Cover 32: Will Daniel Jones become the latest late bloomer QB? Game balls, biggest gaffes from Week 1

Score another for the Land of Misfit Toys? Every year for the last half-decade or so, it seems like some downtrodden once highly touted signal-caller who has gone through the proverbial mud suddenly pops. Whether it’s Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, Geno Smith in Seattle, or last season’s darling, Sam Darnold in Minnesota, we’ve seen a quarterback enjoy a late career bloom. 

Is 2025’s version of this really going to be Daniel Jones? You’re damn right it is! Well, at least for Week 1. 

After beating out Anthony Richardson for the starting job, Jones took the Indianapolis Colts into the season opener and didn’t just lead them to victory but beat the bag out of the Miami Dolphins, 33-8. In the win, Jones was sensational. How sensational? He led scoring drives on every single possession the Colts had on Sunday afternoon and became just the second quarterback in the last 30 seasons to spearhead scoring drives on his first seven possessions in his team debut. The Colts were also the first team since at least 1978 to score on every offensive possession in a game, according to CBS Sports Research. 

Jones’ talents were on full display in the win. Through the air, he completed 22 of his 29 throws for 272 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he added 26 yards on seven carries to go along with two touchdowns. Most importantly, he has zero turnovers. 

And these weren’t your high percentage, designed completions. They were … dare I say … DIMES! 

That performance helped Indy break what was a bleak losing streak in Week 1. The club had previously gone winless in its last 11 Week 1 games (0-10-1). The last time they exited Week 1 was back in 2013. Current Stanford GM Andrew Luck was the quarterback, and it came against a Raiders team that still called Oakland home. So, yeah, it’s been a long time. 

Should we point out that the Dolphins don’t appear to be the most competitive team and may be on the verge of combusting? Sure. But that still doesn’t take away how crisp Jones looked throughout the afternoon, hitting seven different pass catchers, six for at least 20 yards. The major question is whether or not this is sustainable. After all, this isn’t the first time that Jones has flashed and lured some of us in. Are we falling for that again, or is he truly going to be the latest veteran quarterback to fall into his perfect situation and break out? Next week’s contest against a stout Denver Broncos defense might paint a clearer picture. 

NFL Week 1 grades: Aaron Rodgers leads Steelers to wild win and solid mark, Bengals survive ugly opener

John Breech

I want to put these two in the same bucket. While Rodgers got the better of his former Jets squad in his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York may ultimately fare well with Justin Fields as its quarterback too. I think these quarterbacks each make sense for where their current franchises are situated, so this is a rare offseason swap that may be beneficial for both sides.  

Rodgers looked like vintage Rodgers in Week 1, completing 22 of his 30 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns in the win. It was the most passing touchdowns by a Steelers quarterback in a game since Ben Roethlisberger in 2020. Meanwhile, Fields was a more than respectable 16 for 22 through the air for 218 yards and a touchdown. He did most of his damage on the ground with 48 yards rushing and two touchdowns. His presence did seem to make life easier for the Jets backfield as well, with Breece Hall rushing for 107 yards, albeit on the losing end. 

Both of these performances are probably the peak of what they can provide on a weekly basis, and if those come with more regularity, they each could be frisky this season. 

Admit it. When you saw “Bill” as RB4 on the unofficial depth chart before Week 1, you were kicking yourself for falling for the preseason hype and drafting him too high in your Fantasy leagues. I was right there with you. Fast-forward to Washington’s opener, and Croskey-Merritt eased those fears. In fact, he made all of us who did take him look like geniuses, rushing 10 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. 

He certainly doesn’t look like a seventh-round rookie. 

The newest Packer is merely scratching the surface with what he’ll be able to do with his new club. That fact should send a shiver down the spine of every quarterback on Green Bay’s schedule. Playing just 29 defensive snaps (45%), Parsons made his presence felt. He tallied a sack to go along with several pressures, one of which forced Jared Goff into an interception. He did that by beating star tackle Penei Sewell. 

This comes after Parsons didn’t participate pretty much in any of Dallas’ summer workouts. Once he gets into true game shape, the Packers could be a runaway train. 

