Week 1 of the NFL season was not only fun, but featured several surprising performances. It wasn't shocking to see Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen go toe-to-toe against each other, but how many people envisioned Aaron Rodgers being one of the best quarterbacks in the season opener? Who envisioned the Cleveland Browns coming a point away from beating the Cincinnati Bengals?
Some of the surprising performances we saw in Week 1 should be able to sustain in Week 2 and potentially beyond. Others, though, feel like outliers. These four players who starred in Week 1 feel destined to take a step back in Week 2.
4. RB Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings came back to defeat the Chicago Bears in Week 1, and Jordan Mason played an instrumental role, rushing for 68 yards on 15 carries, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Mason ranked eighth among all running backs in Week 1 in yards and actually out-carried his teammate, Aaron Jones, in that game.
Whether Mason will continue to out-carry Jones, an established RB1, remains to be seen, and even if he does, how well will he do against the Atlanta Falcons? The Falcons dropped a close Week 1 game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they held Bucky Irving to just 37 yards on 14 carries. He averaged a measly 2.6 yards per carry on the afternoon. In fact, Baker Mayfield led the Bucs in rushing yards.
At the end of the day, if Irving couldn't generate much on the ground, who am I to say Jordan Mason will? I have a ton of faith in Minnesota's ability to take down the Falcons, especially at home, but they might have to lean on J.J. McCarthy in the passing game to accomplish that goal, resulting in what could be a down week from Mason.
3. S Jordan Battle, Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals struggled to do much of anything offensively but held the Cleveland Browns to just 16 points in their 17-16 win in Week 1. Jordan Battle stepped up in a big way in Week 1, recording an interception and 12 total tackles.
Battle ranked 11th among all safeties with a 76.9 PFF Grade, ahead of guys like Antoine Winfield Jr. and Budda Baker. This was particularly impressive from Battle considering he ranked 136th out of 171 safeties with a 53.1 PFF grade last season.
This was an impressive and needed performance for a Bengals defense with tons of question marks, but are we sure this will sustain? The Bengals got to face off against a Browns team that could be in No. 1 overall pick contention when all is said and done. Week 2 gets tougher with the Liam Coen-led Jacksonville Jaguars, who really impressed in Week 1, coming to town. Battle repeating this performance would have Bengals fans feeling better about their defense. Whether it's likely he does so, though, can be debated.
2. WR Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
You could've gone with just about any member of the Indianapolis Colts, and I would've been fine with it. The Colts ran roughshod all over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, winning 33-8 in Daniel Jones' team debut. Jones deserves a ton of credit, as does just about everyone on the Colts who played extremely well, but how much of this game had to do with the Dolphins? I mean, the Dolphins looked discombobulated on both ends.
Predicting that Jones, a quarterback with the lowest of expectations, isn't quite as good as he was in Week 1 isn't much of a hot take, but I will predict that their best receiver, Michael Pittman Jr., will fall back to earth in Week 2.
Pittman had six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, proving to be Jones' go-to target. He's very talented, and I have no doubt that he'll have some other big games this season, but Week 2 presents as tough a matchup as he could have, with the Denver Broncos coming to town. The Broncos have one of the best defenses in the NFL, and perhaps more importantly, they have one of the best corners in the NFL, Patrick Surtain II. Assuming Surtain shadows Pittman, all I'll say to Pittman is good luck.
I have a hard time believing anyone will do great things for Indianapolis in Week 2, and I would be genuinely shocked to see Pittman repeat his star showing from Week 1.
1. QB Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders acquired Geno Smith in the offseason to do what he did in Week 1 - win. Not only did the Raiders win, but Smith starred, completing 70.6 percent of his 34 passing attempts for 362 yards and a touchdown. He did throw an interception, but as his 83.8 PFF grade (seventh among all QBs) suggests, Smith was outstanding for most of the day.
As great as Smith was, perhaps his breakout had a lot to do with the matchup. Smith faced a subpar New England Patriots defense that was without its best player, Christian Gonzalez. Smith deserves credit for how he played, but I'm not sure many starting quarterbacks would've struggled against that defense.
In Week 2, the competition gets much tougher with the Los Angeles Chargers coming to town. The Chargers' defense is as good as anyone's in the AFC, and they were able to contain Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. As good as I believe Smith is, he obviously isn't Mahomes, so who am I to believe he'll light up the screen as he did in Week 1? Smith should have a good season, but this Week 2 matchup is far from favorable.