• Tua Tagovailoa opens the season with a huge game: The Dolphins’ quarterback produced one of the highest grades of his career in Week 1.
• Bijan Robinson has arrived: The Falcons’ rookie running back proved tough to tackle in his NFL debut.
• Click here to get access to PFF grades and data for every player in the NFL!
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
Every Monday, we’ll bring you five key storylines borne out by PFF’s grades and data. Here’s what stood out in Week 1.
QB Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
PFF Grade: 92.1
With one of the highest yardage totals ever by a quarterback in the opening week of a season, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins’ offense reminded everyone just how good they can be. He attempted eight passes targeted 20 or more yards downfield, completing five of them for 161 yards. Tagovailoa finished the game with six big-time throws to just one turnover-worthy play. His 92.8 PFF passing grade for the game ranks second among his career outings.
TO ACCESS PFF GRADES AND DATA FROM WEEK 1, SUBSCRIBE NOW!
QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
PFF Grade: 31.4
Young struggled heavily in his NFL debut, producing a PFF passing grade of just 36.3. From 42 dropbacks, he didn’t make any big-time throws and had two turnover-worthy plays. His receivers accounted for 63.0% of his passing yards after the catch, the fifth most of any quarterback this week. Despite the two turnover-worthy plays, Young was relatively risk-averse in this game, finishing with eight throwaways, the third most in a game since PFF charting began back in 2006.
RB Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
PFF Grade: 71.2
Robinson’s overall PFF grade isn’t the most impressive thing here, but his impact as a receiver and his ability to make people miss is something that should have every Falcons fan excited for the next five years. He caught six passes for 27 yards and a touchdown, with his four missed tackles forced as a receiver tied for the most in the NFL this week. Robinson took only 10 carries but forced another missed tackle there. He’s just an incredibly smooth athlete and, if he sees enough touches, he’s going to threaten forced missed tackle records this year.
EDGE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
PFF Grade: 89.9
Garrett was fantastic for the Browns in a game where their defense set the tone early, making life difficult for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. On the field for 26 pass-rushing snaps, he racked up a sack, two hits and three hurries with a 23.6% pass-rush win rate. The Browns even lined Garrett up for four snaps as an off-ball linebacker. He is one of the favorites to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, and this game was a good start if that’s where his season is heading.
TO ACCESS PFF GRADES AND DATA FROM WEEK 1, SUBSCRIBE NOW!
DI Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles
PFF Grade: 92.1
In his very first regular-season game for the Eagles, rookie Jalen Carter looked utterly dominant against the New England Patriots. He was good against the run, earning a 77.3 PFF run-defense grade, but it was as a pass rusher that he really made an impact. Carter racked up nine total pressures across 34 pass-rushing snaps, finishing the game with a 26.5% pass-rush win rate. He played 40 snaps overall, putting him on pace for 680 snaps as a rookie after never playing more than 400 defensive snaps in a season at Georgia.