Penalties played a leading role in Week 1. The Titans spent all offseason trying to fix their self-inflicted mistakes but were flagged 13 times for 131 yards – more penalty yardage than last season’s team suffered in any game. As for the Rams, they had it better than Houston, but seven infractions accepted for 60 yards still felt like too many, especially considering the 100-plus yards Jordan Whittington had wiped away by flags.
Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was on a pitch count in Denver, as he works his way back from last fall’s quadricep injury. Interestingly, he’s had as much success as any defensive back in the league against Adams. Per NFL Research, the 28-year-old has been targeted 18 times as the nearest defender in coverage versus Adams since 2020, allowing a 44.0 passer rating on those targets.
And lastly, Week 1 had the highest kick return rate of any week since 2010 (75.6 percent), up over 32 percent from last season. The Rams and Joshua Karty were a driving force in the uptick. Two of his kickoffs made it to the landing zone and then the end zone for touchbacks, meaning the Texans started at their 20 (instead of the 35). A third was returned by Houston, but only to the 23-yard line. This is a critical development and a leading reason why the Rams only surrendered nine points and zero touchdowns.
My caution last week was if San Francisco was able to squeeze a win out of Seattle, the 49ers would be set up for success in 2025. Well, they did and they are…unless the injuries mount. Next, the Niners (1-0) go to New Orleans (0-1) to face what is expected to be one of the league’s worst teams. However, they’ll do so without the best tight end in the league and their starting quarterback, as well.
Arizona (1-0) just beat those Saints 20-13 with a promising start to year two of the Kyler Murray – Marvin Harrison Jr. partnership. Next, the Cardinals are home to Carolina (0-1).
Meantime, Seattle has an enigma to solve – the Aaron Rodgers-led Steelers – if they hope to avoid an 0-2 start in Pittsburgh. This could also be labeled the D.K. Metcalf revenge game. He turned four receptions into 83 yards in his Steelers debut.
And since we did it last week, we’ll include the Atlanta Falcons again as former and honorary members of the division. After seeing Tampa Bay escape their grasp in Week 1, now the Falcons travel to Minnesota on Sunday – so it’s a duel of our Super Bowl coordinators, Raheem Morris versus Kevin O’Connell.