Monday Morning 2020 NFL recap week 1

Not even COVID could keep the NFL from debuting its 101st season. From players bubbled in hotel rooms to mandatory masks on the field, Sunday's NFL season kicked off with cardboard fans in the stands and piped-in audience cheers for television. There was the usual--to kneel or not to kneel--and the unusual--Tom Brady in a Buccaneers jersey, what?--but for the most part, it was football. Let's take a look...

• Most poignant statement went to the Colt's new head coach Frank Reich who kneeled during the anthem while surrounded on either side by his team. Most poignant verbal statement came from Fox's Howie Long: "I'm embarrassed to say that the very first time Colin (Kaepernick) took a knee, I wondered why during the national anthem because for someone who looks like me, this is the greatest country on earth. But for the last four hundred years, that hasn't been the reality for black Americans. It's time for a change, if you can't see that, you're either uninformed or you're a lost soul."

• The first touchdown of Sunday went to the Colts with a run into the endzone by Nyheim Hines. The Colts have ex-Charger senior citizen Phillip Rivers behind the helm, but, like Brady, he didn't bring home the win.

• The first interception thrown was Cleveland's Baker Mayfield on his first possession against the Baltimore Ravens. At 3rd and 10, he threw it right into the hands of Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and Browns fans everywhere uttered a #you' vegottobekiddingme. 

• The first field goal kicked and scored was Atlanta's kicker Younghoe Koo who kicked it 39 yards between the uprights.

• The first sacks of the day went to Miami's Jerome Baker, who nailed the Patriots new quarterback Cam Newton to force a Patriots punt, and Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, who spent considerable time in the first quarter eating the turf. 

• Sunday's first fumble went to Buffalo's quarterback Josh Allen who tripped while sprinting toward the endzone, coughing up the ball to the Jets.

• The only stadiums that allowed fans were the Chiefs on Thursday night and the Jaguars on Sunday. Both had less than 17,000 fans filling seats. 

• The first missed extra point kick went to Cleveland's Austin Seibert, who also missed a field goal, starting scuttlebutt that he might just be looking for work.

• The first oops call by a coach that's sure to be debated all week went to new the Cowboys new coach Mike McCarthy, who went for it on fourth down instead of attempting a field goal to tie the game against the Rams.

• The first game ejection was Lions linebacker Jamie Collins, who headbutted the referee while demonstrating what he felt was lowering the head by Bears running back David Montgomery. Touching a referee is a big no-no, so up went the yellow flag into the air, and out went Collins through the tunnel.

• The first talked about piss-poor ref call came in the Sunday night game against the Cowboys and the Rams when Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup was called for pass interference for straightening his arm against Rams Jalen Ramsey.

• The first bold move by a coach went to Bucs Bruce Arians, who criticized his new quarterback Tom Brady in his postgame Zoom conference. On the throw to Mike Evans: "He thought Mike was going down the middle – it was a different coverage – Mike read it right. He should have been across his face, but Tom overthrew it." On the pick-six to Saints Janoris Jenkins: "The other one was a screen pass with an outlet called. He threw the outlet, and it was a pick-six. Bad decision." 

• The first injured player, ruled out for the day and possibly the season, was the Colts running back Marlon Mack, who likely suffered a torn Achilles. 

• The biggest letdown went to Bucs fans who believed Tom Brady and Ron Gronkowski's arrivals in Tampa were the second coming. Brady made more mistakes than a rookie, and Gronk got the ball only three times. But week one this year is about ironing out the mistakes, so I'm not writing these two off just yet.

• The first broken bone went to Cowboys Vandor Esch, who fractured his collarbone in the loss to the Rams on Sunday night and will miss six weeks or more.

• The biggest comeback goes to the Washington no-frills named Football Team, who came back from being down 17-0 to beat the Eagles 27-17 while racking up eight sacks.

• Cara's favorite quote from Scott Hanson of the NFL Redzone was during a pile-up on the one-yard line after players thought there might have been a fumble. "No social distancing there!"

Tonight comes the big test for Steelers Nation when Big Ben Roethlisberger debuts his rehabbed shoulder and throwing arm against the New York Giants on MNF. With the AFC North touted as the best of the bunch, the Steelers need to burst out of the tunnel full of fire to hold their own in the division. We usually play well on MNF, so I'm not too worried...uh, right?