NFL Week 1 Winners and Losers: Former 49er Darnold Shines in Vikings Win

NFL Week 1 Winners and Losers: Former 49er Darnold Shines in Vikings’ Win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 2024 NFL season has begun.

After two exciting matches on Thursday and Friday to kick off the season, the rest of the competition kicked off on the first football Sunday of the season.

The early games produced exciting action, with six of the eight decided by one score. The later games were mostly one-sided, except when the Denver Broncos gave the Seattle Seahawks a late scare.

Here are the winners and losers from Sunday’s games, with the 49ers hosting the New York Jets on Monday night:

Loser: Bill Belichick

The New England Patriots seemed like they couldn’t do anything right in 2023. In Week 1 of 2024, the script was flipped.

Under new coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots went to Cincinnati and defeated the Bengals 16-10. New England’s defense was the story, limiting Cincinnati to just 224 total yards and forcing them into two turnovers.

While it’s only one game, Belichick will certainly be criticized after his former team performed so well without him. The Patriots’ roster is largely similar to last season’s, save for a change at quarterback to Jacoby Brissett. The veteran completed 15 of 24 passes for 121 yards and, most importantly, handled the ball well.

In his return to MetLife Stadium, the former New York Jets first-round draft pick made short work of the New York Giants.

Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings to an easy 28-6 victory, completing 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.

It’s been a tough career so far for the 27-year-old quarterback, who’s been with four teams since his 2018 draft, including the 49ers and the Carolina Panthers. Now, he’s in the best situation of his career with coach Kevin O’Connell and star receiver Justin Jefferson, so maybe 2024 is the year Darnold gets it right.

The second year of the Young era in Carolina is already looking a lot like the first.

Last year’s No. 1 overall pick struggled in Week 1, completing 13-of-30 passes for 161 yards and throwing two interceptions in the Panthers’ 47-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

The Panthers entered the 2024 season with renewed hope that a revamped coaching staff and offensive line could help Young turn things around. So far, albeit in a one-game sample, nothing appears to have changed.

Winner: NFL’s Dynamic Kickoff

The NFL has completely changed the way kickoffs are conducted in 2024 and the results are already being felt.

Arizona Cardinals running back DeeJay Dallas returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the second half of Sunday’s 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills. While one touchdown isn’t crazy, there were only four kick-return TDs in all 18 weeks of last season.

Winner: Simone Biles

The gymnastics GOAT keeps on winning.

Her husband had just finished a busy Olympics in Paris, where he won three gold medals for Biles, and now he was making a thrilling debut for the Chicago Bears.

Jonathan Owens returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Bears’ 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans. Owens, who has now played for four teams since going undrafted in 2018, is off to a hot start in the Windy City after spending last year with the rival Green Bay Packers, and it was the first score of the safety’s career.

Loser: Falcons fans

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons played in Georgia, but you wouldn’t know it from watching the game.

Terrible Towels infiltrated Mercedes-Benz Stadium and took over the Falcons’ home ballpark. Steelers fans helped their team to an 18-10 victory over the Falcons in a sloppy defensive battle.

New Falcons QB Kirk Cousins ​​was rusty in his debut, with just 155 passing yards and two interceptions. Justin Fields replaced injured Steelers starter Russell Wilson, taking good care of the ball and letting his kicker and defense do the heavy lifting.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a great start, with Mayfield as the driving force.

In the Bucs’ 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders, Mayfield dominated, completing 24 of 30 completions for 289 yards and four touchdowns with no picks. It was his fifth career game with at least four passing TDs.

Chris Godwin was Tampa Bay’s top player with eight catches for 83 yards and a score, and Mike Evans had five catches for 61 yards and two TDs.

On the other side, Commanders featured rookie QB Jayden Daniels on the ground, but couldn’t overcome the defense’s inability to get stops. Daniels rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts, and completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards and zero touchdowns with zero picks.

The Cleveland Browns may have a quarterback problem… and an expensive one at that.

Watson struggled during a tough 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, completing 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

Most disturbing, however, were Watson’s split stats in the first half:

While the Cowboys have a strong defense, it didn’t help that the Browns’ run game lacked balance. Watson’s run of inconsistent or poor performances, however, dates back to when he joined the team in 2022.

Watson is under contract through 2026 at $46 million per year, but the deal will get more expensive in his final two seasons. There’s still plenty of work to be done if Watson ever wants to return to Houston Texans form.

While Justin Herbert didn’t light up the stat sheet with passing yards, he didn’t really need to. With Dobbins stepping into the backfield for the Los Angeles Chargers, Herbert got some much-needed help in sharing the offensive load.

Dobbins, who battled multiple injuries during his time with the Baltimore Ravens, recorded 10 carries, 135 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Chargers’ 22-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

LA still has a lack of depth in the receiving department, but it will be important for Dobbins to stay healthy and perform like this.

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