NFL
NFL: Patriots win first in "post-Bill Belichick era"
On the first Sunday of the 2024/25 NFL regular season, eight games livened up the afternoon for American football fans. One of the highlights of the day was the New England Patriots' 16-10 away victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, simply because it was the team's first official match after the departure of coach Bill Belichick after 24 years.
Now under the command of Jerod Mayo, a former linebacker for New Engand's own franchise, the Patriots achieved the victory, considered an upset due to the opposing moments of the teams in terms of "mature squad", with running back Rhamondre Stevenson's touchdown at the beginning of the second half and three Field Goals by kicker Joey Slye in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters.
The Bengals cashed in on running back Zack Moss' TD and Evan McPherson's FG. At the end of the match, Mayo even received an isotonic bath to celebrate their first victory.
Another very notable away victory was the Minnesota Vikings' 28-6 victory over the New York Giants. The match highlighted, once again, the terrible moment of the super traditional Giants, who even took the lead with Graham Gano's Field Goal in the first quarter, but succumbed as the game continued.
Still in the first period, the Vikings managed to turn things around with running back Aaron Jones' touchdown. The score was consolidated with TDs from Justin Jefferson (wide receiver), Jalen Nailor (wide receiver) and Andrew Van Ginkel (linebacker), with Gano scoring another FG for the New York team.
The game with the most flexible score was the New Orleans Saints' 47-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers. The hosts scored with touchdowns from Rashid Shaheed (WR) and tight end Moreau (1st quarter), tight end Juwan Johnson (2nd quarter), running back Alvin Kamara (3rd quarter) and running back Jamaal Williams (4th quarter), in addition to Blake Grupe's four Field Goals.
Quarterback Bryce Young scored the only TD for the Panthers, who also had a FG from Eddy Pineiro in the 2nd quarter.
The big turnaround in the first games of the day was from the Chicago Bears, who came to be 17 points behind the Tennessee Titans, thanks to touchdowns from Tony Pollard (running back) and Chigoziem Okonkwo (tigh end) and Nick Folk's Field Goal still in the first half, but managed to turn things around in the second half with TDs from Jonathan Owens (safety) and Tyrique Stevenson (cornerback), three Field Goals from Brazilian kicker Cairo Santos and Swift's 2-point conversion to close the score at 24 to 17.
Finally, the most exciting game was the Miami Dolphins' 20-17 comeback at home over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The visitors took the lead with touchdowns from running back Travis Etienne (1st quarter) and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr (2nd quarter), but De'Von Achane (running back) scored a TD for the hosts to reduce the deficit . Still in the 2nd period, Walker Little expanded for the Jaguars.
However, in the 3rd quarter, wide receiver Tyreek Hill - who was arrested hours before the game - scored a touchdown for Miami. And, in the last quarter, Jason Sanders recovered from a missed Field Goal by converting two other FGs, the last one in the final seconds, to guarantee the Dolphins' victory.