The National Football League (NFL) is officially underway. In the first week, all teams played hard, but in the end, half won and half lost. Some games were offensive battles, some defensive, and some were close while others got blown out.
To start the week on Thursday, there was a rematch of the American Football Conference (AFC) championship last year between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and his blazing offense led the Chiefs. Leading the Ravens was two-time MVP winner Lamar Jackson. Both quarterbacks played hard out on the field. Mahomes scored one touchdown, threw one interception, and passed 291 yards. His passing touchdown was to rookie Xavier Worthy who played an astounding first game to start his career. Running back (RB) Isaiah Pacheco also brought in a touchdown for the Chiefs. On the Ravens’ side, Jackson had 273 passing yards and 122 running yards. To support him, tight end Isaiah Likely received for 111 yards and scored a touchdown. Ultimately, the Kansas City Chiefs won 27-20.
Friday’s game was a rare case. Friday night football does not happen often, but it happened in São Paulo, Brazil. The Philadelphia Eagles played the Green Bay Packers, both teams from the National Football Conference (NFC). They battled it out in another thrilling and close game. Greenbay came in with the confidence of the unprecedented success of last year and put up 29 points. QB Jordan Love had 260 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception. He had a rough game though, only successfully making 17 of his 34 passes. To receive those touchdown passes were wide receivers Jayden Reed, who had 138 yards, and Christian Watson. Greenbay also had an electric defense with two interceptions. Unfortunately, in the end, Love got hurt and is expected to miss three to five weeks. On the Eagles’ side, QB Jalen Hurts led them to a win with 34 points. Hurts ran 278 yards, went 20 for 34, and had two touchdowns and two interceptions. The new Eagles RB Saquon Barkley had two rushing touchdowns and ran for 109 yards.
Sunday brought in many new games. First was the Carolina Panthers versus the New Orleans Saints. The Saints won 47-10 with QB Derek Carr playing an amazing game going 19 for 23, 200 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Minnesota Vikings played against the New York Giants. The Giants had a troubling game losing 6-28. In an unexpected victory, the New England Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals 16-10. The Pittsburgh Steelers won by only scoring field goals against the Atlanta Falcons 18-10. In a rivalry game, the Houston Texans squeaked out with a 29-27 win against the Indianapolis Colts. In an offensive battle, the Buffalo Bills beat the Arizona Cardinals with QB Josh Allen going 18 for 23, having 232 passing yards and two touchdown passes. The Chicago Bears beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17 with their No. 1 pick Caleb Williams struggling for his first NFL game. An exciting match between two top teams from last year occurred between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill showed up late after getting detained before the game, resulting in a 17-20 loss for them. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 26-20 with QB Geno Smith running a 34-yard touchdown. The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 22-10. The Dallas Cowboys had an amazing defense against the Cleveland Browns winning 33-17. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Washington Commanders 37-20. To finalize the day, football fans saw a playoff rematch between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams, with the Lions winning 26-20.
To finish off the week: Monday night football. The New York Jets face off against NFC championship winners the San Francisco 49ers. The Jets finally have a healthy Aaron Rodgers with them, and he is back to show his status as a top QB. Rodgers went 13 for 21 and had 167 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. RB Breece Hall had one rushing touchdown and WR Allen Lazard had two receiving touchdowns. On the other side of things, the 49ers sat RB Christian McCaffrey due to an injury but came in with their stacked offense and defense. QB Brock Purdy went 19 for 29 and 231 yards. WR Deebo Samuel Sr. had one rushing touchdown and RB Jordan Mason had 147 rushing yards and one touchdown. In the end the 49ers came on top 32-19 after an astounding running game to watch.
The first week of the NFL was jam-packed full of upsets, close games and beatdowns, but this is only the beginning. Everything will change just in the next upcoming week. There is a lot to look forward to.
