The post-Invoice Belichick period for the New England Patriots is off to a sunny begin. The Patriots went on the highway Sunday and beat the Cincinnati Bengals, a extensively anticipated playoff group, 16-10. New coach Jerrod Mayo, a Belichick disciple turned alternative, received a soothing Gatorade tub in his debut sport. The Patriots have been eight-point underdogs, and their win was probably the most stunning results of Week 1 motion.
On some stage, the Patriots’ life after Belichick figured to be bleak. The coach who introduced the franchise six Tremendous Bowls is spending this yr doing broadcasting gigs, and there’s no recapturing the magic that Belichick and Tom Brady conjured collectively for almost twenty years. However via a unique lens, the Patriots of outdated died when Brady walked out the door in free company in 2020. There was nothing left to protect by the point the Patriots parted methods with Belichick on the finish of final season and employed Mayo, his former linebacker and assistant coach. A recent begin was, at that time, the one cheap selection.
The Patriots should still have an extended slog in entrance of them, however Mayo’s first sport might hardly have gone higher. No 2 total draftee Drake Maye stays the group’s backup quarterback for a bit longer but, ready and watching behind journeyman Jacoby Brissett, who began out as a Brady backup in 2016 and now finds himself again in Massachusetts after stints with 4 different groups. Brissett wasn’t a lot good (15-of-24 passing for 121 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions) however he was competent. Rhamondre Stevenson carried 25 occasions for 120 yards and scored the group’s solely landing.
Extra surprisingly, the New England protection put the Bengals via the blender. The Patriots traded proficient edge rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons in mid-August, seemingly consigning themselves to a misplaced season as they added a third-round draft choose subsequent yr. However the Patriots’ remaining gamers delivered an impressed efficiency in opposition to two excellent gamers – quarterback Joe Burrow and receiver Ja’Marr Chase – and the remainder of the Cincy offense. Chase had a 28-yard catch however was in any other case stored in test. Burrow might discover little in the best way of open receivers down the sphere and solely netted 164 yards on 29 throws. The Bengals didn’t set up a strong run sport with tailback Zack Moss (9 carries, 44 yards) and face-planted at house.
It’s not more likely to keep this dangerous for the Bengals. No 2 wideout Tee Higgins didn’t play as he nursed a hamstring harm, and his return ought to be a boon. However the group regarded shockingly lifeless and can want a complete reset in a season that started with main aspirations.
Alternatively, the Patriots got here into 2024 with no such aspirations. Their real looking targets have been to be a bit higher than final yr’s 4-13 mark and see robust improvement from Maye, their prized QB of the long run. It’s nonetheless too early to revise expectations upward, however each week the Patriots win a sport whereas letting Maye proceed to be taught by watching is an effective one. And currently, this franchise hasn’t seen many good days.
MVP of the week
Baker Mayfield, quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mayfield was one of many comeback tales of final season, going from the scrap heap to the Bucs’ franchise QB. After getting the group to the divisional spherical of the playoffs, Tampa rewarded the Cleveland Browns castoff with a three-year, $100m contract. Mayfield offered good returns in his first sport on that deal, placing up spectacular numbers: 24-of-30 passing for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders. Mayfield won’t ever be an All-Professional passer, however he appears to be like like a significantly better participant (and definitely extra of a cut price) than the person the Browns selected over him in 2022: Deshaun Watson, who turned in one of many worst performances of an more and more misplaced profession in a 33-17 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Mayfield probably doesn’t remorse the Browns slicing ties with him.
Stat of the week
18. The full factors on Sunday for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the Atlanta Falcons, who might solely rating 10. Each a type of Pittsburgh factors got here off the proper foot of kicker Chris Boswell, who went 6-for-6 on subject targets. The Steelers by no means discovered the tip zone, however Boswell flushed his kicks from 57, 51, 44, 56, 40, and 25 yards, tying a franchise report for made subject targets. By some means that won’t have been probably the most spectacular characteristic of Boswell’s afternoon: Pittsburgh punter Cameron Johnston suffered an harm within the fourth quarter, and a penalty on the play required Boswell to trot out instantly and exchange Johnston as a punter. The primary punt of Boswell’s profession went 43 yards and netted 40, offering vital respiration room for the Pittsburgh protection in a one-score sport. Few kickers have ever had a day nearly as good as this one.
