The Week 1 Look-Back

09/13/2021

By: Jeff Yoder

Welcome Back 

The 2021 NFL season is officially a full-go. The fellas in my fantasy football league gave me flack for overpaying to get Kyler Murray. Never question a sportswriter… The Week 1 look-back starts now.

Letter Rip!

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NFL

The Week 1 Look-Back

Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images

The Top Teams, Performances & Highlights of Week 1 in the NFL

 

Heaven for football fans has finally returned. The first Sunday of the NFL season was a wild one full of drama as teams with renewed hope began their quest for a Super Bowl. We have five teams who stood out and multiple players who put up big days. You can find highlights to every Sunday game at the bottom of this section, but there’s one more game to play before we round out Week 1.

 

Top Teams: Cardinals, 49ers, Eagles, Saints, Rams

Five teams stole the offensive spotlight on Sunday, including four teams above with 20-point victories. The 49ers only won by eight, but they put up 41. The Eagles, Cardinals, Saints and Rams all won blowouts.

 

Top Performances

QB Kyler Murray (ARI): 21/32, 319 total yards, 5 TDs

QB Jalen Hurts (PHI): 27/35, 326 total yards, 3 TDs

QB Russell Wilson (SEA): 18/23, 263 total yards, 4 TDs

QB Matthew Stafford (LAR): 20/26, 321 yards, 3 TDs

RB Joe Mixon (CIN): 29 car. 127 yards, 1 TD

WR DeAndre Hopkins (ARI): 6 rec. 83 yards, 2 TDs

 

All Scores & Highlights

Eagles def. Falcons (32-6) | Steelers def. Bills (23-16) | Bengals def. Vikings (27-24, OT) | 49ers def. Lions (41-33) | Cardinals def. Titans (38-13) | Seahawks def. Colts (28-16) | Chargers def. Washington (20-16) | Panthers def. Jets (19-14) | Texans def. Jaguars (37-21) | Chiefs def. Browns (33-29) | Dolphins def. Patriots (17-16) | Saints def. Packers (38-3) | Broncos def. Giants (27-13) | Rams def. Bears (34-14)

 

Tonight: Monday Night Football

Ravens at Raiders (8:15 pm ET)

 

Additional Storylines

NFL.com: Week 1: What We Learned From Sunday’s Games

CBS Sports: NFL Week 1 Grades for Every Team on Sunday

FOX Sports: Week 1 Statements: The Teams Who Shined in Week 1

ESPN: Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence Throws 3 INTs in NFL Debut

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TENNIS

The 2021 U.S. Open Champs

Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images

(2) Daniil Medvedev & Emma Raducanu Claim First Major Titles at 2021 U.S. Open

 

Men’s Singles Champ: (2) Daniil Medvedev

No calendar grand slam for the Djoker! Just one match away from capturing the first calendar grand slam since 1969, Novak Djokovic failed to win a single set in Sunday’s semifinal against Daniil Medvedev (6-4, 6-4, 6-4). Medvedev was the final man standing in the way of history that hadn’t been made in over 50 years, and he played the spoiler. The 25-year-old Russian was nearly perfect in his upset bid to claim his first career slam.

 

Watch: Medvedev Shocks Djokovic to Win U.S. Open

 

Women’s Singles Champ: Emma Raducanu

Saturday’s women’s final was a battle of two unranked teenagers and another straight-set victory. British 18-year-old, Emma Raducanu, completed her dream U.S. Open run by halting 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez (6-4, 6-3). Both players were ridiculous longshots to win the title, but Raducanu was ranked 150th in the world before arriving in Flushing Meadows. She won her last 20 sets (10 matches) en route to her first major.

 

Watch: Raducanu Completes U.S. Open Dream

 

Additional Storylines

ATP: Medvedev Stuns Djokovic for U.S. Open Title

The Guardian: “I Don’t Feel Pressure”: Emma Raducanu Loving Life After US Open Triumph

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CFB

Iowa & Oregon Jump Into Top-5

Photo: David Purdy / Getty Images

College Football’s New AP Poll After Week 2 Action

 

After all the college football action in Week 2, two standouts made major climbs in the latest AP Poll. Both Iowa (5) and Oregon (4) jumped five-or-more spots after huge wins. Previously 12th-ranked Oregon took down #3 Ohio State (35-28) while #10 Iowa outplayed rival #9 Iowa State (27-17). Meanwhile, top teams like #8 Notre Dame and #5 Texas A&M survived unranked opponents by just three points apiece and dropped in the rankings. Here’s the latest look at the AP Poll after two weeks.

