PFF broke down the numbers immediately after every preseason NFL Week 1 game, including advanced box-score metrics, snap counts and players of the game.
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IND@BAL | CIN@PHI | LVR@SEA | DET@ATL | CLE@CAR | WSH@NE | NYG@BUF | HOU@MIN | PIT@JAX | DAL@LAR | TEN@TB | KC@ARZ | NYJ@GB | DEN@SF | MIA@CHI | NO@LAC
Baltimore Ravens 24, Indianapolis Colts 16
If you didn't know any better, you might've sworn it was Derrick Henry slicing through the Indianapolis Colts' defense.
One look at Keaton Mitchell's frame — 6 inches shorter and 60-plus pounds lighter than Henry's — would tell you otherwise. The same is true for a glance at the TV guide, where the word “preseason” would suggest the elite Henry was comfortably on the bench.
Mitchell forced four missed tackles and tallied 68 yards and a score in the preseason Week 1 contest between the Ravens and Colts. Baltimore never looked back, claiming the win, 24-16.
The Colts will be less concerned about the result and more focused on quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was scheduled for significant playing time but exited with a finger injury suffered on a sack in the first quarter. He didn't return.
First-round pick Tyler Warren looked the part in his first NFL appearance. He caught three passes for 40 yards, including one contested grab. Warren finished as the game's highest-graded offensive player, pending reviews.
Philadelphia Eagles 34, Cincinnati Bengals 27
The Cincinnati Bengals' coaching staff, in an attempt to dispel consistent slow starts to regular seasons, trotted out the team's starters against the Philadelphia Eagles to open the preseason.
We won't know whether the change in philosophy has worked until meaningful game action kicks off. For now, it simply served as a warning to the rest of the league: Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase make football look easy.
Burrow and Chase connected on four passes for 77 yards on Cincinnati's first two drives — both resulting in touchdowns, one to the elite receiver. Burrow had played just 15 preseason snaps in five years before his team's 34-27 defeat to the Eagles. He matched that workload on Thursday night alone.
The Eagles kept their starters on the bench, but quarterback Tanner McKee looked right at home against much of the Bengals' first-team defense. He played into the third quarter, going 20-of-25 for 252 yards and two scores. Tarleton State product Darius Cooper was on the end of several throws, hauling in six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Las Vegas Raiders 23, Seattle Seahawks 23
Mike Macdonald has his defense swarming and his rookies contributing. And it's only Week 1 of the preseason.
The Seattle Seahawks' defense notched two interceptions and held the Las Vegas Raiders to just three points in the first half, although the Raiders fought back in the second half to earn a 23-23 tie. Seattle's coaching staff got an extended look at several of its first-year offensive weapons in the process.
Whether it was Tory Horton‘s game-high seven targets and touchdown or Elijah Arroyo's and Damien Martinez‘s extended playing time, Seattle's young playmakers saw their fair share of snaps.
On the Raiders' side, first-round pick Ashton Jeanty made his NFL debut but was bottled up for -1 yard on three carries. The team's promising rookie receivers, Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr., each made one catch.
Detroit Lions 17, Atlanta Falcons 10
The Detroit Lions-Atlanta Falcons preseason Week 1 contest was suspended in the fourth quarter after Lions safety Morice Norris Jr. was taken off the field in an ambulance with an apparent head/neck injury.
Starters were few and far between, but Detroit did enough for the 17-10 win over Atlanta. Lions quarterback Kyle Allen engineered two touchdown drives, and his team's defense shut down Atlanta's attempts to sustain offensive success.
The Falcons got a game-high three quarterback pressures out of 2022 second-rounder Arnold Ebiketie, who, for now, is one of the team's starting edge defenders while rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. develop.
Cleveland Browns 30, Carolina Panthers 10
With several players in the Cleveland Browns' carousel of quarterbacks nursing injuries, Shedeur Sanders was afforded a valuable opportunity.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski handed the fifth-round pick — a surprise descriptor for a passer many thought would be drafted in the first round — the keys to the Browns' offense for three quarters against the Carolina Panthers in preseason Week 1.
