The 7 Most Important Stats From NFL Week 1

Touches by Tarik Cohen, a 5-foot-6 swiss army knife on the Chicago Bears. A rookie 4th round pick from North Carolina A&T, Cohen led the Bears in rush yards (five carries, 66 yards) and receptions/receiving yards (eight catches, 47 yards, TD). The way Bears receivers are going down – first Cameron Meredith, now Kevin White (again) – Cohen could be in for a big season. Get him on your fantasy roster.

Andy Dalton had five turnovers, at home, against the Ravens. He’s the primary reason they were embarrassed by their rivals – the first NFL team to get blanked at home in an opener since 2006. How do you get shut out on opening day in front of your own fans? Marvin Lewis probably needs to call a realtor because if they lose Thursday night against the Texans, the season might as well be over. The Packers loom in week three. The running game was non-existent vs Baltimore; they were 0-3 in the red zone, and Dalton was sacked five times. Two of Dalton’s turnovers came in the red zone.

1-for-3

The Titans with Marcus Mariota last year were incredible in the red zone. They ranked 1st in scoring touchdowns at 72%. Sunday, against a below-average defense, the Titans sputtered in the red zone, going 1-for-3.

A 15-play, 93-yard drive resulted in a field goal when they elected to pass on 1st, 2nd and 3rd down in the 2nd quarter. In the 3rd quarter, they settled for another field goal after having 1st-and-10 at the 15. DeMarco Murray was stuffed on 3rd and 2. They never got back in the red zone again.

3.9

I’m not going to take a dump on the Jets all season long – there’s not enough talent on that team to take shots repeatedly. But they were playing a rebuilding Bills team, and offensively, could only muster 11 first downs and 214 total yards. There’s no worse offense in the league. The Jets averaged a paltry 3.9 yards per play. They ran the ball 15 times! Someone named Will Tye was 2nd in receiving yards (34) and Jermaine Kearse, who joined the team a week ago and barely knows the playbook, had a team-high nine targets.

Sacks by the young, swarming, Jaguars defense. They got Tom “Not So” Savage six times in the first half; rookie Deshaun Watson four times in the 2nd half. New defensive end Calais Campbell had four and Yannick Ngakoue had two. Some will chalk this up to the Texans not having Duane Brown (holdout), but keen observers saw this from Jacksonville last year, when statistically, they were a Top 10 defense.

Ben Roethlisberger, who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has now won more games than any other QB in the history of Cleveland Browns Stadium. FirstEnergy Stadium opened in 1999, and in that time, Roethlisberger has 11 victories, which pushes him past the immortal Derek Anderson (10).

Deshone Kizer should be the new leader in late 2020.

Last year, in seven home games, the Rams could only top 20 points once. It was a season-long train wreck for their new home audience. Fans clearly are not enamored with the team (yet?), because plenty of good seats were available for the opener against the Andrew Luck-less Colts. The Rams scored 46 points, including two pick-sixes. Their 2016 #1 pick, Jared Goff, actually looked like a QB in getting his first NFL win: 21-of-29, 306 yards, a clean pocket, and a 117.9 rating. I could have given 50 people three guesses who scored the most points in week one, and not one person would have guessed the Rams.