The NFL is officially back, as the 2023 season kicked off on Sept. 7 when the Detroit Lions defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 21-20. Although the Chiefs were missing two key starters in Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, various drops by the receivers allowed the Lions to take advantage and pull off the upset.
The rest of the Week 1 slate on Sept. 10 had a variety of thrilling games and blowouts. In the game of the week, the Miami Dolphins defeated the L.A. Chargers by a score of 36-34. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and WR Tyreek Hill caught 11 passes for 215 yards as they proved to be too much for the Chargers defense.
The Philadelphia Eagles went to New England and defeated the Patriots 25-20. QB Jalen Hurts & Co. spoiled New England’s celebration of recently retired QB Tom Brady, but that did not come without a late Patriots comeback attempt. After going down 16-0 in the first quarter, New England cut the deficit to five with three minutes left in the game. Following a Hurts fumble in the ensuing possession, the Patriots had one last chance to score but they came up short.
The three rookie QBs making their NFL debuts had a rough start to their professional careers. Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young threw two interceptions in a 24-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud did not commit a turnover, but his offense did not score a touchdown in their 25-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson had arguably the best performance out of the three, as he scored two total touchdowns in a 31-21 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The San Francisco 49ers went into Pittsburgh and destroyed the Steelers 30-7. The 49ers run game and defense were hyped up throughout the off-season, and both delivered in Week 1 as RB Christian McCaffrey had 152 yards on the ground, while the defense had two interceptions and only allowed 239 total yards.
Football is officially back, and everyone is rejoicing at the fact they can spend their Sundays glued to the TV all day long!