Week 1 of the NFL Season, we hardly knew ye. Just as we settled in to watch seven hours of commercial-free football followed by the Sunday night game, it was like we blinked, and you were already over.
You did leave us with some highs and lows before you left, and while some of our fantasy lineups may be in shambles, there’s a whole season left to turn things around. So without further ado, here is week 1’s no cap recap!
10 Studs
- Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins QB – 466 yds, 3 TDs
- Tyreek Hill, Dolphns WR – 215 yards, 2 TDs
- Austin Ekeler, Chargers RB -- 164 yards total offense, 1 TD
- Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers WR – 129 yards, 2 TDs
- Calvin Ridley, Jaguars WR – 101 yards, 1 TD
- Jordan Love, Packer QB – 245 yards, 3 TDs
- Aaron Jones, Packers RB – 127 total yards, 2 TDs
- Tyler Allgeier, Falcons RB – 94 total yards, 2 TDs
- Kyren Williams, Rams RB – 52 yards, 2 TDs
- Tony Pollard, Cowboys RB – 82 total yards, 2 TDs
Tua and Tyreek a Terrific Tandem
If you’re a Miami Dolphins backer, then you’re laughing all the way to the bank -- 536 total yards of offense. Miami kept Tua upright and he made the Chargers defense pay. Both Tagovailoa and Hill were stacked in the winning “Milly Maker” lineup from Sunday. With defense a non-factor, expect this stack to be a popular one. And for Jaylen Waddle fans, don’t worry! A quiet 78 yards was an efficient 78 yards as he averaged 19.5 yards per grab. Better days are ahead.
- WR Rankings: Aerial Show in Minneapolis
- RB Rankings: Bell Cow Rings Loud in DC
- QB Rankings: Make Room for the Rookie
- TE Rankings: YAC Attack in Detroit
- Doubt Patrick, Just a Little Bit
- Waiver Wire Picture Is Getting Clearer
- The Studs and Duds from Week 2
Ekeler’s running mate Josh Kelley almost put up 100 yards of his own and added a touchdown. But you could argue people expected more from Herbert after he only tossed for 1 touchdown (he ran for another) and none of his receivers went over 100 yards. Get to work, Kellen Moore.
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In Pittsburgh, I’m not sure if Aiyuk was making Brock Purdy look like Montana and Young or Purdy was making Aiyuk look like Jerry Rice, but the duo was cooking. The 49ers did something you don’t see very often: they made Mike Tomlin’s group look unprepared.
Christian McCaffrey did CMC things on his way to 152 yards on the ground and a touchdown. George Kittle had a quiet game, but I’m not panicking on him yet. With health concerns coming in, I expect him to find that connection with Purdy again that made him a top-3 tight end in the final weeks of last season.
Jones the Man in Green Bay
Death, taxes, and the Bears losing to the Packers. Those have been the guarantees since 2018 -- the last time Chicago got a win over the cheese. There was hope a Chicago streak could start with Aaron Rodgers out of the picture, but Jordan Love didn’t miss a beat.
What’s clear is Jones is the man in the Green Bay offense now more than ever. The Packers were in a lull before making the third quarter the Aaron Jones show. He scored twice in the quarter before an early exit with a hamstring issue. It will be something to monitor as his primary backup A.J. Dillon plodded his way to 19 yards on 13 carries.
Everyone in Atlanta was excited to see what first-round pick Bijan Robinson could do at running back. The kids like to say, “he ate,” but I’d call his performance more of a snack. The electricity was there and he got into the endzone for his first NFL score, but it was his backup who got a surprising amount of runs.
Allgeier may have been an afterthought for some, but he got more touches and yards than Robinson on the ground and secured two touchdowns of his own. Falcons coach Arthur Smith is famous for not thinking much of fantasy stats, but it certainly seems like both running backs will be start-able this season.
Los Angeles Rams runner Cam Akers was RB3 over the final six weeks of 2022. But that guy didn’t show up this weekend -- 29 yards on 22 carries. Instead, it was Kyren Williams carrying the Rams to an unexpected victory in Seattle. Will the real Cam Akers please stand up?
Dallas’ offense didn’t need to do that much during biblical rains in their game against the Giants, but their star running back still looked electric. Pollard averaged 5 yards per carry in the 40-0 beatdown of Big Blue. He added two catches for 12 yards, but that number should go up with better weather and an opponent that has more life than the Giants squad that got shut out.
Don't Panic on Bengals Yet
As for the duds, there was probably no bigger disappointment than the entire Cincinnati Bengals roster. Whether you play season long or DFS, you probably targeted a Bengal especially after Joe Burrow got the big money deal. All he did was turn in the worst performance of his career after a preseason where he was rehabbing an injured calf and a rainstorm in Cleveland.
The Browns’ defense played well at every level, holding Burrow to 82 passing yards and no touchdowns while sacking him twice. Tee Higgins had zero catches on eight targets, and Ja’Marr Chase had only 39 yards.
I’m willing to bet this is an exception and not the norm, and I’m not ready to panic. Let’s see how they handle a Ravens team that just gave up 268 yards to the lowly Texans.