NFL Game Recaps: Week 1, 2023

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Lions 21, Chiefs 20

The Chiefs entered this game as reigning Super Bowl champions, but they were behind the eight ball because of some missing personnel. Their top offensive threat, Travis Kelce, and best defender, Chris Jones, were sidelined for various reasons. Thus, Patrick Mahomes would have to carry the team with a lesser supporting cast.

Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL, but that task proved to be too daunting. He did what he could, but was ultimately betrayed by horrid play from some of his receivers and linemen, particularly Kadarius Toney.

Toney was expected to be Kansas City’s new No. 1 receiver this year in the wake of JuJu Smith-Schuster’s departure, and he was expected to play a significant role in this game with Kelce sidelined. Toney certainly played a significant role, but what he did was help the Lions win the game more than anyone on the field. Toney had three drops, all of which were crucial. The first bounced into the arms of rookie safety Brian Branch, who took the turnover back for six. The second drop forced the Chiefs into a field goal instead of a potential touchdown. The third occurred on the final offensive drive, as a catch would have put Kansas City into field goal range to win the game. Instead, the drop forced Kansas City into a negative down-and-distance situation, ultimately ending the game.

Toney caught one pass for one yard on five targets. His drops absolutely crushed the Chiefs, who desperately need Kelce to return next week in Jacksonville to avoid a possible 0-2 start.
Toney ruined Mahomes’ stat line, as the reigning MVP went 21-of-39 for 226 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Had Toney caught all three passes, Mahomes would have approached 300 yards and woudn’t have logged a pick. It’s also worth noting that new right tackle Jawaan Taylor lined up illegally on every play, which future opponents will notice and point out to the officials.
The Chiefs need to fix their rushing attack as well. Mahomes led all ball-carriers with 45 yards on six scrambles. Isiah Pacheco (8-23) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (6-22) didn’t get much against Detroit’s underrated defense, though Pacheco did well in the passing game with four catches for 31 receiving yards. Only Marquez Valdes-Scantling (2-48) and Justin Watson (2-45) had more receiving yardage than Pacheco.
Detroit’s running game needs improvement, too. The Lions fed the ball way too much to David Montgomery, who tallied 74 yards on 21 carries. He also scored a touchdown, but the running lane was so huge on the play that any player in the NFL could have run through it. By contrast, Jahmyr Gibbs (7-42) was so much faster and explosive. Gibbs also caught two passes for 18 receiving yards.
Jared Goff won this game, but didn’t play his best. He went 22-of-35 for 253 yards and a touchdown. He made a clutch throw on third-and-12 in the fourth quarter, but he missed some earlier throws he should have completed.
Goff’s sole touchdown went to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who hauled in six of his nine targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. He finished behind only Josh Reynolds (4-80) on the receiving list. Rookie Sam LaPorta (5-39) did well in his first game.

Browns 24, Bengals 3

The Bengals were expected to win this game, but those who bet on them perhaps forgot what happened the last time Cincinnati visited Cleveland. That was Halloween last year, which was an ugly defeat. History repeated itself, as Cleveland’s defensive line absolutely dominated in the trenches, giving the Browns a blowout victory.

Joe Burrow had no chance in this game. Not only did he see a ton of pressure from Myles Garrett and company; he wasn’t 100 percent coming off his calf injury. Burrow led the Bengals to just six first downs, as his team was outgained, 350-142. Burrow saw heat in his face on his very first pass, and he was seen shaking his hand in some pain upon releasing the ball.

Burrow finished 14-of-31 for only 82 yards. He had an opportunity for a touchdown at one point in the third quarter, but completely missed Tee Higgins in the end zone. Things will be much different in a few weeks when Burrow is fully recovered, but he needs time to heal at the moment. The rainy and windy conditions didn’t help matters, as the CBS announcers repeatedly said that passes from both quarterbacks were being affected by the environment.
Cleveland’s offense didn’t exactly match the potency of the defense. The unit struggled to start, making a couple of early mistakes. Jerome Ford fumbled in field goal range after Nick Chubb made some great plays. Deshaun Watson later threw a hideous interception where he threw the ball right to Dax Hill, as if he thought Hill was a teammate of his.

Ultimately, Chubb’s brilliance allowed the Brows to pull away with the victory. Chubb rushed for 106 yards on only 18 carries, and he also caught four passes for 21 receiving yards.
Watson, meanwhile, began 10-of-20 for 85 yards in the opening half, repeatedly skipping ugly passes to his receivers. He ultimately settled in and performed better as the afternoon progressed. He finished 16-of-29 for 154 yards, one touchdown and the aforementioned pick. He also scrambled five times for 45 rushing yards and a touchdown.
With Watson throwing poorly, Elijah Moore was the team’s leader in receiving with only three grabs for 43 yards. Amari Cooper converted only three-of-seven targets for 37 yards.
Cincinnati’s skill players didn’t do much either. Ja’Marr Chase was limited to five receptions for 39 yards, while Higgins failed to haul in any of his eight targets.
Joe Mixon mustered only 56 yards on 13 carries. He caught three passes for 17 receiving yards as well. He hurt his team with an early dropped pass.

