By Rob Mason, PSO President of Sports Operations
Sep 14, 2020

The 2020 NFL season is underway with the reigning Super Bowl champions taking care of the Texans during the season opener and a plethora of exciting Week 1 action following the champs’ colossal win on Thursday Night. Superstars such as Lamar, Russ, Rodgers, and Cam all added great plays to the highlight reel while a young corner out of JMU made a game-changing play that led to one of the many comeback victories this week. 

Enjoy the most entertaining highlights from NFL Week 1:

*Via @NFL on Twitter/YouTube

The biggest story from Opening Day was Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s dominant debut performance in Week 1. He showed his lofty potential in this high-powered offense as a similar version to what Kareem Hunt once brought to KC. He wasn’t the only rookie who had himself a day as 4th Rd pick L’Jarius Sneed came away with his first career interception during his first career game thanks to the team’s defensive leader Tyrann Mathieu pressuring Deshaun. 

Down 23-6, the Chicago Bears seemed like an even worse version of last year’s offensively abysmal team with Trubisky at the helm. However, the 2017 No. 2 overall pick turned it around in the second half, leading Chi-town to the miraculous comeback victory which all would’ve been for nothing if Detroit’s rookie RB didn’t drop the game-winning TD in the final 10 seconds. 

The story of the game in the Titans-Broncos Monday Night Football matchup was the atrocious performance of Stephen Gostkowski, who left ten points on the board but came through when it mattered most by delivering his first FGM since joining Tennessee that essentially clinched their Week 1 victory and was the only GW-FG of Week 1. 

One of this year’s breakout candidates showed his promise early with the game-changing INT to get Washington back in the game and help the nation’s capital capture their first win of the season in exhilarating fashion over the reigning leader of the division. 

Despite being an undrafted free agent this year, James Robinson has made a great impression on the Jacksonville coaching staff, earning the starting role in Week 1 after Leonard Fournette’s departure and Ryquell Armstead’s IR placement. He showed what he can do right from the jump thanks to this humiliating hurdle over the defender. 

As NFL fans get back in front of their TVs to watch a full day of football action, they were treated with an abundance of pinpoint passes that led to points on the board. 

Lamar Jackson surprised many by winning MVP in 2019. He won’t surprise anybody this year with his phenomenal play as his improvements as a passer were on full display during Baltimore’s blowout win over Cleveland. The MVP looks to run it back in 2020. 

Lamar’s first TD warrants more credit at the direction of Mark Andrews for this one-handed snag. 

Cam’s debut with the New England Patriots was one of the major storylines entering Week 1 and he showed his uncanny mobility as a QB, setting multiple franchise records while extending his NFL record of career rushing TDs as a quarterback to 60. 

No.1 overall pick QB’s haven’t won their first game since 2003. Joe Burrow was looking to change all that as he drove the Bengals down the field with some clutch conversions, but needed a 31-yd FG from his Kicker to send it to OT, however Randy Bullock tragically failed to deliver.

The Heisman Trophy winner also had this rushing TD earlier in the game. 

An underrated wideout in the NFL, Marvin Jones makes moves after the catch and shows how hard he is to tackle on this play as he completely bulldozes a Chicago defender for his best play of the day. 

Arguably the best RB in the NFL, Ezekiel Elliott showed out in Week 1 with over 125 total yards and two TDs. One of his touchdowns came right on this play where he juked out four defenders with one cut move to find the end zone. 

Arguably the best RB in the NFL, Saquon Barkley struggled to get much going against the best run defense in the league as he only mustered six rushing yards on 15 carries, and the Steelers tackled him for a loss on over 50% of his rushes. Most of his production came as a receiver in open space where he showed why he’s so special. 

The saying goes, “If a team has two quarterbacks, they really have none” since a team with a QB competition likely means neither is a true franchise signal-caller. However, for the Saints, they really have two capable QBs (three including Jameis). Unlike most QB rooms, New Orleans can put them both on the field at the same time and be effective like on this play, showing a hint of what Sean Payton’s playbook is capable of this season. 

Raheem Mostert became a legend last year after his historic performance in the NFC Championship Game last year, and carried that momentum into Week 1 has he turned on the jets for a 76-yd TD, topping out at 22.73 MPH, the fastest of any ball carrier over the last three seasons. 

Coming off a few disappointing seasons, David Johnson likely wasn’t the first name to come to mind of who would score the first touchdown of the 2020 season, but that’s exactly what happened for the new Texans RB whose out to prove Bill O’Brien right for acquiring him along with a draft pick in exchange for a premium WR like DeAndre Hopkins. 

Full game highlights of close games in Week 1 will be added below once they conclude. 

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