We saw some absolutely brilliant quarterback play around the NFL during Week 1 of the season, including Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa.
However, he’s not the only one who stood out among the 32 starting quarterbacks in Week 1. Jared Goff vastly outplayed two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes in the opener on Thursday night as the Detroit Lions upset the Kansas City Chiefs inside Arrowhead Stadium.
As we will do throughout the entire 2023 season, let’s check in on the five best NFL quarterback performances from the opening week of action.
Best NFL quarterback performances from Week 1
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Goff went against the narrative in Week 1 by playing exceedingly well on the road. A lot was made about his splits away from Ford Field in 2022 (6 TD, 4 INT) compared to what he did at home (23 TD, 3 INT). It was a major talking point heading into the season opener against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday.
All Goff did was complete 22-of-35 passes for 253 yards with one touchdown and zero turnovers in the 21-20 win. With the Lions down 20-14 early in the fourth quarter, Goff led the team down the field on a nine-play, 75-yard drive. He completed 3-of-3 passes for 52 yards on the drive, including a 33-yard strike to Josh Reynolds. In the end, David Montgomery took it the rest of the way for the game-winning touchdown and a potentially franchise-altering moment for the Lions.
Related: Ranking all 32 NFL quarterbacks
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Purdy’s stats weren’t eye-opening in San Francisco’s 30-7 blowout win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The second-year quarterback completed 19-of-29 passes for 220 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also lost a fumble.
That’s fine and dandy. But facing off with T.J. Watt (three sacks) and a Steelers defensive front that is among the best in the NFL, the former seventh-round pick did his thing. That included two touchdown passes to Brandon Aiyuk. The 49ers also completed on a solid 6-of-13 third-down opportunities with 13 of their 22 first downs coming via the pass. Purdy is now 6-0 as a starter in his career. He’s also the first NFL quarterback to post wins in each of his first six starts while throwing two-plus touchdowns each time out.
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Yet another NFL quarterback coming off an injury, not many people had high expectations for Matthew Stafford this season. The Rams blew up their roster heading into the 2023 campaign. Star wide receiver Cooper Kupp is on injured reserve, leaving a lot of little-known pass-catchers for Stafford.
About that? He vastly outplayed reigning NFL Comeback Player of the Year Geno Smith on the road Sunday, leading the Rams to a shocking 30-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Stafford ended up completing 24-of-38 passes for 334 yards. His leading receiver was rookie mid-round pick Puka Nacua from BYU, who tallied 10 catches for 119 yards on 15 targets. What a tremendous season-opening performance from the Super Bowl winner.
Related: Sportsnaut’s Week 2 NFL power rankings
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Just the Packers’ third opening day starting quarterback since 1992, Love was facing a ton of pressure heading into Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears inside Soldier Field. How could he possibly replace all-time great Aaron Rodgers after the latter starred in Wisconsin for 18 seasons?
Love answered that in more ways than one. The young quarterback had three passes of 30-plus yards, including three touchdown strikes en route to leading the Packers to a 38-20 road win over Chicago. While Love completed only 15-of-27 passes, he avoided the mistakes that have plagued other young quarterbacks in the recent past. In the end, Love finished his first game as the Packers’ “franchise” player with a 123.2 QB rating. That’s pretty darn good.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
How good was Tua Tagovailoa in his 2023 debut? The Dolphins quarterback joined teammate Tyreek Hill in becoming the first pair of teammates since Dan Marino and Irving Fryar back in 1994 to have 450-plus passing yards and 200-plus receiving yards in a season opener. About those potentially career-ending concussion issues from a season ago?
In addition to completing 28-of-45 passes for 466 yards with three touchdowns, Tua came up with the clutch play to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers. With the Dolphins down 34-30 and under two minutes left, they were facing third-and-goal from Los Angeles’ four. That’s when Tagovailoa hit Hill for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown. Tua completed 4-of-6 passes for 71 yards on that drive. Yeah, this kid is good.