Video of the week
The Indianapolis Colts made Anthony Richardson the No 4 choose in 2023’s draft, betting that they may translate his measurement, athleticism, and arm power into an ideal NFL quarterback. An harm within the fourth sport of his rookie season paused the Richardson expertise for almost a full yr. However now the 22-year-old is again, and one in every of his first throws of 2024 was some of the spectacular heaves any soccer fan will ever see of their life. Richardson had simply slipped and had a pass-rusher bearing down on him when he rapidly loaded up and fired a stunning 60-yard landing to Alec Pierce, giving Indy an early lead in opposition to the Houston Texans. The listing of quarterbacks able to making that throw may be very quick. It could in actual fact simply be one title lengthy: Richardson. The Colts misplaced to the Houston Texans, 29-27, with Richardson finishing simply 9 of 19 passes however getting 212 yards on them.
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Elsewhere across the league
Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL with a 22-10 win for his Los Angeles Chargers over the Las Vegas Raiders. When Harbaugh final coached within the league in 2014, neither the Chargers nor Raiders have been even of their present cities. It was a triumphant return for Harbaugh, who spent the intervening years constructing Michigan right into a nationwide championship faculty program. Tailback JK Dobbins was his group’s star in Week 1, carrying 10 occasions for 135 yards and a landing. Harbaugh’s prized quarterback Justin Herbert didn’t have his best day (144 yards and a landing) however averted massive bother.
“As a way to transfer ahead they should cease from going backward.” With quotes like that, Tom Brady’s broadcasting debut wasn’t precisely a smash hit. Our personal Aaron Timms has extra on a stumbling efficiency.
You thought the Carolina Panthers have been dangerous final season? Wait till you see them this time round. The NFL’s worst-run franchise misplaced 47-10 on the New Orleans Saints to begin the yr. It was a depressing debut for head coach Dave Canales, and it was maybe a couple of levels worse than that for second-year quarterback Bryce Younger. The 2023 No 1 total choose was an utter catastrophe, misfiring on his throws all afternoon and showing completely overwhelmed in opposition to a New Orleans protection that was all too comfortable to feast on him. Younger accomplished simply 13 of his 30 cross makes an attempt for no touchdowns and two interceptions. There isn’t a actual gentle on the finish of the tunnel in Charlotte but, however at the very least the Panthers retain their very own first-round choose for subsequent yr. That’s an enchancment on 2024, when the highest choose they’d earned with poor play as an alternative went to the Chicago Bears.
Tyreek Hill had a bizarre day. Police apprehended the celebrity wideout for the Miami Dolphins on his option to the group’s stadium on Sunday morning, briefly handcuffing him and holding him face down on the bottom. Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stated officers needlessly escalated the scenario. He was free by warmup time, nevertheless, after which had a typical afternoon: a comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that included seven catches for 130 yards. The Jaguars had a 93.2% likelihood to win late within the sport, based on the NFL’s Subsequent Gen Stats, however in the end frittered away a sport that they had led 14-0. Hill’s greatest contribution was an 80-yard catch-and-run landing from Tua Tagovailoa. He celebrated that rating, naturally, with a handcuff-themed celebration. Miami police have already assigned one of many officers on the scene to administrative duties.
The NFL’s new “dynamic kickoff” had its first day of actual motion. Within the new system, each tacklers and blockers arrange a lot nearer to the returning group’s finish zone, and no one can transfer till the ball comes down in a “touchdown zone” between the goalline and the receiving group’s 20-yard line. The league’s goal is to encourage extra (and extra thrilling) kickoff returns whereas lessening the chance of accidents. It’ll take a while to see how groups reply to the rule, however Sunday introduced an encouraging begin. Final season, simply 4 kickoff returns went for TDs. On Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals’ DeeJay Dallas took one to the home from 96 yards in opposition to the Buffalo Payments. Even one kick return landing within the NFL each week could be loads of added enjoyable.
Josh Allen, who threw for 2 touchdowns on Sunday and ran for one more two, injured his left (non-throwing) hand throughout the Payments’ win over the Cardinals. He went into the x-ray room after the sport however didn’t have his hand wrapped when he talked to reporters.
