NFL Week 1 losers: Brian Daboll hangs his QB out to dry

Not every player, coach and team can shine, and with that in mind, let's look at Week 1's losers in the NFL:.

Brian Daboll, New York Giants head coach: There's plenty of blame to go around after the Giants 40-0 blowout loss against the Cowboys. However, the decision by Daboll to keep QB Daniel Jones in the game late goes beyond the absurd. 

With the Cowboys up by 40 with under five minutes to go, Jones was still on the field, taking hits behind a leaky offensive line in the rain. There's a right and wrong time to send a message, whether to an individual player or the team as a whole. But there's simply no benefit to forcing Jones to ride it out. It's pointless and irresponsible, and Daboll will deserve all the criticism he gets for the bonehead move. 

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback: Only days after becoming the NFL's highest-paid quarterback, Burrow and the Bengals laid a stinker against the rival Cleveland Browns, falling 24-3. In harsh, rainy conditions, Burrow was abysmal, finishing 14-of-31 for only 82 yards. 

To make matters worse, Burrow was benched in the fourth quarter in favor of backup Jake Browning as the Bengals waived the white flag. While Burrow's first game atop the quarterback pay mountain wasn't ideal, it's not likely to become a trend. Unless Burrow has forgotten how to play football, he'll soon turn things around. After all, he has 275 million reasons to do so. 

Pittsburgh Steelers, almost everybody: The offense didn't have a first down 26 minutes into the game and quarterback Kenny Pickett was running for his life most of the afternoon. Pickett finished 31-of-46 for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked five times.

Meanwhile, the Steelers' defense didn't fair much better, giving up 391 yards to QB Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers in a lopsided 30-7 loss. It's only one game against a formidable opponent, but the positivity surrounding the Steelers at the start of training camp is already beginning to sour after just one week. However, one would be a fool to give up on a team led by Mike Tomlin. 

Rookie head coaches: It could have been a better first day on the job for the three rookie head coaches: Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals), Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts) and DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans). 

Gannon's Cardinals dropped a heartbreaker against the Washington Commanders, fumbling a lead away late and losing, 20-16. 

Much like the Cardinals, the Colts had the advantage (21-17) late but were outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter by the Jacksonville Jaguars, falling 31-21.

Meanwhile, Ryans' Texans hung with the Baltimore Ravens early, trailing by one (7-6) at halftime, but ultimately fell apart in the second half, losing 25-9. Barring a tie, either Steichen or Ryans will get their first "W" with the Colts and Texans facing off in Week 2.

Rookie QBs: Three QBs made their first career starts Sunday, the most in a Week 1 since 2012 (five). However, neither C.J. Stroud (Texans), Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers) or Anthony Richardson (Colts) won. Stroud failed to throw a touchdown pass despite finishing with 44 pass attempts, and Young completed only 52.6 percent of his passes and threw two picks in his debut. 

Richardson may have had the best game of the bunch, going 24-of-37 for 233 yards with a touchdown and an interception and adding 40 rushing yards and a TD. The NFL is an adjustment for any rookie, especially for quarterbacks. There are surely better days ahead for all three.  

Los Angeles Chargers defense: The defense didn't give its offense a chance in a 36-34 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The unit failed to record a sack as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and electric wideout Tyreek Hill victimized the  secondary. 

The Dolphins QB posted the fourth-most passing yards (466) in a season opener in NFL history and threw for three TDs, Meanwhile, Hill hauled in 11 receptions for a 215 yards, averaging 19.5 yards per catch and scoring two TDs. In 2022, only the Browns (196.2) and New York Jets (189.4) gave up fewer passing yards per game in the AFC than the Chargers (200.4). But after one game, it's clear that last year was last year.

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback: Opening the year as an MVP favorite, Hurts looked anything but in the opener Sunday against the New England Patriots. Philly escaped with a win, 25-20, but Hurts didn't play well. In fact, the Eagles may have won despite Hurts. The 25-year-old was off his game against the Patriots, going 22-of-33 for 170 yards (5.2 yards per reception) with a touchdown.

Hurts led the Eagles to only 251 yards of offense, fewer than in any game last season. Game analyst Tony Romo called out Hurts several times for making the wrong read and failing to get the ball to wide open receivers. With the Eagles leading by five late in the fourth, he nearly gave the game away, fumbling inside Philly territory. Luckily for Hurts, his defense bailed him out.