Jaguars 31, Colts 21

The box score says that the Jaguars came away with a seemingly comfortable double-digit victory, but this was anything but that. The Colts appeared to be on track to pull the upset, as they held a 21-17 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Jaguars couldn’t keep from tripping over their own two feet with careless errors, including multiple blunders by rookie Tank Bigsby. Jacksonville also failed on multiple fourth-down opportunities.

The Jaguars, however, were able to rally to pull away with a victory, thanks to a big fourth quarter on both sides of the ball. Trevor Lawrence hit some big throws, and Bigsby was able to redeem himself with a go-ahead touchdown. The defense, meanwhile, intercepted Anthony Richardson and stopped Indianapolis on fourth down on multiple occasions.
Lawrence had a strong performance, going 24-of-32 for 241 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, which wasn’t his fault because it was a Bigsby drop. He also scrambled seven times for 21 yards on the ground. Lawrence also had a lost fumble returned for a touchdown, but Bigsby was to blame for this as well. He carelessly let the ball get knocked out of his hands after it trickled to him upon Lawrence’s empty-hand release. Bigsby thought the play was over, but the Indianapolis defender knew otherwise, swatting the ball out of his hands to see it get returned for six.
Calvin Ridley was a huge part of Lawrence’s outing, as he had a tremendous debut with his new team. Ridley caught eight of his 11 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 20-yard reception negated by a hold, and he nearly scored a second touchdown, but stepped out of bounds on the run after the catch. The only bad moment he had was when he fumbled, but the ball trickled out of bounds before the recovering Colts player was able to obtain possession.

Elsewhere in the Jacksonville receiving corps, Zay Jones (5-55) made an amazing, diving touchdown reception. Evan Engram contributed with five grabs for 49 yards. Christian Kirk, conversely, was an afterthought with only one catch on three targets. Kirk didn’t play on two-receiver snaps in the preseason, and that carried over into regular-season action.
Travis Etienne lost a touchdown to Bigsby, but he still had a strong stat line. He rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and he caught five passes for 27 receiving yards.
As for the Colts, Richardson was far better as a passer than expected. He struggled to complete routine throws in the preseason, yet he began the game 6-of-7, releasing the ball quickly with great precision. He ultimately went 24-of-37 for 223 yards, one touchdown and an interception, which was an instance where he didn’t see a cornerback in zone coverage. Richardson also scrambled 10 times for 40 yards and a score. He took some big hits, prompting one of the announcers to say, “Richardson can’t keep taking hits like this.” Literally one second later, Richardson went down with an injury. Richardson left the game, forcing Gardner Minshew to finish the final drive. It remains to be seen if Richardson will be available next week.
Michael Pittman had an awesome outing despite Richardson’s questionable passing heading into this game. He caught eight of his 11 targets for 97 yards and a touchdown, which was a 39-yard score on a second-and-28 screen. Kylen Granson (4-39) was next in the box score.
Deon Jackson received most of the workload, which seemed like a big mistake. Jackson mustered only 14 yards on 13 carries. He lost a fumble in field goal range and was stuffed on a fourth down. Evan Hull is the better player, so it’s puzzling as to why the Colts wasted so many downs feeding the ball to Jackson.

Buccaneers 20, Vikings 17

The Vikings only have themselves to blame for this embarrassing loss. The Buccaneers struggled to move the chains throughout the afternoon, utilizing horrific play-calling where they ran Rachaad White thrice on three-and-outs. The Vikings should have been able to take advantage of this, but they consistently shot themselves in the foot.

The trouble began early when the Vikings fumbled a snap in field goal range on a botched handoff. Kirk Cousins was then strip-sacked, giving the Buccaneers a free field goal. Cousins then made another mistake right before intermission when he threw an interception in the red zone when he didn’t see the defender.

Cousins was eventually bailed out by a horrific pass interference call on the Buccaneers, allowing him to tie the game at 17. However, the Buccaneer offense finally awakened to move into field goal range, with Chase McLaughlin drilling a 57-yard kick to seal the victory.
Cousins posted a great stat line – 33-of-44, 344 yards, two touchdowns, one interception – but don’t be fooled by those numbers. Cousins sabotaged a potential victory by making so many mistakes, one of which was an overthrow toward Alexander Mattison in the end zone.
Speaking of Mattison, he eventually scored a receiving touchdown to save his fantasy owners. Mattison, who was stuffed at the 1-yard line, mustered only 34 yards on 11 carries, but he caught three passes for 10 yards and a score.
Justin Jefferson was Minnesota’s big producer, as he caught nine passes for 150 yards. He didn’t catch a touchdown, but Jordan Addison did when he broke free in a busted coverage. He hauled in four passes for 61 yards.
As for the Buccaneer offense, the second half was far more fruitful than the opening half when the coaching staff seemingly called nothing but runs for White. This was clearly an ineffective strategy, as White was limited to just 39 yards on 17 carries.

