We made it through the first Sunday of the 2021 NFL season and there were a lot of surprises. Underdogs reigned supreme and some high-profile players struggled to stand out.
Let’s take a look at the best (and worst) of Week 1 of the season:
Overachieving team – Pittsburgh Steelers
If it wasn’t for the Saints’ thrashing of the Green Bay Packers (more on that later), the Steelers come-from-behind victory win might be the most surprising result of Week 1. A 6.5-point underdog to the reigning AFC East champions, Pittsburgh was trailing Buffalo 10-0 at halftime.
The Steelers opened the second half with a field goal, scoring their first points of the game on their seventh possession.
That kicked off 20 unanswered by Pittsburgh, highlighted by a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. And despite being out-gained by 119 yards of offense and notching just 13 first downs via the run/pass, Pittsburgh pulled off the biggest upset of the week.
In just about every category, the Steelers were outplayed by Buffalo. First downs, yardage, time of possession, third down conversions, and yards per play were all won by Buffalo.
Add in a pair of field goals kicked by Pittsburgh inside the 10-yard-line and on paper it looks like a blowout in favor of the Bills.
But the Steelers did hold Josh Allen to 5.3 yards per pass attempt, his lowest total in that category since the teams’ last matchup in 2020.
Pittsburgh may not win many games where they pick up just three first downs in the first half, but their passing defense is scary enough to keep them in games if the offense continues to sputter.
Overachieving player – 49ers RB Elijah Mitchell
A three-year starter at Louisiana before getting drafted by San Francisco in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, Mitchell was a surprising player to see active on Sunday, especially over the 49ers 2021 third-round pick, Ohio State product Trey Sermon.
But after Raheem Mostert went down with a knee injury on his second carry of the game, Mitchell was thrust into the limelight and delivered, carrying the ball 19 times for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Mitchell dominated the touches in the backfield after Mostert’s injury, limiting fellow backup Jamychal Hasty to just two touches.
Consider this: Mitchell is the first NFL running back drafted after the third round to put up 100 rushing yards and average over five yards per carry in his NFL debut since undrafted rookie Ronnie Coleman did it in 1974. (Joe Dudek matched the feat as a replacement player during the 1987 players strike.)
While it’s certainly easy to get excited about Mitchell being the next out-of-nowhere breakout star, it’s hard to judge where he goes from here.
The 49ers notoriously split up carries based on matchup and Mostert should be back after further testing on his knee. Even Brandon Aiyuk was pretty much a healthy scratch, limited to just punt return duty.
Even though it might not be a sign of greatness to come, Mitchell’s performance on Sunday was impressive and unprecedented.
Underachieving team – Green Bay Packers
The Packers have been in the news all offseason as the team tried to remedy their standing with Aaron Rodgers.
However, on Sunday Green Bay looked a lot like a team that spent too much time with its head in the tabloids and not enough in the playbook.
Entering a neutral-site game against the Saints a 3.5-point favorite, the Packers went 1-10 on third downs, turned the ball over three times and let New Orleans score six times on their first seven possessions.
Rodgers looked more like a Jeopardy! host than the reigning NFL MVP, tossing a pair of interceptions and averaging just 4.8 yards per attempt. The 35-point loss is the worst of his career.
It’s tough to not overreact, but Rodgers did have a similar game against Tampa Bay last year in a 38-10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
Perhaps more worrisome is the Packers defense, who didn’t impress in their first game under new coordinator Joe Barry.
Barry’s squad allowed touchdowns on all four of the Saints’ red zone possessions after Green Bay ranked eighth in red zone defense a year ago.
Underachieving player – Bears QB Andy Dalton
Is anyone really surprised? Dalton isn’t expected to lockdown the Bears starting quarterback job long-term, but after a preseason of listening to pleas for Justin Fields, Dalton didn’t do much to quell the antsy Bears’ fanbase.
Averaging just 5.2 yards per attempt, compared to the 5.4 yards per rush attempt Bears running backs achieved, Dalton’s longest drive of the day was capped off by a rushing touchdown from Fields who was subbed into red-zone situations after Dalton tossed an interception in the end zone on Chicago’s first possession.
Dalton has been the butt of a lot of jokes, but he did average 245 yards and nearly two touchdowns per game in the last seven weeks of 2020.
However, he threw the ball 38 times on Sunday night and still didn’t top the 213.5 passing yards line.
The Bears do have an easier matchup in Week 2, going against a Bengals team that allowed Kirk Cousins to throw for 351 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.
If Dalton can’t turn the tide against Cincinnati, the calls for Fields will become deafening at Soldier Field.
Worst Beat – San Francisco 49ers (-9.5) vs. Detroit Lions
Despite being the largest favorites of Week 1, the 49ers looked like they would cover the 9.5-point spread with ease.
San Francisco led by as much as 28 and by 24 with just two minutes to go before Dan Campbell’s squad started biting kneecaps.
An 86-yard touchdown drive, followed by a two-point conversion and a successful onside kick still didn’t put any worry into bettors backing the Niners.
But a six-play, 59-yard touchdown drive and another two-point conversion saw the Lions close the game to just eight points with 1:10 remaining.
The Lions comeback attempt fell short, but scoring 16 points in the span of 46 seconds was enough to cover the spread, something three other home underdogs were able to accomplish.
