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The post-Bill Belichick era for the New England Patriots is off to a sunny start. The Patriots hit the road on Sunday and Beat the Cincinnati Bengalsa highly anticipated playoff team, 16-10. New coach Jerrod Mayo, a Belichick disciple who became his replacement, was given a relaxing Gatorade bath in his debut game. The Patriots were eight-point underdogs, and their win was the most surprising outcome of Week 1 action.
In one sense, life for the Patriots after Belichick looked bleak. The coach who gave the franchise six Super Bowls is spending this year doing broadcast work, and there’s no way to recapture the magic that Belichick and Tom Brady conjured together for nearly two decades. But from a different perspective, the Patriots of old died when Brady walked out the door in free agency in 2020. There was nothing left to preserve when the Patriots parted ways with Belichick at the end of last season and hired Mayo, their former linebacker and assistant coach. A fresh start was, at the time, the only reasonable option.
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The Patriots may still have a long road ahead of them, but May’s opener could hardly have gone better. Second overall pick Drake Maye will remain the team’s backup quarterback for a little while longer, waiting and watching behind veteran Jacoby Brissett, who started as Brady’s backup in 2016 and now finds himself back in Massachusetts after stints with four other teams. Brissett wasn’t great (15 of 24 passing for 121 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions), but he was competent. Rhamondre Stevenson ran the ball 25 times for 120 yards and scored the team’s only touchdown.
More surprisingly, New England’s defense gave the Bengals a tough test. The Patriots traded talented defensive back Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons in mid-August, seemingly dooming themselves to a lost season as they added a third-round pick in next year’s draft. But the Patriots’ remaining players put in an inspired performance against two standouts, quarterback Joe Burrow and receiver Ja’Marr Chase, and the rest of the Cincy offense. Chase had one 28-yard reception but was otherwise held in check. Burrow couldn’t find many open receivers on the field and had just 164 yards on 29 passes. The Bengals didn’t establish a solid running game with running back Zack Moss (nine carries, 44 yards) and fell flat on their face at home.
The situation isn’t likely to stay that bad for the Bengals. No. 2 wide receiver Tee Higgins didn’t play because of a hamstring injury, and his return should be a blessing. But the team looked surprisingly lifeless and will need a comprehensive reset in a season that started with high aspirations.
On the other hand, the Patriots entered 2024 without those aspirations. Their realistic goals were to be a little better than last year’s 4-13 record and to see strong development from Maye, their prized QB of the future. It’s still too early to revise expectations upward, but every week the Patriots win a game while letting Maye continue to learn by watching is a good idea. And this franchise hasn’t had many good days lately.
MVP of the week
Baker Mayfield, quarterback of the Tampa Bay BuccaneersMayfield was one of the comeback stories of last season, going from second-string player to the Bucs’ franchise quarterback. After leading the team to the divisional round of the playoffs, Tampa rewarded the Cleveland Browns castoff with a three-year, $100 million contract. Mayfield delivered strong results in his first game on that deal, putting up impressive numbers: 24 of 30 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns in a game. 37-20 victory over the Washington CommandersMayfield will never be an All-Pro passer, but he looks like a much better (and certainly cheaper) player than the man the Browns chose over him in 2022: Deshaun Watson, who had one of the worst performances of an increasingly lost career in A crushing defeat of 33-17 to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Mayfield probably doesn’t regret the Browns cutting ties with him.
Statistics of the week
18. Sunday’s point total for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Atlanta Falcons, who could only manage 10. Each of those Pittsburgh points came on the right foot of kicker Chris Boswell, who hit 6 of 6 field goals. The Steelers never found the end zone, but Boswell hit his kicks of 57, 51, 44, 56, 40 and 25 yards, tying a franchise record for field goals made. In some ways, that may not have been the most impressive feature of Boswell’s afternoon: Pittsburgh punter Cameron Johnston suffered an injury in the fourth quarter, and a penalty on the play forced Boswell to immediately come out and replace Johnston as the starting punter. playerBoswell’s first career punt went 43 yards for a 40-yard return, giving Pittsburgh’s defense a crucial breather in a game that ended in a tie. Few kickers have had as good a day as this one.
