NFL Power Rankings: Biggest Week 1 surprises

Dion Lewis: Getting the most out of a little-known running back is nothing new for Bill Belichick, but Lewis’ performance against Steelers came out of nowhere. Lewis hadn’t played a regular season game since Dec. 2012, but returned with 120 yards on 19 total touches and played a crucial role for the defending champs.

James Jones: After disappearing in Oakland last season, Jones wasn’t on anyone’s radar heading into Week 1 — except for Aaron Rodgers’ of course. The re-emergence of No. 89 in Green Bay will certainly help alleviate the pain caused by Jordy Nelson’s injury.

Explosive plays allowed: The Seahawks have been known for their air-tight defence, leading the NFL by allowing only 32 plays of 20 yards or more last season. It was a drastic change against the Rams, who torched Seattle with eight explosive plays in the OT thriller.

How good Palmer looked back from injury: Carson Palmer returned from the second major knee injury of his career Sunday against the Saints and the 35-year-old didn’t miss a beat. Palmer was sensational in a Week 1 win for the Cardinals, who are now 7-0 since the beginning of last season with No. 3 at the helm.

K.C.’s well-oiled passing game: A Chiefs wide receiver hasn’t scored a touchdown since Dec. 8, 2013, but the passing game was on point in Sunday’s win over the Texans. Travis Kelce had a monster game, and Alex Smith was nearly perfect, completing 67 per cent of his passes with three TDs and a 118.6 rating.

Dunbar, Witten step up with Bryant out: Even after the Giants mangled their final possession of the Sunday night game, it seemed unlikely the Cowboys could come back with Dez Bryant in the locker room. But Lance Dunbar and Jason Witten came up huge on the winning drive; Dunbar had a pair of long catch-and-runs equalling 40 yards, and Witten came up with two clutch catches, including the game-winning TD.

Manning’s arm strength: The most noticeable aspect of the defensive showdown between Denver and Baltimore was the lack of zip Manning has in his throws, and it had a major impact on how the Broncos’ offence played. Manning had seven touchdowns in the 2013 opener against the Ravens, but couldn’t get one Sunday. Watching how Gary Kubiak and Manning adjust will be intriguing.

Ty-God Taylor: We knew Rex Ryan was going to field a tough defence and that the Bills had plenty of weapons on offence, but Tyrod Taylor made big plays through the air and on the ground. His numbers weren’t jaw-dropping, but he’s far from a “game manager.”

Tyler Eifert: Andy Dalton and the Bengals entered 2015 surrounded in question marks again, and answered the call on Sunday in Oakland. A big output on offence surprised many, and it started with the breakout performance of Eifert, who missed most of last season due to injury. The third-year tight end couldn’t be stopped, catching two TDs on nine receptions for 104 yards.

A pair of receivers bounce back: The Chargers got off to a mighty slow start Sunday before the offence exploded in the second half to complete the comeback over the Lions. Keenan Allen and Stevie Johnson — both of whom struggled last season — played huge roles in erasing that 21-point deficit. Philip Rivers targeted Allen a whopping 17 times, and he finished with 15 catches for 166 yards, while Johnson finished with 82 yards and a TD.

Where’s the passion? The Colts were up against it from the start in Buffalo, and they failed to answer in any positive way. The offence did little to help out Andrew Luck, who himself seemed to lack any emotion on the sidelines. Fighting adversity is a must in the NFL and (hopefully) for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, Week 1 was a major wake-up call.

Not covering Gronk: We could keep things positive and point out the impressive game from DeAngelo Williams as he filled in for Le’Veon Bell, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, the biggest Steelers surprise was completely ignoring Rob Gronkowski on multiple occasions, leading into a couple of game-changing plays. Headset problems or not, just cover Gronk!

Benny Cunningham: When word came down that Tre Mason would miss the Rams’ opener, the situation at running back looked grim. Not only did Cunningham fill in admirably, he had spectacular game, racking up 122 total yards against the Seahawks to take pressure off QB Nick Foles.

Improvement on defence: While they did waver in the second half (giving up nearly 400 yards by the end of the game), the Falcons completely shut down Chip Kelly’s offence in the first half of Monday night’s game, a feat not many have been able to boast since the divisive Eagles coach entered the league. Atlanta did a great job getting after Sam Bradford, and stifled the run game — especially DeMarco Murray.

The play of Joe Flacco: We’re not overreacting here, Flacco is what he is: a solid quarterback with a knack for winning in the playoffs. But Sunday’s performance had to be disheartening to Ravens fans. In his first game under new OC Marc Trestman, Flacco completed just 56.3 per cent of passes, threw no TDs and tossed two interceptions — one of which was a pick-six, the other sealing the win for Denver in the final seconds.

