Welcome to the Week 1 Blitz Pickup, where we review the most interesting facts, figures and notes from every NFL game each week. Just like a running back hitting a crucial chip on a blitzing linebacker, we’re going to make sure nothing gets by, all so you can make the plays you need to reach fantasy football paydirt. It’s down, it’s dirty. It’s the Week 1 Blitz Pickup!

Note: All point totals and rankings are PPR unless otherwise noted.

Week 1 Blitz Pickup: Thursday Night

Bills 31 at Rams 10

Josh Allen was 26 of 31 to seven different receivers for a completion percentage of 83.9, a Buffalo record… Devin Singletary and Zack Moss effectively split backfield duties 60/40, with Singletary seeing more carries (eight to six) and Moss more targets (six to two) in the pass game… Rookie James Cook was nowhere to be seen (three total snaps) after a fumble on his first career carry… Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis combined for 210 yards on 12 catches with a touchdown apiece… Jamison Crowder (four) and Isaiah McKenzie (three) split the slot targets. Crowder had slightly more yardage, but McKenzie had the score…

Matthew Stafford threw at least three interceptions for the eighth time in his career… Darrell Henderson out-snapped Cam Akers 55-12 and was far more effective… Kyren Williams suffered a high ankle sprain and will miss six to eight weeks… Despite playing 97 percent of the snaps, Allen Robinson only saw two targets, catching one… Ben Skowronek saw six targets while playing 88 percent of the snaps… Tyler Higbee saw 11 targets, second only to Cooper Kupp (15). That’s more than he saw in any game last season and most for any tight end in Week 1…

Week 1 Blitz Pickup: Sunday Early Games

Browns 26 at Panthers 24

PFF ranked Jacoby Brissett as QB29 in Week 1 despite the win and no turnovers… Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt each played over 50 percent of snaps, including several plays with both on the field… Hunt was targeted more (four to one), but Chubb out-touched him in the run game with 22 carries to Hunt’s 11… Donovan Peoples-Jones saw 11 targets while playing 82 percent of offensive snaps… Amari Cooper saw six targets on the same number of plays… David Njoku saw only one target, a seven yard catch in the third quarter… Cade York was perfect on kicks (4/4 field goal attempts, 2/2 extra points), good for overall K2 for the week…

Baker Mayfield averaged 8.7 yards per pass attempt, his best game total since Week 9 of last season… Christian McCaffrey saw almost a third of available touches (32.5 percent) while he was on the field (43 snaps)…DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson each played 100 percent of offensive snaps… Neither Rashard Higgins nor Terrace Marshall played a snap despite being active for the game… Recent addition Laviska Shenault did not play… Ian Thomas had a career-long 50 yard catch in the second quarter to set up McCaffrey’s touchdown…

Eagles 38 at Lions 35

Jalen Hurts rushed for 90 yards, his highest total since Week 14 of 2020… Miles Sanders scored his first touchdown since Week 16 of 2020 and played 40 of 77 snaps (52 percent)… Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott each vultured a goal line touchdown… Gainwell saw four targets to Sanders’s two… A.J. Brown had a big day on 13 targets; the rest of the Eagles saw 16 targets combined… DeVonta Smith played the most snaps (74/77) of any Eagles skill player but did not record a target…

D’Andre Swift (46) saw twice as many snaps as Jamaal Williams (23)… Williams saw a high usage rate, with 13 potential touches… Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s 12 targets were the fifth highest total in the league Week 1… St. Brown was the target on 20 percent of his snaps… DJ Chark saw a target on 14 percent of his 56 snaps…

Saints 27 at Falcons 26

Jameis Winston had a 111.03 passer rating and finished as QB6 on the week, right in line with his 2021 pre-injury performance… Alvin Kamara saw the ball on 34 percent of his snaps, but finished with only 7.6 fantasy points… Michael Thomas played 61 percent of offensive snaps and exploded for two fourth quarter touchdowns… Jarvis Landry (72 percent of snaps played) had the 14th-highest utilization rate among wideouts and was 12th in points per snap… Taysom Hill saw the ball on five of 16 snaps (31 percent) and finished as TE3 on the week…

Marcus Mariota had the third most rushing attempts (12) among quarterbacks and the third-highest rushing average (6.0)… Mariota finished as QB9 despite not throwing a touchdown… Cordarrelle Patterson was the ballcarrier or target on 55 percent of his snaps and finished as RB5… Tyler Allgeier was inactive and Damien Williams left early with an injury… Drake London and Kyle Pitts tied for the team lead with 7 targets… Pitts played more snaps (63) than any other Falcons skill player outside of Mariota. London was third with 54…

49ers 10 at Bears 19

Trey Lance had 13 rush attempts, second among quarterbacks in Week 1, and led the team in rushing… Lance completed just 46.4 percent of his passes, 35th in the league among quarterbacks who attempted a pass… Elijah Mitchell earned a PFF grade of 71.9 in 17 snaps before suffering a knee injury that landed him on IR for an expected two months…Despite 26 fewer snaps, Jauan Jennings had twice as many targets (six) and catches (4) as Brandon Aiyuk… George Kittle did not play…