Baker Mayfield, who saw lots of pressure from Danielle Hunter in the first half, was much better as the afternoon progressed. Mayfield went 21-of-34 for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He could have thrown a third score, but Mike Evans dropped the ball.
Despite Evans’ drop, the soon-to-be-traded receiver was the team’s top producer. He caught six balls for 66 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Godwin hauled in five balls for 51 yards. No other Buccaneer logged more than 19 receiving yards.

Saints 16, Titans 15

DeAndre Hopkins had a big decision this offseason. He could have taken less money and gone to a contender, or he could have went for the pay day in a bad situation. He opted for the latter, which he can’t be blamed for because this may have been his final significant contract in the NFL. However, it doesn’t appear as though Hopkins knows what he was getting himself into, based on what occurred in this game.

Hopkins did not seem to enjoy himself in this defensive struggle. He spent some time yelling at various people, from the officials to Ryan Tannehill. His frustration was warranted, as Tannehill struggled to get the ball to his top receiver. In fact, Tannehill struggled in all facets. He failed to complete half of his passes, and he missed multiple open receivers for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Titans had to settle for a field goal with less than three minutes remaining, thanks to Tannehill’s incompetence. This proved to be the difference in this game, as Tennessee never saw the ball again.

Tannehill went 16-of-34 for 198 yards and three interceptions, and he played even worse than those numbers indicate. For some reason, Tannehill sometimes saw phantom pressure in the pocket, and on one instance, he walked into a sack despite having space to hold the ball. Tannehill’s first two picks were thrown into double coverage, with the first being off his back foot. The third pick was an underthrown ball, and there could have been a fourth interception, but a New Orleans defender dropped the ball. As mentioned earlier, Tannehill whiffed on Chig Okonkwo and Tyjae Spears for wide-open scores in the fourth quarter to ruin a potential upset.
The Saints, meanwhile, made sure that the Titans never saw the ball again after a late field goal when Derek Carr hit Rashid Shaheed with a deep bomb. Carr played a decent game in his debut, going 23-of-33 for 305 yards, one touchdown and an interception where he didn’t see safety Amani Hooker. He delivered multiple deep passes, mostly to Chris Olave, who led the Saints in receiving with eight catches for 112 yards. However, Carr had issues with pass protection, which caused some sketchy passes to occur. Carr had issues with pass protection, as left tackle Trevor Penning really struggled. One of the CBS announcers exclaimed, “Penning cannot block! The Saints need to get him some help.”
Shaheed, as mentioned earlier, had a big play to help seal the victory. He did much more than that, catching five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Michael Thomas also reeled in five receptions for 61 yards.
Jamaal Williams sealed the victory with a first-down run on the final drive in regulation. He didn’t have a strong performance overall, as he was limited to just 45 yards on 18 carries.
Derrick Henry was the game’s leading rusher, though the Saints did a great job of swarming him most of the time. He rushed for 63 yards on 15 carries. His biggest play was a 46-yard reception on a screen, allowing him to log 56 receiving yards on two catches.
Hopkins was Tennessee’s leading receiver despite his frustration. He caught seven of his 13 targets for 65 yards. Nick Westbrook made some big catches in the fourth quarter to finish with four grabs for 58 yards.
It’s worth noting that there was a play in this game in which the Titans were screwed out of a defensive touchdown. Derek Carr had an empty hand on a release, allowing the Titans to seemingly score a defensive touchdown. However, the officials blew the play dead, preventing the run-back. The officials are supposed to let plays go, yet Ron Torbert’s crew made a huge blunder.

49ers 30, Steelers 7

The Steelers’ first-string offense was on the field for five drives in the preseason, and they scored five touchdowns. As is usually the case, preseason production was not a harbinger of things to come in real action because Pittsburgh’s offense failed to record a single first down on its first five drives in this game.

It was a different story for the 49ers. Brock Purdy sliced through Pittsburgh’s secondary with ease. He eclipsed 150 passing yards in the opening half on 14-of-21 passing. He threw two touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk, who made Patrick Peterson look utterly helpless at times. Purdy had all the opportunities with his defense dominating the line of scrimmage against the Steelers, who didn’t get the ball moving until the final drive in the first half.

