The first week of the regular season is in the books, and it’s time to hand out some flowers. The official NFL awards will be handed out on Tuesday, making these our picks for who deserves to be recognized for their contributions.
We will add the official NFL awards when they come through, but until then there are our picks for coach of the week, rookie of the week, offensive player, defensive player, and MVP of Week 1.
Coach of Week 1: Shane Steichen
Shane Steichen was definitely entering the hot seat entering this season, and his bold decision to go with Daniel Jones at quarterback over Anthony Richardson was the kind of move that can make or break a coach. Now he’s the one laughing, and everyone else is looking foolish.
The Colts have been sorely lacking the big-time offense they assumed they’d get when they hired Steichen away from the Eagles — and that came to play in Week 1, in a big way. Indianapolis absolutely dominated the Dolphins and thrust them into the doldrums of the NFL in short order. Jones was spectacular, but more than even that was a defense that turned Tua Tagovailoa into one of the saddest looking quarterbacks of Week 1, while Tyreek Hill was losing it on the sideline before halftime.
It’s safe to say that Colts fans hope the Dolphins aren’t one of the worst teams in the NFL. If they’re halfway competent in 2025 then it’s a testament that Steichen has this team finally buying in for his third season. Considering the AFC South looks fairly weak this season it could be a big-time statement game that sets the tone for the rest of the season.
Rookie of Week 1: Emeka Egbuka
“He’s the real deal. True professional. Doesn’t play like a rookie. Doesn’t act like a rookie. His head is never spinning. He made some unbelievable catches and plays today for us. Obviously, going to continue to lean on him. Hopefully, we can draw some more coverage towards him, and Mike [Evans] gets the ball again.”
That is what quarterback Baker Mayfield had to say about rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who caught a pair of touchdown passes in the Buccaneers’ 23-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons. WIth those two scores, Egbuka became just the second rookie in Tampa Bay history to score a pair of touchdowns in their NFL debut, joining tight end Alex Smith who accomplished the feat back in 2005.
Egbuka’s first NFL touchdown came when he pulled in this perfect throw from Mayfield, splitting the coverage en route to a 30-yard score:
While that touchdown gave the Buccaneers their first lead, his second score gave Tampa Bay the lead for good, as he pulled in this 25-yard strike from Mayfield to put the Buccaneers up late:
The rookie finished the day with four catches for 67 yards, those two touchdowns and perhaps most importantly, the hard-earned trust of his QB.
Best Offensive Player of Week 1: Travis Etienne Jr.
Beating up on the Panthers’ run defense is a little like shooting fish in a barrel. Actually, it’s more like shooting a single fish in a very small barrel that constricts its movement. That said, it’s still about stepping up and actually executing — which is exactly what Etienne did.
On a very weird afternoon in Jacksonville that was full of lightning delays and middling quarterback play from Trevor Lawrence, it was Etienne who put the entire Jaguars’ offense on his back and stepped up. Etienne ran for a ludicrous 143 yards, at a wholly surreal 8.9 yards-per-carry. His 71-yard carry in the 2nd quarter cemented him as the feature back in Jacksonville, with the Jaguars being confident enough in him that they traded away Tank Bigsby the next day.
Running backs struggled all over the league for the most part, except for Etienne and Derrick Henry. This week he’s the No. 1 offensive player of the week.
Best Defensive Player of Week 1: Harold Landry III
While it came in a losing effort, New England Patriots pass rusher led all players with 2.5 sacks on Sunday.
That puts him on pace for a staggering 42.5 sacks this season.
Certainly that will not come to fruition, but the Patriots were able to generate pressure against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, sacking Geno Smith four times during the Raiders’ 20-13 victory.
According to Next Gen Stats, Landry recorded seven pressures on Sunday, in his first game with the Patriots.
That happened just once last season for New England:
Not a bad way to introduce yourself to the Foxborough Faithful.
Special Teams Player of Week 1: Matt Prater
Early last week Matt Prater was out of the NFL, despite going six-for-six on field goals last season in a brief stint with the Arizona Cardinals.
Sunday night the oldest player in Buffalo Bills history was being carried off the field after converting a game-winning field goal against the Baltimore Ravens.
That is the life of a kicker in the NFL. Prater, signed by the Bills to their practice squad on Thursday, now has a job for the moment. With Tyler Bass out for at least three more games after being placed on Injured Reserve with hip and groin injuries, Prater is back in the league.
And back on top of the world.
MVP of Week 1: Josh Allen
Do we really need to explain this one? Josh Allen was transcendent against the Ravens when the game mattered the most, and willed Buffalo to their Sunday Night Football comeback win in dramatic. There was functionally nothing that Allen could have done better in the fourth quarter, as he made big plays, kept the clock moving — and more importantly remained cool under the most amount of pressure imaginable. That quality permeated the entire offense, with everyone rising to the occasion and keeping cool under pressure.
Leadership doesn’t show up on stat sheets, but if it did then Allen would have a perfect score. Nobody would have faulted the Bills if they lost on Sunday night, chalking it up to a close game between great teams — but instead Allen took them to another level and made a statement.
Nobody else deserves this award in Week 1.