And Sanders didn't waver. He shook off some early rust to take command of Cleveland's offense, throwing for two touchdowns, making two big-time throws and earning a solid 73.0 PFF passing grade in his team's 30-10 win over the Panthers.
Former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young picked up where he left off in 2024 across two drives, logging two big-time throws on a 73-yard series that ended in a touchdown to Jalen Coker. Rookie first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan accounted for 43 of those yards — 30 of which came on a sensational over-the-shoulder throw and catch.
New England Patriots 48, Washington Commanders 18
New England Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson pinpointed the opening kickoff from the goal line, and then looked up. Daylight.
Patriots blockers had already created an unimaginable seam to dart through, and one cut later, Henderson was trotting into the endzone.
The second-round speedster is knocking on the door of spearheading New England's backfield, and now he's making his case to handle kick-return duties. His lone carry tallied 18 yards, and one of his catches featured a vicious forced missed tackle en route to a 9-yard gain.
Henderson's strong start paved the way for a Patriots blowout, a 48-18 triumph over the Washington Commanders — who went backup-heavy — in preseason Week 1.
New York Giants 34, Buffalo Bills 25
Jaxson Dart will have to wait his turn in the New York Giants' quarterback pecking order, but his first NFL preseason action revealed that he may not have to sit on the bench for long.
The first-round rookie made one big-time throw — an impressive deep shot with perfect accuracy to the endzone — and finished 12-of-19 for 154 passing yards. He added 24 yards on the ground before giving way to Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito, both of whom looked solid, too.
The well-rounded effort from the Giants' signal-callers spurred the offense to points in bunches and a 34-25 win over the Buffalo Bills in preseason Week 1.
Minnesota Vikings 20, Houston Texans 10
The J.J. McCarthy era in Minnesota has begun.
The Vikings' starting quarterback made his return to the field for one drive after suffering a torn meniscus during a standout preseason debut last year. He went just 4-of-7 for 30 yards and led the Vikings to a field goal in a measured showing. The Houston Texans opted to rest their starters, going with Davis Mills, Kedon Slovis and Graham Mertz at quarterback.
Points were hard to come by, as were star performances, in the Vikings' 20-10 win. But that's what the preseason tends to bring. Both teams still got strong performances out of young offensive linemen, including Joe Huber and Aireontae Ersery, and rookie linebackers, including Kobe King and Jackson Woodard.
Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 25
Listen, it's the preseason. We could wax poetic about rookies and backups, or we could lead with the true story of this game: Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little.
He converted a would-be-NFL-record 70-yard field goal just before halftime, seemingly with room to spare. While it won't go down in the official record books, the make will forever be etched into preseason lore.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming. The Pittsburgh Steelers held on to beat the Jaguars, 31-25, in preseason Week 1. Each team got a look at its top rookie running back, Kaleb Johnson and Bhayshul Tuten, respectively, and two-way star Travis Hunter made his anticipated NFL debut on both sides of the ball.
Los Angeles Rams 31, Dallas Cowboys 21
Stetson Bennett IV threw four interceptions against the Dallas Cowboys in the Los Angeles Rams' 2024 preseason opener. One year later, against the same opponent, he turned the tide.
Bennett orchestrated two touchdown drives to open up the contest, and the Rams never looked back. Los Angeles took the preseason Week 1 contest by a 31-21 score.
Third-year receiver Xavier Smith led the way with several impressive catches and a game-high 55 receiving yards, while running back Blake Corum found the endzone twice.
The Cowboys got their first look at second-round edge defender Donovan Ezeiruaku, who posted a game-high 33.3% pass-rush win rate (minimum of five pass-rush snaps) and one quarterback hurry.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 29, Tennessee Titans 7
On the Tennessee Titans' first play of the second quarter, No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward looked Calvin Ridley's way and fired. The wide-open receiver hauled in the pass — Ward's first NFL completion — and darted upfield for extra yardage. Then, the rookie's next two completions went Ridley's way, too. Suddenly, Ward was in a rhythm.