 

AP Poll (Top-10)

1. Alabama (2-0) | —

2. Georgia (2-0) | —

3. Oklahoma (2-0) | ↑1

4. Oregon (2-0) | ↑8

5. Iowa (2-0) | ↑5

6. Clemson (1-1) | —

7. Texas A&M (2-0) | ↓2

8. Cincinnati (2-0) | ↓1

9. Ohio State (1-1) |↓6

10. Penn State (2-0) | ↑1

 

Full AP Top-25

 

BONUS HIGHLIGHT: Jacksonville State Stuns Florida State with Hail Mary

 

Both #14 USC (Stanford) and #15 Texas (Arkansas) were upset by unranked opponents.

 

Additional Storylines

Yahoo! Sports: Oregon & Iowa Leap Into Top-5 Following Impressive Week 2 Victories

ESPN: AP Top 25 College Football Reaction: What’s Next for Each Ranked Team?

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MLB

Scherzer’s Epic Day

Photo: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

Dodgers P Max Scherzer Tosses Immaculate Inning, Becomes 19th Pitcher to 3,000 Ks

 

A milestone night for Dodgers ace Max Scherzer ended with a standing ovation after a nearly perfect outing for the 37-year-old. Scherzer fanned nine Padres batters on Sunday to eclipse the 3,000-strikeout mark in an 8-0 win, becoming the 19th pitcher in MLB history to breach 3,000 Ks. He also tossed an immaculate inning in the second frame before taking a perfect game into the 8th inning when Eric Hosmer broke it up. Ironically, Hosmer was the 3,000th strikeout in the fifth inning. By night’s end, Scherzer’s gem was chock-full of historic moments as he hat-tipped the Dodger fans.

 

Watch: Max Scherzer Joins 3,000-Strikeout Club

 

MLB Quick-Hitters

 

“This Was For The City”: The Yankees and Mets met all weekend long for the Subway Series, but the emotional 20th anniversary of 9/11 took center stage in Saturday’s game at Citi Field. The Yankees won (8-7) to snap a seven-game win streak.

 

Brewers Throw Combined No-No: The year of the no-hitter continued on Saturday when Brewers pitchers Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined to throw a no-no against the Indians (3-0). Burnes K’d 14 and carried the no-hit bid into the eighth inning before Hader closed it out.

 

Blue Jays Batting Barrage: The Blue Jays put up a whopping 44 runs in three games against the Orioles over the weekend, including a 22-point beatdown with five home runs on Sunday. Toronto has now won 14 of their last 16 games (80-63) to grab a tie for the top AL Wild Card spot, and Vlad Guerrero Jr. has tied Shohei Ohtani for the home run lead (44).

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🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

⚽️ SOCCER: Ronaldo Shines in Man-U Return

Cristiano Ronaldo made his first reappearance with Manchester United on Saturday against Newcastle, and CR7 didn’t disappoint. He netted two goals in a 4-1 win.

 

🏀 WNBA: Wings Clinch 7th Playoff Spot

The Dallas Wings laid claim to one of the final two WNBA playoff bids over the weekend with a 77-76 win over the Liberty thanks to a 11-point 4th-quarter comeback. Marina Mabrey dropped 21 off the bench.

 

🏎️ NASCAR: Truex Jr. Takes Richmond

Race No. 2 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff was a convincing win for Martin Truex Jr. despite his early penalty on the opening lap. It was his third win in the last five races.

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THE STORYLINES

💵  Sports Betting’s Digital Explosion

In just three years since the Supreme Court ruling, legal sports betting has quadrupled in the U.S. with online gambling taking off. These six charts show sports betting’s digital explosion as the NFL season kicked off. (USA Today)

 

🏀  Basketball Hall of Fame Induction

The 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame Class was inducted on Saturday with a long list of notable names who gave their heart and soul to the game. Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh and many others are now officially enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts. (ESPN)

 

🇺🇸  Sports World Reacts to 20th Anniversary of 9/11

Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Nearly 3,000 people were killed after hijackers flew two planes into the World Trade Center in New York. In remembrance of the anniversary, athletes, professional sports leagues and teams sent out tribute messages to reflect on the occasion. (Yahoo! Sports)

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