NFL Week 1 Power Rankings: Top Five Performers At Offensive Positions

Not only did Week 1 in the National Football League break records in more categories than one, it brought about the surprise that defenses may be slightly less prepared than offenses around the league.

This is something that comes as a shocker, because at the start of a season the roles are usually reversed. The defense is picking up the slack, such was the case with the New York Jets, while the offense is left dragging their feet more or less. 

Quarterbacks, even rookies (specifically Cam Newton) have been performing beyond their potential, and the rest of the offensive positions have been excelling in their duties with QB protection and running the ball for great field position, as well. 

Who are the top five men, as far as Week 1 is concerned, that showed up and showed out?

Week 1 QB: Tom Brady, 517 Yards, 4 Touchdowns

This pick should have been unanimous in anyone’s eyes that either watched the New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins game or maybe even caught a few highlights on ESPN not too long after.

Even if you peeked at the box score Tuesday morning, you would know how monster of a game Tom Brady subjected Miami’s defense and all of Miami’s fans to.

A 517-yard passing game along with a minimum of four touchdowns is incomparable and was last conquered in the names of Y.A. Tittle in 1962 (505 yards, seven touchdown passes) and Norm Van Brocklin in 1951 (554 yards, five touchdown passes).

Miami’s defense did not help break Brady’s cause in any sense of the word in their season opener with home field advantage, as he picked apart the secondary with a bevy of receivers. Leading up to an eventual 38-24 scoreboard in the Patriots favor, Brady hit two receivers for at least 100 yards each, two more receivers for 80-plus yards apiece and a single pass to Matthew Slater for 46 yards in the first half of the ball game.

Brady’s passing production was not limited more than mildly, as he threw a single pick in his “lights out” 2011 season’s start. The pocket pressure was nearly absent with Brady able to take more than enough time to read the field and make the perfect pass to either of his multiple apt receivers.

Brady topped all other quarterbacks in Week 1 and looks prepared to do so in the weeks to come. Cam Newton may have been the story after his official NFL debut against the Arizona Cardinals, but by Monday night’s end, everyone was buzzing about America’s most respected active quarterback. 

Week 1 WR: Steve Smith (CAR), 178 Yards, 2 Touchdowns

Steve Smith was the Week 1 premier wide receiver. Sorry, folks. Things are about the sometimes overly confident Panthers’ WR yet again. But, with grand reason.

Smith was Cam Newton’s main target and whether he was just a victim of Carolina not being properly stacked with enough trustworthy options or Newton being primarily comfortable with Smith’s veteran experience does not matter.

The point of the game is to catch whatever balls are thrown to you and Smith’s eight receptions for 178 yards, coupled with two touchdowns is enough to convince me, at least for a short while, that he is going to be the second biggest reason for any type of Carolina Panthers burst this season.

After being bombarded with questions of whether or not Newton’s arrival would curve his attitude about exiting the organization, Smith is proving where his loyalties lie early on. He is even showing and stating a respect for the rookie QB that no one thought Cam could earn so early on.

"

"His performance was excellent," Smith said. "He was everything that everybody didn't expect him to be. He was on point. He made some great runs. He made some fantastic throws. He made some throws out there that as a receiver it made it easy to catch them."

"

Smith may be up for some huge fantasy numbers. Are you kicking yourself for not including him?

Week 1 RB: Darren McFadden (OAK), 150 Yards

Never did I think there would come a day when Darren McFadden outperformed every other running back, with the inclusion of Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson, in any season’s opener.

His season’s statistics in 2010 were not average, but during a week where defenses are supposed to be more prepared to attack offensive situations, especially the run game, McFadden took advantage of the Denver Broncos on every rushing attempt; averaging 6.8 per and totaling 150 yards as the Raiders walked away from the contest with a 23-20 win over Denver.

The great thing about McFadden is that he plays without an ego. Not that Jason Campbell had a zero chance of winning the game in the air—although the Raiders only got 105 yards of production from him—but Darren deemed it necessary to lunge at the opportunity of running the ball as often as possible to put his team into good field position.

It is no secret that the Broncos defense is not well-equipped enough to bear the brunt of an exceptional running game.

As the squad starts almost entirely at the bottom of the food chain with a rush defense that leaves much to be desired, Denver has more than fans chanting “We want Tebow” before the first snap to worry about.

Still, McFadden does not have the luxury of picking his own opponents so we must evaluate him week by week as if he were beginning the season against the Baltimore Ravens or the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He is the man Al Davis thought he was. It just took him a sputter and a slow start to prove it. 

Week 1 OT: Nate Solder (NE)

Nate Solder may be a rookie. This may have been his first official stomp in a yard as a third grader among high school kids, but that inexperience did not show up as much as some may have speculated. T

This young man was as ferocious as he had been playing amongst the college kids and his goal in protecting the quarterback was not something he took lightly Monday night.Solder faced off against Cameron Wake for a majority of the night, putting a stop to many of the sacks Wake felt he would be subjecting Brady to.

A large part of the reason Brady had so much time to make decisions in the pocket can be in some way attributed to Miami’s lack of pressure, but in another sense hats should be taken off in Solder’s favor because of how he dominated Wake consistently throughout the game.

Veteran right guard Brian Waters had a lot to say about Solder’s performance in the offensive line as well.

"

"The young kid, man, he’s amazing; He’s phenomenal. I see why he’s a first-round pick," Waters said. "We worked together really well. He went against a really good football player today [Wake], and he held his own. He made it easy, because a lot of times guys seem like they might overdo it because it's a youngster's first time out there. I never felt that way with him. He’s really comfortable and really confident in his abilities. He did a great job of holding his own against a really good football player."

"

Playing so effectively against a defense that had been praised up until their lackadaisical performance last night is something that Solder should get a pat on the back for. But, of course, in Patriots land nothing is good enough for a pat on the back. Maybe a minor mention then it is time to prepare for the next week.

Relishing in small victories is frowned upon. 

Week 1 TE: Jason Witten (DAL), 110 Yards

Did the five-year, $37 million extension fool you into drafting Jason Witten onto your fantasy football squad or did last year’s finish at the top of TE rankings do the trick?

Either way, if anyone was confident enough in Witten to draft him, they felt pretty lucky after Sunday night’s game that began with the remembrance of those that were lost and survived the terrorist attacks in New York 10 years ago.

In a game driven by an aura of passion, Dallas QB Tony Romo showed that he still looks to Witten to produce when his back is against the wall. The Dallas tight end finished the game with 110 yards and is on the fast track to yet another 90-catch season, tying Atlanta Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez who has four under his belt already.

Witten’s involvement will be extensive, especially if Dez Bryant is being occasional in his work ethic. Not sure, but if you walk onto a field to play football, routes should never be walked or jogged. Injured or not, if a player is on the field he is expected to put his best foot forward or request to sit down for the duration of the game.

Bryant showed a spark of decency in the game’s opening drives, but it became clear that Romo grew more and more confident with Witten as time marched on.