NFL Week One Winners and Losers

Except for the inevitable injury or two, the first week of the NFL regular season is usually mild. It was anything but mild on Sunday. Week one is seen by some as a fluke week, while others see it as a prelude of what will come once teams settle in. Here are my winners and losers from Sunday’s games.

Winners: Aaron Rodgers

The 21 year veteran quarterback had an abysmal two years in New York. In what many consider his last gasp at both a championship run and starting job at quarterback, Aaron Rodgers signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason. Week one was a revenge game against his previous team–the New York Jets, and Rodgers gave his viewers a vintage performance.

Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 30 passes for 244 yards, four touchdowns and a 136.7 passer rating. Two of Rodgers’ scores were lead changes, and two came a minute apart to start the fourth quarter. His control of the two minute offense gave the Steelers an extra 39 yards before Chris Boswell kicked the game winning 60 yard field goal.

Many analysts still believe Pittsburgh will have a hard time scoring more than 24 points a game given the lack of offensive talent around Aaron Rodgers, but a 34 point performance against what is considered one of the league’s better defenses in New York should make some question the Steelers ceiling.

The Pete Carroll and Geno Smith-led Las Vegas Raiders

The reunion for head coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Geno Smith was big news in the offseason. Las Vegas’ first game to start the 2025 season was on the road against a re-booted New England. Many viewers believed the game would be close, but the Raiders would find a way to pull out the win. Those were correct predictions.

Geno Smith found Tre Tucker for the first touchdown of the game. Smith finished 24 of 34 for 362 yards and a 102.8 passer rating. The new Raiders quarterback posted a franchise debut record in yards and passer rating. Smith also led a balanced attack and Las Vegas won the time of possession battle.

Defense is Carroll’s specialty. Vegas held the Patriot running backs to under three yards a carry and New England’s passing game to under 300 yards. Sophomore quarterback Drake Maye threw one interception and was sacked four times. The Patriots offense was suffocated after the first quarter.

Pete Carroll became the oldest head coach in league history to coach a game (73 years and 357 days) and the first head coach in NFL history to win all four of his team debuts (via Sportscenter with Scott Van Pelt). Carroll’s defense is predicted to continue improvement. If the offense stays as balanced and the defense continues to fluster opposing offenses, this could be the start of something special in Sin City.

Daniel Jones

Analysts will and have judged Indianapolis’ win against Miami as an all-around disaster for the Dolphins. That take ignores how historical the Colts offense was in a dominant performance. Led by new starting quarterback Daniel Jones, Indianapolis became the first team to score on every offensive possession since 1978.

Jones completed 22 of 29 passes for 272 yards, a touchdown and a 115.9 passer rating. He also ran seven times for 26 yards and two scores. Jones’ two consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter sealed an easy win.

NFL Network panelists discussed how Daniel Jones’ time in Minnesota wound up helping and re-programming some of the stability and basics under center. The newfound confidence seems to have paid off.

Los Angeles Rams defense

If one were told Los Angeles’ offense would score just 14 points against Houston, the assumption would be the Rams lost. Not only would that be wrong, but the result wound up a resounding Los Angeles win.

The Rams’ defense feasted on Houston’s offense. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud IV completed 19 passes for 188 yards and an interception. Los Angeles’ front seven sacked Stroud three times while the secondary confused him and messed up reads to his receivers. Outside of three field goals in the first half, the Texans couldn’t do anything right.

While Houston’s defense mostly stifled the Rams’ offense, it was the Los Angeles defense that won the game. The Rams’ offense could be slow to start a lot of games this year, but now they know the defense will show up and play hard.

Losers: Tennessee Titans second half offense

For some reason, Tennessee kept offensive coordinator Nick Holz after last season’s failures. Someone should have informed the Titans front office that a team usually relieves coordinators after they end up with the number one pick. Otherwise, there are results like Sunday’s in Denver.

Tennessee’s rookie quarterback and first overall pick Cam Ward was ok in his regular season debut. He didn’t make many mistakes but he definitely didn’t do anything special. Ward’s conservative play did give the Titans a lead most of the game, but Holz didn’t put him in better positions or utilize offensive strengths when the Broncos faltered.

