NFL Week 1 awards: J.J. Watt is still J.J. Watt
By Brad Rowland
Handing out NFL awards for Week 1 of the season.
The 2015 NFL season is finally underway, and the first week of action was incredibly interesting. From a wildly entertaining season opener between the Patriots and Steelers on Thursday to the craziness of Sunday and Monday evening, the slate was nothing short of captivating, and with that, there is plenty to evaluate.
In this space each week, we will take a snapshot of what took place on the field by handing out some hardware. Season-long awards will be debated throughout the campaign, but here, the goal is to assign honors on a weekly basis, ranging from rookie selections to MVP-level performances.
Below, we will take a look at the rookies, and from there, we will move to the heavy hitters across the league. Let’s do it.
Offensive Rookie of the Week
Marcus Mariota, QB Tennessee Titans
Mariota generated a perfect quarterback rating (158.3) in leading the Titans to a 42-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I would imagine that qualifies the former Oregon quarterback for this honor. Mariota wasn’t asked to throw the ball over the field, attempting just 16 passes, but much of that was due to Tennessee’s massive early lead, and he connected on four touchdown throws without issuing a single interception. It remains to be seen if Mariota’s game will fully translate at the NFL level, but the former Heisman Trophy winner looked the part of a high-end professional quarterback in Week 1.
Runner-up: Ameer Abdullah, RB/KR Detroit Lions
Defensive Rookie of the Week
Leonard Williams, DL New York Jets
Unlike Mariota, there was no “clear” choice in for this honor, so we’ll just take the guy who made the most significant impact. Williams, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, made an immediate impression with five tackles and three quarterback hurries in New York’s dominant victory over Cleveland. He didn’t manage to get on the board with a sack, but that won’t be Williams’ game in the NFL, and he lived up to the extensive billing in his debut.
Runner-up: Marcus Peters, CB Kansas City Chiefs
Next: Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week