All Time NFL Week 1 Records

It may only be the start of a new season, but that won’t stop some players from achieving new heights. While records are set and broken all the time in sports, professional football is a whole different story.

In the NFL, some players come ready in the first week and set new records that others couldn’t throughout previous seasons. In this article, we’re taking a deep dive into some of the most important NFL week 1 records achieved since its creation, including who set the record, what it was for, when the record was set and what team the record was set for.

Records set in NFL Week 1

Titans vs Saints, Fewest touchdowns and most field goals scored in Week 1, 2023

Kickers are often the unsung heroes in the NFL, and that was true in the Titans vs Saints Week 1 matchup in the 2023 NFL season. Only one touchdown was scored while it also featured a combined eight field goals, setting a new record for Week 1 games. Nick Folk, in his Titans debut, went 5 for 5 in his scoring, an incredible performance for the new acquisition, while the Saints managed to clutch a 16-15 win with rookie kicker Blake Grupe scoring all 3 of his field goals.

Anthony Richardson, Youngest player to throw and rush for a touchdown in Week 1, 2023

In 2023, as a rookie QB signing for the Indianapolis Colts, Anthony Richardson would have one of the greatest opening performances out of any player in the NFL. At the time, Richardson was 21 years old, and he finished the game with 223 passing yards, 40 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown, making him the youngest player in the Super Bowl era to throw and rush for a touchdown in the same game during the first week of the NFL season.

Frank Clarke, Most receiving yards in Week 1, 1962

Some records were set a long time ago and haven’t been broken since. The most receiving yards in week 1 in the NFL is one of them, with Dallas Cowboys wideout Frank Clarke earning 241 yards against the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) in 1962. Not only would Clarke catch the ball 10 times in one game, but he’d also score three touchdowns which isn’t too far behind the record for most touchdowns in a Week 1 game as well. 

OJ Simpson, Most rushing yards in Week 1, 1973

Believe it or not, the player with the most rushing yards in an NFL Week 1 game is the Buffalo Bills’ O.J. Simpson. During an incredible performance in 1973 against the New England Patriots, Simpson put up 250 rushing yards, scoring two touchdowns in just one game in the first week of the NFL season. If anyone is to break this record, it will have been for a lot of rushing yards, considering the next highest in a Week 1 game is 231 yards – an amount some players can’t even achieve throughout an entire NFL season!

Most touchdowns scored in Week 1

While the record for most touchdowns scored in week 1 of the NFL might be the most prestigious on paper, there’s a tie for 8 players who hold this record. Spanning several different decades, these eight players managed to score four touchdowns each in the first week of the NFL: Priest Holmes (Kansas City Chiefs, 2002), Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys, 1995), Thurman Thomas (Buffalo Bills, 1992), Earnest Gray (New York Giants, 1980), Ahmad Rashad (Minnesota Vikings, 1979), Calvin Hill (Dallas Cowboys, 1971), Abner Haynes (Dallas Texans, 1962) and Elroy Hirsch (Los Angeles Rams, 1951). It may be a very long time before we see a player with five or more touchdowns in Week 1 of the NFL season and finally have a standalone holder of this record.