NFL Research spotlights the best nuggets from each slate of games. Here are the most eye-popping statistical accomplishments from Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.
1) Ravens have historic night in loss to Bills
Lamar Jackson had a near-perfect passer rating and ran for 70 yards and a score, Derrick Henry totaled over 170 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ravens held a 15-point lead with four minutes remaining on Sunday Night Football. The Bills won, 41-40.
The Ravens are the first team in NFL history to score at least 40 points and rush for 235 yards and lose that game. Teams were 277-0 including playoffs prior to their loss.
For John Harbaugh, it was the eighth time his team lost a game in which they held a fourth quarter lead of at least eight points. No other coach since 2000 has as many losses.
Henry did prove that he still has it (although it may be a strawman argument to suggest there are nonbelievers out there). The 31-year-old finished with 169 rushing yards and two touchdowns (13 receiving yards). It was the 13th game in Henry's career with at least 150 yards and two touchdowns rushing, tying Jim Brown for the most such games all-time.
The King (108) also broke a tie with Brown for the sixth-most rushing touchdowns in NFL history. He just needs 45 more to match his total from high school (153).
2) Bills QB Josh Allen continues to make history
On the other end of the "first team in NFL history to lose such a game" stats are the winners. The comebackers. In this case, the Bills.
Allen was Superman in this win, finishing with 394 yards and two touchdowns through the air and another pair of scores on the ground. It was the seventh game of Allen's career in which he had at least two passing and two rushing touchdowns -- the most in NFL history. Second- and third-place on that list have seven such games combined (Steve Young four, Cam Newton three).
The Bills QB became the fourth reigning MVP in NFL history to account for at least four touchdowns in Week 1. The previous three such players -- Tom Brady in 2011, Brett Favre in 1996 and Thurman Thomas in 1992 -- all reached the Super Bowl that season.
3) The Carroll-Smith era in Las Vegas starts off hot
What's old is new in Vegas, as 73-year-old Pete Carroll made his Raiders debut. The Super Bowl-winning head coach, now the head man for his fourth NFL team, moved to a perfect 4-0 in debuts as an NFL head coach. That includes a 1994 win in Buffalo as the 43-year-old head coach of the Jets, a 1997 Patriots win against the Chargers, a 2010 win against the 49ers in Seattle, and now 30 years after his head coaching debut a victory against one of his former teams.
Carroll's four wins in coaching debuts are the most in NFL history.
Head coach was not the only change for the Raiders this offseason. Vegas acquired Geno Smith in a trade from Seattle, and the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year wasted no time in setting Raiders records.
Smith's 362 passing yards were the most in a Raiders debut all-time, surpassing Dan Pastorini's 317 in Week 1, 1980 in Kansas City.
The primary recipient of Smith's record-setting day was second-year tight end Brock Bowers. Bowers led the Raiders with 103 receiving yards bringing his career total to 1,297 yards in 18 career games, trailing only Mike Ditka (1,411) for the most receiving yards in a tight end's first 20 career games.
4) Pair of rookie tight ends have nice NFL debuts
Speaking of young tight ends, a pair of them set a new record. Colts first-round pick Tyler Warren and Browns third-round pick Harold Fannin Jr. each had seven receptions in Week 1. Prior to that, no tight end in NFL history had caught seven passes in Week 1 of their rookie season.
Maybe this should not have been a surprise -- Fannin (117) and Warren (104) were the only FBS tight ends with 100-plus receptions in 2024.
5) Colts offense dominates in win with new QB
In an emotional first game since the passing of late owner Jim Irsay, the Colts broke a 12-year winless streak in season openers. But it was the fashion in which they did it that puts them in historic company.
With Daniel Jones fresh off winning the quarterback battle in preseason, the Colts kicked off the 2025 season with a scoring drive against the Dolphins. And then another. And another. And another …
All seven of the Colts possessions ended in a field goal or touchdown. No turnovers, no punts, no kneel downs.
They are the first team since at least 1991 to score on every single possession in a game (1991 is as far back as drive data has been tracked). And they did it with a quarterback making his team debut.
Jones finished with 272 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and two more scores on the ground. He is one of six quarterbacks with at least 250 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a Week 1 game -- joining Josh Allen (2025 against the Ravens), Troy Aikman (1998 against the Cardinals), John Elway (1991 against the Bengals), Jim McMahon (1985 against the Buccaneers) and Otto Graham (way back in 1953 against the Packers).
6) Aaron Rodgers delivers historic performance vs. former team
In a rare quarterback-swapping double-revenge game, the Steelers and Jets put on a show in what was one of the highest-scoring games of the week.
Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in his Steelers debut -- the most passing touchdowns in a game by a Pittsburgh quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger in 2020.
Rodgers, at 41 years and 279 days young, became the third-oldest player in NFL history with a four-plus touchdown game. Only Tom Brady and Drew Brees accomplished that feat at a riper age.
Maybe more importantly for Mike Tomlin, the Steelers did not turn the ball over. For Rodgers, it was his 28th career game with at least four touchdown passes and zero interceptions -- tying Tom Brady for the most such games in NFL history.
