Bills, who have Super Bowl aspirations, stumble out of the gate with loss in opener
The Buffalo Bills had the AFC’s most potent offense in the 2020 season, averaging 31.3 points per game.
That offensive attack helped the Bills advance to the AFC Championship Game, and they were a trendy pick to to take the next step this season. But the Bills’ season got off to a rocky start Sunday, as they managing just one touchdown in a 23-16 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen completed 30 of 51 passes for 270 yards and a pedestrian 79.1 quarterback rating. Allen said “there was a lot to learn from” the loss, but safety Jordan Poyer struck a more defiant tone.
“Ya’ll make it seem like we damn lost the Super Bowl or something, you know?” Poyer said after the game. “That was a good football team and we didn’t play well enough to win.”
Woeful Packers
The only team to score more points than Buffalo in 2020 was the Green Bay Packers. They too were hoping to take another step after losing in the NFC Championship Game.
But quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the NFL MVP last season, and the offense was stymied in a 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Jacksonville, Florida. The game was moved because of hurricane damage in New Orleans.
Rodgers, who expressed his displeasure with the Packers during the summer, had an awful day. He threw two interceptions and threw for just 133 yards. His quarterback rating was 36.8.
Pro Football Focus helpfully noted just how awful that rating is:
Rodgers was benched late in favor of Jordan Love, who is expected to one day become the Packers starter.
A new era
For the first time since 2002, Drew Brees wasn’t under center at a season opener. Neither was Philip Rivers, who had started every game since 2006.
Jameis Winston took over for Brees, the former Saints star. Winston threw for just 148 yards but had five TD passes.
Rivers spent most of his career with the Chargers, who appear to be in good hands with Justin Herbert. The Chargers won 20-16 at Washington and Herbert had 337 passing yards.
Herbert’s one touchdown throw was a game-winner in the fourth quarter:
The NFL said seven first- or second-year quarterbacks (Herbert, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, New England’s Mac Jones, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Jets’ Zach Wilson) started on the opening weekend
That tied with the 2013 and 2000 seasons for the second-most such starting quarterbacks in a season-opening week in the Super Bowl era. Only the 2012 season (10 quarterbacks) had more.
Memorable first pass
While he didn’t start, San Francisco rookie Trey Lance’s first NFL pass was a touchdown for the 49ers at Detroit.
This was the only pass Lance, who was the 49ers’ first-round pick, threw on Sunday and he has a career 127.1 quarterback rating.
Fields finds end zone
Quarterback Justin Fields, who was Chicago’s first-round pick this year, didn’t start for the Bears. But he got into the game in a spots.
In the third quarter, Fields scored his first NFL touchdown on this rush against the Rams:
Catch of the day
In that Washington game, Terry McLaurin made an incredible catch for WFT:
Panther on the field
The Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Jets 19-14 in Charlotte, but the biggest winner was whoever came up with the idea for this mixed-reality panther:
Hosmer is part of history
Former Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer was on the wrong side of a historic play Sunday. Hosmer, who is with the Padres, was the 3,000th career strikeout for Dodgers starter Max Scherzer, the former Mizzou star.
Scherzer threw eight innings of one hit-ball and LA reliever Justin Bruihl threw a hitless ninth inning. The only Dodgers player to get a hit? It was Hosmer, who doubled with one out in the eighth inning.
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 8:40 PM.