The run game (or lack thereof): After so much was made of the additions of Murray and Ryan Mathews in the off-season, their Eagles debuts couldn’t have been more of a letdown. While Murray had a pair of TDs and Mathews added one, they combined for only 13 yards rushing on 11 carries — just 1.2 yards per carry. Murray’s nine yards were the fewest by a reigning rushing champ in Week 1 since 1967 (as per Sportsnet Stats).

Tannehill’s inconsistent play: To say the Dolphins got off to an ugly start to the season would be an understatement, as they barely survived a Redskins team many picked to finish near the bottom of the league. That starts with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was wildly inconsistent throughout the game.

Where was Megatron? The way the Lions played defence against the Chargers, they’re bound to be involved in many more shootouts. With that in mind, Matthew Stafford should probably throw to his best receiver more often: Stafford targeted Calvin Johnson just four times Sunday, completing only a pair.

The defence: Many will say the performance of Carlos Hyde was surprising, but anyone aware of No. 28’s talents knew that was bound to happen. Hyde’s a beast. The real surprise in San Francisco was how dominant the 49ers’ defence was after the roster turnover that was the talk of the off-season. They made sure Teddy Bridgewater was never comfortable and that Adrian Peterson’s return was a storyline that sputtered out before halftime.

Cam needs some receiving options: After Kelvin Benjamin went out for the season,we knew Cam Newton’s receiving options were bad, but Sunday was an eye-opener. Panthers wide receivers combined for just nine catches Sunday, lowlighted by a dropped touchdown by Tedd Ginn Jr.. The real shock, however, was the lack of production from tight end Greg Olsen, who was targeted just three times with one catch for 11 yards.

Choosing defence over Drew Brees: In another of what seem like endless head-scratching decisions by experienced coaches in Week 1, Sean Payton, with the Saints down five and less than two minutes to play, decided to punt the ball instead of put it in the hands of Brees on a fourth-and-six. The Cardinals promptly scored a 55-yard touchdown to seal the win. *Facepalm*

That horrible decision on third down: For a coach and quarterback that have had so much success together, Sunday’s decision to pass on third-and-goal late in the game instead of running the clock was a rookie gaffe from Tom Coughlin and $84-million man Eli Manning. They paid for it with the game.

Chris Ivory: In what appeared to be a muddled backfield in New York, Ivory emerged Sunday as the clear No. 1, scoring two touchdowns and playing a crucial role in an offence that looked much-improved with Ryan Fitzpatrick under centre.

The No. 2 pick: Marcus Mariota made Jameis Winston look a fool in the showdown between the two top picks in April’s draft. In fact, Mariota had one of the best regular season debuts by a rookie quarterback EVER, throwing four first-half TDs (!) and finishing with a perfect 158.3 rating.

Matt Forte: Every off-season there’s chatter about the slowing down of Forte, and every regular season the Bears running back proves the doubters wrong. Along with Carlos Hyde, Forte was the best back in the NFL in Week 1.

Limited use of Adrian Peterson: There wasn’t much to like about the Vikings’ 2015 debut, but the most dumbfounding aspect of the whole debacle was the use of Peterson. Yes, the 49ers did a good job of keeping him under wraps, but Minnesota played right into San Fran’s hands, as Peterson finished the game with just 10 carries and 13 total touches.

Starting Hoyer in the first place: Brian Hoyer may have looked the better quarterback in the pre-season, but it’s shocking that Bill O’Brien went with the former Browns signal-caller in the first place. Expect Ryan Mallett to start in Houston for the foreseeable future.

They gave the Dolphins a fight: The off-season probably couldn’t have gone any worse for Washington, but the Redskins gave the Dolphins something no one expected in Week 1: a tight battle. The defence played well and Alfred Morris was a beast in the running game. Don’t take this the wrong way, though. Washington’s still far from turning the corner.

Defensive upgrades: Blake Bortles has clearly taken a step forward as his sophomore season begins, but it was the defence that stood out most in a loss to the Panthers. Jacksonville allowed just 263 total yards, lower than any total they allowed all of last season. Baby steps.

Complete lack of improvement: From Josh McCown’s failed John Elway impression, to Johnny Manziel’s first-career touchdown that he followed up with three turnovers, it was more of the same from the Browns. This is going to be another tough year in Cleveland.

They’re still really bad: Granted, the Raiders were decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball, but for a team that many expected to build on a strong end to 2014, Oakland looked a whole lot of bad.

Winston’s struggles: I have no disillusions about the Buccaneers — they’re going to struggle mightily this season — but Jameis Winston’s hiccups in his debut were a bit surprising. The guy has always shone on the big stage, but flopped on Sunday. On the plus side, he now joins the company of Brett Favre, who was the last QB to throw a pick-six on his first-career pass before Winston did Sunday.