Key takeaways and analysis from Week 1 in the NFL

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Bears win anyway

This is how you support a rookie quarterback, folks.

Caleb Williams wasn't exactly spectacular in his long-awaited NFL debut, throwing for just 93 yards and failing to lead a single touchdown drive.

In almost any other situation, a Week 1 dud from a No. 1 pick at quarterback would set Monday morning talk shows ablaze. Thankfully, we'll instead be discussing how this Bears team doesn't need its rookie signal-caller to be perfect.

The special teams unit got Chicago in the end zone for the first time after a blocked punt in the third quarter, and the defense capped an outstanding performance with Tyrique Stevenson's go-ahead pick-6 in the fourth quarter.

If you wanted to see more from a signal-caller who generated this much hype, you probably aren't alone. But remember: the transition from college to the NFL isn't seamless for most signal-callers. Sunday's result makes Williams the first quarterback since 2002 to win his debut after being selected No. 1 overall.

The fact that the Bears were able to lift him up, rather than counting on him to single-handedly carry the franchise from the jump, should be considered promising for his chances at easing his way into the professional game. It's only a matter of time before his rare abilities become a factor as part of this team's impressive foundation.

Richardson worth the wait

Anthony Richardson was a fascinating draft prospect. Some evaluators were scared off by perceived (and overblown) accuracy issues at Florida. Others were mesmerized by the upside that came with unicorn-like athletic gifts.

Doubters may feel vindicated by his 9-of-19 completion rate in the Colts' season opener. The believers, meanwhile, will point to the incredible 11.2 yards per attempt and, well, everything they saw with their eyes. If you're not in the latter category, now may be a good time to join.

Richardson made the play of the week early in Sunday's loss to the Texans, unloading under pressure for a monster touchdown strike to Alec Pierce. The 65.3 air yards on the pass represented the third-longest throw tracked by NextGenStats, according to Benjamin Solak of ESPN.

His rare arm talent was also on display on this impressive tight-window touchdown throw to Ashton Dulin.

There are bound to be some ups and downs in the early stages of Richardson's game - nobody's denying that. And, if completion percentage is your definition of good quarterback play, perhaps you'll never truly respect his style.

But it's these flashes - along with his dynamic abilities as a runner - that separate the good signal-callers from the great ones in today's game. If you want a difference-maker, you should be chasing this kind of upside. The Colts were bold enough to do it, and they may have a future MVP candidate as a result.

No way out

Hope springs eternal with every new NFL season, so it's no surprise that we were all forced to entertain the possibility that, by some miracle, Deshaun Watson would once again become a capable starting quarterback.

While Watson's playing time has been sporadic since he joined the Browns in 2022, this season marks his third in Kevin Stefanski's system. Not only has he failed to progress in that time, but one could argue that fading arm talent is actually making him worse.

Accuracy was a major issue for Watson in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys. He completed just 24 of 45 passes for 3.8 yards per attempt while also adding a pair of interceptions and taking six sacks. In any other situation, he'd soon find himself either on the bench or cut. But a truly unfathomable contract situation essentially gives the Browns no such option.

A quarterback with two fully guaranteed $46-million salaries left on his deal is not going to be sitting on the sidelines. The Browns would take a dead-money hit of $173 million to move on from Watson before the 2025 season, so that almost certainly keeps him around for next year's $72.9 million cap hit, too.

There's simply nothing Cleveland can do other than wait out this albatross of a contract and learn from what may be the worst trade and contract in NFL history. Pairing two mistakes of that magnitude together completely wasted an opportunity for a long-suffering organization to build a sustained competitor.

New kickoff

It didn't take long for the dynamic kickoff to give us some excitement: Cardinals veteran DeeJay Dallas made history with his 96-yard score early on Sunday afternoon. The first touchdown will be what generates headlines in the coming days, but the real story is that the new format is trending toward being a bit of a letdown.

Well under 40% of kickoffs so far this week have been returned. That may represent a higher rate than last season, but it's nowhere near the 70% we saw when teams were feeling out the new rules in the preseason.

The probable reason: touchbacks bringing the ball out to the 30-yard line don't do enough to incentivize kickoff teams to keep it in the field of play.

If return teams are already going to be bringing kicks back to that range when they get the opportunity, and at least pose the risk of ripping off an even longer return, it's only fair to assume that more and more kickoff teams will be content to send the ball through the end zone.

Moving the touchback out to at least the 35-yard line could change the equation, but the league has suggested that any such change likely wouldn't be implemented during the season.