Justin Fields had the fewest pass completions (8) of any starting quarterback in Week 1… Fields’s two touchdowns tied a career high… Khalil Herbert played fewer than half as many snaps with fewer than half as many looks as David Montgomery…. Herbert outscored Montgomery 11.3 to 8.0… Darnell Mooney‘s 1.8 fantasy points were a career low… Cole Kmet saw only one target and went without a catch for the first time since Week 9 of 2020…

Steelers 23 at Bengals 20 (OT)

Mitchell Trubisky averaged 5.1 yards per pass attempt, lowest of any quarterback with 20+ completions… Najee Harris averaged 2.3 yards per carry, second lowest of his career… Diontae Johnson saw more targets (12) than the rest of Pittsburgh’s wideouts combined (10)… Pat Freiermuth saw the second most targets (10) of any tight end and was TE7 on the week…

Joe Burrow threw four interceptions for the first time in his career, with five turnovers total… Joe Mixon had career highs in targets (nine) and total opportunities and finished as RB9… Ja’Marr Chase‘s 16 targets were the second most among wide receivers and a career high… Mike Thomas stepped in as WR3 after Tee Higgins‘ injury with five targets. He had 11 all last season… Evan McPherson missed two kicks in a game for the first time in his career…

Colts 20 at Texans 20 (OT)

Matt Ryan attempted 50 passes for the first time since Week 1 of 2020… Meanwhile, Jonathan Taylor‘s 31 rushing attempts led the league… WR6 Michael Pittman tied for fourth in the league with 13 targets on the day… Despite listing him second on the depth chart, the Colts gave Kylen Granson more snaps and more looks than Mo Alie-Cox… Rodrigo Blankenship had two kickoffs out of bounds and missed a game-winning 42 yard kick in overtime. He was subsequently cut by the team…

Rex Burkhead played 50 snaps to Dameon Pierce‘s 20… Pierce had 11 rushes and one target in those 20 snaps, however, good for the third-highest utilization rate among running backs… O.J. Howard played 12 snaps and caught both his targets for touchdowns. He finished as TE2 after signing with the team little more than a week earlier… Brandin Cooks received 33 percent of the total targets in the pass game…

Patriots 7 at Dolphins 20

Damien Harris saw 22 snaps; Rhamondre Stevenson saw 14… Harris only saw two more opportunities than Stevenson… DeVante Parker played every offensive snap for the Patriots but saw just two targets… Ty Montgomery was placed on IR after playing through a knee-injury originally suffered in the preseason finale… Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith effectively split reps and looks… Neither tight end saw a red zone target…

Chase Edmonds (38) and Raheem Mostert (25) were the only running backs to play and were co-listed as first team… Jaylen Waddle‘s 5 targets were the second-fewest of his career… Tyreek Hill had 12 targets in the game… Mike Gesicki played the second-lowest percentage of snaps in a game since his rookie season…

Ravens 24 at Jets 9

Kenyan Drake led all Ravens backs in snaps, touches, and scoring. He signed with the team less than two weeks prior… Devin Duvernay played 52 percent of snaps but led the team in receiving and caught two touchdowns to double his career total… Mark Andrews was unsurprisingly the team’s leading target… Isaiah Likely did not record a catch on four targets…

Joe Flacco attempted 59 passes, his most since Week 1 of 2014… Michael Carter and Breece Hall split snaps. Carter played 50, Hall 38. Each had nine targets… Targets were split relatively evenly among wide receivers, despite wide variation in snap counts. Corey Davis had 10 targets to lead the team, while Elijah Moore played 89 percent of snaps… Tyler Conklin looks to be the receiving tight end for now, with seven targets to none for C.J. Uzomah…

Jaguars 22 at Commanders 28

James Robinson turned a nearly 50/50 timeshare with Travis Etienne into a markedly better fantasy day. Robinson far out-touched Etienne and showed little effect from last season’s Achilles tear… Christian Kirk led the wideouts in playing time, targets, receptions, and yards, and looked like a number one option… Zay Jones outplayed Marvin Jones despite an almost even snap count… Evan Engram caught all four of his targets, but for only 28 yards…

In his first game with Washington, Carson Wentz threw four touchdowns for the first time since Week 14 of 2017… Surprisingly, Antonio Gibson saw eight targets to just three for J.D. McKissic… Curtis Samuel led the team in targets (11) and was third with four rush attempts… Samuel and rookie Jahan Dotson each saw a redzone target… Dotson scored two touchdowns on three catches in his debut… Logan Thomas returned to his role as the receiving tight end and was third in targets on the team…

Week 1 Blitz Pickup: Sunday Late Games

Packers 7 at Vikings 23

Aaron Rodgers finished the week as QB32… Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon played nearly the same amount of snaps, with Dillon garnering 15 touches to Jones’s 8… Rookie Romeo Doubs led all wideouts in receiving but was just fourth in snaps played… Targets were shared across positions, with seven players receiving at least three… Robert Tonyan was the lead tight end, but Josiah Deguara looked more effective with fewer opportunities…

