The start of the 2024 NFL regular season gave fans a match-up of the ages: the reigning 2023 NFL most valuable player, Lamar Jackson, led his Baltimore Ravens against the 2022 NFL MVP, Patrick Mahomes, leading his defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. 

Both teams took home their division titles in the previous season, with the Ravens snagging the most wins in the American Football Conference, or AFC. However, the Ravens’ win total was not a sure advantage, as the Chiefs won the AFC Championship game over the Ravens by a touchdown, propelling them to win the Super Bowl two weeks later. 

Unsurprisingly to fans, this game made a good case for the best of the opening weekend, with the Chiefs once again winning by a single touchdown, with a score of 27-20. However, the Ravens put up a fight until the very end, only losing on a toe-scraping touchdown that was overturned by the referees.

Week one had a lot planned this year, with the day following the AFC Championship rematch being another rivalry game between the Philadelphia Eagles, led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, and the Green Bay Packers, led by QB Jordan Love. This game was like no other seen in NFL History, as it was the first NFL game to be played in Brazil. being played in Brazil. 

Both these teams had a lot to prove as well. The highly-touted Eagles tailed off in momentum towards the end of the 2023 season, falling in the Wild Card round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Green Bay Packers made it to the divisional round last winter.  

Both teams put up a fight, yet Philadelphia pulled off the first NFL win in Brazil with the Eagles debut by star offseason acquisition Saquon Barkley and his 109-yard, 2-touchdown performance. 

Many teams performed well during week one’s festivities, yet some did not meet their fan base’s expectations.

The Buffalo Bills took down the Arizona Cardinals with a score of 34-28 after trailing by a touchdown at half. The main story of this game was that fourth overall draft pick, potential star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., only received three targets during the game, finishing with a reception total of one for four yards. 

A QB match-up of two former top draft picks, the Houston Texans against the Indianapolis Colts, ended in a shootout, with both teams scoring two touchdowns in the final fifteen minutes. Nevertheless, Houston pulled out the victory.

The start of the Broncos and Seahawks game featured two field goals and two safeties for Denver, as well as a field goal and touchdown with a missed point after touchdown, or PAT, kick for Seattle. Despite a slow start, Seattle would win this game by six over Denver.

Former Cleveland Brown Baker Mayfield played excellently in the Buccaneers’ win over the Commanders, throwing for four touchdowns. If Mayfield continues passing like this, all-time wide-receiving talent Mike Evans may be on the fast track to tie Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice’s consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season record of eleven.

Tension hit the Miami Dolphins this weekend as star receiver and player-voted number one player in the NFL, Tyreek Hill, was detained by the police hours before their game against Jacksonville. Luckily for the Dolphins, Hill suited up against the Jaguars, collecting seven receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown, to which he promptly did a handcuff celebration in the endzone with his teammates. 

After the game, fans seemed upset with the Jaguars’ performance. 

“They’re going to suck,” says Max Krapf, a freshman math major and a skeptic Jacksonville fan, not showing too much support after his team’s week one performance. 

The NFL’s number one overall draft pick, Caleb Williams, struggled in his debut, only amounting for 93 yards with zero touchdowns and a 48% completion rate. Yet, Chicago’s defense told the story of this game, sacking sophomore QB Will Levis three times and picking him off twice. The defense also scooped and scored a blocked punt, amounting for two defensive touchdowns in the win over Tennessee.

The first overtime game occurred in Detroit. It involved a matchup of QBs who used to play for the opposing team: Matt Stafford and Jared Goff. Both QBs had similar stat lines, with the reigning NFC North champion Lions winning the year’s first Sunday Night Football game with a final score of 26-20. 

For the Atlanta Falcons, the start of the season did not go as planned, with a loss by eight to the Steelers, whose offense is called by former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith. 

“They’re going to be good,” said Coleman Jones, a freshman finance major and Falcons fan. 

The first Monday Night Football of the year hosted the New York Jets at the San Francisco 49ers. 

Both teams looked to push deeper into the season this year. Jets QB Aaron Rodgers only made one passing attempt the previous year before tearing his achilles tendon against Buffalo. The 49ers were on the losing side of Super Bowl LVIII in the previous year and are looking to bring home the Lombardi trophy for the first time since 1994. 

On paper, both teams have some of the best rosters in the NFL. However, the question is if they can put everything together and win out. 

Rodgers played more than four snaps in his opening game this year, but that did not  change anything for the 49ers who continued to outplay their opponents, winning 32-19 over New York, even without being able to start last year’s Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey.

Even after a big win against New York, 49ers fans are still wondering how the San Francisco juggernaut can improve.

“They need a committed wide receiver,” says Gunnar Stringfield, a freshman finance major and 49ers fan.

Fans will need to continue to watch the NFL in the coming weeks in order to find the answers to questions raised in weeks one and two.