After 7 months, the NFL is finally back. We saw a lot of players make their league debut and some familiar faces on new teams. This will definitely be a season to remember. This is what happened in week 1…
Lions vs. Chiefs:
The NFL season opener did not disappoint. The Lions upset the Chiefs in Arrowhead. The Chiefs offense struggled without Travis Kelce as their WR’s had 9 drops. Lions QB, Jared Goff, played well throwing for 253 yards and 1 TD and Amon Ra. St Brown tacked on 6 catches for 71 yards and 1 TD.
Panthers vs. Falcons:
The #1 pick, Bryce Young made his career debut. He struggled only throwing for 146 yards and 2 INT’s but he showed flashes throughout. On the other side of the ball, Falcons 1st-round pick Bijan Robinson looked electric in his debut. Tyler Allgier also rushed for 75 yards and 2 TDs, leading the Falcons to a 24-10 victory.
Bengals vs. Browns:
Joe Burrow was made the highest paid player in the NFL on September 7th; however, he did not play like this at all. He only had 82 passing yards and 3 fantasy points. I asked Green Level student, Isaac Ericksen, his thoughts on Joe Burrow’s game, “I regret drafting Joe Burrow in Fantasy Football, he shouldn’t be the highest paid player in the NFL.” The Browns rushing attack helped them win this game 24-3. Nick Chubb put up 106 yards and Deshaun Watson put up 45 yards and 1 TD. I asked Browns Fan and Green Level Student, Sahil Patel, how he thought the Browns played. “Overall they played great, had a slow start getting the offense going, however, both sides of the ball played 100% every snap and that’s why we won,” he said.
Jaguars vs. Colts:
This game was one of the best from week 1 as the Jaguars beat the Colts 31-21. Trevor Lawerence put up 241 yards, 2 TD’s, and found himself his new favorite target, Calvin Ridley. Ridley was suspended for the entire season last year for violating the league’s gambling policy. In his first game back he had 8 catches for 101 yards and 1 TD. The Colts played solid too, Anthony Richardson showed some great flashes in his NFL debut, putting up 263 total yards and 2 total TDs.
Buccaneers vs. Vikings:
The Buccaneers upset the Vikings 20-17 in Baker Mayfield’s first game as the Tampa Bay starter. Buccaneers Fan and Green Level student, Jordan Tatum said,“He (Baker Mayfield) played amazing, he played like a reincarnation of Tom Brady. The Bucs are winning the Super Bowl.” The Buccaneers were able to force 3 TOs. The weaknesses in the Vikings were very apparent as they couldn’t establish a rushing game and their DB’s couldn’t cover the Buccaneers WR’s. Justin Jefferson played phenomenal in the loss, still having 9 catches for 150 yards.
Titans vs. Saints:
The Saints defense dominated the Titans in a 16-15 win. Ryan Tannehill threw 3 INTs and was sacked 3 times. Derek Carr played well in his Saints debut, throwing for 305 yards and finding 2nd year WR, Chris Olave, for 8 catches and 112 yards.
49ers vs. Steelers:
The 49ers crushed the Steelers 30-7 in a game that was never close. The 49ers offense was firing on all cylinders as QB Brock Purdy threw for 220 yards and 2 TDs, WR Brandon Aiyuk had 8 catches for 129 yards and 2 TDs and RB Christian McCaffery rushed for 152 yards and 1 TD. The only bright spot on the Steelers’ side was DPOY candidate TJ Watt had 3 sacks.
Cardinals vs. Commanders:
If you aren’t a fan of these teams chances are you didn’t watch this game. It was a slow-paced and low-scoring game in which the Commanders won 20-16. Sam Howell had a solid season debut, throwing for 202 yards and scoring 2 total TDs but left a lot to be desired in his game going forward. I asked Green Level student and Commanders fan, Gavin Jones, what he thought about Howell’s season debut. He said, “It wasn’t too bad, he made some crucial mistakes but overall there were some good things. He made some good reads and his main target Terry McLaurin was limited. I am expecting good things from him the rest of the year.” The Cardinals played terribly without QB Kyler Murray, as they struggled to generate offense all game.
Texans vs. Ravens:
The Ravens dominated the Texans from kickoff, winning 25-9. Zay Flowers shined in his debut he had 9 catches for 75 yards and looked very shifty. CJ Stroud struggled in his debut as he wasn’t able to find the endzone.
Packers vs. Bears:
Jordan Love looked incredible vs. the Bears and the Packers look like they are the favorites in the NFC North. Love threw for 245 yards and 3 TDs. Justin Fields had the same problem as normal, he turned the ball over twice but looked great running the ball.
Raiders vs. Broncos:
Jimmy Garrapolo did what he does best, managing the game for the Raiders and getting the ball into the hands of playmakers. WR Jakobi Meyers had 9 catches for 81 yards and 2 TD in his first game with the Raiders. The Sean Payton era in Denver started with a 17-16 loss as Russell Wilson and the Broncos couldn’t find an alpha WR to generate offense.
Eagles vs. Patriots:
The Eagles jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the 1st quarter after a Darius Slay pick-six. After that Mac Jones started to settle in throwing 3 TDs, 2 of which to WR Kendrick Bourne. The Patriots would still end up losing 25-20. I asked Green Level student and Patriots fan, Matthew Dickerson on how he thought the Patriots played. He said, “They made a few mistakes earlier which ended up costing them in the end but played well and almost came back.“ The WR duo of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith had 7 catches each. The Eagles left a lot of room for improvement if they want to compete with the Cowboys for the NFC East.
Dolphins vs. Chargers:
This game was the definition of a shootout as 2 high-powered offenses couldn’t be stopped. Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa dominated this game. Hill had 11 catches for 215 yards and 2 TD and Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and 3 TDs. Austin Ekeler had a great game for the Chargers, producing 164 total yards. The Dolphins were able to sneak out with the 36-34 win.
Rams vs. Seahawks:
The Rams upset the Seahawks 30-13 without their star WR Cooper Kupp. Matthew Stafford threw for 334 yards and found 2 new WRs he loves throwing to. Tutu Atwell had 6 catches for 119 yards and 5th-round pick Puka Nacua had 10 catches for 119 yards. The Rams were also able to punch it in the endzone 3 times on the ground.
Cowboys vs. Giants:
The Cowboys defense and special teams dominated this game from the jump. They had 2 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries, a blocked kick returned for a TD, and a 40-0 shutout. Daniel Jones struggled throughout this game, throwing for just over 100 yards, 2 INTs, and was sacked 7 times. The Cowboys offense didn’t need to do much but Tony Pollard had 70 yards on the ground and 2 TDs too. I asked Green Level student and Cowboys fan, Austin Conway about their performance. “It was an absolute masterclass put on by America’s Team, no doubt it’s our year,” he said. A lot of Cowboys fans seem to have a ton of confidence in this upcoming season.
Jets vs. Bills:
Aaron Rodgers made his Jets debut but it was very short-lived as he only played 4 snaps and then ruptured his achilles. The Jets defense played out of their mind holding the Bills to 16 points and forcing Josh Allen into 3 INTs to Jordan Whitehead. Breece Hall ran for 127 yards in his first game back from injury and the Jets walked off the game in OT with a punt-return TD to win 22-16.