Video of the week
The Indianapolis Colts selected Anthony Richardson with the fourth pick in the 2023 draft, betting that they could parlay his size, athleticism and arm strength into a great NFL quarterback. An injury in the fourth game of his rookie season halted Richardson’s experience for nearly a full year. But now the 22-year-old is back, and one of his first throws of 2024 was one of the most impressive throws any football fan will ever see. Richardson had just slipped and had a pass rusher closing in on him when he quickly charged in and threw a magnificent 60-yard touchdown to Alec Pierce, giving Indy an early lead against the Houston Texans. The list of quarterbacks capable of making that throw is very short. In fact, it may only have one name: Richardson. The Colts lost to the Houston Texans, 29-27with Richardson completing just nine of 19 passes but gaining 212 yards on them.
Elsewhere in the league
• Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL with a 22-10 victory for the Los Angeles Chargers about the Las Vegas Raiders. When Harbaugh last coached in the league in 2014, neither the Chargers nor the Raiders were in their current cities. It was a triumphant return for Harbaugh, who spent the intervening years building Michigan into a national championship college program. Running back J.K. Dobbins was his team’s star in Week 1, carrying 10 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. Harbaugh’s prized quarterback, Justin Herbert, didn’t have his most efficient day (144 yards and a touchdown), but he avoided major trouble.
• “To move forward, you must avoid going backward.” With lines like that, Tom Brady’s debut as a broadcaster wasn’t exactly a resounding success. Our very own Aaron Timms It’s more about a hesitant performance.
• You thought the Carolina Panthers were bad last season? Wait until you see them this time. The worst-run franchise in the NFL lost 47-10 at the New Orleans Saints to start the year. It was a miserable debut for head coach Dave Canales, and it was perhaps a little worse than that for second-year quarterback Bryce Young. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick was a complete disaster, missing his throws all afternoon and looking totally overwhelmed against a New Orleans defense that was only too happy to feast on him. Young completed just 13 of his 30 pass attempts with no touchdowns and two interceptions. There’s still no real light at the end of the tunnel in Charlotte, but at least the Panthers retain their own first-round pick for next year. That’s an improvement over 2024, when the first pick they’d gained with poor play went to the Chicago Bears.
• Tyreek Hill had a strange day. The Miami Dolphins superstar wide receiver was stopped by police as he headed to the team’s stadium Sunday morning, briefly handcuffed and held face down on the ground. Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said officers unnecessarily escalated the situation. He was free at warmup time, though, and then had a typical afternoon: a comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that included seven catches for 130 yards. The Jaguars had a 93.2% chance of winning at game’s end, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, but ultimately blew a game they held a 14-0 lead in. Hill’s biggest contribution was an 80-yard touchdown run by Tua Tagovailoa. He celebrated that score, naturally. with a wife-themed celebrationMiami police have One of the officers has already been assigned to the scene. to administrative functions.
• The NFL’s new “dynamic kickoff” had its first day of real action. In the new system, both tacklers and blockers position themselves much closer to the returning team’s end zone, and no one can move until the ball lands in a “landing zone” between the goal line and the receiving team’s 20-yard line. The league’s goal is to encourage more (and more exciting) kickoff returns while also reducing the likelihood of injuries. It will take some time to see how teams respond to the rule, but Sunday was an encouraging start. Last season, only four kickoff returns ended in touchdowns. On Sunday, DeeJay Dallas of the Arizona Cardinals He took one to the house from 96 yards against the Buffalo Bills. Even a kickoff return touchdown in the NFL every week would be a lot of fun.
• Josh Allen, who threw for two touchdowns Sunday and ran for two others, injured his left hand (the one he doesn’t use for throwing) during the Bills’ win over the Cardinals. He went to the X-ray room after the game but didn’t have his hand bandaged when he spoke to reporters.
