Headed into Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season, I want to share my thoughts on some stand-out moments from Week 1. Based on the results, this season could be one of the most unpredictable and entertaining of the past decade. ELEVEN one-score games. SIX divisional battles. FOUR game-winning drives. And ONE record-setting comeback that will be remembered for years.
What makes this opening slate remarkable isn’t just the excitement, but also the way stories collided; Historic quarterback performances, unlikely collapses, and the long-anticipated effect of a head coach who might finally have changed the Chargers’ fate.
Week 1 Main Callouts!!!
Harbaugh’s Chargers: Finally Built to Finish?
The Los Angeles Chargers have been a team of potential since Justin Herbert’s arrival in 2020. For years, they’ve been the team that finds ways to lose late. But against the Kansas City Chiefs in the season opener, they looked like that potential has turned into reality — and that’s no coincidence.
Justin Herbert’s 318-yard, three-touchdown Week 1 effort wasn’t just efficient; it was an announcement. His 23-yard strike in the fourth quarter slammed the door on Patrick Mahomes, a quarterback who’s made a career out of kicking that door open on late-game finishes. The Chargers made sure that wouldn’t happen this time. This marks the end of a 4-season drought, in which the LA hadn’t beaten Kansas City since September 2021.
What was the difference maker? Enter Jim Harbaugh.
The “Harbaugh effect” finally revealed itself after a calibration season in 2024. The Chargers looked tougher, sharper, and above all, ready to take the lead in the AFC West.
Rodgers Isn’t Done Yet
You could be forgiven for writing off Aaron Rodgers… I did. At 42, with a pair of mid-tier performances since leaving Green Bay, his move to Pittsburgh felt like one last gasp before retirement. But if Week 1 is any indicator, Rodgers isn’t just “good for his age” — he’s good, period.
Four touchdowns, 244 yards, and a 136 Passer Rating in his Steelers debut is the kind of performance that makes the league take notice. It was a reminder that Rodgers is a 4-time MVP and can still command an offense at an elite level, manipulate defenses, and make the big throws when it matters.
The AFC is loaded with quarterback talent — Allen, Mahomes, Burrow, Herbert, Lamar Jackson — but if Rodgers stays anywhere near this level, he can make Pittsburgh a contender. He’s not just back; he has a chance to push himself into the greatest of all-time conversation… at least up against the guys in the 2 and 3 spots.
The Ugly Side: Browns vs. Bengals
Some games were historic in other ways… such as taking us back into history with a final score that resembles something out of the 1980s — and not in a good way. Cleveland and Cincinnati stumbled to a 17–16 slog that looked like a scoring total of decades past.
Joe Burrow, my preseason MVP pick, looked anything but. He mustered a mere 113 yards, 61% in completions, and a measly 4.9 yards per attempt. As it were, the Bengals were saved by circumstances. Cleveland doubled their yardage total, matched them in touchdowns, but managed to lose by way of a missed extra point after what was a go-ahead touchdown in the 3rd quarter.
As it went… Baltimore ended with a loss after a 40-point performance, because they had the bad luck of running into the Buffalo Bills who managed to score just one point more… whereas good luck saved the Bengals by matching them up against a team that collapsed worse than them, to score one point less.
The Ravens Collapse: When History Works Against You
Speaking of the Ravens v. Bills… The Baltimore Ravens had everything lined up for a statement win. A forty-point game, the second-most total yards of the week, the most yards per play, the highest Passer Rating (Lamar Jackson) and a historic rushing performance that led the league in both total yards and yards per attempt (Derrick Henry). That all led to a 15-point lead, stretching from the top of the second quarter until the final tick of the game clock.
Buffalo’s Josh Allen didn’t just rally his team; he engineered one of the most impressive comebacks in NFL history. His 251-yard fourth quarter with three total touchdowns is perhaps the greatest 4th Quarter Comeback of all-time. As a single quarter performance, it is the highest production of all-time in the 4th quarter and is 2nd overall behind only Tom Brady’s 252-yard 2nd Quarter from 2009. But context matters: Brady demolished his opponent 59–0, whereas every yard, every point, and every second came into play for Josh Allen’s game-winning play.
That game left us with the elation of a legendary come-from-behind victory… and the scar of Baltimore’s collapse. In a week where offenses exploded, the Ravens proved you can dominate the stats book but still walk away empty-handed. That’s the kind of game that lingers, especially in light of last season’s MVP clash.
That game, like the whole opening NFL weekend, was brimming with drama, history-making performances, and a competitive flair that could define the season. From that record-setting fourth quarter to Aaron Rodgers’ Steelers debut, Week 1 offered a glimpse of what’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory… says me…