Purdy ultimately finished 19-of-29 for 220 yards and two touchdowns. The overall stats won’t impress, but the 49ers were so ahead that Purdy had to throw just eight times in the second half. There was concern about Purdy and his elbow heading into the season, but that appears to be a non-factor. Unless this result was a mirage, the 49ers should be considered the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Aiyuk, as mentioned, left Peterson befuddled throughout the afternoon. He caught eight balls for 129 yards and two touchdowns. His numbers would have been so much better if the Steelers had been more competitive. It’s quite apparent that he has surpassed Deebo Samuel (5-55) as the top receiver on the roster. George Kittle was an afterthought with three catches for 19 yards.
Christian McCaffrey broke free for a 65-yard touchdown in the third quarter. This allowed him to eclipse the century mark, as he rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He didn’t have to do much in the passing game, which is why he caught only three passes for 17 receiving yards.
Moving back to the Steelers, the numbers say Pickett didn’t do too poorly, but that would be misleading. Pickett went 31-of-46 for 232 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, one of which occurred because Diontae Johnson fell down. However, he had just 61 passing yards at halftime, so all of his stats came in garbage time. The offensive line betrayed Pickett, as Nick Bosa dominated Pittsburgh’s tackles.
It didn’t help Pickett that Diontae Johnson suffered a non-contact hamstring injury in the third quarter. Johnson still finished second in receiving with three grabs for 48 yards. Allen Robinson (5-64) topped the list, while George Pickens was a disappointment with five catches for 36 yards.
Najee Harris predictably did nothing, mustering just 31 yards on six carries. Jaylen Warren didn’t do much as a rusher either, but he at least caught five passes for 12 receiving yards.

Redskins 20, Cardinals 16

Everyone assumed that the Cardinals were tanking when they cut Colt McCoy, but the Cardinals never got the memo. They played a tight game despite being touchdown underdogs. In fact, they led 16-10 entering the fourth quarter, as their defense, which was expected to be poor this season, won the battle against the Redskins at the line of scrimmage.
The Redskins made the early mistakes, but Arizona committed the blunders late. Joshua Dobbs lost a fumble on a snap near midfield while down by one, which allowed the Redskins to come away with a victory at the end.
Sam Howell, making the second start of his career, was guilty of some mistakes. He was intercepted early when the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage, and he allowed the Cardinals to score a defensive touchdown upon losing a fumble. This poor play forced the Redskins to go run-heavy in the second half. Howell only attempted seven throws following intermission, though he scored on a scramble. He ended up 19-of-31 for 202 yards, one touchdown and the two turnovers.
Aside from Howell’s touchdown run, the Redskins got the most on the ground with Brian Robinson, who rumbled for 59 yards on 19 carries. He also caught a touchdown. Perhaps the Redskins will continue to utilize him more rather than Antonio Gibson, who lost a fumble in the red zone. It was befuddling that the Redskins used Gibson on a run up the middle so deep in Arizona territory.
With Howell struggling, neither of the Redskin primary receivers did very much. Terry McLaurin caught just two balls for 31 yards, though he drew a deep interference flag. Jahan Dotson was better with five catches for 40 yards.
I’m not going to spend too much time on the dreadful Cardinals. Dobbs wasn’t terrible, but he didn’t exactly play well either. He went 21-of-30 for only 132 yards. His leading receiver was Rondale Moore, who caught three passes for 33 yards. Marquise Brown was next with 28 yards on his three receptions.
Arizona’s best skill player was James Conner. He rushed for 62 yards on 14 carries. He also caught five passes, but tallied only eight receiving yards.

Ravens 25, Texans 9

The Ravens won this game by 16, but it was not a comfortable feeling for them for the majority of the afternoon. They led by just 7-6 at halftime, as they endured an extremely sloppy afternoon. A big part of the problem was the pressure Lamar Jackson saw. Heavy heat forced an early incompletion on third down, and Jackson followed that up with an interception he threw off his back foot amid heavy pressure. Jackson then had to throw the ball away because he had pass rushers in his face on the next third down.

This was how the game went for a while for Baltimore, and it didn’t help that Jackson was extremely sloppy with the football. Jackson fumbled twice in the second half because of poor ball security. This had all the makings of an upset – except the inept Houston offense couldn’t accomplish anything.

Jackson misfired on just five occasions on 17-of-22 passing. However, he threw for just 169 yards, and he had the handful of give-aways. He also scrambled six times for 38 rushing yards. This was a difficult matchup against an underrated Houston defense, but Jackson needs to be way more careful with the football.
It helps Jackson that he has a real receiving corps for once. Zay Flowers had a tremendous debut with nine catches for 78 yards. Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t have nearly as great of a stat line with two catches for 37 yards, but he drew two interference flags, including one on Derek Stingley Jr. on what was LSU-on-LSU crime.
The Ravens, meanwhile, will have to find a running game after losing J.K. Dobbins for the year with an Achilles tear. Dobbins had 22 yards and a touchdown before going down. Gus Edwards (8-32) is the likely candidate to take over, though Justice Hill (8-9) vultured him twice.
As for the Texans, they’ll have better days from C.J. Stroud. The rookie quarterback didn’t have the best protection, and it looked like the game was too fast for him at times. He finished 28-of-44 for 242 yards. He didn’t commit a turnover, but he was nearly picked when he threw the ball way late across his body. He also took a sack on a fourth-and-1 on the opening drive.
It’ll help Stroud if the Texans begin to get Tank Dell more involved. Dell saw just four targets, which he turned into three catches for 34 yards. Stroud’s top producers in this game were Nico Collins (6-80) and Robert Woods (6-57).
Dameon Pierce didn’t get many opportunities because of the constant deficit. He rushed for just 38 yards on 11 carries.

