The first week of the 2025 National Football League regular season contained some exceptional performances. Here are the top five offensive players from winning teams.
5) Baker Mayfield
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback from Austin, Texas continued where he left off to end the 2024 National Football League regular season–strong confidence and production at the most important position in the game. In a 23-20 Buccaneers win over Atlanta, Mayfield completed 17 of 32 passes for 167 passing yards and three touchdowns, along with five rushes for 39 rushing yards. Mayfield also had strong chemistry with rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka of Tacoma, Washington. Egbuka, who was the Buccaneers’s first round pick out of Ohio State, had two touchdown catches in his very first NFL game, and finished the game with four catches for 67 yards.
4) Daniel Jones
This was Jones’s debut with the Indianapolis Colts. Last year the native of Charlotte, North Carolina, began the season with the New York Giants and played six seasons with the G-Men before being released at his request on November 22. Jones went on to sign with the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, but did not play a game for them. Jones then signed a one-year deal worth $14 million, and beat out Anthony Richardson of Miami, Florida as the Colts’s starting quarterback. You could make the argument that Richardson has been a bust in Indy after dealing with numerous injuries.
On Sunday, Jones exploited the weak Dolphins secondary by completing 22 of 29 passes for 272 passing yards, along with seven rushes for 26 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 33-8 Colts win.
3) Aaron Rodgers
This was Rodgers’s first game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the future Hall of Famer, led the Steelers to a 34-32 win over the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey. At 41 years of age, Rodgers completed 22 of 30 passes for 244 passing yards and four touchdowns. Rodgers’s major scores went to wide receivers Calvin Austin III of Memphis, Tennessee, and Ben Skowronek of Fort Wayne, Indiana, running back Jaylen Warren of Salt Lake City, Utah, and tight end Jonnu Smith of Ocala, Florida.
2) Justin Herbert
The Chargers quarterback from Eugene, Oregon led Los Angeles to a 27-21 upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Herbert completed 25 of 34 passes for 318 passing yards, and three touchdowns. He also had seven rushes for 32 rushing yards.
1) Josh Allen
Like Herbert, Allen led his team to an upset win as Buffalo beat Baltimore 41-40 as a 1.5 point underdog. Allen completed 33 of 46 passes for 394 passing yards, and two touchdown passes, along with 14 rushes for 30 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
