The New England Patriots’ post-Bill Belichick era is off to a bright beginning. On Sunday, the Patriots defeated the highly anticipated playoff team, the Cincinnati Bengals, 16-10, while playing on the road. In his first game as coach, Jerrod Mayo—a former Belichick assistant who is now the head coach—was given a relaxing Gatorade bath. The Patriots’ victory, which came despite being eight-point favorites, was the most unexpected outcome of Week 1 play.
The Patriots’ post-Belichick future seemed doomed, at least in part. The coach who won six Super Bowls with the team is working as a broadcaster this year, and he will never be able to recreate the magic that Belichick and Tom Brady created together for almost twenty years. From an other perspective, though, the Patriots of the past vanished in 2020 when Brady left in free agency. By the time the Patriots fired Belichick at the end of the previous campaign and brought in Mayo, his former assistant coach and linebacker, there was nothing left to save. The only logical thing to do at that time was to start over.
Even though the Patriots still have a long way to go, Mayo’s debut game went quite well. Drake Maye, the team’s second-round pick overall, will continue to fill in as the backup quarterback for the time being. Journeyman Jacoby Brissett, who began as a backup to Brady in 2016 and is currently back in Massachusetts following stints with four other teams, will wait and watch behind Maye. Although Brissett only completed 15 of 24 passes for 121 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions, he was still a respectable passer. Rhamondre Stevenson scored the lone touchdown for the club on 25 carries for 120 yards.
Even more unexpectedly, the Bengals were put through a hard patch by the New England defense. Midway through August, the Patriots dealt their gifted edge rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons, perhaps resigning themselves to a losing year in exchange for a third-round draft pick the following year. However, against the rest of the Cincy offense and two exceptional players, quarterback Joe Burrow and receiver Ja’Marr Chase, the Patriots’ remaining players turned in a masterful performance. Chase was held in check the rest of the way, despite a 28-yard reception. Burrow only gained 164 yards on 29 throws because he was unable to locate many open targets down the field. With tailback Zack Moss (nine carries, 44 yards), the Bengals failed to develop a strong run game and lost badly at home.
This Bengals situation is not likely to persist this badly. Tee Higgins, the number two wide receiver, was out due to a hamstring issue, thus his comeback should be beneficial. However, the team appeared remarkably lifeless, and after starting the season with high expectations, they will require a thorough overhaul.
Conversely, the Patriots have no such goals going into 2024. Their reasonable objectives were to improve on their 4-13 record from the previous year and witness significant growth from Maye, their highly valued quarterback of the future. Although it’s still too early to raise expectations, it’s a good sign when the Patriots win a game each week and Maye can keep learning from the sidelines. Furthermore, this franchise hasn’t had many successful days lately.
Week’s MVP
QB Baker Mayfield plays for the Tampa Bay Bucs. Mayfield, who came from the Bucs’ scrap heap to become their starting quarterback, was one of the season’s comeback tales. A three-year, $100 million contract was given to the Cleveland Browns castoff by Tampa Bay after he helped the team advance to the divisional round of the playoffs. In his debut game on that agreement, Mayfield delivered a strong performance, going 24-of-30 passing for 289 yards and four touchdowns in the Washington Commanders’ 37-20 victory.
Although Mayfield is not going to be an All-Pro passer, he appears to be a much better player (and more of a deal) than the player the Browns selected over him in 2022, Deshaun Watson, who on Sunday gave up one of the worst games of his increasingly disappointing career in a 33-17 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It’s unlikely that Mayfield feels bad about the Browns cutting him off.
Weekly Stat
18. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ total point total against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, when they were only able to score 10. Chris Boswell, the kicker, scored all six points for Pittsburgh with his right foot, going six for six on field goals. Boswell tied a franchise record for made field goals by flushing his kicks from57,51,44,56,40, and 25 yards, even if the Steelers were never able to find the end zone.
That might not have been the most noteworthy aspect of Boswell’s afternoon, though, as Boswell had to go out and take Cameron Johnston’s place as punter after the Pittsburgh punter was injured in the fourth quarter due to a penalty on the play. In a one-score game, Boswell’s first punt of the season sailed 43 yards and netted 40, giving the Pittsburgh defense much-needed breathing room. Not many kickers have ever experienced a day like today.
Week’s Top Video
In the hopes of developing Anthony Richardson into a great NFL quarterback, the Indianapolis Colts selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft, based on his stature, athleticism, and arm strength. Richardson’s inaugural season was interrupted by an injury that kept him out of the game for almost a whole year. However, the 22-year-old is back, and one of his 2024 debut passes was among the best heaves a football fan has ever seen.
After slipping and coming under attack by a pass-rusher, Richardson quickly got his concentration back and hit Alec Pierce for a stunning 60-yard touchdown to give Indianapolis an early lead against the Houston Texans. There are very few quarterbacks on the list who can make the throw. Richardson might be the only name that is longer than that. Richardson only completed nine of 19 passes in the Colts’ 29-27 loss to the Houston Texans, but he still gained 212 yards through the air.
