2015 Week 1 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers

MVP: Tom Brady (Patriots):
After going through a tumultuous offseason full of public scrutiny and a long court battle stemming from the Deflategate scandal, Brady started off the 2015 season with a noticeable bang. Brady lit up (288 yards, 4 TD's, 0 turnovers) the porous Steelers defense without much visible effort in the NFL season opener last Thursday night. While its highly unlikely that Brady will be this dominant every week, this performance is an encouraging sign that the 38-year old quarterback won't fall from grace in 2015.
Honorable Mentions: Carson Palmer (Cardinals), Marcus Mariota (Titans), Tony Romo (Cowboys)

LVP: Peyton Manning (Broncos):
The struggles that plagued Manning down the stretch in 2014 have followed him into the start of the 2015 season. Manning's struggles with accuracy and frequently poor pass protection led to him putting up an incredibly poor performance (175 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT, 4.4 yards per completion) against the Ravens on Sunday afternoon. Manning gets a bit of a pass due to how good the Ravens defense is, but it's still pretty clear that Manning's best days are well behind him. He's a risky start this week when the Broncos travel to Kansas City to play a similarly stingy Chiefs defense.
Dishonorable Mentions: Eli Manning (Giants), Joe Flacco (Ravens), Teddy Bridgewater (Vikings)

Running Back
MVP: Carlos Hyde (49ers)
2nd-year running back Carlos Hyde had a lot on his plate in his 1st career start this week. Hyde was replacing 49ers icon Frank Gore as the team's starting running back and was expected to be heavily leaned on to take the pressure off of quarterback Colin Kapernick in this revamped 49ers offense. Hyde proved to be up to the challenge as he was the driving force behind the 49ers' offensive success in Week 1. Hyde eviscerated the Vikings defense on Monday night, picking up 182 total yards (168 rushing, 14 receiving) and 2 highlight-reel worthy rushing touchdowns. If Hyde can keep this level of play up, he'll prove be to a top-end RB1 all season long.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Forte (Bears), Chris Ivory (Jets), Bishop Sankey (Titans)

LVP: Adrian Peterson (Vikings)
It was a rough week for projected RB1's this week with guys like C.J. Anderson, Justin Forsett and LeSean McCoy all falling short of expectations. However, none of these guys were as disappointing as Peterson. Peterson's attempt to make a triumphant statement in his 1st NFL game in over a year was thwarted by the 49ers surprisingly stiff defense. Peterson put up just 52 total yards (31 rushing, 21 receiving) on a shockingly-low 13 touches in what was a rough night for the entire Vikings offense. He has a good shot to redeem himself in Week 2 against a Lions run defense that got torched by the Chargers this past week.
Dishonorable Mentions: Frank Gore (Colts), Justin Forsett (Ravens),  C.J. Anderson (Broncos)

Wide Receiver
MVP: Julio Jones (Falcons)
Jones once again proved why he is one of the league's top receivers with his dominant performance last night against the Eagles. Jones torched every single poor soul the Eagles dragged out to try and cover him, picking up an absurd 141 yards and 2 TD's on 9 receptions. Jones is an absolute target monster in the Falcons pass-heavy offense and barring injury, he'll be in the running for the top fantasy WR title in 2015.  
Honorable Mentions: DeAndre Hopkins (Texans), Antonio Brown (Steelers), Keenan Allen (Chargers)

LVP: Odell Beckham Jr. (Giants)
2014's most reliable fantasy receiver showed a rare chink in his armor against the Cowboys on Sunday night. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year picked up a mere 44 yards on 5 receptions and was rarely targeted outside of short-yardage situations. Beckham Jr.'s fantasy owners can take solace in the fact that his ineffectiveness can largely be attributed to how bad Eli Manning played, but it's still a disappointing start for a guy that was downright unstoppable for the last 2 months of the season a year ago.
Dishonorable Mentions: Amari Cooper (Raiders), Demaryius Thomas (Broncos), Calvin Johnson (Lions)

Tight End
MVP: Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)
The Steelers employed a bold defensive strategy this week by not trying to cover the best tight end in the NFL. Let's just say that gameplan didn't pan out too well. Gronkowski took advantage of the Steelers defensive incompetence by putting up 94 yards and 3 TD's on just 5 receptions. As long as Gronkowksi remains healthy, he's the single most deadly redzone threat in the NFL and should make his fantasy owners happy just about every week.
Honorable Mentions: Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Buccaneers), Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Tyler Eifert (Bengals)

LVP: Greg Olsen (Panthers)
With top wideout Kelvin Benjamin out for the season, it seemed like Greg Olsen was going to be the go-to-guy in the Panthers passing game. That was not the case on Sunday afternoon against the Jaguars as Olsen only a caught a single pass for 11 yards. As far as I'm concerned, this weak performance was a fluke and Olsen should return to form against a Texans team that got destroyed by Travis Kelce in Week 1.
Dishonorable Mentions: Owen Daniels (Broncos), Larry Donnell (Giants), Coby Fleener (Colts)

Defense
MVP: Carolina Panthers
The Panthers defense started 2015 off with a serious statement by terrorizing the lowly Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers picked up 5 sacks, 2 INT's, a fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown in the 20-9 victory. The Panthers are a severely underrated fantasy defense that should be able to put up solid numbers week in and week out.
Honorable Mentions: Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos

LVP: Green Bay Packers
The Packers defense started off their 2015 season in pretty unspectacular fashion. The Packers did not duplicate the success they had against Jay Cutler and the Bears last season on Sunday, picking up just 2 sacks and an interception against their heated rivals. The Packers solid pass-rush and talented secondary make them a solid starting defense, but they will have more down weeks than your typical top 10 fantasy defense.
Dishonorable Mentions: Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots