Recapping the worst performances and the best performances after the first week

_{Baker Mayfield (6) celebrating a touchdown with Mike Evans (13) and Jalen McMillan (15), image from Jason Behnken and AP News}

The first week of the NFL season has finished and week two begins today, here are the three worst and the three best performances of week one.

The Worst

At number three is Chicago Bears new rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

In Williams’ debut game he completed just 14 passes on 29 attempts, for a very low 93 yards, 3.2 yards per attempt and no touchdowns, but on the bright side no interceptions and a win over the Titans 24-17, although that was due to the defense and special teams rallying back after being down 17-3.

In all fairness to Williams, he is a rookie starting his first ever game and is playing against a solid Tennessee Titans defense which just acquired former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed who is one of the best CB’s in the league.

At number two is Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young who was looking to bounce back after a rough rookie season.

Young connected on 13 passes out of 30 attempts for just 161 yards, 5.4 yards per attempt, no touchdowns and two interceptions. This performance ended up causing the Panthers to lose 10-47 to the New Orleans Saints.

In all fairness, the Panthers are in the middle of rebuilding and the roster is not good at all, the Panthers need to get more talented players to play with Young to see how he does because as of now they are making him look like one of the worst QB’s in the league.

At number one, or the worst of the worst this week, is New York Giants QB Daniel Jones, which to many this isn’t a surprise.

After playing only six games in the 2023 season due to a neck injury and then tearing his Achilles, Jones first game back looked as bad as it possibly could, and in many peoples opinions, as good as it possibly could.

Jones in the last couple of years has had one good season. The 2022 season was his best year in recent history and was good enough to get him a four-year $160 million dollar contract extension, but since signing that extension he has started in just seven games, has a 1-6 record in those games and has thrown more touchdowns to opposing teams than to his own with three interceptions returned for touchdowns and two passing touchdowns.

Jones first game back was a 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings where he passed the ball 42 times but only had 22 completions for 186 yards, averaged 4.4 yards per attempt, had no passing touchdowns and two interceptions, one of those being part of the three interceptions returned for a touchdown since signing his extension.

There’s not much to defend Jones performance considering this is a not so unusual performance from him, but in all fairness, the Giants offensive line could be a lot better after allowing the Vikings to sack Jones five times and he is just returning from an Achilles injury.

The Best

At number 3 is Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield who looked spectacular in his first game since signing a three-year $100 million extension.

Mayfield looked lethal against the Washington Commanders after connecting on 24 passes out of 30 attempts for 289 yards, 9.6 yards per attempt, four touchdowns to no interceptions and secured a 20-37 victory.

The Buccaneers have found the perfect transition out of Tom Brady, of course Mayfield is nowhere near Brady’s skill level but most teams have a hard time finding a new franchise QB, the Buccaneers though, they got their guy already.

At number two is Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed who had an amazing game featuring multiple big plays.

Reed dissected the Philadelphia Eagles defense with just four catches, but those catches went for 138 yards, 34.5 yards per reception, and one touchdown, in addition to that he also had one rushing attempt for 33 yards and a touchdown. Reed was a problem through the air and on the ground, but despite that the Packers lost to the Eagles 29-34.

The Packers QB Jordan Love was asked this offseason about the receiving corp of the team and if he has any concern with not having a true number one receiver, he responded saying that’s not an issue and he thinks all of his guys are number one receivers, but if Reed keeps up this level of production it’ll be clear who the number one man is in Green Bay.

At number one is the former New York Giant, now with the Giants division rival the Eagles, running back Saquan Barkley.

The Packers had no answer for Barkley in week one, allowing him to run for 109 yards on 24 attempts, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and had two rushing touchdowns, along with that he caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown.

If the Most Valuable Player doesn’t have to be a QB, although the NFL has proven it is a QB award, then most people probably agree that Barkley is the front-runner for MVP. Week one is super early to start guessing who the MVP may be, but Barkley would be leading the race and may have a really good chance at winning it if he can do even just 80% of what he did in week one.

Looking Forward to Week 2

As we enter week two, nobody knows who will look good or bad, but it is safe to assume the best players in the first week probably won’t end up in the worst performances of week 2, and for the worst performers it may be a stretch for them to be a top performer.