One week after starting the NFL season with plenty of skepticism and little buzz, the Steelers, Colts and Jets will be among the most closely watched teams of Week 2 as fans and analysts search for clues to one of the most unexpected questions of the young season.
Can the quarterback trio of Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers, the Jets’ Justin Fields and Indianapolis’ Daniel Jones look this good again?
Each had been cast off by their former team during the offseason, and another bad performance in Week 1 threatened to write them off with their new one, too.
When media outlets published preseason rankings of the league’s starting quarterbacks, all three routinely ranked in the bottom half; the NFL’s own website ranked Fields and Jones 30th and 31st in a 32-team league. Rodgers, a former four-time league MVP, was 21st.
That lack of confidence was justified. Jones had a 1-5 record in season openers with the Giants. Then, in his first start with the Colts since supplanting Anthony Richardson on the depth chart, Jones led Indianapolis to points on each of its first seven drives to blow out the Dolphins, 33-8, and win the Colts’ first Week 1 game in 12 years. Jones combined for three touchdowns. It was the first time since at least 1978 that a team scored on every possession of a game, according to league research.
Like Jones, Fields had been drafted in the first round with great expectations that were never fulfilled. After losing his starting job in Pittsburgh last season, he signed with the Jets as the replacement for Rodgers, who had been cast aside by New York’s new coaching staff. Fields completed 16 of his 22 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two more touchdowns. The passing efficiency was reminiscent of the way he started last season, mostly capably with Pittsburgh, too; the difference in his Jets debut was how much more Fields aired the ball out, averaging nearly 11 air yards per attempt, the highest of his career by four yards in five career season openers, according to the stats database Stathead.
The Jets lost despite scoring 30-plus points because Rodgers was even better in his debut with a new team. With Pittsburgh, Rodgers threw for four touchdowns without a turnover, something he hadn’t done since 2021. He’d thrown for four touchdowns in a season opener only once in 17 previous tries. His passer rate was the second-best of his career in season openers, as well, while his touchdown rate was a career-high in such scenarios, per Stathead.
It was unexpected. It was surprising.
Is it sustainable?
Jones hasn’t won consecutive games since October 2022. Whether that will change depends on whether he can stay healthy, a constant struggle while he was with the New York Giants, and how much he learned while spending half of last season in Minnesota under coach Kevin O’Connell, a noted quarterback coach. Jones told the “Pat McAfee Show” this week that he was impressed watching the granular level of detail that O’Connell paid attention to when scheming against defenses. With the Colts, he also has the benefit of throwing to standout rookie tight end Tyler Warren.
Rodgers, who relished beating the Jets in his postgame news conference, appears as motivated as ever, and his arm showed the same zip that made him a four-time MVP. But Father Time is as daunting to outrun as an unblocked edge rusher. In the 19 games since he left Green Bay — and since Rodgers turned 40 and has lost mobility — he has been sacked more often (45 times) than he has thrown touchdown passes (32).
Criticized during stops in Chicago and Pittsburgh for how often he scrambled rather than let plays develop from the pocket, Fields was markedly better in his Jets debut, ranking first among all Week 1 quarterbacks in explosive plays and expected points added when he dropped back to pass, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. His ability to run provided Fields a third chance to prove he is an NFL starter. But producing as a passer will determine how long it lasts.
“We’re gonna let him play quarterback, we’re gonna see the things that he likes, and we’re also gonna progress with the things that he’s not good at so he can get better in that aspect,” Aaron Glenn, New York’s first-year coach, told reporters after the game.
What we’re watching for in Week 2:
Jacksonville (1-0) at Cincinnati (1-0): No quarterback was pressured less in Week 1 than Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence. The Bengals are hoping to gain more than the 7 yards they produced in last week’s second half.
New York Giants (0-1) at Dallas (0-1): When Dak Prescott plays, the Cowboys have won 13 consecutive games against the Giants. The NFL record belongs to Bob Griese, who won 17 consecutive games against Buffalo through 1979.
Chicago (0-1) at Detroit (0-1): This is uh-oh territory for Detroit, which is in danger of going from last year’s No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC to an 0-2 start to this season.
Los Angeles Rams (1-0) at Tennessee (0-1): Only 16 interceptions were thrown combined in Week 1, the fewest during a season-opening week since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970, according to the NFL. L.A.’s Matthew Stafford and Titans No. 1 pick Cam Ward kept that number low by staying pick-free last week.
New England (0-1) at Miami (0-1): Last week the Dolphins averaged 6.5 yards per carry, among the best in the league. They also rushed the ball a league-low 12 times.
San Francisco (1-0) at New Orleans (0-1): Out goes 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, possibly for a month, with a toe injury. In his place steps backup Mac Jones.
Buffalo (1-0) at New York Jets (0-1): Cam Newton holds the NFL record for most games (45) by a quarterback with a passing and rushing touchdown, per Stathead. Buffalo’s Josh Allen can tie him Sunday.
Seattle (0-1) at Pittsburgh (1-0): It’s Steeler wideout DK Metcalf’s first game against the team that traded him. It’s also an opportunity for Aaron Rodgers (507 career touchdown passes) to pass Brett Favre (508) for fourth all time.
Cleveland (0-1) at Baltimore (0-1): According to the NFL, the Ravens produced an explosive play on nearly a third of their offensive plays in Week 1, the highest percentage by any team in the last decade. Yet they lost.
Denver (1-0) at Indianapolis (1-0): Here’s a big test for Daniel Jones to prove his hot Week 1 was for real. After leading the NFL in sacks last year, Denver produced an NFL-best six more in Week 1.
Carolina (0-1) at Arizona (1-0): After a promising end to his second season, former No. 1 overall pick and Panthers quarterback Bryce Young completed just 18 of his 34 passes for 154 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Philadelphia (1-0) at Kansas City (0-1): The Chiefs haven’t started a season 0-2 since 2014.
Atlanta (0-1) at Minnesota (1-0): Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson is one catch away from tying Larry Fitzgerald as the youngest receiver to reach 500 career catches. Jefferson will be 26 years and 90 days old on Sunday, the same age as Fitzgerald to the day when he accomplished it.
Tampa Bay (1-0) at Houston (0-1) (Monday): Coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, the Texans’ top receiver, Nico Collins, got just three catches for 25 yards in the opener. Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud has been sacked 104 times since entering the league in 2023, 12 more than any other quarterback.
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