Seven From Sunday: Walk-Offs, Week-1 Breakthroughs & a Dome Full of Milestones

The NFL’s opening Sunday raced out of the tunnel with close calls and clutch kicks. Here are seven stat-savvy storylines your readers will want to replay:

1) Late-Game Lightning
Three teams—Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Tampa Bay—hit game-winners in the final two minutes, the most for Kickoff Weekend since 2022. Through Sunday’s day slate, 10 games were decided by one score and 11 were within eight in the fourth.

2) New Year, New Bracket Busters
Six clubs that missed last year’s dance—Arizona, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, San Francisco—opened 1–0.

3) Horseshoes Hammer Down
The Colts ended their Week-1 drought (first win since 2013) by scoring on all seven offensive possessions—something no team had done in at least 47 seasons. Daniel Jones posted 298 total yards and 3 TDs (two rushing), while rookie TE Tyler Warren grabbed 7 balls for 76—just the third tight end all-time with 7+ catches in his NFL debut.

4) Rodgers Rolls in Black & Gold
In his Steelers debut, Aaron Rodgers tossed 4 TDs with a 136.7 rating, and Chris Boswell drilled a game-winning 60-yarder in a 34–32 thriller. Rodgers now ties Tom Brady for the most games with 4 TDs and 0 INT (28) and ties Peyton Manning for third-most 4-TD games (35).

5) Rookie Cannon Fire in Tampa
Emeka Egbuka’s first NFL game? 4 catches, 67 yards, 2 TD, including the go-ahead score with 0:59 left. He’s only the second player since the merger with a walk-off TD catch in his debut’s final minute or OT.

6) Ground Crew: Records & Streaks
Josh Jacobs found the paint again for Green Bay, making it 10 straight games (since Week 11, 2024, including playoffs) with a rushing TD—joining LaDainian Tomlinson, Jonathan Taylor, and Priest Holmes on a rare streak list.

7) Air Show: Tight Ends & Yardage Kings

Brock Bowers (Raiders) piled up 103 yards, reaching 1,297 through 18 career games—second-most by a TE in the first 20 games, trailing only Mike Ditka’s pace.

Matthew Stafford crossed 60,000 passing yards (60,054) in his 223rd game—tied second-fastest ever—and Puka Nacua continued his historic sprint: now 194 catches and 2,606 yards in his first 30 games (or fewer), stacking multiple early-career records and ties.

Bonus box: The Colts weren’t the only ones scoring headlines—Pittsburgh’s play-action clinic (Rodgers 8/10, 3 TD on PA), Boswell’s 60-yard walk-off, and the league-wide late drama made Week 1 feel like January in September.