In the late Sunday games of Week 1, we saw an epic shootout in Los Angeles, which the Miami Dolphins won shortly before the end. The Philadelphia Eagles narrowly avoided defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears had to admit defeat to the Green Bay Packers even without Aaron Rodgers.
Click here for the early Sunday games from Week 1!
NFL: Game Reports Week 1
Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) – Miami Dolphins (1-0)
Result: 34:36 (7:78, 10:13, 7:7, 10:9) BOXSCORE
- A spectacle was expected and both teams delivered in Inglewood. In the end, however, it was the Dolphins’ defense that made the decision. An intentional grounding penalty put the Chargers behind on their final drive and they never recovered. Ultimately, Jaelan Phillips managed a sack against Justin Herbert on 4th down and put the lid on Miami’s incredible comeback.
- The Dolphins provided the biggest spectacle with their offense. First and foremost, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and found Tyreek Hill in the end zone for the winning touchdown with 1:45 minutes left. The subsequent PAT from Jason Sanders worked, which added tension. Tua ended up with three touchdowns, but also threw a pick and lost a fumble. And Hill? He exploded for eleven receptions and 215 yards (2 TD).
- Meanwhile, the Chargers’ best man was running back Austin Ekeler, who had 164 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. Justin Herbert attacked downfield much more aggressively than in the previous season, but “only” managed 228 yards (TD) because the Dolphins often showed easy boxes, so the home team often used the run game to exploit this advantage.
- The bottom line is that the Dolphins had 536 total yards, the Chargers had 433.
New England Patriots (0-1) – Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)
Result: 20:25 (0:16, 14:0, 0:3, 6:6) BOXSCORE
- In the end, the Patriots were missing a second foot in the field from rookie Kayshon Boutte to maybe get into the red zone and turn the game around. But on 4th down, the game was decided with seconds to go. The Patriots had previously made the game exciting again with Kendrick Bourne’s second touchdown catch of the day 3:37 minutes before the end and won the ball back with a turnover on downs two minutes before the end.
- The Eagles started brilliantly, with a 70-yard pick-six from Darius Slay following a deflected pass from Mac Jones and a 5-yard touchdown catch from DeVonta Smith for an early 16-0 lead. In between, Zeke Elliott also lost a fumble.
- After that, however, the guests didn’t manage to do much. The Patriots, on the other hand, turned up the heat midway through the second quarter and scored two more touchdowns before halftime – Mac Jones found Hunter Henry and Bourne in the end zone. For the Eagles, however, Jake Elliott then scored three field goals in a row from at least 48 yards each in wet weather, putting his team at a distance.
- The Patriots ultimately came close, but ended three of their last four offensive series with turnovers on downs.
Chicago Bears (0-1) – Green Bay Packers (1-0)
Result: 20:38 (3:7, 3:3, 8:14, 6:14) BOXSCORE
- Aaron Rodgers may be gone, but even with Jordan Love at quarterback, the Packers’ dominance over the Bears continued. And Green Bay’s young QB was quite efficient with 245 yards and three touchdowns.
- Even without the injured Christian Watson, the Packers’ passing game worked well. Romeo Doubs caught two touchdown passes – but the Packers’ best man was running back Aaron Jones with 127 scrimmage yards on just 13 touches (2 TD). However, Jones was forced out early with a thigh injury.
- The Bears, on the other hand, have not yet seen the announced improvements in the front seven, offensive line and receiving corps. Although Justin Fields completed 64.9 percent of his passes (216 YDS, TD, INT), he also lost a fumble and had two turnovers. His interception, meanwhile, led to a pick-six from linebacker Quay Walker.
- And: the highly rated wide receiver DJ Moore only saw two targets in the entire game. He caught both balls for 25 yards but was otherwise a non-factor.
Seattle Seahawks (0-1) – Los Angeles Rams (1-0)
Result: 13:30 (3:7, 10:0, 0:10, 0:13) BOXSCORE
- Setback for the Seahawks at the start of the season. Starting out as playoff contenders, Pete Carroll’s team suffered a bitter setback against the Rams, where things looked pretty bleak without Cooper Kupp.
- Until the break everything looked relatively normal for the home team. After two field goals by Jason Myers and a 10-yard touchdown catch by DK Metcalf, they led 13-7 at halftime. After that, however, there wasn’t much going on for the home team. They even missed another field goal before halftime.
- And that was also the last time that the Seahawks were in the opposing half. The Rams, in turn, scored points in each of their five offensive series after the break. Kyren Williams and Cam Akers ran for touchdowns, and Cam Akers scored three field goals.
- Meanwhile, the outstanding man in the game was quarterback Matthew Stafford, who threw for 334 yards – Puca Nacua and Tutu Atwell each achieved 119 receiving yards.
Denver Broncos (0-1) – Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)
Result: 16:17 (6:7, 7:3, 0:0, 3:7) BOXSCORE
- The Las Vegas Raiders opened their season with an away win in Denver, spoiling Sean Payton’s debut with the Broncos.
- Two former Patriots were decisive in the game: quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo not only threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, he also ran for the decisive first down shortly before the end of the game. Jimmy G threw for a total of 200 yards (20/26) and two touchdowns with one interception, while Meyers led his team with 9 receptions for 81 yards (2 TD).
- For the Broncos, Russell Wilson delivered an overall appealing performance with 177 yards and two touchdowns through the air after a weak first season in Denver. In the end there was no victory, but at least positive approaches in the absence of the still injured Jerry Jeudys.