Best:
James Jones, Wide Receiver Green Bay Packers
Here's a guy who's had a rough road to the opener. Here's a guy who had been a steady target for the Packers from 2007 to 2013. Then after spending a year with the Raiders last season, he was cut by them. Jones then signed with the Giants but was cut on September 5th. The very next day, September 6th, he signed back with the Packers, who needed a wide out with Jordy Nelson's injury. In the Packers opening week in against the Bears, Jones had four grabs, two of which went for TD's and totaled 51 yards receiving. The Packers showed faith in him by bringing him back and Jones didn't disappoint.
Worst:
Adam Jones, Defensive Back Cincinnati Bengals
The man formerly known as Pacman Jones has been able to keep his nose clean and his name out of the headlines recently. Early in his career, if you remember, got into quite a bit of trouble. Well, week one against the Raiders, he was back in the news. In Sunday's game, he ripped off the helmet of Raiders rookie receiver Amari Cooper, then bashed Cooper’s head into the helmet. Fortunately for the Bengals, Jones avoided a suspension and will just be fined for the incident. He got lucky that the punishment wasn't way worse. I had thought he was past this, but I guess it got him.
Best:
Marcus Mariota, Quarterback Tennessee Titans
He was one of the big name QB's to come out of the NFL draft this past June, He's the reining Heisman Trophy winner, which just adds a little bit of extra pressure to his game. In his first ever NFL game, he went 13 of 16 for 209 yards. Oh and he was one of two QB's week one (Tom Brady being the other) to throw four TD passes in a game. Marcus threw the four in the first half of the win over the Bucs. Yeah I'd say that's a pretty good way to start off an NFL career.
Worst:
Brian Hoyer, Quarterback, Houston Texans
Hoyer had a rough go of it as the starter in Cleveland a season ago. Now he moved on to Houston, a team with some talent on the offensive side of the football. So your thinking, OK this is going to be good, the Texans have a QB again, they're going to be good. Well, based on his performance in week one, that may not be the case. Hoyer wasn't that great against Kansas City in the opener. After going 18 for 34 for 236 yards with an interception and a lost fumble against the Chiefs, Hoyer found himself back on the bench watching Ryan Mallett lead the Texans. Now, he has to agonize through an entire week wondering if he’s lost another starting job for good.
Best:
Keenan Allen, Wide Receiver San Diego Chargers
The 3rd year wide receiver for the Chargers is looking to bounce back. He wasn't hurt last year, but his numbers were down. He started his NFL career two years ago with a 1,000 yard receiving season. Last year he finished with 770, so he's got a little something to prove. He starts the new season off with 15 grabs for 168 yards in the Chargers win over the Detroit Lions. The fact that he was able to snag 15 catches against the Lions, who had a top five defense in the NFL last year. Plus, his 168 yards receiving were the best numbers of any wideout in the NFL in the opening week of the season.
Worst:
Kirk Cousins, Quarterback Washington Redskins
Its been a long, hard road for the Redskins. Ever since RGIII hurt his knee in the playoffs. He hasn't been the same and the Skins are still trying to find an answer. They decided to sit RGIII in favor of Cousins in the first game of the year, but it didn't quite go as planed. Cousins was 21 for 31 for 196 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions. That runs his updated tally of interceptions to 17 in 10 starts. This leads one to wonder out loud, when do you possibly go to Colt McCoy?
Best:
Alex Smith, Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs
Smith had himself a day in the Chiefs win over the Texans, finishing the day 22 of 33 for 243 yards and 3 TD's. All this while leading the Chiefs. Heading into the contest, some weren't sure how well the KC offense would work against a tough Houston Defense. The Chiefs actually turned it around on the Texans, with Alex Smith and his cannon arm leading the charge.
Worst:
Oakland Raiders
Heading into this season, Oakland was trying to build up some momentum and positive vibes around their football team, which they had started to do. Then they took the field in week one and it all started to fall apapr, at least in the opening week it did. Oakland fell behind Cincinnati 30-0 and were getting booed lustily. To make matters worse, starting quarterback Derek Carr hurt his thumb and could miss time.
Best:
Rex Ryan, Head Coach Buffalo Bills
There were quite a few eyes on Western New York in the first game of the season for the Buffalo Bills. It was the first game under new head coach Rex Ryan, who's trying to lead his new team to the playoffs, something that hasn't happened in Buffalo since 1999. Well it got off to a flying start. Buffalo opened the season with an impressive 27-14 trouncing of the Indianapolis Colts. Next up, with the New England Patriots coming to town, Ryan is already starting to fill reporters’ notebooks with juicy quotes about his excitement for the matchup. Stay tuned, there will be more where that came from. Never doubt that Rex will have something good to come up with.
Worst:
Tom Coughlin, Head Coach New York Giants
I'm not sure whether this should fall on Coughlin or Eli Manning. But whatever the case is the Giants really need to get their stuff worked out. Case in point, just look at what happened in the 4th quarter. New York should've left Dallas with a victory. But poor clock management, mostly not being able to milk it while opting to throw near the goal line on the penultimate drive, gave Tony Romo the opportunity to craft a successful comeback. The Giants had a full 40 seconds on the playclock, but didn't use all of it (I put the blame for that on Eli) and then a bad decision to try and throw it in near the goal line (that falls on the Coach). Either way it didn't end well for the Giants
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