NFL - Week One Recap

The Chicago Bears celebrate their splashy win against the 49ers.

The 2022 NFL season is underway and it started last Thursday night in Los Angeles where the defending Super Bowl champion Rams hosted the Buffalo Bills. And in the second half, it was all Bills as they won, 31-10 with quarterback Josh Allen (297 passing yards) throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for another one to lead the way. He also threw two interceptions, but the Bills defense intercepted Rams QB Matthew Stafford three times along with seven sacks to help out in the rout. 

 

The Chicago Bears surprised the visiting San Francisco 49ers, 19-10 at drenched and soggy Soldier Field behind a pair of TD passes from Justin Fields. The rain poured down continuously in Chicago and 49ers QB Trey Lance had no answers as the Bears defense shut them down in the second half. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers, with Mitch Trubisky (194 passing yards and one TD pass) starting at quarterback, stunned the host Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20 in overtime thanks in big part to the defensive effort (especially safety Minkah Fitzpatrick) that had seven sacks and four interceptions and a fumble recovery. Fitzpatrick had a pick six interception for the game's first score and he also blocked the extra point kick to send the game into the OT session. Cincy tied the game at 20-20 when QB Joe Burrow (338 yards, two TD, four INT) threw a six-yard TD pass to Ja'Marr Chase with two seconds remaining. Both teams missed field goals in OT before Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell made a 53-yarder as time expired to get the win. 

The Los Angeles Chargers beat the visiting Las Vegas Raiders, 24-19 in a total team effort as QB Justin Herbert threw for three scores (279 passing yards) and linebacker Khalil Mack had three sacks, including the game clinching takedown of Raiders QB Derek Carr (295 yards, two TD, three INT) with under two minutes remaining. The Chargers defense had six sacks and three interceptions to aid the winning effort. 

The Minnesota Vikings toppled the visiting Green Bay Packers, 23-7 as QB Kirk Cousins (277 passing yards) had a pair of TD passes to wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who had nine receptions for 184 yards and the two scores. Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers was intercepted once and was limited to just 195 passing yards while also being sacked four times. 

The Kansas City Chiefs rolled the host Arizona Cardinals, 44-21 behind five touchdown passes from QB Patrick Mahomes, who had 360 passing yards in the rout. The Chiefs had a 37-7 lead midway through the third quarter as they totaled 488 yards in offense. The Cardinals got a pair of TD passes from Kyler Murray in the losing effort. 

The Philadelphia Eagles held off the host Detroit Lions, 38-35 as four different players scored rushing touchdowns and the defense added a TD on a 27-yard pick six from cornerback James Bradberry. The Lions fell behind 31-14 before a pair of TD passes by QB Jared Goff helped make it close in the final quarter, but the Eagles got the win while amassing 455 yards in total offense. 

The Atlanta Falcons blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead at home as the New Orleans Saints won, 27-26 when Will Lutz kicked a game winning 51-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining. The Saints got a scare in the final seconds as the Falcons got a chance to win, but kicker Younghoe Koo's 63-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time ran out. New Orleans QB Jameis Winston had a pair of TD passes in the late rally. 

The Miami Dolphins bested the visiting New England Patriots, 20-7 with linebacker Melvin Ingram scoring on a two-yard fumble return and QB Tua Tagovailoa tossing a 42-yard TD pass to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. The Patriots turned the ball over three times in the loss. 

Washington won at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, 28-22 with QB Carson Wentz throwing four TD passes (along with 313 pass yards) to help lead the way. The Commanders got the winning score on a 24-yard TD pass from Wentz to rookie WR Jahan Dotson with 1:46 remaining. Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence had a scoring pass and one interception in defeat. 

The Baltimore Ravens won in New York, 24-9 against a listless Jets offense that didn't score a touchdown until the final minute of the game. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson had three scoring passes in the win as his team cruised to the victory, including two of them to WR Devin Duvernay.

The New York Giants stunned the Tennessee Titans, 21-20 to get the road win as running back Saquon Barkley had a huge game, going off for 164 rushing yards and scoring a touchdown and getting into the end zone on a shovel pass from QB Daniel Jones on the two-point conversion to clinch the win. The Titans had a chance to win it, but kicker Randy Bullock was wide left on the 47-yard field goal attempt as time ran out. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill had two TD passes in defeat. 

The Cleveland Browns squeaked out a 26-24 road win against the Carolina Panthers as kicker Cade York drilled a 58-yard field goal to win it with eight seconds left to play. The Panthers took a 24-23 lead when Eddy Pineiro made a 34-yard FG with 1:13 remaining. Browns RB Kareem Hunt scored twice on the ground and Nick Chubb had 141 yards rushing to lead the charge in a team effort for 217 rushing yards. Carolina QB Baker Mayfield had a rushing and passing touchdown in the loss against his former team. 

The Sunday night game saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers go into Dallas and dominate the Cowboys, 19-3 with Tom Brady throwing a TD pass to WR Mike Evans and kicker Jeff Succop connecting on four field goals to pace the win. Dallas lost starting QB Dak Prescott to a thumb injury (throwing hand) and he is likely out for at least six to eight weeks. 

There was also a tie game in the opener as the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans finished at 20-20 in Houston. The Texans had a 20-3 lead in the final quarter but the Colts stormed back with RB Jonathan Taylor (two-yard scoring run along with 161 rush yards) and QB Matt Ryan (352 passing yards) getting a 15-yard TD pass to Michael Pittman along with a 27-yard FG from Rodrigo Blankenship, who also missed from 42 yards in the OT session. The Texans got a pair of TD passes from QB Davis Mills while building up the lead. The Colts rolled up 517 yards in total offense, but had to settle for the tie. 

The Monday Night Football game saw the host Seattle Seahawks defeat the Denver Broncos, 17-16 to spoil the return of former quarterback Russell Wilson. Seattle QB Geno Smith had a pair of touchdown passes and 195 pass yards while Wilson had one TD pass and 340 pass yards. Broncos kicker Brandon McManus made three field goals, but was wide left on the potential game winning 64-yard field goal attempt in the final 20 seconds. 

WEEK ONE RESULTS 

Buffalo 31, L.A. Rams 10

Chicago 19, San Francisco 10

Baltimore 24, N.Y. Jets 9 

Philadelphia 38, Detroit 35

Pittsburgh 23, Cincinnati 20 (OT)

Houston 20, Indianapolis 20 (OT)

Cleveland 26, Carolina 24

Washington 28, Jacksonville 22

Miami 20, New England 7 

New Orleans 27, Atlanta 26

N.Y. Giants 21, Tennessee 20

L.A. Chargers 24, Las Vegas 19 

Minnesota 23, Green Bay 7 

Kansas City 44, Arizona 21

Tampa Bay 19, Dallas 3

Seattle 17, Denver 16