Monday, September 9th, marked the end of the opening week in the NFL, providing answers to several burning questions. Firstly, what are the Dallas Cowboys planning to do with Dak Prescott? Secondly, how did the No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, perform in his debut? Did the reigning Super Bowl champions maintain their winning form, or did they show signs of a Super Bowl hangover? And finally, how did Aaron Rodgers fare in his first NFL game in a year?
Let’s begin with the Cowboys. Last week CeeDee Lamb finally got his extension as he resigned for four years $136 million, and on Sunday, a few hours before kickoff, Prescott finally signed his extension. According to Adam Schefter, Prescott became the highest-paid player in NFL history after signing a four-year, $240 million extension, which includes $231 million in guaranteed money. After receiving their pay, Prescott and Lamb took to the field to demonstrate to the fans that they were worth the big dollars. In a 33-17 win over the Cleveland Browns, Prescott finished completing 19 of 32 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Lamb caught five passes for 61 yards. Head coach Mike McCarthy spoke proudly of his team after the win.
“We have a little bit of experience with distractions, so we dealt with it,” coach McCarthy chuckled. “The timing was different, but he handled it well. We made sure to congratulate him on the development because this is something you have to celebrate. But as soon as we got done, he was locked in.”
Now, let’s talk about the No. 1 overall pick, Williams. His team, the Chicago Bears, defeated the Tennessee Titans 24-17, and he didn’t turn the ball over, so technically, he played a good game. However, he didn’t produce an offensive touchdown, and he threw for under 100 yards. He finished the game by completing 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards. Thanks to his squad’s defense, as they scored all 24 points, Williams became the first NFL quarterback to get drafted No.1 overall and win his debut game. In the public’s eye, Williams didn’t live up to expectations in his first game, but according to him, he’s not worried about individual stats.
“Yeah, I don’t care about stats. I feel great,” Williams said. “To be honest with you, I feel great. Obviously, we didn’t perform how we wanted to (offensively),” Williams said. “We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included. Didn’t perform the way I wanted to. I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss. All these other things.”
On to the defending champs the Kansas City Chiefs and boy were they impressive. On ring night as they dropped the banner for their second consecutive championship, they looked ready to win their third consecutive ring as they held off the Baltimore Ravens in a 27-20 victory. Even though they won by an inch, littery as Isaiah Likely’s toe tapped the back of the endzone, and his catch was ruled out of bounds by the referees. Despite that, the Chiefs displayed an offense that fans were psyched to see, especially his newest weapon, the speedster from Texas, Xavier Worthy. Worthy, who set an NFL combine record with a 4.21 40-yard dash, showed he’ll easily fit in with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. His first time touching the ball, he took a jet sweep around the end of the line for a 21-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. Then in the fourth quarter, he helped secure the victory for his team as he broke open for a 35-yard touchdown reception. He finished the game with two catches for 47 receiving yards along with 21 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Mahomes finished with going 20 of 28 for 291 yards and one touchdown. According to Mahomes Worthy is worth being on the field.
“Having him [Worthy] out there, it just opens up stuff,” Mahomes said on Worthy’s impact. “You saw when he’s out there, they’re playing shell coverages. It’s getting guys like [Travis Kelce] and it’s getting guys like Rashee open underneath and that’s what’s so great about this offense is we’re able to do all of that and that’s when we’re at our best.”
And lastly, for the first time in a year, Aaron Rodgers made his second debut for the New York Jets after tearing his Achilles last year on his first game for the Jets on the fourth snap of the game. This year, he made it past snap four, but he didn’t look like the two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. He did however look like a 40-year-old man playing quarterback. He was immobile and he looked like he didn’t want to endure any contact. The off-schedule throws fans are used to seeing from Rodgers weren’t there. His performance wasn’t all bad, he did show glimpses of good football. On his third possession of the game, Rodgers completed a 12-play 70-yard drive that resulted in a Breece Hall rushing touchdown. Even though Rodgers couldn’t escape the pocket like he used to, his football IQ is still there. He showed it by capitalizing on free play, as he always did. He threw his first TD pass in 610 days when he took advantage of an offside call on San Fransico’s Leonard Floyd. Rodgers then connected on a 36-yard scoring strike to Allen Lazard for a score. The good thing is Rogers finished the game healthy, the bad thing is, he didn’t play well and his team lost 32-19 to the San Fransico 49ers.
“I can play better,” Rodgers said. “I missed a couple of throws. … I felt overall I got the ball out pretty good but there were some opportunities I’d like to have back.”
He said despite the loss, he knows the potential of this team once they put it all together. “We expect greatness when we step on the field,” Rodgers said. Rodgers finished the game 13 of 21 for 167 yards, one TD and an interception
