NFL Week One — Pats win big and so does Dak

Patriots pull out a 16-10 upset over the Bengals

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The New England Patriots grabbed major headlines in the first week of National Football League competition with their 16-10 upset victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati. 

The Patriots win — the first for rookie head coach Jerod Mayo — was also the largest upset in week one by any team since 2018. The Bengals were 7.5-point favorites.

The Pats defense, the backbone of this team, played its usual brilliant game, shutting down the high-powered Bengals offense from start to finish.  But it must be pointed out that the Bengals off-season drama surrounding player contracts and the lack of playing time for quarterback Joe Burrow clearly contributed to the team’s poor offensive execution. 

The biggest surprise of this contest came from the Patriots offensive line, considered by many to be the weak link of the franchise.  The o-line performed like a finely tuned Swiss watch as it manhandled the Bengals defensive line throughout, as evidenced by the holes opened for running back Ramondre Stevenson, who rushed 25 times for 120 yards and a touchdown, and the protection provided for quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who completed 15 of 24 passes for 121 yards. 

Major kudos must also go to the Patriots special team unit which produced a key turnover, recovering a fumbled punt for three points.

Coach Mayo praised his team for its tough physical play. “We don’t care what the so-called experts say about our team,” he said.  “We are going to play tough, physical football every time we step on the field.” 

Rhamondre Stevenson stiff arms Geno Stone of the Bengals. PHOTO: NE PATRIOTS/NFL

If game one of the Mayo coaching era is an indication of what the 2024 New England Patriots will be, the team’s fans will be a happy group.  But remember, one game does not an NFL football season make.

Elsewhere on the National Football League scene, the two-time defending NFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs took the measure of the Baltimore Ravens by the final score of 27-20 before a sellout home crowd in the league’s opening game.  This was billed as a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game. 

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy played starring roles for the winners, who took step one towards becoming the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowl titles.  Mahomes passed for 291 yards.  Worthy ran for one score and caught a touchdown for another as the Chiefs continued their domination of the Ravens. The Chiefs are 5-1 in the last six matchups between the two teams.

The first major casualty of the NFL season occurred in Brazil as star Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament injury in the team’s 34-28 setback to the Philadelphia Eagles in the first-ever NFL game played in South America.  Love suffered his injury with just seconds left in regulation time.  He is expected to miss three to four weeks of action.

Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Dak Prescott became the highest paid player in the league for the moment, signing a four-year/$240 million contract extension just hours before the Cowboys took the field against the  Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.  Prescott then went to work carving up the highly rated Browns defense for 179 yards and a touchdown in his team’s 33-17 lopsided win.

Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took the field as the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s collegiate draft and passed for just 93 yards on 14-for 29 passing. He was sacked twice but found his way into NFL history as the fourth rookie signal-caller to be victorious in his league debut since 2002, as the Bears beat the visiting Tennessee Titans 24-17 before a sellout home crowd in the Windy City. 

The Bears got touchdowns from their special teams from a blocked punt and a defensive pick for their win.  They also became the first team in NFL history to win with fewer than 150 total yards of offense after trailing by 17 points.

It was a different story for rookie quarterback Jaylen Daniels, the No.2 overall pick of the draft, as his Washington Commanders got smacked by the Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida. 

Daniels completed 17 of his 24 pass attempts for 184 yards.  The reigning Heisman Trophy winner also rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to offset the play of 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, who threw 24 for 30, had 289 yards and four touchdowns, and led his team to a 37-20 triumph.

The Detroit Lions edged their way past the Los Angeles Rams 26-20 in the first overtime game of the NFL season.  Wide receiver Jameson Williams caught five passes for 121 yards, a career high, and a touchdown for the victors, with running back David Montgomery scoring the game-winning touchdown on the opening drive of overtime.  It was the first overtime victory for the Lions since 2016.

The New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers closed out week one of the 2024 NFL season with a Monday night game in the City by the Bay.  The New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers closed out week one of the 2024 NFL season with the Niners — minus NFL Most Valuable Offensive Player Christian McCaffrey — getting a ‘career game’ from undrafted free-agent running back Jordan Mason (147 yards rushing, 1 touchdown in his first NFL start) on their way to a 32-19 victory.  The Niners, coming off an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, showed they are still a strong contender for a return trip by virtue of their performance.

There was a disturbing story involving Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill.  He was detained by Miami police after being stopped for speeding and reckless driving enroute to his team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  A verbal altercation between Hill and the Miami-Dade police resulted in his being handcuffed and wrestled to the ground. His teammate Calais Campbell was also handcuffed during the incident for disobeying police. 

Both men were released in enough time to play in the Dolphins home opener.   Hill would catch seven passes for 130 yards, including a franchise record 80-yard touchdown.  Following the touchdown, he mimicked being handcuffed in the endzone.  His teammate Jaylen Waddle joined the act by walking behind him like he was a police officer. 

While some announcers laughed and made fun of this incident, this is no laughing matter.  It’s problematic, particularly when you consider all the Black men and women who have been abused, and in some cases, killed by police during traffic stops. 

Hill says he will seek litigation against the police department.  But if truth be told, he should know better than to get involved in something like this.  If this incident winds up in court before a judge who has seen Hill’s on-field mimicry of a very serious situation — remember that he was cited for speeding and reckless driving — there may be more than just a fine levied to the Dolphins’ wide-out. 

The police department has placed one of the officers involved in the incident on administrative duty while an investigation is being conducted.  When informed that the police department placed the officer on desk duty, Hill replied, “That should tell you all you need to know about what happened.” Recently released “body-cam video” worn by police shows Hill being aggressively removed from his vehicle, being handcuffed, and forced to the ground.