NFL kicks off it’s 104th season

The NFL started its 104th season last Thursday with the Detroit Lions visiting last year’s Super Bowl winners, the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFL had an exciting week one with three Super Bowl contenders being upset. The Detroit Lions beat the Kansas City Chiefs 21-20, kicking off the NFL season and giving the Lions the first win of the year.

The Cincinnati Bengals led by Joe Burrow were beaten by the Cleveland Browns 24-3. This game was all the Browns, Joe Burrow, and the Bengals offense accounted for just 157 yards of offense. It was a rainy game that saw both teams run the ball a combined 60 times.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins beat the Los Angeles Chargers 36-34 in an epic thriller. This was an amazing back-and-forth battle between the two teams which saw over 950 combined yards between them. Tua Tagovailoa tallied 466 of those yards through the air. Tyreek Hill had a superstar game and leads the NFL after week 1 with 215 receiving yards.

The New Orleans Saints had a field goal match with the Tennesse Titans, a game that saw eight field goals through four quarters. New Orleans scored the lone touchdown in that game to win 16-15.

The new-look Baltimore Ravens opened the season with a 25-9 victory over the Hoston Texans, unfortunately, the Ravens lost their running back to an Achilles injury that will put him out for the season for a second time in a row.

The Washington Commanders got their first win under new owner Josh Harris. The Commanders led by rookie quarterback Sam Howell put up 294 yards of offense against the Arizona Cardinals that led to a 20-16 victory.

The Denver Broncos hosted the Las Vegas Raiders, This was the first game with new head coach Sean Peyton who was pulled out of retirement in the summer in an effort to get Russell Wilson and this offense rolling. That plan was stopped by Jimmy Garoppolo and the Raiders who had one, yes one more offensive yards than the Broncos. That one extra yard led to the Raiders beating the Broncos by one point, yes one point 17-16.

I bet the New York Giants would have liked one point, as they were shut out by the Dallas Cowboys at home 40-0 in one of the most dominating defensive efforts I’ve ever seen. This Cowboys defense had two interceptions, one of them returned for a touchdown and a blocked field goal that was also returned for a touchdown. This team had seven sacks with ten tackles for loss and twelve QB hits. For you fantasy football lovers, they scored 35 points in fantasy which was more than every player but Tyreek Hill.

The Philadelphia Eagles spoiled the Patriot’s TB12 jersey retirement with a 25-20 win. At halftime, the New England Patriots retired Tom Brady’s jersey, number 12. Brady played in New England for 20 years and won six Super Bowls, he was accompanied by his children who watched him give a speech about his time there. After halftime, the Eagles made three field goals to extend their lead and give them the victory.

The Green Bay Packers beat division rivals the Chicago Bears 38-20, This is the first game since 2005 that the Packers have played without Arron Rodgers on their roster. The Packers’ new quarterback Jordan Love seemed to fill the shoes just fine as he threw three touchdowns and 245 yards.

Moving on to some West Coast teams, the San Francisco 49ers wallopped the Pitsburg Steelers 30-7, running back Christian McCaffery tallied 152 rushing yards but all eyes were on Brandon Aiyuk as he caught eight passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks 30-13, The Rams were missing star wide receiver Cooper Kupp because of an injury but that didn’t stop Matthew Stafford from throwing over 330 yards and leading the Rams to a week one victory over a division opponent.

Back over to the East Coast, the Atlanta Falcons spoiled Bryce Young’s debut with the Carolina Panthers, The Falcons saw Bryce throw two interceptions as they went on to win 24-10. Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers go into Minnesota and beat the Vikings 20-17, This was a great win for Tampa Bay as they start their post-Tom Brady days.

It was not the best day for rookie quarterbacks, Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-21. Rookie QB Anthony Richardson threw an interception and was sacked four times before coming out of the game late in the fourth quarter after a big hit.

In one of the most exciting football games this season, the New York Jets beat the Buffalo Bills on a punt return for a touchdown in overtime to win the game 22-16. In a game that saw starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers go down on his first passing attempt of the game after a tackle. Rodgers got up and looked at the sideline before going down and coming out of the game. Backup QB Zach Wilson who was replaced by Rodgers came in and threw an interception just before halftime and the Bills led 13-3. Seemed like the same old Jets team that was ready to give up. But this Jets defense came to play in the second half, notching two interceptions and a forced fumble. The Jets had great field position and looked like they could run the clock down and win the game, instead, they kicked a field goal with 1:48 seconds remaining. Just enough for Josh Allen and the Bills to walk down the field and tie the game sending it into overtime. The Bills started with the football and went three and out before punting on a 4th and 12. Then I got to witness something that has only been done three times in NFL history, a walk-off punt return. New York Jets wide receiver Xavier Gibson caught the punt and weaved his way through the Bills for a 65-yard return giving the Jets a week-one victory