Sometimes, preseason hype is just that. Not in Tampa with Buccaneers first-round rookie Emeka Egbuka, however. The first-rounder had been drawing rave reviews all summer, and folks got to see what the hype was all about in the back-and-forth win over the Falcons. Egbuka finished with a team-high 67 yards on four catches (six targets) and two touchdowns. The second gave the Bucs a 23-20 lead with less than a minute remaining and proved to be the game-winner. With Chris Godwin reportedly undergoing a second surgery and not expected to be back until Week 5, Egbuka is going to get plenty of run. 

Going back to Friday’s game, the national talking point will likely be whether or not this is finally the demise of the Kansas City Chiefs. Yawn. That would be an overreaction. What shouldn’t be overlooked, however, was how dialed in Justin Herbert was throughout the contest, particularly late. In the second half of L.A.’s opener, Herbert completed 13 of his 16 passes (81.25%) for 147 yards and two touchdowns. In the fourth quarter alone, he was 9-for-9 for 91 yards and a touchdown. He also had a back-breaking 19-yard run on third-and-14 to clinch the victory. 

Herbert and the word “clutch” haven’t been tied together throughout the Chargers QB’s career to this point. For his career (regular season and playoffs), 19 of Herbert’s 49 interceptions (roughly 39%) have come in the fourth quarter. But if what we saw on Friday night is Herbert evolving into a new form, we may have to look at Los Angeles a bit differently. 

Derrick Henry was having his typical game for the ages. The Ravens back finished the opener with 169 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns. You know, normal stuff. What wasn’t normal, however, was Henry fumbling the football with just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter with his Ravens holding a 40-32 lead. 

That gave Buffalo the ball back at the Baltimore 30 and would springboard the Bills into a fourth-quarter rally that would end in an improbable walk-off 41-40 win. After the turnover, Buffalo scored thanks to a Josh Allen rush up the middle, but failed to convert the two-point attempt. Baltimore went three-and-out on the ending possession and Allen then led a game-winning field goal drive as time expired, all sprung following Henry’s fumble. 

How rare of a gaffe is this from the All-World running back? Prior to Sunday, Henry had lost just four fourth-quarter fumbles in his entire career (since 2016), according to TruMedia.  

The Atlanta Falcons were in position to force overtime with their division rival Buccaneers, but Younghoe Koo helped Tampa Bay escape with a Week 1 win. Michael Penix Jr. moved the offense 60 yards down the field and got them to the Tampa Bay 26-yard line with six seconds left in regulation and down 23-20. All Koo needed to do was connect on the 44-yard attempt, and they’d in all likelihood be heading to OT. Welp, his kick sailed wide right. Oof. 

If you’re a rebuilding team like the Jets that may be punching above its weight, you can’t give your opponent an inch. Well, Xavier Gipson gave Pittsburgh the ball at the worst possible moment. After surrendering a 68-yard touchdown drive that brought the Steelers within two points at the start of the fourth quarter, Gipson fielded the ensuing kickoff and had the ball punched free by running back Kenneth Gainwell. After Pittsburgh recovered, it took the offense just two plays to find the end zone again to score 14 unanswered points before Justin Fields even got back on the field. 

Are we even doing gaffes if we don’t include the most viral moment of Week 1? Carter being ejected before the first defensive snap was the fastest ejection in an NFL game since 2005. Even if the officials didn’t see Carter’s spit on Dak Prescott and the Cowboys quarterback couldn’t convince them of what happened in the moment, it’s naive on the part of Carter to think that cameras wouldn’t have revealed the situation at some point, opening him up to fines and/or a suspension. It was as boneheaded of a move as you can make. And it could cost him. 

As CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported, if the NFL decides to suspend Carter for even one game, it would technically void his remaining guarantees. Jones highlights that the Eagles would likely not claw back Carter’s guarantees, however. Regardless, it seems inevitable that Carter will receive a fine and if the league goes even further and suspends him for the Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Chiefs next week he’d also lose a $57,222 game check.

Here are some of my quick-hitting notes/takeaways from Week 1:

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