Falcons 24, Panthers 10
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I hate the stupid sharps for making the -2.5 and -3 lines disappear. I liked the Falcons at those numbers, but couldn’t pull the trigger at -3.5.
Both Carolina and Atlanta have some talent on their rosters and play in a wide open division, but both teams are playing first-year starting quarterbacks. The Panthers’ Bryce Young outplayed the Falcons’ Desmond Ridder, but Atlanta’s Jesse Bates snagging two huge interceptions of Young and a forced fumble on Carolina free agent addition Miles Sanders created the turnovers needed to help the struggling Ridder come away with the victory in Atlanta.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith designs the running side of the offense very well, and Bijan Robinson looked tremendous, but Smith’s passing scheme was horrible. The talented freaks of Kyle Pitts and Drake London were non-factors thanks to Smith’s offense and Ridder’s terrible execution. For Atlanta to contend in the NFC, the passing attack needs to improve by leaps and bounds in the weeks to come.

The first drive for Young with the Carolina Panthers should have produced points. Young’s first NFL pass was 12-yard completion to Terrace Marshall, and Young had a third-and-long converted with a screen play to Laviska Shenault. However, the Panthers went for it on a fourth-and-1 at the 11 and were stuffed for no gain.

Atlanta responded with two runs from Tyler Allegier for 40 yards, but Brian Burns snuffed out another drive with his second sack and a third-down tackle for a loss. However, Young’s first interception came a few plays later, when Jesse Bates read the eyes of Young to jump a route and set up the Atlanta offense at the Carolina 17. The Falcons took advantage with Bijan Robinson making a superb play, catching a bubble screen and juking three Panthers en route to an 11-yard touchdown.

Later in the second quarter, Carolina got moving thanks to Young connecting with Jonathan Mingo for a key third-down conversion. Young capped the drive by throwing a couple passes to Hayden Hurst, including a short touchdown toss to tie the game at seven. The offenses stalled out from there, with Atlanta not having a single completion to Drake London or Kyle Pitts in the first half.

To open the third quarter, Bryce Young led a field goal drive, and after a punt, Carolina was on the move again before Bates duplicated his first-half interception to give Atlanta the ball in Carolina territory. The play was almost identical to Bates’ first pick of the day, and ultimately spotted Atlanta a tying field goal. The Panthers later moved across midfield before Bates stripped Miles Sanders of the ball, which Atlanta recovered. The Falcons popped a couple of runs to set up a first-and-goal. At the start of the fourth quarter, Allgeier scored from a few yards out to put Atlanta up 17-10.

Getting late in the fourth quarter, Ridder finally utilized Pitts, with his talented tight end making a superb catch for a 35-yard gain inside the 10. Allegeier scored again to put Carolina away.

Desmond Ridder completed 15-of-18 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Tyler Allgeier (15-75-2) was Atlanta’s leading rusher. Bijan Robinson ran for 56 yards on 10 carries and took six catches for 27 yards and a touchdown.

Kyle Pitts had two catches for 44 yards. Drake London did not record a reception in the game.

Bryce Young completed 20-of-38 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Miles Sanders ran for 72 yards on 18 carries and lost a fumble. Chuba Hubbard (9-60) ran well for the Panthers.

Tight end Hayden Hurst (5-41-1) was Carolina’s leading receiver.

Packers 38, Bears 20
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: So much for that Bears hype train! I couldn’t believe so many publications had them going 12-5 or so. They were completely debacled against the Packers.
Chicago outplayed Green Bay for a lot of the first half, but the second half was pure domination by the Packers. The general trends of the franchise continued, with the Green Bay quarterback playing well and the Chicago quarterback struggling.

The Bears’ first drive of the game came close to midfield, but a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak was stuffed short, creating a turnover on downs. Packers quarterback Jordan Love used Romeo Doubs to convert a third-and-long, and a few Aaron Jones runs set up a first-and-goal. Love then threw a laser to Doubs on third-and-goal to go up 7-0. Chicago responded with a 24-yard completion to Darnell Mooney that led to a field goal. After a Green Bay punt, Fields used D.J. Moore to move the chains on a couple of receptions, but a Lukas Van Ness sack was the critical play to force a field goal for Chicago. Late in the first half, Love hit rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed for 29 yards, but Love soon took a bad sack from Yannick Ngakoue, and which led to a 52-yard field goal that gave Green Bay a 10-6 lead at halftime.

To open the third quarter, Aaron Jones took a screen pass 51 yards to set up a first-and-goal for the Packers. He then ran in for the score a yard out. A 35-yard punt return from Jayden Reed (2-48) set up Green Bay in Chicago territory. On a fourth-and-3, Jones torched T.J. Edwards on a choice route, and Love hit him on the run before Jones exploded down the field for a 35-yard touchdown.

