RandBall: Stats told the story for Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins. But so did their feet.

The punditry class in the NFL can’t help itself from reacting and sometimes overreacting to a single game, particularly the first one of a season. It’s easy to get caught up in early narratives, and its harder to escape them in a sport where each team only plays once a week.

So it’s important not to rely simply on a small sample size of numbers. For example: Sam Darnold was efficient in completing 19 of 24 passes, including two touchdowns, in a solid win over the Giants in his Vikings debut. Kirk Cousins struggled to move the ball and threw two interceptions in a disappointing loss to the Steelers in his Falcons debut.

History would suggest those results will smooth themselves out over 17 weeks and that Cousins will have a better season than Darnold.

But I did find it noteworthy that within some deeper looks at each QB in Week 1 there was evidence beyond just the stats to support praise for Darnold and concern with Cousins.

In both cases, as I talked about on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast, it was all about their feet.

Darnold earned praise from former NFL QB and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky for his footwork against the Giants.

“I think he’s done a remarkable job in Week 1 of marrying his feet to the pass concept,” Orlovsky said. “And that’s a lost art right now in the NFL. I remember in Carolina, Sam was bad at this. And he’s really taken great growth.”

Orlovsky rolled through multiple examples of Darnold timing his footwork and his readiness to throw with the point where receivers were breaking open.

That might seem like a basic thing, but Orlovsky said it was something Darnold struggled with as a younger QB.

It’s worth watching to see if Darnold can continue his growth in that area.

Cousins, meanwhile, earned the opposite reaction from Ben Solak’s ESPN breakdown. After tearing his Achilles midway through his final season with the Vikings, Cousins of course signed a lucrative multiyear deal with the Falcons in the offseason.

He wasn’t under center for a single snap Sunday. When he was in the shotgun, the Falcons didn’t use any designed running plays. In the pistol, they ran it more than 80% of the time.

That sort of predictability, Solak surmises, is because “Cousins’ mobility is still drastically limited.” He also noted, “Cousins doesn’t look comfortable driving the football just yet,” with this clip standing out:

Former NFL QB Kurt Benkert also asserted on X that it “doesn’t look like Kirk Cousins is physically ready to play football and I don’t think he gives the Falcons the best chance to win under his current circumstances. He does not look fully healthy or explosive with his Achilles by any means.”

The progress of both QBs during the season will be both notable and linked, and is it worth pointing out that Solak did temper his comments with this: “I’m confident this can and will get better for the Falcons and Cousins. The question is, how much better?”

The interesting thing is that both the Vikings and Falcons drafted QBs in the first round just a few months ago. Darnold seemed the more likely bet to get replaced midyear, but with J.J. McCarthy out for the season and Darnold showing signs of competent play that is far less likely now. If Cousins struggles with both performance and mobility, meanwhile, the voices calling for rookie Michael Penix Jr. will only get louder.

Here are four more things to know today: