Defenses are running ahead of offenses, making for a pretty lackluster Week 1. So far, there have been twice as many field goals as touchdown passes.
The quarterbacking numbers thus far has been pretty putrid. Only 15 teams in Week 1 passed for at least 200 yards. Tua Tagovailoa and Matthew Stafford were the only two to reach the 300-yard mark.
And there were only eight quarterbacks in the opening slate that threw multiple touchdowns.
In some Superflex league somewhere, some team started Baker Mayfield and Derek Carr, ending up with the only two who threw more than 2 TDs.
Rust is probably a factor, with teams prioritizing keeping guys healthy in August. There’s less contact work, and hardly anybody is playing in the regular season.
And I think defenses are getting better and more complex; I think that’s a contributing factor. Despite the steady stream of rules changes favoring offenses, it’s harder to break down NFL defenses than it’s been in the past.
I presume offenses will come around as teams get their timing down, polish up plays and discard the ones that aren’t working. But it will take time for some. And there could be some more ugly low-scoring games coming up.
| OPENING DAY QUARTERBACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Com | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int |
| Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 23 | 37 | 62.2% | 338 | 1 | 0 |
| Matthew Stafford, LAR | 34 | 49 | 69.4% | 317 | 1 | 1 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 20 | 28 | 71.4% | 291 | 1 | 1 |
| Baker Mayfield, T.B. | 24 | 30 | 80.0% | 289 | 4 | 0 |
| Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 20 | 34 | 58.8% | 278 | 2 | 2 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 26 | 41 | 63.4% | 273 | 1 | 0 |
| Jordan Love, G.B. | 17 | 34 | 50.0% | 260 | 2 | 1 |
| Gardner Minshew, L.V. | 25 | 33 | 75.8% | 257 | 1 | 1 |
| C.J. Stroud, Hou. | 24 | 32 | 75.0% | 234 | 2 | 0 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 18 | 23 | 78.3% | 232 | 2 | 0 |
| Brock Purdy, S.F. | 19 | 29 | 65.5% | 231 | 0 | 0 |
| Jared Goff, Det. | 18 | 28 | 64.3% | 217 | 1 | 1 |
| Anthony Richardson, Ind. | 9 | 19 | 47.4% | 212 | 2 | 1 |
| Sam Darnold, Min. | 19 | 24 | 79.2% | 208 | 2 | 1 |
| Derek Carr, N.O. | 19 | 23 | 82.6% | 200 | 3 | 0 |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 22 | 42 | 52.4% | 186 | 0 | 2 |
| Jayden Daniels, Was. | 17 | 24 | 70.8% | 184 | 0 | 0 |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 19 | 32 | 59.4% | 179 | 1 | 0 |
| Geno Smith, Sea. | 18 | 25 | 72.0% | 171 | 1 | 1 |
| Deshaun Watson, Cle. | 24 | 45 | 53.3% | 169 | 1 | 2 |
| Aaron Rodgers, NYJ | 13 | 21 | 61.9% | 167 | 1 | 1 |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 21 | 29 | 72.4% | 164 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyler Murray, Ari. | 21 | 31 | 67.7% | 162 | 1 | 0 |
| Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 12 | 21 | 57.1% | 162 | 1 | 0 |
| Bryce Young, Car. | 13 | 30 | 43.3% | 161 | 0 | 2 |
| Justin Fields, Pitt. | 17 | 23 | 73.9% | 156 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirk Cousins, Atl. | 16 | 26 | 61.5% | 155 | 1 | 2 |
| Justin Herbert, LAC | 17 | 26 | 65.4% | 144 | 1 | 0 |
| Bo Nix, Den. | 26 | 42 | 61.9% | 138 | 0 | 2 |
| Will Levis, Ten. | 19 | 32 | 59.4% | 127 | 1 | 2 |
| Jacoby Brissett, N.E. | 15 | 24 | 62.5% | 121 | 0 | 0 |
| Caleb Williams, Chi. | 14 | 29 | 48.3% | 93 | 0 | 0 |
—Ian Allan