Trending 📉 📈 after NFL’s Week 1 and the debut of Micah Parsons

Inside: How teams, players and units are trending after almost all of Week 1. But first, check in on any Browns fans in your life.

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Week 1 Risers

Green Bay entered Week 1 with high expectations, then exceeded them.

The Packers’ defense suffocated Detroit. The Lions couldn’t run the ball, with just 46 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Jared Goff was constantly pressured (37.2 percent of his dropbacks), despite the Packers blitzing at the second-lowest rate of any team so far, just 11.6 percent of the time. And even when Goff completed a pass, his receivers had nowhere to go. Their 3.9 yards after the catch were the lowest mark in their past 19 games.

The Packers’ four sacks tied for the league’s third-highest of Week 1, and that was with Micah Parsons playing fewer than half of the game’s snaps. His first sack as a Packer was a relatively small part of his game-changing debut, but was the second time he appeared from a mess to wreak havoc on NFC North quarterbacks.

The Lions were held to just six points until a late (and spectacular) Isaac TeSlaa touchdown catch brought the final score to 27-13.

Elsewhere:

📈 Chargers’ passing. The identity of Jim Harbaugh’s team was built around the run, so it was a surprise to see Justin Herbert pass on 69.5 percent of plays against the Chiefs on Friday, the highest rate in a Chargers win since Harbaugh arrived. Could they finally unleash their franchise quarterback?

📈 Hyped rookies. Few rookies receive such universal summer praise as Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka and Commanders RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt did this year. Well deserved, apparently. Egbuka scored two touchdowns, including a 25-yard score that became the 23-20 game-winner once the Falcons missed a field goal. Croskey-Merritt, meanwhile, appeared a perfect fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s scheme (10 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown). Washington also won, beating the Giants 21-6.

📈 Seattle’s funnel. With DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett elsewhere, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the lone receiving threat for the Seahawks. He saw an astounding 59.1 percent of targets per route run, which led all Week 1 receivers. But he also fumbled on a screen pass in the fourth quarter, one of many failures that cost the Seahawks in their 17-14 loss to the 49ers.

📈 Defense in L.A. and Houston. Star quarterbacks and elite receivers were expected to be the story in Texans-Rams, but their respective defenses opened the season by smacking the opposition in the face — literally, in the case of Puka Nacua, who was bleeding from his forehead. “I don’t think I’ve taken too many shots like that one,” he said afterward. The Rams escaped the slugfest with a 14-9 win, thanks to Nacua’s resilience (10 catches, 130 yards).

📈 Cardinals’ chemistry. Marvin Harrison Jr. was 2024’s No. 4 pick, but you wouldn’t have known it based on his rookie stats (62 receptions, 885 yards and eight touchdowns). Harrison caught just 53.4 percent of his targets, ranking behind Alec Pierce and Darius Slayton for 135th among receivers. In Week 1, Harrison’s 83.3 percent reception rate suggested better chemistry with quarterback Kyler Murray. Harrison finished with five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals’ 20-13 win over the Saints.

📈 Retread quarterbacks. Few expected 30-plus points each from teams led by offseason free agents Aaron Rodgers, Justin Fields and Daniel Jones. Well, Rodgers looked like his MVP self in a 34-32 win over the Jets, Fields produced against the league’s highest-paid defense and Jones made his case as the next Sam Darnold via a 33-8 blowout of Miami.

📈 Calls for Jaxson Dart. The worst of that category was the Giants’ Russell Wilson, who completed just 46 percent of his passes for 4.5 yards per attempt in the loss to Washington. My guess is that Brian Daboll waits at least until stalwart left tackle Andrew Thomas, who missed Sunday’s game, is healthy, but as Dianna will explain, that might not be the case.

What Dianna’s Hearing: QB change approaching in NY?

Daboll wouldn’t commit to Wilson as his starter after Sunday’s toothless loss. He is coaching for his job, and even before New York’s offense scored the fewest points in the league in Week 1, the Giants had been throwing everything at Dart, forcing their rookie QB into uncomfortable situations and treating him almost like a starter.

