What to Look For - Week 1

Football fans know the phrase “Any Given Sunday” to mean that in the National Football League every team is capable of rising up and defeating an opponent with a better record or presumed to be more talented.

It also can mean that on any given Sunday – or Thursday night or Monday night, of course – a team or player can reach a career milestone, rewrite an NFL record or accomplish something noteworthy in franchise history.

Most catches in a game. Few yards allowed. Longest field goal. Widest margin on victory. The list of possibilities is long.

Here are some team and individual milestones that could be reached in Week 1 as the 2020 season kicks off tonight in Kansas City:

 

SUPER STARTERS: History indicates that the best way for a team to start its drive toward a Super Bowl cham​pionship is to win in Week 1.​

The 54 Super Bowl winners have a 44-9-1 record in the Kickoff Weekend games of their title seasons. The Super Bowl LIV champion KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, who host Houston in the NFL’s annual primetime kickoff game on Thursday (8:20 PM ET, NBC), have won their past five Kickoff Weekend games, the longest active streak in the AFC and tied for the longest active streak in the NFL (Green Bay).

Since 1978 when the NFL went to the 16-game schedule, and excluding the abbreviated season of 1982, teams that are victorious in their season-openers are more than twice as likely to reach the playoffs than losers of an opening game:

• Of the 617 teams that won openers…322 went to the playoffs (196 won division titles).
• Of the 616 teams that lost openers…148 went to the playoffs (86 won division titles).
  
  ​Note: There are a different number of winning and losing teams in season-opening games due to the fact the NFL had 31 teams in each season from 1999-2001, which creates an odd number for the total number of results.
  
  In 2019, the 12 playoff teams compiled an 11-1 record on Kickoff Weekend and all four participants in the conference championships – Green Bay, Kansas City, San Francisco and Tennessee – were victorious in Week 1.

 

STARTING STREAKS: The Chiefs aren’t the only team to have excelled in openers. Below is a sampling of other notable active NFL Kickoff milestones and streaks:

• The defending AFC North champion BALTIMORE RAVENS, who host the CLEVELAND BROWNS on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS), have won their last four Kickoff Weekend games, the AFC’s second-longest active streak.
   
• The GREEN BAY PACKERS open their season on the road against the MINNESOTA VIKINGS on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, FOX). The Packers have won 57 games on Kickoff Weekend, the most in the NFL. Green Bay has won its past five Kickoff Weekend games while the Vikings enter the 2020 season having won their past four openers.
   
• The DALLAS COWBOYS visit the LOS ANGELES RAMS on Sunday Night Football in Week 1 (8:20 PM ET, NBC). With a winning percentage of .661 (39-20-1), the Cowboys own the best Kickoff Weekend winning percentage in the NFC.
   
• In the first of two Monday Night Football games on Kickoff Weekend, the NEW YORK GIANTS host the PITTSBURGH STEELERS (7:10 PM ET, ESPN). The Giants have 50 wins on Kickoff Weekend, third-most among all teams, while Pittsburgh’s 43 wins are the most among AFC teams.
   
• The DENVER BRONCOS, who begin the season by hosting the TENNESSEE TITANS in the second Monday Night Football contest (10:20 PM ET, ESPN), have also posted a .661 winning percentage (39-20-1) on Kickoff Weekend, the top mark in the AFC. Denver has won seven of its past eight Kickoff Weekend games.
   

*From 1920-71, tie games were not included in winning percentage

 

START ME UP: Some players have excelled in openers. Below is a sampling of notable individual performances on NFL Kickoff Weekend:

• New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES has 39 touchdown passes in 18 career Week 1 games, while Tampa Bay quarterback TOM BRADY has 37 touchdown passes in 17 career Kickoff Weekend games. The two rank first and second in NFL history, respectively, in career touchdown passes on Kickoff Weekend and face off this Sunday (4:25 PM ET, FOX). 
  
  Brees also leads all players with 5,406 career passing yards on Kickoff Weekend, while Brady ranks third with 4,693. With at least 44 passing yards on Sunday, Brady will surpass PEYTON MANNING (4,736) for second place on the all-time list.
• Detroit running back ADRIAN PETERSON has 999 rushing yards in 12 career season-opening games and needs one rushing yard on Sunday against Chicago (1:00 PM ET, FOX) to become the fifth player with at least 1,000 rushing yards in season-opening games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers EMMITT SMITH (1,247), WALTER PAYTON (1,067), EDGERRIN JAMES (1,062) and JIM BROWN(1,043).
  
  Peterson also enters the season with nine career rushing touchdowns on Kickoff Weekend and needs one more to join Pro Football Hall of Famer MARCUS ALLEN (12), CHUCK MUNCIE (11) and PRIEST HOLMES (10) as the only players in NFL history with at least 10 rushing touchdowns in season-opening games.
   
• Arizona wide receiver LARRY FITZGERALD, who recorded eight catches for 113 yards and a touchdown on Kickoff Weekend in 2019, has 92 receptions in 16 career Kickoff Weekend games, tied for the most all-time. With at least one reception on Sunday at San Francisco (4:25 PM ET, FOX), Fitzgerald will surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer JERRY RICE (92 receptions) for the most career receptions in season-opening games in NFL history.
  
  Fitzgerald has 1,181 receiving yards in Week 1 games and with at least 45 receiving yards on Sunday can surpass Pro Football Hall of Famers RANDY MOSS (1,194) and ANDRE REED (1,225) for the second-most in NFL history. Rice has the most receiving yards on Kickoff Weekend with 1,385.
• Philadelphia wide receiver DESEAN JACKSON, who had 154 receiving yards on Kickoff Weekend in 2019, has six career games with at least 100 yards receiving in Week 1, tied for the most all-time. With at least 100 receiving yards against Washington on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, FOX), Jackson would surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer MICHAEL IRVIN (six) for the most 100-yard receiving games on Kickoff Weekend in NFL history.

 

START ’EM EARLY: Cincinnati rookie quarterback JOE BURROW, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, is expected to make his first career start against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday (4:05 PM ET, CBS). With a start by Burrow, at least one rookie quarterback will have started in Week 1 in 13 consecutive seasons, the longest streak in the NFL since at least 1950.

The rookie quarterbacks to start in Week 1 since 2008:

SEASON	QUARTERBACK	TEAM	STARTING RECORD AS ROOKIE
2008	Joe Flacco	Baltimore	11-5
2008	Matt Ryan	Atlanta	11-5
2009	Mark Sanchez	New York Jets	8-7
2009	Matthew Stafford*	Detroit	2-8
2010	Sam Bradford*	St. Louis Rams	7-9
2011	Andy Dalton	Cincinnati	9-7
2011	Cam Newton*	Carolina	6-10
2012	Robert Griffin III	Washington	9-6
2012	Andrew Luck*	Indianapolis	11-5
2012	Ryan Tannehill	Miami	7-9
2012	Brandon Weeden	Cleveland	5-10
2012	Russell Wilson	Seattle	11-5
2013	EJ Manuel	Buffalo	4-6
2013	Geno Smith	New York Jets	8-8
2014	Derek Carr	Oakland Raiders	3-13
2015	Marcus Mariota	Tennessee	3-13
2015	Jameis Winston*	Tampa Bay	6-10
2016	Dak Prescott	Dallas	13-3
2016	Carson Wentz	Philadelphia	7-9
2017	DeShone Kizer	Cleveland	0-15
2018	Sam Darnold	New York Jets	4-9
2019	Kyler Murray*	Arizona	5-10-1
2020	Joe Burrow*^	Cincinnati	-
*No. 1 overall pick
^Expected to start Week 1