ANTHONY RICHARDSON 60-YARD DIME TO ALEC PIERCE.
📺: #HOUvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/p0xddm5Kl1— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
Across the league:
The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 22–10 to mark Jim Harbaugh’s NFL comeback. The Chargers and Raiders weren’t even based in their present locales in 2014, when Harbaugh left the NFL as head coach. Harbaugh, who had been busy in the interim turning Michigan into a national championship college school, made a victorious return. In Week 1, JK Dobbins, the team’s tailback, was the star, carrying ten times for 135 yards and a touchdown. Although Justin Herbert, Harbaugh’s favorite quarterback, did not have the most productive day (144 yards and a touchdown), he managed to escape serious difficulty.
• “They must cease going backward in order to move forward.” Tom Brady’s broadcasting debut wasn’t exactly a hit when he said things like that. More about a clumsy performance can be found by reading our own Aaron Timms.
• Did you think the previous season’s Carolina Panthers were awful? Until you see them again, give it some time. The NFL’s worst-run team opened the season with a 47-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Head coach Dave Canales had a terrible start, and it was probably even worse than second-year quarterback Bryce Young’s. The 2023 first-round selection was a complete bust, misfiring on his throws the entire day and looking completely overpowered against a New Orleans defense that was only too ready to exploit him. Young only completed 13 of his 30 throw attempts, resulting in two interceptions and no touchdowns.
Although Charlotte still has a long way to go, the Panthers will at least have their own first-round pick in the next draft. That’s better than in 2024, when the Chicago Bears received the top pick they had earned due to their subpar performance.
• Tyreek Hill’s day was peculiar. The Miami Dolphins’ top wide receiver was momentarily handcuffed and held face down on the ground by police when they arrested him on Sunday morning as he was making his way to the team’s stadium. Drew Rosenhaus, Hill’s agent, claimed that the situation was unduly exacerbated by the officers. But after being cleared to practice, he had a routine afternoon that included a comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and seven receptions for 130 yards.
The NFL’s Next Gen Stats indicated that the Jaguars had a 93.2% probability to win late in the game, but they ultimately let a 14-0 lead slip away. Tua Tagovailoa’s 80-yard catch-and-run score was the main contribution from Hill. Naturally, he threw a party with a handcuff theme to commemorate that score. One of the cops on the scene has already been given administrative tasks by Miami police.
• The first day of actual play for the NFL’s new “dynamic kickoff” Under the new scheme, blocks and tacklers are positioned significantly closer to the end zone of the returning team, and players are not allowed to move until the ball lands in a designated “landing zone” that lies between the receiving team’s 20-yard line and the goal line. The league wants to reduce the risk of injuries while promoting more (and more thrilling) kickoff returns.
Teams’ reactions to the rule will take time to show, but Sunday was a positive beginning. Only four kickoff returns last season resulted in touchdowns. DeeJay Dallas of the Arizona Cardinals put the Buffalo Bills to task on Sunday, making a 96-yard field goal. It would be a lot of extra fun to have even one kick return touchdown in the NFL each week.
DEEJAY DALLAS OH MYYYYYY 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/sLx2L16aLV
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 8, 2024
• Josh Allen hurt his left (non-throwing) hand during the Bills’ victory over the Cardinals on Sunday. Allen ran for two touchdowns and completed two passes. After the game, he entered the x-ray room, but when he spoke with reporters, his hand was not bandaged.
Former Patriots CB was removed from the game for fighting.
In his new house, Jack Jones is still having difficulty staying on the pitch.
The Raiders cornerback was sent out of the season opener in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon after fighting with Joshua Palmer, a wide receiver for the Chargers. A video of the altercation is available here. Jones, a fourth-round pick of the Patriots in 2022, was released from Foxborough after just two seasons.
After skipping curfew in his second season, Jones was suspended at the conclusion of his first season due to problems with his injury recovery. The following spring, he was detained at Logan Airport for allegedly attempting to bring firearms through TSA. Following the team’s November trip to Germany, the Patriots decided to waive him, though Bill Belichick remained silent about the specifics at the time.
Q: What factors were considered when deciding to fire Jones?
“Just felt like it’s time to move on,” said Belichick.
Q: So, was Jones’ performance or his actions off the field that led to the decision to split ways?
“I felt like it was time to move on,” said Belichick.
Q: Was there an incident in Germany that resulted in Jones’s termination?
Belichick: “Not really, no.”
Q: Why now, I wonder? Given that Jones was obviously in a risky situation in the previous few weeks, why was he cut this week?
Belichick: “Well, I just thought that now was the right moment.”
Q: What is the Patriots’ opinion on the choice to select Jones in the draft? Was there anything in the draft process that they overlooked?
“Jack is a talented player,” said Belichick. He occasionally performed for us and demonstrated that. Ultimately, I thought it was time for us to move on. He is a gifted player, though.
