32 NFL observations after Week 1: Sam Darnold thrives with time in the pocket while Dexter Lawrence did his best to generate pressure

• Minnesota Vikings’ Sam Darnold thrives: The veteran signal-caller made the New York Giants pay when they gave him time.

• New York Giants‘ Dexter Lawrence applies pressure: The All-Pro nose tackle did his absolute best to generate pressure on Darnold throughout the contest.

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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Each week, we’ve been taking a look at some of the more interesting nuggets readers can find out about teams with our “Premium Stats” product —whether it’s who the best pass-rushers are, who the most productive receivers are, or who grades the best at certain positions.

With a little time, we’ve trawled through to see what caught our eye not just from this week’s action but for the season overall.

JUMP TO A TEAM:

ARZ | ATL | BLT | BUF | CAR | CIN | CHI | CLE | DEN | DAL | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LVR | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

Arizona Cardinals

Sophomore tackle Paris Johnson Jr. would score the highest grade of all offensive linemen when it came to zone run blocking. His 96.2 mark just edged out Zach Tom of the Packers.

Atlanta Falcons

Nate Landman was one of four linebackers to make four defensive stops in the run game – the highest mark at the position.

Baltimore Ravens

No tight end had more yards per route run than Isaiah Likely. He averaged 3.17 for each route run to lead all of his peers who ran at least 15 pass routes.

Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen led the way in terms of passing grade using play action. His 89.6 score pushed Patrick Mahomes into second spot.

Carolina Panthers

It wasn’t all bad for the Panthers. Their offensive line had the third-highest pass-blocking efficiency rate, allowing just seven hurries on 39 dropbacks, good for a 91.0 score.

Chicago Bears

No defender made more tackles in coverage than T.J. Edwards. His nine were one more than both Byron Murphy Jr. and Alex Anzalone.

Cincinnati Bengals

A disappointing opening day for the Bengals despite an exceptional effort from Logan Wilson. His 92.5 grade was the second-highest of all linebackers this week.

Cleveland Browns

Only Brian Branch could match the three pass breaks up that Denzel Ward managed this week.

Dallas Cowboys

With 11 total pressures, only Aidan Hutchinson could match Micah Parsons‘ ouput.

Denver Broncos

No player was targeted more in the intermediate zones (10-19 yards) than Courtland Sutton at five.

Detroit Lions

In a dominant display, Aidan Hutchinson had the highest win rate at edge among all his peers with a 47.7% mark.

Green Bay Packers

Nobody picked up more yards in the slot than Jayden Reed. His 138 were 44 more yards than Cooper Kupp in the second spot.

Houston Texans

The highest individual grade for any defensive rookie this week (of players who played at least 20 snaps) went to Calen Bullock with an 82.3.

Indianapolis Colts

Og all receivers to run at least 20 routes, Alec Pierce was the most productive. He picked up a massive 6.25 yards per route on the 20 he ran, over a full yard better than Jayden Reed in second spot.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Foyesade Oluokun had the seventh-highest run stop percentage of all linebackers, generating a stop on 17.6% of all running plays he was in on.

Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes was on point on the short stuff. His 86.1 grade was the highest of all quarterbacks throwing between zero and nine yards.

Las Vegas Raiders

With five defensive stops in the run game, John Jenkins had the most of any defensive player in Week 1.

Los Angeles Chargers

Joey Bosa was a force in the run game this week, forcing a fumble, picking up two defensive stops and earning the highest grade of all edge defenders at 93.7.

Los Angeles Rams

Winning 21.7% of his pass-rush snaps, Jared Verse had the highest mark of any rookie.

Miami Dolphins

An uneven display perhaps by Tua Tagovailoa and the high standards he has set, but he did have more big-time throws (four) than any other player.

Minnesota Vikings

With a 90.6 grade on passes when he held the ball longer than 2.5 seconds, Sam Darnold had the best score of any quarterback.

New England Patriots

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson was a man-possessed on Sunday. He forced 10 missed tackles, the most of any running back (with his 118 yards after contact also the most).

New Orleans Saints

What a start to the season for Derek Carr. He had the highest pure passing grade of any quarterback (88.7), propelled by the highest adjusted accuracy percentage (90.9%).

New York Giants

Luckily, the Vikings didn’t have to pass more. Dexter Lawrence was in fine form, winning 50% of his pass-rush snaps, the best score on the week.

New York Jets

When getting rid of the ball in under 2.5 seconds, no quarterback had a higher grade than Aaron Rodgers (90.9).

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were the only team to have two of their tackles post top-15 pass-blocking grades with Lane Johnson (eighth) and Jordan Mailata (15th).

Pittsburgh Steelers

No player had a higher pass-rushing grade from true passing sets than T.J. Watt. His 95.5 was the best in the league.

San Francisco 49ers

No Christian McCaffrey, no problem. Jordan Mason ran for nine first downs, which was, alongside Joe Mixon, the most of any player.

Seattle Seahawks

It doesn’t get much better in the run game than what Charles Cross was able to do. In fact, he scored the incredibly rare 99.9 grade for his gap run blocking. Wow.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

You might want to think twice before blitzing Baker Mayfield again. He picked up 53 more yards (153) than any other quarterback when blitzed.

Tennessee Titans

A disappointing day for the Titans, but safety Amani Hooker can be proud of his efforts. He had a hit, allowed just nine yards into his coverage and completed all five of his tackle attempts.

Washington Commanders

With a 92.0 gap run blocking grade, Sam Cosmi had the highest of all interior linemen.