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NFL Week 1 winners, losers: Ex-49er Darnold stars in Vikings’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 2024 NFL season is off and running.
After two exciting games Thursday and Friday to kick off the season, the rest of the league got things going on the first football Sunday of the campaign.
The early games delivered some thrilling action, with six of eightdecided by one score. The later games mostly were one-sided except for the Denver Broncos giving the Seattle Seahawks a late scare.
Here are the winners and losers from the Sunday games, with the 49ers set to host the New York Jets on Monday night:
Loser: Bill Belichick
The New England Patriots couldn’t seem to do anything right in 2023. The script was flipped in Week 1 of 2024.
Led by new coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots went to Cincinnati and upset the Bengals 16-10. New England’s defense was the story, holding Cincinnati to just 224 total yards and forcing two turnovers.
While it’s only one game, Belichick certainly will be criticized after his former team performed so well without him. The Patriots’ roster largely is similar to last season’s, aside from a change at quarterback to Jacoby Brissett. The veteran went 15-of-24 passing for 121 yards and most importantly took care of the ball.
In his return to MetLife Stadium, the former New York Jets first-round draft pick dismantled the New York Giants.
Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings to an easy 28-6 win, completing 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
It’s been a rough career so far for the 27-year-old quarterback, who has bounced around to four teams, including the 49ers and Carolina Panthers, since being drafted in 2018. Now he’s in the best situation of his career with coach Kevin O’Connell and star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, so perhaps 2024 will be the year Darnold puts it all together.
The second year of the Young era in Carolina already looks a lot like the first.
Last year’s No. 1 overall pick struggled…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nfl-week-1-winners-015521631.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-09-09 02:30:06
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