If you are a football fan like me, you were waiting for this day like a child for Christmas. The NFL is back.

I woke up on Sunday excited beyond all measure, watching football, debating football, chumming it up with some buddies about football are all some of my favorite hobbies.

The NFL never really disappoints.

The day started off hot, the Steelers and the Bengals went into overtime. The Bengals got the ball with 1:27 left on the clock and were down 20-14. Joe Burrow led Cincinnati on a great drive in which he delivered the ball to Ja’Marr Chase for a 6-yard touchdown. 

The Bengals then lined up to kick the PAT, with an emergency long snapper in the game: tight end Mitchell Wilcox. Because of this, the snap did not look great and the kick was not off in time as Minkah Fitzpatrick was able to block the kick.

The game then went into overtime, where Bengals kicker Evan McPherson missed a kick. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell hit a kick off the goal post and then later hit a field goal with time expiring to win the game. The Steelers won 23-20.

The Eagles vs. Lions was also a close game. The Lions are showing that under coach Dan Campbell they can truly fight to be in any game. Lions running back D’Andre Swift played incredibly. He had 15 carries for 144 yards and one touchdown including three grabs for 31 yards.

Lions wide receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, played well too catching eight balls for 64 yards and one touchdown. However, the Lions were unable to overcome the overwhelming running game of the Eagles. Philadelphia had a total of four rushing touchdowns and ran for 216 yards, Miles Sanders with 96 yards and one touchdown while Jalen Hurts had 90 yards and a touchdown. 

This was also A.J. Brown’s first game as an Eagle and he played great with 10 total receptions for a gain of 155 yards – It is crazy that the Titans were willing to trade him so quickly.

Packers vs. Vikings did not have the outcome many people thought was coming. The Vikings were able to beat the Packers fairly easily 23-7. Vikings WR Justin Jefferson went nuclear in this game. In the first half, he had six receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The way he gets so open is just nasty, it should not be that easy for him.

Jefferson finished his day with nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Dalvin Cook also had 20 carries for 90 yards.

Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers did not look himself. Some may attribute this to the fact that he was missing his top two targets from last season, Davante Adams was traded and Allen Lazard was injured. I do not. Yes, losing Adams stings (a lot), but Rodgers is an extremely talented quarterback who has worked with lesser talent for much of his career. 

The Packers never start off hot yet seem to finish top two in the NFC each year. I expect Rodgers and the Packers to bounce back maybe in a few weeks and to be a top contender again.

The Raiders vs. Chargers game was pretty interesting. These are two good teams in the best division in the NFL, every team in that division is a contender.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr did not look great as he threw three interceptions, but the team was able to put up a fight at the end of the game. Davante Adams looked like regular ole’ Davante Adams, putting good cornerbacks in bad positions Like this disgusting route on Asante Samuel Jr.

The final game we will touch on is Kansas City vs. Arizona. The Chiefs dominated in a win, 44-21. The Cardinals scored most of their points in garbage time during the fourth quarter. 

Kyler Murray did not look good in the game, he struggled against the good secondary of the Chiefs. The KC defense looked like it has stepped up from being a bad defense to a serviceable to good defense.

The Kansas City offense looked great. After trading Tyreek Hill it does not even look like they miss him. Travis Kelce led the team in receiving with eight receptions for 121 yards, JuJu Smith-Schuster looked like he might have a comeback year and caught six balls for 79 yards. Patrick Mahomes tore apart the Arizona defense, it did not look fair. Some of the throws he made were magical including this one:

Mahomes went 30/39 for 360 yards and five touchdowns, not to mention he completed a pass to nine different receivers.

It was a great opening week to the NFL season, as many are just elated that the season is back. We should all look forward to having great football until March 2023.