With the Packers up 24-6, Fields tried to run for a first down and fumbled the ball away. Chicago’s defense came through with a stop, and the offense finally produced a good drive that concluded with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Mooney. Khalil Herbert then scored on the two-point conversion to cut Green Bay’s lead to 24-14 as the third quarter wound down.

To start the fourth quarter, Love converted a third-and-long, with Reed to get into Bears territory. Love fumbled the snap on the next play but he was able to pick up the ball and turn a broken play into 37-yard completion to a wide-open rookie tight end Luke Musgrave (3-50). Love then threw a short touchdown pass to Doubs that put the Packers up 31-14. On the ensuing possession, Fields telegraphed a throw that Quay Walker picked off before making a superb return of 42 yards for a touchdown. In garbage time, Bears rookie running back Roschon Johnson had a short touchdown run.

Jordan Love completed 15-of-27 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

Aaron Jones ran for 41 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. He also made two catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Romeo Doubs had four receptions for 26 yards and two touchdowns.

Justin Fields completed 24-of-37 passes for 216 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He ran for 59 yards and had a fumble.

Darnell Mooney brought in four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. D.J. Moore had only two catches for 25 yards in his Chicago debut.

Raiders 17, Broncos 16

You won’t find a more even result based on the stats. Both the Raiders and Broncos achieved 22 first downs. They both were 5-of-11 on third down. The yardage was 261-260 in favor of the Raiders. The per-play yardage also went the Raiders’ way, 4.7-4.5.

The difference between these teams was the special teams. Denver botched a onside kick to begin the game. Later, the kickers had a huge say in the result. While Daniel Carlson didn’t miss, new Broncos kicker Wil Lutz whiffed on an extra point and a field goal. This ended up being the deciding factor, as the Raiders were able to spoil Payton’s debut with the Broncos.
Payton was supposed to get the most out of Russell Wilson, but the veteran quarterback continued to disappoint. Wilson misfired on just seven occasions on 27-of-34 passing, and he threw two touchdowns, but he generated only 177 yards. To those wondering if the offensive line played a factor, Wilson had ample protection on most of his drop-backs. He didn’t seem to trust the blocking, however.
With Wilson panicking at times, it’s not a surprise that his top targets with a running back and a tight end. Samaje Perine led the team in receiving with four catches for 37 yards, followed by Adam Trautman (5-34). Courtland Sutton (4-32) caught a touchdown and drew an interference flag on third down, while Marvin Mims (2-9) was a disappointment in his debut.
Javonte Williams and Perine had a 60-40 carry split. Williams rushed for 52 yards, while Perine dashed for 41 yards on eight attempts. Williams actually somehow led the game in rushing because Josh Jacobs was limited to 48 yards on 19 carries. This was a surprising result, to say the least.
Jimmy Garoppolo did a solid job of managing this game. He went 20-of-26 for 200 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The pick occurred on a tipped pass after a long sequence in which his top two receivers both drew interference flags.
Jakobi Meyers had a great debut for the Raiders. He caught nine of his 10 targets for 81 yards and two touchdowns. He finished ahead of Davante Adams and his six catches for 66 yards. Garoppolo and Adams had a nice play together on a fourth down where the two were able to ad-lib on a broken play to move the chains.

Eagles 25, Patriots 20

The Eagles had a 16-0 lead and nearly blew it. They prevailed by five, but don’t be fooled: The final score of this game is not indicative of how these two teams performed. The Patriots outgained the Eagles by a wide margin, 382-351, and they averaged nearly one more yard per play. They also achieved seven more first downs.

So, why the big deficit and eventual loss? Two plays effectively decided this game. The first was a Mac Jones pick-six where he displayed poor accuracy on a pass to Kendrick Bourne. The second was an Ezekiel Elliott lost fumble that turned into a quick Eagles touchdown. These two plays gave the Eagles 13 points, allowing them to nurse a big lead for the entire afternoon.

The Eagles couldn’t get much going otherwise, which was a bit puzzling because mobile quarterbacks tend to give Bill Belichick fits. Jalen Hurts didn’t quite do that, as he threw for only 170 yards on 22-of-33 passing. He also threw a touchdown and scrambled for 37 yards, but he did not have a strong performance overall. In fact, he nearly cost his team in the fourth quarter when he lost a fumble, but the Patriots couldn’t take advantage of the give-away.
With the Eagles struggling aside from the two fluky plays at the beginning of the game, Mac Jones couldn’t take full advantage. It’s tough to completely blame Jones because his offensive line is ravaged by injury, but his poor accuracy really cost him in the early stages. Jones caught fire in the second half, especially on throws to Bourne, but it was too little, too late for the third-year quarterback.
Bourne had a big fantasy performance, which was not a surprise because he was listed so highly in the Fantasy Football Sleepers page. Bourne logged six catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter Henry (5-56) also scored.
Rhamondre Stevenson couldn’t get anything going on the ground, as he was limited to just 25 yards on 12 carries. He wasn’t completely useless, however, as he caught six passes for 64 receiving yards.
Surprisingly, Kenneth Gainwell was the leading rusher in this contest. Even more surprisingly, he handled all but two carries. Gainwell dashed for 54 yards on 14 attempts, while D’Andre Swift was an afterthought with one 3-yard rush. Gainwell also caught four passes for 20 receiving yards, while Swift’s lone catch went nowhere.
Only two Eagles accumulated more receiving yards than Gainwell. Of course, they were A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, both of whom caught seven passes. Brown outgained Smith, 79-47, but Smith caught a touchdown.

