NFL Week 1 Sunday winners and losers: Sam Darnold and Josh Allen shine, Bryce Young and Deshaun Watson fall

The NFL season has officially started.

After two thrilling games on Thursday and Friday to start the season, the rest of the league began their season on the first football Sunday of 2024.

The first games were really exciting, with six out of eight matches being won by a small margin.

The games that followed were mostly dominated by one team, except for the Denver Broncos managing to make the Seattle Seahawks nervous towards the end.

The Sunday games produced both victors and vanquished competitors.

The New England Patriots struggled throughout 2023, but everything changed in 2024 when they turned the tables in Week 1.

Under the guidance of the newly appointed head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots traveled to Cincinnati and surprised everyone by defeating Joe Burrow's Bengals with a score of 16-10. The standout performance came from the New England defense, which limited the Bengals to only 224 total yards and managed to force two turnovers during the game.

After just one game, Belichick is likely to receive some negative feedback when people see how well his old team played without him. The team hasn't changed much from last season, except for switching to Jacoby Brissett as quarterback. Brissett did well in Sunday's game, completing 15 of 24 passes for 121 yards and, most importantly, not turning the ball over.

Champions Of Sam Darnold

When the former first-round pick of the New York Jets played at MetLife Stadium again, he completely outperformed the New York Giants.

Darnold guided the Minnesota Vikings to a comfortable 28-6 victory, connecting on 19 out of 24 throws for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

The 27-year-old quarterback has faced many challenges in his career, playing for four different teams since he was drafted in 2018. However, he is currently in a great position with head coach Kevin O'Connell and star receiver Justin Jefferson. Maybe 2024 will finally be the year he achieves success and fulfills his potential.

In the second year of Bryce Young's leadership, Sunday's game was reminiscent of the prior year.

The top draft pick from last year didn't perform well in the first game of the season. They only completed 13 passes out of 30 attempts, threw for 161 yards, and had two interceptions in a crushing defeat against the New Orleans Saints.

The Carolina Panthers started the 2024 season with renewed optimism, hoping that new coaches and improvements to the offensive line would lead to better results for Young. However, based on the limited evidence of just one game, it seems that nothing has improved.

NFL's Game-Changing Kickoff

The NFL made significant changes to its kickoff procedures in 2024, and the impact is already evident.

Cardinals' running back DeeJay Dallas scored a touchdown on a kickoff during the second half of Sunday's game against the Bills. Scoring one touchdown may not seem extraordinary, but there were only four kickoff return touchdowns throughout the entire 18-week season last year.

The greatest gymnast of all time continues to dominate.

After a successful Olympics in Paris where Biles won three gold medals, her husband made a thrilling debut for the Chicago Bears.

Jonathan Owens made a big play by scoring a touchdown after blocking a punt in the third quarter of Chicago's 24-17 victory. This was the first time he had ever scored a touchdown in his career as a safety. Owens, who has played for four different teams since entering the league undrafted in 2018, is having a successful beginning with his new team in Chicago. He previously played for the Packers last year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons faced off in Georgia on Sunday, but the game didn't really give away its location.

The 'Terrible Towels' flooded Mercedes-Benz Stadium and completely dominated the Falcons' territory. With the support of Pittsburgh fans, the team managed to secure an 18-10 victory in a messy defensive struggle.

The new quarterback for the Falcons, Kirk Cousins, struggled in his first game, only throwing for 155 yards and throwing two interceptions. Justin Fields stepped in for the injured Russell Wilson for the Steelers. He played smart, not making mistakes, and relied on his kicker and defense to help secure the win on opening day.

The Buccaneers had a great beginning to the year, thanks in large part to Baker Mayfield. He led Tampa Bay to a 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders, completing 24 out of 30 passes for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. This was Mayfield's fifth game in his career where he threw for at least four touchdowns.

Chris Godwin was the top performer with eight receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown, while Mike Evans, a key player on the team, recorded five catches for 61 yards and scored two touchdowns.

However, the Commanders' new quarterback Jayden Daniels had a strong performance running the ball, but couldn't make up for the defense's struggles. Daniels ran for 88 yards and scored two touchdowns on 16 carries. He also completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.

The Browns could be facing some challenges with their quarterback situation that may come with a high cost. Watson had a tough time during a challenging 33-17 defeat against the Dallas Cowboys, only completing 24 of his 45 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of the game was the breakdown of Watson's statistics in the first half.

The Cowboys' defense is solid, but it didn't make much of a difference since Cleveland couldn't get their running game going. However, Watson has been struggling with inconsistent or subpar performances since he first started playing for the team.

He is currently committed to his contract until 2026 and earns a base salary of $46 million per year. However, his salary increases significantly in the final two seasons. There is a lot of work ahead if Watson hopes to regain the form he had while playing for Houston.

Even though Justin Herbert didn't have a huge number of passing yards, it didn't matter much because he had help from J.K. Dobbins in the running game. Dobbins, who had struggled with injuries while playing for the Baltimore Ravens, had an impressive game with 10 carries for 135 rushing yards and a touchdown in a 22-10 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Los Angeles Chargers are still short on wide receivers, but if Dobbins can stay healthy and keep playing like this, it will make a big difference.