After Denver took a 13-12 lead, Tennessee had two good chances to get a scoring drive before the Broncos could extend their lead. On the first, two penalties forced a punt. The second resulted in Denver fumbling a punt return and the Titans were gifted with an extended possession at the Bronco 24 yard line. A two yard run by Tony Pollard would be the only play with positive yardage. Ward was sacked twice for 27 yard losses after Pollard’s two yard run. Tennessee punted, and Denver went on to score the last touchdown of the game.

The Titans will have a rough season and few weeks when they’ll be favored to win any games. Sunday was one of the best opportunities to leave with a victory. It could have been done if there was a better run offense.

Cleveland Browns

For anyone who has read Winners and Losers before, or are familiar with the NFL for any reasonable length of time, it’s well known that with rare exceptions, the Cleveland Browns are losers. They lose in ways that defy belief and expectations. While the in-state loss to division rival Cincinnati felt familiar, it doesn’t excuse how sloppy, unprepared and deflating it was for Cleveland.

The Bengals did everything possible to lose the game. The only reason Cincinnati didn’t lose, was because the Browns made worse mistakes. Undrafted kicker Andre Szmyt missed an extra point and a potential game winning field goal. Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco had an interception after a pass intended for Jerry Jeudy bounced off another receiver’s hands deep in Cleveland territory. Flacco’s second interception doomed any chance for the Browns to get the last score of the game.

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski’s issues this year range from who will be quarterback every week to if the kicker can make an extra point. It could be a long, rough year for Browns fans…again.

John Morton

Anyone who has watched the NFL the last few years knew the hottest offensive coordinator and assistant coach was Detroit’s Ben Johnson. When the Chicago Bears hired Johnson to be their next head coach this offseason, many expected the Lions offense would have some drop-off, especially to begin the regular season. Few expected a week one crater.

Detroit was overwhelmed almost the whole game in Green Bay. While new defensive addition Micah Parsons played less than half of the defense’s snaps, the Packers bullied the Lions in every way possible. Goff was sacked four times, intercepted once, and constantly hit until near the end. Detroit’s lone touchdown came in garbage time when Green Bay led by 21 points.

The most concerning part might be the Lions offensive line. They missed Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler. The Packers took advantage of those losses and applied constant pressure. There was a point at which the NFL Network and beat reporters said Green Bay’s defensive front didn’t look like four men…it looked like seven.

There is no need yet to panic over Detroit. This is the Lions first road loss since the 2024 NFC championship game. Many knew the Packers would improve this season, and this was before getting Micah Parsons from Dallas. Offensive coordinator John Morton has a lot of work to do, but the Lions schedule is brutal. It may take a longer time for the offense to look anywhere near elite this season.

John Harbaugh

Spring has Groundhog Day, October third has Mean Girls, and these articles bring in the new NFL year with John Harbaugh in the Losers section. It’s a tradition unlike any other.

U.S. audiences were treated to Baltimore demolishing Buffalo Sunday night–they thought. After Ravens running back Derrick Henry ran for a 46 yard touchdown, Baltimore’s 15 point lead with 11:50 remaining all but assured a decisive week one win. While Bills receiver Keon Coleman scored a touchdown the following possession, the Ravens had an eight point lead with four minutes remaining. Enter coach Harbaugh.

One might think in a close scoring game where the result would matter further into the season, Harbaugh would have a better game plan than running the football the remaining four minutes. Quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for a first down the first play after Coleman’s touchdown. Buffalo expected another run the following possession. Henry also needed some rest and should’ve sat out a few more possessions. Harbaugh decided Henry should carry the ball next. That led to a nine yard loss and a fumble recovered by Bills defensive lineman Ed Oliver.

After Buffalo scored a touchdown (and missed the two point conversion), all Baltimore had to do was run down the remaining 1:51 in the game. But no. The Ravens ran two run plays and a pass for seven yards that took 25 seconds off the clock. The Bills got the ball back and won with a last second field goal.

Harbaugh’s continuous blunders, time mismanagement and inability to make the hard decisions somehow remain accepted and overlooked. The second most tenured coach in the league with one team somehow defies expectations by blowing double digit leads and leaving with losses. Given how Harbaugh has yet to learn from his mistakes, expect Baltimore to make the same errors with little to no accountability. Another head coach could never get away with this if they tried.