Dolphins 36, Chargers 34

The Dolphins weren’t supposed to play this well offensively in this game. They were down their left tackle, Terron Armstead, against an edge rush featuring Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. How could they possibly muster any sort of offense under these conditions?

All that went out the window in this game. Tua Tagovailoa looked like cyborg with his precision passing, as he relentlessly torched the Chargers. Of course, it helped that Tyreek Hill was unstoppable. One of the announcers said Hill was as fast as a “hiccup.” Perhaps a hiccup with a jet pack attached to it.

The Chargers were able to engage the Dolphins in a shootout, and they were up 34-30 with two minutes remaining. They surrendered a touchdown following the two-minute warning, but they still had a chance to win the game with a field goal. Yet, Justin Herbert was the quarterback who suddenly felt the pressure. He was flagged for intentional grounding and then took two sacks to seal the victory for the Dolphins.
Tagovailoa went 28-of-45 for 466 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the end zone. Two of his three scores went to Hill, who blazed by the Chargers as he caught 11 of his 15 targets for 215 yards. Hill said that his goal is to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards this year. He’s currently on pace for 3,655 yards.

Elsewhere in the Miami receiving corps, Jaylen Waddle was next with four catches for 78 yards. River Cracraft (3-40) caught Tagovailoa’s other score.
Raheem Mostert handled the majority of the workload, but he didn’t find many running lanes. He was limited to just 37 yards on 10 carries, but he was able to score a touchdown to help his fantasy owners.
Mostert’s fantasy production paled in comparison to what the Chargers were able to produce. Not only did Austin Ekler dash for 117 yards on 16 carries, but Joshua Kelly rumbled for 91 yards on 16 attempts. Both scored touchdowns. Ekeler also caught four passes for 47 receiving yards.
Herbert’s numbers weren’t nearly as good as Tagovailoa’s. He went 23-of-33 for 228 yards and a touchdown. He found the end zone a second time on the ground, scrambling five times for 18 rushing yards.
Keenan Allen paced the Chargers in receiving with six grabs for 76 yards. Mike Williams (4-45) got hurt in the first half and missed some action, but eventually returned to the field.
J.C. Jackson gave the Dolphins 10 free points in this game. He committed an extremely stupid pass interference on a Hail Mary right before halftime to set up a Miami field goal. Jackson then stupidly ran out of the end zone on an interception and was tackled at the 5-yard line. A sack on the ensuing drive set up an extremely short field for the Dolphins, which turned into a quick touchdown.

Rams 30, Seahawks 13

The Seahawks swept the Rams last year, but won by a combined seven points in the two games despite Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald being sidelined. Kupp was still out in this game, but Stafford and Donald were crucial for the Rams in this lopsided affair.

Stafford had an excellent game despite missing his top receiver. He was 24-of-38 for 334 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass, but he would have had Van Jefferson not dropped a deep pass. Donald, meanwhile, helped collapse the pocket against Geno Smith. Seattle’s offense was extremely limited as a whole, producing just 180 net yards of offense, compared to 426 by the Rams. They also achieved just 13 first downs (27 by the Rams) and lost the time-of-possession battle by 19 minutes.
With Kupp out, Puka Nacua stepped in big fashion. Nacua secured 10 of his 15 targets for 119 yards. Tutu Atwell also had a big performance with six grabs for 119 yards. Tyler Higbee (3-49) disappointed, but wasn’t needed with Nacua and Atwell going off.
The Rams also ran well at times, with Kyren Williams being a surprise producer. Williams dashed for 52 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Cam Akers saw more touches (22 carries), but accumulated only 29 yards. He saved his fantasy owners with a touchdown.
With the Seahawks in a constant deficit, Kenneth Walker didn’t have an opportunity to do much. He was given just 12 carries, which he turned into 64 yards. Zach Charbonnet (3-11) was not a factor.
Smith, as mentioned, didn’t have much time in the pocket with a motivated Donald lining up on the other side. He went 16-of-26 for only 112 yards and a touchdown.

Smith’s lone touchdown went to D.K. Metcalf, who caught three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Metcalf lost his cool in the second half when he pushed a player down, prompting Sean McVay to yell to the officials about a possible ejection. Meanwhile, Tyler Lockett (2-10) was lost with a concussion.

