a disincentive to keep the kicking team from launching the kickoff out of the end zone. In Week 1, there were enough big returns to be hopeful about the impact of the play. The Arizona Cardinals' DeeJay Dallas had the first dynamic kickoff return for a touchdown, returning a Bills kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Bills' Brandon Codrington returned a kickoff 53 yards. The Bears' DeAndre Carter returned a kickoff 67 yards. It's early, and coaches will undoubtedly adjust to whatever they see coming out of Week 1, but if the Titans-Bears game is any indication, we should at least see more returns. In that game, there were 10 kickoffs and just three touchbacks. In the Cardinals-Bills game, there were 13 kickoffs and seven touchbacks.
2) Eight head coaches debuted in their new jobs Sunday, going 3-5 -- with Jerod Mayo, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Macdonald earning wins -- but nobody had a better first day on the job than New England's Mayo. The Patriots crafted the biggest upset of the day, a 16-10 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals powered by Rhamondre Stevenson's 120 yards rushing and the Patriots defense, which sacked Joe Burrow three times and held him to 164 yards passing. The offense still doesn't have much, and the Bengals were without Tee Higgins and had a very limited Ja’Marr Chase. But the Patriots played to their personality -- tenacious defense, good special teams and a reliance on the running game. They are still rebuilding and need a lot more dynamic playmakers on offense, but Mayo earned the Gatorade bath he received.
3) The most eagerly anticipated coaching debut was Harbaugh's. Against the Raiders, his Chargers had a rough start on offense, which, in the first half, averaged 3.6 yards per play, committed five penalties (four false starts) and had just 12 rushing yards from J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards combined. The second half looked much more the way Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman want to play -- with a heavy emphasis on the running game. Dobbins finished with 10 rushes for 135 yards and a touchdown, part of the Chargers' 176 yards rushing overall. Justin Herbert attempted just 26 passes and had just 144 yards. Herbert had just two games last season in which he attempted fewer than 26 passes. Harbaugh's method may be bad for Herbert's statistical line, but the Chargers have powerful line play on both sides of the ball -- a Harbaugh staple -- which should be good for the Chargers' bottom line. It's not an accident that Harbaugh is 45-19-1 as an NFL head coach.
4) There were a lot of old faces in new places, but two stood out, for very different reasons. The biggest free-agent signing of the offseason, Kirk Cousins, completed just 16 passes for 155 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, including one late in the fourth quarter with the Falcons trailing the Steelers by five points. Cousins is coming off an Achilles tear he suffered while with the Vikings in the middle of the 2023 season, and he looked a tick slow, with plenty of rust. He also made some head-scratching decisions Sunday, throwing under heavy pressure, which led to the two picks. The Steelers' T.J. Watt was everywhere wrecking the game, of course. But the Steelers were playing backup quarterback Justin Fields, and their only points came from six Chris Boswell field goals. While Cousins' first game as a Falcon was disappointing, Sam Darnold finally looked like the quarterback the Jets thought they were drafting back in 2018. Alas, Darnold is now on his fourth team, but he was a fit for the Vikings on Sunday. He was 19-of-24 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He completed throws to eight teammates, including a 44-yarder to Justin Jefferson, zipping the ball down the seam and to the sidelines and generally playing with confidence and command. Darnold is the starter this season because rookie J.J. McCarthy is out for the year with a knee injury. But more performances like Sunday's will not only keep the Vikings in the mix in the very tough NFC North, it will earn Darnold a starting job somewhere else next season.
5) The rookie quarterbacks struggled. The Bears won thanks to defense and special teams, but first overall draft pick Caleb Williams had a 48 completion percentage, 93 passing yards and no passing touchdowns. The Bears totaled 148 yards of offense and Williams never looked comfortable. Jayden Daniels, who went second overall to the Commanders, made more of an impact with his legs than his arm, running for two 1-yard touchdowns. He finished the game with 16 rushes for 88 yards while completing 17 passes for 184 yards. But the offense could not extend drives, converting just two of eight third-down attempts. And Bo Nix, taken 12th overall by the Broncos, had two interceptions on careless throws, which helped dig a hole that even a nice late-game drive that ended with his own touchdown run could not erase. He finished with 138 passing yards in Denver's loss to Seattle. Sean Payton was playing conservatively early, calling for very short passes (the Broncos averaged 3.3 yards per play and just 3 yards per completion).
We all get romanced by promising performances in training camps and preseason games, but the shakiness of Williams, Daniels and Nix is a reminder that almost all rookie quarterbacks have growing pains. There are good arguments to be made for playing rookie quarterbacks to let them learn on the job. But the Patriots' decision to sit Drake Maye and let Jacoby Brissett manage the offense is a lot more understandable in the context of these early showings.
6) And the top rookie receivers were mostly quiet, all victims of their teams' general overall dysfunction. The Cardinals' Marvin Harrison Jr. was rarely involved in the offense. He was targeted just three times, with one catch for 4 yards as the Cardinals offense ground to a halt in the second half against the Bills. The Giants' Malik Nabers was targeted seven times, coming down with five receptions for 66 yards, including a 25-yarder. And the Bears' Rome Odunze had one catch on four targets for 11 yards. At least the Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. scored a touchdown on one of his four receptions on four targets. It served as a reminder -- no receiver, no matter how good, can overcome shaky quarterbacking and a sputtering operation.
7) Tom Brady made his long-awaited debut in the broadcast booth during Fox Sports' broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys-Cleveland Browns game, and while his performance will be scrutinized by those who study media, one thing was undeniable: Brady brings massive star power to the role. You want to know what he thinks about what defenses are doing and how quarterbacks are responding. He was at his best when he noted what a problem Micah Parsons was for the Browns, moments before Parsons tipped Deshaun Watson's pass, which led to an interception. Brady sounded understandably nervous at some points Sunday, and he surely wasn't helped by a largely non-competitive game in which the Cowboys dismantled the Browns. But does anyone believe Brady will not grind until he is great at this? They haven't been paying attention to this guy almost 25 years if they do.
