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Another Sunday full of NFL Week 1 action, another mountain of storylines to sift through after all the drama.

The opening games for the 2024 NFL season are almost set, with only Monday Night Football between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers remaining on the schedule.

It was an exciting day of action on Sunday, which started with the news that Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill was “briefly detained” by police on his way to the stadium.

Below are the key storylines from Sunday’s matches.

Sunday Night Football between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams was a game with a lot of context: both teams’ quarterbacks – Jared Goff of the Lions and Matthew Stafford of the Rams – were traded for each other in 2021.

The two met for the first time since last season’s Wild Card playoff game, which Detroit won.

And once again it was Goff and the Lions who had the final say on Sunday, as David Montgomery scored a one-yard touchdown run in overtime to secure a dramatic 26-20 victory for Detroit.

It was a slow burn at Ford Field, with the Lions leading 10-3 at halftime thanks to Jahmyr Gibbs’ touchdown run. A 52-yard Jameson Williams TD catch from Goff extended Detroit’s lead and it looked like the Lions might run away with the game.

But in the second half, the Rams came back into the game with a comeback.
First, Kyren Williams ran the ball in from close range late in the third quarter and then Stafford connected with Cooper Kupp on a 9-yard throw to give LA a 20-17 lead with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Lions kicker Jake Bates tied the score at 20-20 with just seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

And after winning the OT coin flip, Detroit marched down the field, covering 70 yards — 60 of them on the ground — in four minutes, 41 seconds before Montgomery secured the win.

According to the NFL, it was Detroit’s first overtime win since Week 9 in 2016, when Stafford threw a game-winning touchdown to Golden Tate.

For a team with Super Bowl ambitions, it was a significant start to the season for Detroit, which benefited from Williams’ outstanding play: five catches for 121 receiving yards, including that long touchdown.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell praised Williams after the win.

“Yeah, listen, I expected him to play pretty well, play better, and he showed up,” Campbell told reporters. “I mean, that was a big game to be able to catch a couple and get through it. And the best part was he didn’t even play his best ball.

“There’s still so much to clean up, but it also shows how much work he’s put in, and he’s improving, and he’s an improved player, and he wants it, and he keeps working at it. And he just keeps, he keeps taking these steps. So as long as he keeps doing it, and keeps playing, he’s just going to get better. So yeah, I’m proud of him, I’m proud of where he’s at, but he’s got so much room to keep growing.”

The loss was made even more painful for Los Angeles when one of its star receivers, Puka Nacua, was taken out of the game at halftime with a knee injury he suffered in the second quarter.

After a midseason full of questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys, everything is finally falling into place for ‘America’s Team’. Just hours before the Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns, the final piece of the puzzle falls into place.

Just weeks after CeeDee Lamb signed a massive contract extension with the team, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott agreed to a record-breaking four-year, $240 million contract extension to remain in Texas, making him the highest-paid player in the NFL.

And that money appeared to be well spent for the Cowboys, as both Prescott and Lamb excelled in Dallas’ impressive 33-17 win over the Browns on Sunday.

Prescott threw one touchdown, running back Ezekiel Elliot ran for another touchdown and kicker Brandon Aubrey scored four field goals to give the Cowboys the win in Ohio.

The team’s defense was perhaps the star of the show, as they intercepted Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson twice and tackled him twice.

Micah Parsons was a nuisance all game, continually taking advantage of Cleveland’s injuries at the tackle position.

“We haven’t opened the whole bag,” Parsons said afterward. “I think the sky’s the limit. This is just the beginning.”

It was a disappointing afternoon for the Browns, with the offense struggling to move the ball. The crowd at Huntington Bank Field showed its displeasure with Cleveland’s performance with loud booing in the first half.

Watson — who has underperformed since his controversial trade in 2022 — threw 24 of 45 passes for just 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while being pressured all day.

For Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski’s team, this was a promising start, as they still have high expectations for this season.

But Watson said he and his Browns teammates cannot lose confidence after a disappointing start to the 2024 season.

“We’ve got 16 more chances. It’s the NFL, anything can happen. I started 0-4 in 2018. We won 11 games in a row, so it’s one game at a time,” Watson told reporters. “Take it one week at a time. You prepare, win or lose, you’ve got to scratch that one and prepare for the next week. So anything can happen.”

The game also saw the debut of NFL legend Tom Brady as a commentator, his first regular-season appearance in the Fox booth.

It wasn’t a pretty moment, but Caleb Williams’ life in the NFL got off to a successful start.

The 2024 No. 1 overall pick struggled in the Chicago Bears’ season opener against the Tennessee Titans, facing a shaky offensive line and an understandably lack of rookie experience.

The Bears fell behind by 17 points and it took heroic efforts from Chicago’s defense and special teams to pull them out of that deficit.

First, Jonathan Owens — husband of American gymnast Simone Biles — returned a blocked punt for a touchdown to start the comeback. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist seemed overjoyed at the time, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK.”

Then, after a pair of field goals by Cairo Santos to tie the game, Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson intercepted a pass from Titans quarterback Will Levis and returned the ball 43 yards for a touchdown, giving Chicago a 24-17 lead and the victory that began the Williams era at Illinois on a high note.

Williams — who completed 14 of 29 throws for 93 yards — became the first quarterback selected with the first pick to win his Week 1 debut in more than 20 years and just the fourth ever.

Despite the clear improvements he could make, Williams was not concerned about performance.

“Yeah, I don’t care about stats. I feel great,” Williams said. “To be honest, I feel great.”

He added: “It’s clear we didn’t perform as we wanted (attackingly). We want to be the most efficient team, myself included. Didn’t perform as I wanted.
I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss. All that other stuff.”

Away vs. home (winners in bold)

Pittsburgh Steelers 18-10 Atlanta Falcons

Arizona Cardinals 28-34 Buffalo Bills

Tennessee Titans 17-24 Chicago Bears

New England Patriots 16-10 Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans 29-27 Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars 17-20 Miami Dolphins

Carolina Panthers 10-47 New Orleans Saints

Minnesota Vikings 28-6 New York Giants

Las Vegas Raiders 10-22 Los Angeles Chargers

Denver Broncos 20-26 Seattle Seahawks

Dallas Cowboys 33-17 Cleveland Browns

Washington Commanders 20-37 Tampa Bay Book Hunters

Los Angeles Rams 20-26 (OT) Detroit Lions