Cowboys 40, Giants 0

Anyone who didn’t watch this game may be confused by the box score. How could the Cowboys have won 40-0 despite failing to reach 275 net yards of offense. The Giants even won the time-of-possession battle. Based on the numbers alone, it didn’t look like the Cowboys accomplished anything!

The answer is what occurred on defense and special teams. The Giants had a nice opening drive that went into the red zone. However, thanks to a botched snap, New York was forced into a field goal. Making matters worse, the kick was blocked and returned for six. Shortly later, Saquon Barkley lost a fumble that was also taken back for a touchdown. The Cowboys scored 13 free points, putting the Giants into a hole that they couldn’t crawl out of because of the pass rush.

Daniel Jones did not have any time in the pocket because of the deficit. Dallas’ pass rush swarmed him relentlessly, as top-10 pick Evan Neal didn’t show any signs of development. Jones was sacked seven times as a result. His final stats were 15-of-28 for 104 yards and two interceptions, one of which was an ugly pass thrown across his body while scrambling away from pressure. Jones is lucky he wasn’t picked a third time.
With Jones having no time to throw, only Giant logged more than 24 receiving yards. That was Darren Waller, who caught three passes for 36 yards. Barkley, meanwhile, didn’t get a chance to do much; he rushed for 51 yards on 12 carries.
Dak Prescott posted a disappointing stat line, but he didn’t have to accomplish anything in this rainy battle because the defense and special teams did most of the early scoring. Prescott went 13-of-24 for 143 yards.
Despite Prescott just managing the game, CeeDee Lamb had a solid performance with four catches for 77 yards. He was the only Dallas player with more than 22 receiving yards. Brandin Cooks (2-22) drew a deep pass interference flag.
Tony Pollard was Dallas’ top fantasy player. He rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts.

Jets 22, Bills 16

Between Aaron Rodgers’ debut with the Jets, and the 9/11 anniversary, there was so much emotion at MetLife for this opening Monday night game. And yet, it completely vanished in a blur. All it took was four offensive snaps for Rodgers to suffer an injury. Facing a heavy pass rush, Rodgers took a hit from Leonard Floyd. He quickly realized that he couldn’t get up, and he had to be helped off the field. Minutes later, he was carted into the locker room.

While there were fears that Rodgers could be dealing with an Achilles injury, the fans had to endure Zach Wilson’s miserable quarterbacking. All hope seemed lost for the Jets, and nothing exemplified that more than this expression from Robert Saleh:

No one told the Jets’ defense that things were hopeless, however. The unit stepped up with a dominant performance, turning Josh Allen over four times. They got the ball back for the offense in a tie game with a few minutes remaining following an Allen lost fumble. However, the Jets were too conservative and left too much time on the clock. Allen was able to redeem himself by driving down the field to put Tyler Bass in position to hit a 50-yard field goal to send this game to overtime.

The Bills won the coin toss, and it seemed like a sure thing that they would prevail. Again, no one told the Jets this, as they forced Buffalo into a three-and-out. The Bills punted away, and there was never another play after that because undrafted rookie free agent Xavier Gipson took the punt back to the house to seal the unlikely victory for the Jets.
If you exclude the injury to Rodgers, the story of this game has to be the self-destruction of the Bills. Allen looked great at times in the first half, but had a complete meltdown following intermission. One of his interceptions occurred when he panicked under pressure and threw the ball into double coverage. He then was picked off again when he didn’t see the safety. The final turnover was a lost fumble after he dropped the snap.

Allen finished 29-of-41 for 236 yards, one touchdown and the four turnovers. He scrambled just six times for 36 rushing yards. Allen appears to have taken a step backward after making huge leaps in his second and third seasons. This was a tough matchup, but Allen struggled to close out 2022 as well.
Despite Allen’s poor play, Stefon Diggs was able to eclipse the century mark by catching 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. He was the only Buffalo player who logged more than 32 receiving yards. Gabriel Davis (2-32) ran a poor route on one of Allen’s picks, while Dalton Kincaid made four grabs for just 26 yards.
The Bills didn’t run very much with James Cook, as the lead back was given just 12 carries despite having the lead for most of the night. Cook rushed for 46 yards, and he also caught four passes for 17 receiving yards.
Back to the Jets, Wilson finished 14-of-21 for 140 yards, one touchdown and an interception where he didn’t see Matt Milano. Wilson saw lots of pressure, but still seemed like a turnover waiting to happen. It was telling that the Jets coaches didn’t trust Wilson to throw at the very end of regulation, which gave the Bills a final chance.
Wilson’s touchdown went to his namesake, Garrett Wilson, who caught five passes for 34 yards and the score. He finished behind only Allen Lazard (2-46) on the stat sheet.
Breece Hall didn’t get much of a workload because he’s coming off a brutal knee injury, but he looked as electric as ever. He rushed only 10 times, but gained 127 yards in the process, most of which occurred on an 83-yard burst. He also caught a 20-yard pass.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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