Five worst NFL Week 1 performances: Jets free-agent signing, Lions O-line have rocky starts

2. New York Jets  cornerback Brandon Stephens

Geez, talk about a bad return on investment. Stephens, who signed a three-year, $36M contract with the Jets in free agency, left an awful first impression with a nightmare performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 34-32 loss.

As ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes noted on Bluesky, at one point in the game, Stephens had allowed a completion on all four of his targets for 74 yards and a touchdown.

He got burned in the slot against wideout Calvin Austin, a 2022 fourth-round pick, failing to break up a back-shoulder throw from quarterback Aaron Rodgers that gave Pittsburgh a 1st-and-goal from New York's 3-yard line. The Steelers scored a touchdown two plays later.

Stephens displayed worse effort in the fourth quarter, biting on Rodgers' play-action fake and allowing Austin to blaze him past him, eventually hauling in an 18-yard touchdown catch to give the Steelers a 31-26 lead.

Stephens was oft-picked on with the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he spent his first four seasons after being selected in the third round (No. 104 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. Per Stathead, from 2023-24, Stephens was targeted 210 times, the second-most during that span, and allowed a league-high 1,150 completed air yards.

The Jets should have read the fine print.

3. Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo and Cleveland Browns kicker Andre Szmyt

Koo's miss at the end of regulation in Atlanta's 23-20 loss to the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while snapping a streak of seven consecutive makes with a chance to tie or take the lead, continued a troubling trend that began last season.

Once among the league's most reliable kickers, Koo has become a liability. After making just 73.5% of his attempts last season, his lowest in six seasons with at least 20 attempts, Koo's wide-right miss put the Falcons in an early hole in the NFC South.

Szmyt was somehow worse. While Koo's miss kept the Falcons from sending their game to overtime, Szmyt had a chance to give the Browns a lead on his 36-yarder, which he also missed wide right. The former undrafted free agent also missed an extra point, which allowed the Cincinnati Bengals to take the lead on an Evan McPherson field goal that they wouldn't relinquish.

4. New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson

Expect the calls for rookie Jaxson Dart to start to grow after Wilson's unexceptional Giants debut. The veteran was Sunday's most inaccurate starting quarterback, ending a 21-6 loss to the Washington Commanders 17-of-37 (45.9%) for 168 yards. It was his sixth-lowest completion percentage of his career and lowest since his disastrous 2022 season with the Denver Broncos. 

Instead of bringing stability to the position, the Super Bowl XLVIII-winning quarterback was maddeningly inconsistent against the Commanders. With a performance like that, head coach Brian Daboll might be forced to reconsider his stance on New York's starting quarterback.

5. Detroit Lions offensive line

Detroit's offensive line had the impossible task of facing edge-rusher Micah Parsons in his Green Bay Packers debut, and the unit was not up for the challenge.

Quarterback Jared Goff was sacked four times, and running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 44 yards on 20 carries (2.2 yards per attempt). For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, Detroit's offensive line must quickly put a rough Week 1 behind it. If it snowballs, the Lions' championship window might have already closed.