He helped guide the Titans downfield, one drive after going 0-for-2 passing, for seven points — the team's only score of the night. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the better team, claiming a 29-7 blowout victory, but Ward's debut was always going to be the headliner.
Kyle Trask seemed to solidify his status as Baker Mayfield‘s backup, making one big-time throw on 16 attempts. First-round wide receiver Emeka Egbuka also debuted, notching a 21-yard grab from Trask on the Buccaneers' first drive.
Arizona Cardinals 20, Kansas City Chiefs 17
Giving Patrick Mahomes a short field — a really short field — to open a game is inadvisable. Thankfully, it's only the preseason.
The future Hall of Famer needed to go just 13 yards downfield after Greg Dortch‘s fumble on the opening kickoff. In all, Mahomes recorded one completion for 1 yard and one touchdown before giving way to Gardner Minshew.
The Chiefs ultimately dropped the contest, 20-17, to the Arizona Cardinals, who worked their way back via two Bailey Zappe interceptions.
New York Jets 30, Green Bay Packers 10
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love tested Sauce Gardner on the game's first play, and the elite cornerback responded with a pass breakup. Two plays later, Love tried again. Still, no luck.
It was a sign of things to come for the Packers' offense, which remained stagnant amid a litany of errors. New head coach Aaron Glenn's squad looked determined to prove that 2025 will be the start of a new era of Jets football.
The Jets handled the Packers, 30-10, in the preseason Week 1 contest by forcing two turnovers and holding Green Bay to 1-for-10 on third down.
Denver Broncos 30, San Francisco 49ers 9
Rookie wideout Jordan Watkins' 50-yard reception on the second play of the game was a bright spot in an otherwise rough outing for the turnover-happy San Francisco 49ers.
It was also a less-than-ideal showing for second-year quarterback Bo Nix, who managed only three points for the Denver Broncos on three drives. Backup Jarrett Stidham helped the team ultimately hang 30 points on the 49ers.
Denver's 30-9 win over San Francisco in the preseason Week 1 stemmed from lockdown defense, with no Broncos defender allowing more than two receptions into their coverage.
Miami Dolphins 24, Chicago Bears 24
Second-year Chicago Bears edge defender Austin Booker, with two sacks to his name already, was hungry for more. Late in the third quarter, he effortlessly deposited 300-pound left tackle Kion Smith into the ground and set his sights on Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers.
As Ewers caught a glimpse of Booker's shadow bearing down on his blind side, he tried to dart to his right. Booker wasn't having it. He chased down Ewers and poked the ball out — a technically sound strip — for his third sack of the day.
Booker bullied the Dolphins' line in extended action, keeping the Bears in the game before it ended in an eventual 24-24 tie in preseason Week 1. The Chicago Bears held out Caleb Williams, whereas the Miami Dolphins opted to give Tua Tagovailoa one drive.
Tagovailoa marched Miami down the field on a 15-play, short-pass-heavy drive, although the series stalled after four straight runs failed to cross into the endzone.
Bears rookie Luther Burden III caught his first two passes in the NFL, one of which moved the chains on third-and-15. Later in the game, the Dolphins handed the offensive reins to Ewers and running back Ollie Gordon, who notched his first touchdown.
Los Angeles Chargers 27, New Orleans Saints 13
Undrafted rookie cornerback Eric Rogers stole the show at SoFi Stadium.
The Rutgers product snagged two interceptions for the Los Angeles Chargers, one a pick-six, and didn't surrender a single catch on five targets into his coverage. He is likely on track to earn one of the highest PFF coverage grades of the 2025 NFL preseason.
Both of the picks ultimately led to touchdowns, and that was the difference in the Chargers' 27-13 win over the New Orleans Saints to close out preseason Week 1.
The Saints' quarterback battle entered the spotlight for the first time this preseason, with Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough each looking to state their case.
Shough was on the wrong end of Rogers' pick-six but did drop a perfect pass into Mason Tipton‘s waiting arms for a 54-yard score. While Rattler stayed clean in the turnover department, he averaged more than 3 seconds to throw and took several sacks.
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