The NFL Season has begun, and week one is already over. Here’s what’s happened in the league.
In the Thursday night opener, before the first snap of the game; Philadelphia Eagles star defensive tackle Jalen Carter spit in the face of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, getting ejected. The Cowboys had a slow, lightning-delayed, loss to the Eagles of 24-20.
Friday night football showed us that maybe the Chiefs aren’t the superbowl team they were last year. After a few plays, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce collided with his wide receiver teammate Xavier Worthy. With Worthy out with a dislocated shoulder, Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown stepped in and led the game in receiving yards, with 99. But in the end, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers were too good for the Chiefs, defeating them 27-21 with WR Quentin Johnston having a surprising 79 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Sunday early slot of games made it clear that there are some serious new contenders. The Indianapolis Colts destroyed the Miami Dolphins 33-8. Colts QB Daniel Jones shockingly had one of the best games in the league this week, throwing 272 yards, 1 TD pass, and 2 rushing TDs, while Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa had trouble finding his usual key target, WR Tyreek Hill.
Rookie New Orleans Saints QB Spencer Rattler fell short to the Arizona Cardinals this week. The Cardinals had a few impressive plays, including WR Marvin Harrison Jr’s 45 yard catch. Saints HC Kellen Moore strategically used their timeouts, which helped lead the Cardinals to their 20-13 victory.
The Las Vegas Raiders stayed strong against the young New England Patriots, with a 20-13 win. The Raiders defense was especially notable, with Drake Maye being sacked twice and pressured 7 times. Unfortunately, the Patriots leading at halftime 10-7 wasn’t enough for Raiders’ All-Pro TE Brock Bowers and WR Jakobi Meyers, who had a combined 200 yards, making fantasy owners proud.
In two unsurprising games, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns 17-16 and the Washington Commanders defeated the New York Giants 21-6. The only relatively surprising parts of these games were that star Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase had a very low number of targets compared to usual, and Browns rookie kicker Andre Szmyt missed an easy 36 yard field goal. For a one point loss, Cleveland might be looking for someone else to lead their special teams.
What would have been the highest scoring game of the week between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets ended with a Steelers QB Justin Fields run fake 1 yard touchdown. With one minute left, Steelers K Chris Boswell hit a 60 yard field goal. Final score 34-32.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-20. Tampa QB Baker Mayfield was playing under par until his usual 4th quarter clutch, with a 25 yard TD pass to rookie Emeka Egbuka. Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson didn’t live up to his rushing expectations, but played spectacularly when thrown the ball, running 100 yds with a REC TD.
QB Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers played poorly, as expected, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Panthers lost 10-26 with Young throwing 2 interceptions, 1 lost fumble, and an almost pick six, saved by a holding penalty. On the other side, Jags RB Travis Etienne Jr proved himself to be a true hero, splitting snaps with the now traded Tank Bigsby.
3 PM rolled around and the Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Texans had the lowest scoring game of the day. Rams WR Puka Nacua, unsurprisingly, was the receiving leader for the game, securing 130 yards. On the contrary, Texans QB C.J. Stroud was sacked three times, showing signs of how his sophomore slump could possibly carry on into his junior year. The final score was 14-9, Rams.
Although the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-13, the Niners showed up with more problems in the end. Niners WR George Kittle, LT Trent Williams, WR Jauan Jennings, and LB Fred Warner were all injured at some point in the game. And, while Williams and Warner returned, the others did not. Kicker Jake Moody struggled throughout the game, missing a 27 yarder and getting blocked from a 36 yarder, leading to his release the following day and a practice squad pickup for the Bears. The Seahawks defense did most of the work, with 2 picks off of Niners QB Brock Purdy, but was not enough for them to come out on top.
After a 2024 season of going 15-2, The Detroit Lions performance Sunday left fans disappointed. They failed to score a touchdown until the last quarter, showing how their offense might not be as good as expected. The Green Bay Packers had a surprising upset with their new star defensive end Micah Parsons. Although Parsons' performance seemed underwhelming, he clutched up in the 4th quarter with his first sack as a Packer. With the help of an Evan Williams interception, the Packers had their first win of the season, with a final score of 27-13.
Tennessee Titans Rookie QB Cam Ward showed true potential on the field, despite completing less than half of his passes. The first official game for a rookie QB is always difficult, shown with the Titans losing to the Denver Broncos 12-20. Even with the win, Bo Nix and his offense struggled throughout the game, throwing 2 interceptions just like last year. This comes as no surprise to the Broncos, but their hopes for the rookie are still high.
The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills game was not only the highest scoring of the week, but also the craziest. The Baltimore Ravens were up 15 points on the Buffalo Bills at the start of the 4th, but Bills reigning MVP Josh Allen ran in the endzone for 2 TD’s and threw 1 TD, making it a 3 point game. A 32-yd game-winning FG from Bills K Matt Prater secured the 41-40 win for Buffalo. Despite the excruciating loss, Ravens WR DeAndre Hopkins created a name for himself on his first touch of the game; catching a one-handed 29 yd TD for an early score. Raven’s 31 yr old RB Derrick Henry also proved that he is still a powerhouse, with an impressive 169 rushing yards and 2 TD’s.
Monday Night Football gave Chicago Bears fans flashbacks to their 2024 selves. Hopes were high in the first half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings in Chicago, but the Bears managed to get 12 flags and 127 penalty yards which greatly helped Minnesota's late win of 27-24. The first half of the game was fantastic for Bears QB Caleb Williams, with 10 straight completions, but even HC Ben Johnson couldn’t save Bears kicker Cairo Santos from missing a 50 yd FG and a late game punt that didn’t reach past the endzone. Vikings QB J.J McCarthy started off slow but went crazy in the 4th quarter, finding Aaron Jones and Justin Jefferson in the endzone for a Passing TD each. McCarthy also rushed for 14 yards into the endzone for a clutch, much needed TD.
That’s all for now, I’ll see you next week for the NFL Week 2 Recap.
