28. Washington Commanders
Well, it wasn’t an easy assignment for the first game of the year for the Washington Commanders, having to travel to Tampa Bay to take on a Buccaneers team that is pretty much the polar opposite of Washington in terms of continuity year over year.
The Bucs looked like a well-oiled machine while the Commanders were obviously still working things out with rookie QB Jayden Daniels making his NFL debut. And Daniels looked solid overall, completing 17 of 24 pass attempts with 88 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns.
The Commanders simply couldn’t hang with the Buccaneers defensively, allowing four touchdown passes from Baker Mayfield and an ugly 37 points on the afternoon. It’s going to take time for Dan Quinn’s program to get going in Washington, but Daniels may have had the most encouraging overall performance of the rookie QBs that started this week, for whatever that’s worth.
27. Denver Broncos
There were a lot of folks who had written the Denver Broncos off before this season even started, and the Broncos were definitely a mixed bag in Week 1 on the road against Seattle.
The Seahawks were breaking in a new coaching staff while Sean Payton was breaking in a rookie quarterback, and the Seahawks’ defense under Mike Macdonald made Bo Nix look like a rookie quarterback. Nix wasn’t able to get anything going downfield and averaged a pretty disappointing 3.3 yards per attempt, struggling to get the offense going for most of the afternoon.
As rough as it was for Nix, the Broncos lost this game by just six points despite turning the ball over three times (two Nix interceptions and a fumble by Jaleel McLaughlin). The Broncos will head home for a Week 2 matchup against Russell Wilson (we assume) and the Steelers, where Nix isn’t going to have any easier of a time. Just ask Kirk Cousins.