Just like that, week one of the National Football League is over, and week two starts on Thursday Sept. 12, at 8:15 p.m. The 1-0 Buffalo Bills will head down to Florida to take on their division rivals, the 1-0 Miami Dolphins. Before getting to that game, there is a lot to go over from week one.
The biggest and most intense clash of the week was by far the Ravens vs. Chiefs AFC Championship rematch. This matchup was truly a game of inches. Week one is always going to look different than mid-season, the reason being because teams are trying to get back into football with a different unit from the previous year. Teams are more likely to have a rough start than not.
For example, Patrick Mahomes threw 20 for 28 for 291 yards, one touchdown and an interception. This seems like a good game for Mahomes, and while it was, the interception he threw was to no one. It is unlike Mahomes to throw a pass like that where not a single Chiefs receiver was in the area to attempt to catch it. This just shows that even the best quarterback in the NFL is trying to get back into the game.
Throughout the Ravens vs. Chiefs game there were many flags on the offensive line for both teams. Baltimore unfortunately hurt themselves in the first quarter with back-to-back illegal formations, forcing them to punt the ball away.
The entire game was not spent knocking off the rust; there were a lot of solid moments that came out of it. Looking at Kansas City their rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was able to show off his speed. Worthy scored two touchdowns in his first game as a Chief. One was a carry for 21 yards, weaving through traffic. Worthy also had 2 receptions for 47 yards with one of them being a wide-open touchdown.
Now, looking at the other side of the field, the Ravens’ stars, like running back Derrick Henry and tight end Mark Andrews didn’t have picture perfect outings. Henry had 13 carries and only 46 yards, although he found the endzone on one of those, and Andrews barely saw the ball with only 2 receptions for 14 yards.
Lamar Jackson also had a hard time getting things going. He had some arid throws. He was sacked and even fumbled the ball by a hit from Chris Jones in a defensive tackle and recovered by second year defensive end, Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
One of the biggest playmakers for the Ravens was their backup tight end Isaiah Likely, who had nine receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown. Likely could have ended the night with two touchdowns, but when catching the final play of the game, his foot was just inches out of bounds making it an incomplete pass, giving the Chiefs the win.
With how great Likely played, the question of whether the Ravens are looking to move on from Andrews comes up. Again, it is only week one and a lot could change in eight weeks.
In week two, KC will stay at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens will also be at home taking on the Las Vegas Raiders.
Looking around the league, there were a lot of surprises and upsets this weekend that no one was expecting. The Bengals lost at home to the New England Patriots, where the Bengals did not look like a playoff contending team.
The Buffalo Bills had a back-and-forth battle and almost lost to the Arizona Cardinals. Quarterback Josh Allen was trying to piece things together as his entire wide receiver room has completely changed. The same situation with Kyler Murray, who was barely able to connect with his new rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., only having one catch for 4 yards.
Daniel Jones, quarterback for the New York Giants, struggled yet again for big blue as the Giants lost to the Vikings 28 to 6. His contract also raises a question about whether or not the Giants overpaid for Jones.
Another blowout game happened down in New Orleans, where the Saints put up 47 points against the Carolina Panthers who could only get a touchdown and a field goal.
Other than those two games, the first week of NFL football being back was great, and I’m sure that week two is going to be even better.