Justin Jefferson set a career high in yardage en route to a WR1 overall finish… Adam Thielen recorded the most snaps of any wideout on the team… Alexander Mattison received eight carries but was not targeted in the pass game… Irv Smith, Jr. did not record a catch. Johnny Mundt was effectively the top tight end in playing time and receiving…

Giants 21 at Titans 20

Daniel Jones tied for sixth in the league for rushing attempts by a quarterback… RB1 Saquon Barkley had 164 yards on the ground, his best since Week 16 of 2019, and led the team in receiving targets… Kadarius Toney saw only seven plays on offense, lowest of any Giants’ receiver… The Giants did not target a tight end in the pass game…

Dontrell Hilliard was the only Titans’ running back to see more than one target. He caught three of four balls with a pair of touchdowns… Derrick Henry returned to his workhorse role, but was held in check, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry… Robert Woods and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine played the most snaps, but rookies Kyle Philips and Treylon Burks outperformed them on the field and in fantasy… Rookie Chigoziem Okonkwo caught his only target and was credited with a rushing attempt in his first game…

Chiefs 44 at Cardinals 21

Patrick Mahomes threw at least five touchdowns for the sixth time in his career… Clyde Edwards-Helaire had his third-best fantasy performance of his career and best since Week 11 of his rookie season… Rookie Isiah Pacheco was very efficient in late rushes to kill the clock… Mecole Hardman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling each saw at least 10 targets… Travis Kelce was the top tight end of the week, and was top-five in both points per snap and utilization rate…

James Conner was the clear lead back, with 47 snaps to 22 for Eno Benjamin… Outside of those two, no other Cardinal back received a touch or target… Marquise Brown was the starter, but Greg Dortch was the big surprise in the absence of Rondale Moore and DeAndre Hopkins… Dortch out-performed his previous career output with seven catches on nine targets and led the team… Zach Ertz was the only targeted tight end and was TE11 on the week…

Raiders 19 at Chargers 24

Derek Carr tied a career high with three interceptions… Josh Jacobs operated as the lead back, with 60 percent of snaps played. No other back had more than 28 percent. Rookie Zamir White did not play on offense… Devante Adams saw more targets (17) than any other wideout in the league and was WR3 on the day… The rest of the team saw 18 targets combined… Darren Waller was the only tight end targeted and tied with Hunter Renfrow for second on the team with six looks…

Justin Herbert (QB5) had his ninth career game of at least three touchdowns without an interception… Keenan Allen left the game with a hamstring injury that could cost him more than one game… Mike Williams played 62 snaps (93 percent) but gained just 10 yards on two catches (four targets)… DeAndre Carter and Josh Palmer both caught three of four targets apiece. Carter was good for 64 yards and a score… Gerald Everett was TE4 on the week with only four targets…

Week 1 Blitz Pickup: Sunday Night

Buccaneers 19 at Cowboys 3

Leonard Fournette was by far the lead back in usage and ability… Rookie Rachaad White saw six carries and two targets… Giovani Bernard did not record a carry or target… Julio Jones played the second most snaps of any Tampa receiver and looked healthy and explosive… Mike Evans was the leading target for Tom Brady with seven… Russell Gage only played 42 percent of snaps but caught both his targets… Chris Godwin sustained a hamstring injury that will keep him out Week 2 and is considered a week-to-week situation…

Dak Prescott injured his throwing hand and required surgery that may keep him out for two months… Cooper Rush replaced Prescott and is the presumed starter in Prescott’s absence… Ezekiel Elliott only had 10 rushing attempts. The Cowboys as a whole only had 18 rushes total… CeeDee Lamb caught just two of nine targets… Dalton Schultz saw nine targets, third among league tight ends… The Cowboys were the only team without a Week 1 touchdown…

Week 1 Blitz Pickup: Monday Night

Broncos 16 at Seahawks 17

Russell Wilson threw just one touchdown in 42 attempts… Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon split snaps 58 percent to 41 percent… Williams had 12 targets and seven rushes, while Gordon had 12 rushes and two targets… Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy each had four catches on seven targets… No other wideout caught a pass… Albert Okwuegbunam played over twice as many snaps as any of the Broncos’ other three tight ends…

Geno Smith was 17 of 18 for 164 yards and two touchdowns passing in the first half… Rashaad Penny played 38 snaps (69 percent) compared to 22 total for the rest of the Seahawks’ running backs… D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett played almost identical snap counts… Metcalf caught all seven of his targets, while Lockett caught three of four… Will Dissly played more snaps and had a more productive day than Noah Fant…

Challenge Chase!

Ever wonder how you stack up against the experts? Now’s your chance to find out! You can utilize what you learned in the Week 1 Blitz Pickup, and use teams you’ve already drafted to take me on for weekly bragging rights with Flex Fantasy. Visit https://www.flex.fan/bellyup to sign up and challenge me, as I’ll be using lineups from my own home leagues. You can play for fun, play for money, or play for both! Look for SttChaseFFB’s teams in the Flex Fantasy Arena and sign up today. I promise I won’t rub it in (much) when I win. Got something to say? Leave a comment below, follow me on Twitter @SttChaseFFB, and catch me on the Belly Up Fantasy Live podcast Sundays and Wednesdays all season long. Slàinte!