The 22-year-old from Ole Miss has weathered it all. One source close to the Giants told me the rookie “can handle the moment.” His early poise hasn’t surprised the team, but it has impressed them. His personality is said to be a perfect match for Daboll, and he’s soaked up the guidance and coaching.

With a brutal upcoming schedule — after a trip to Dallas, the Giants host the Chiefs and Chargers — the Dart era could begin very soon.

Back to you, Jacob.

Week 1 Fallers

I’d be fine if last night’s Bills-Ravens game could somehow have been the Super Bowl. So would Matt Prater, the 41-year-old kicker who was still learning the names of his teammates when he hit the game-winning field goal on Sunday.

In a rare Week 1 game with playoff implications, Josh Allen willed the Bills to a stunning 41-40 comeback win over Baltimore, which ended with Prater’s kick, a rendition of “Mr. Brightside” and new edge rusher Joey Bosa “in a dream state.”

Allen and Lamar Jackson both made their cases as MVP frontrunners for the second consecutive year. Allen had 424 total yards and four touchdowns, while Jackson had 279 yards and three scores.

📉 Ravens’ endings. The details were different, but the results were similar for Baltimore, which NextGen Stats had given a 98 percent chance of winning with 3:50 to play. As Mike Sando noted in his Pick Six column, Baltimore became the first team since 2000 to lose after leading by 15 points with possession and under 10 minutes in regulation (those teams had been 53-0 coming into Sunday).

The Ravens can’t figure out why this keeps happening, writes Jeff Zrebiec, though their decision to punt on a fourth-and-3 with 1:33 left has something to do with it. Hopefully they get another shot at Buffalo in the playoffs.

📉 Cleveland’s luck. Just as sure as the sun rises, the Browns will disappoint their fans. Their defense held Cincinnati to just two yards of offense in the second half, but two drops-turned-interceptions and a kicker who couldn’t hit water from a boat cost Cleveland in a 17-16 loss. Still, Jason Lloyd notes many reasons for optimism.

📉 Broncos’ offense. Denver’s defense dominated, but Bo Nix struggled to contribute against a middling Titans defense. Four turnovers, including two interceptions by Nix, overshadowed an improved run game that saw JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey combine for 133 yards on 22 carries in the 20-12 Denver win.

📉 Panthers’ rebound. Entering the season with a 7-27 record since drafting Bryce Young, the Panthers felt likely to improve. So much for that. The same issues plaguing Carolina for the past two seasons — poor run defense and mediocre quarterback play — were the theme in their 26-10 loss to the Jaguars.

📉 Other rebuilders. New England looked more like their 2024 version than everyone had hoped, underwhelming across the board. The Patriots trailed in nearly every counting stat in a 20-13 loss to the Raiders. Not that Las Vegas was stellar, either, as their run game struggled (2.3 yards per rush) despite the presence of top-10 pick Ashton Jeanty.

📉 Dolphins’ disaster. As respondents in The Athletic’s Week 1 roundtable suggested, Miami is in trouble. This defense allowed scores on every Colts possession (literally, every possession!!), while the first four drives for head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense went as follows: Interception, fumble, punt, interception. His days seem numbered.

For more: Zak Keefer shares everything he learned from Week 1.

Extra Points

🎙 Cam Ward’s debut. Live from their new studio, “The Athletic Football Show” broke down everything from Week 1, including why you should still be excited about the No. 1 pick despite a lackluster stat line against Denver (12/28, 112 yards, six sacks).

📓 J.J. McCarthy’s debut. The long-awaited moment of truth arrives for the quarterback whom the Vikings are betting their franchise on. Expect to see plenty of the sophomore’s contagious energy tonight against the Bears.

▶️ Friday’s most-clicked: NFL execs ranked AFC teams prior to Week 1. Probably a change at No. 1, if they reranked them now.

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(Photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)

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