So while all football fans should be happy with the player safety benefits of the dynamic kickoff, we may be a few further changes away from teams truly embracing it from a strategy standpoint.

Quick slants

Rough start for Cousins

Kirk Cousins didn't have the expected impact in his Falcons debut, throwing for just 155 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in a loss to the Steelers. It'll likely take some time for him to settle back in after working his way back from last year's Achilles tear, but the schedule isn't going to do him any favors. Atlanta could be looking at a disastrous 0-3 to start the season with prime-time games against the Eagles and Chiefs coming up over the next two weeks. While that may not be insurmountable in the NFC South, the Falcons would have little room for error from that point forward.

Bengals (don't) do it again

A stunning season-opening loss to the Patriots now makes the Bengals 1-10 in the first two weeks of the season under Zac Taylor. As we've seen in recent seasons, early stumbles are no reason to count this team out. But how does this keep happening? It's hard not to think that the offense would have been better prepared to hit the ground running if Ja'Marr Chase wasn't in and out of practice due to a contract standoff. The Bengals' front office seems dead set on outclassing the Cowboys in the business of needlessly delaying inevitable extensions.

New year, same Panthers

Last year couldn't have gone much worse for the Panthers, so it was easy to feel like they might be heading back in the right direction after a productive offseason. And maybe they are. It's tough to draw conclusions based on one game. But opening the season with a 47-10 loss to the Saints feels like a whole lot more of the same. The offense remained feckless, with Bryce Young posting a 10.7 QBR that would have been his second-worst output last year. Things didn't go any better on the other side of the ball, as Carolina couldn't force a punt until the Saints were pulling starters in garbage time. It might be another long year for Panthers fans.

Marv's breakout delayed

The Cardinals' offense had some good moments in Sunday's loss to the Bills, but the lack of involvement for Marvin Harrison Jr. was rather jarring. The highly touted receiver had one catch for four yards on three targets in his NFL debut. If you were one of those fantasy managers drafting him as a top-10 receiver, don't get discouraged by a slow start. Justin Jefferson had two catches in his NFL debut before going on to finish his rookie year with 1,400 yards. The Cardinals are well aware of what they have in Harrison, so it shouldn't be long before he gets involved in a big way.

DJ's disaster game

Football fans got a unique behind-the-scenes look at the Giants' roster-building process when the team was featured in the first-ever offseason edition of Hard Knocks. There's something extra mystifying about seeing a team talk itself into another year of Daniel Jones only to immediately end up looking delusional. Jones averaged 4.4 yards per attempt in Sunday's loss to the Vikings, posting a minus-17.3% completion percentage above expectation, according to Next Gen Stats. He also threw two interceptions and took five sacks, garnering merciless boos from the home crowd. The silver lining for Giants fans is that they may be in the poll position for the No. 1 pick and a new quarterback next spring.

Mixon rejuvenated

It seems the football world was sleeping on the Texans' offseason addition of Joe Mixon. The veteran back was a workhorse in his Texans debut, taking 30 carries for 159 yards, his highest total since 2021. The Texans' offense is tough enough to stop with C.J. Stroud on the doorstep of elite QB status and Stefon Diggs joining a dynamic receiving corps. A meaningful upgrade to last year's run game (26th EPA/play, 27th success rate) could send this offense through the roof.

Dobbins is here

J.K. Dobbins being forced to settle for a one-year, $1.6-million contract with the Chargers is already looking a little silly. The former Ravens second-round pick seemingly needed less than one game to pass Gus Edwards on the depth chart, spearheading a power run game with 135 yards and one touchdown on just 10 carries. Dobbins has always had top-10 running back potential, but poor injury luck consistently held him back in Baltimore. Now healthy, he could be in for a massive year as the lead back on an offense that is going to run the ball no matter what.

All-time terrible decision

Antonio Pierce's first game as the Raiders' full-time head coach gave us one of the worst fourth-down decisions you'll ever see in a professional football game. Facing 4th-and-1 from the Chargers' 43-yard line, trailing 16-10 with 7:15 to play, Pierce opted to send in the punt team. The Chargers promptly put together an eight-play, 92-yard touchdown drive to put the game out of reach and seal Jim Harbaugh's first win. NFL coaching staffs have limitless resources - there is no excuse for being this bad at fourth-down calls. And yet here we are, in the year 2024, still talking about decisions that any teenage football fan could get right based on their Madden experience.

Stat of the week