Khalil Mack paid immediate dividends for the Bears on Sunday night, but Aaron Rodgers, his counterpart, was priceless under the lights at Lambeau Field.
Let there be no argument: it will be the best new rivalry in the NFL.
Mack, a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, lived up to the billing. He registered a sack, forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball on one play when his rush unsettled Packers backup DeShone Kizer. Mack threw in a pick-six as a bonus one week after being traded to Chicago from Oakland and signing a contract worth $90 million guaranteed.
His new rival? Well, Rodgers, the two-time MVP, won the game, 24-23, on one leg.
“Playing three years behind Brett Favre, you realize you have to be tough to play this game,” Rodgers said.
The Packers quarterback was unable to put weight on his left leg after Bears defensive end Ray Robertson-Harris fell on his left knee in the second quarter. He limped around before being carted off to the sideline. Green Bay trailed 10-0.
Rodgers returned in the third quarter down by 20 and rode the adrenaline to reclaim his territory.
“Might as well win this thing,” he told himself.
Thereon, he went 17-of-23 for 273 yards on four second-half scoring drives. He threw three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to complete a rally from a 20-0 deficit. His final strike was a 75-yard touchdown pass that was taken to the end zone by old favorite Randall Cobb.
Mack is the new money in the division; Rodgers remains the standard.
“Nothing’s easy in this business,” Rodgers said.
Hold your horses
Call off any remaining auditions. Park Avenue already has its leading man for the 2018 Point of Emphasis Video.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is familiar with the star life, and he also knows what it means to be a tackling dummy. He resumed both roles Sunday in the Colts’ 34-23 loss to the Bengals.
Under center in a real game for the first time since 2016 due to shoulder surgery, he wasted no snaps giving the home fans a dose of his old derring-do. Picked off on his opening drive, Luck scrambled left 18 yards during his second possession. Forever in search of physicality, Luck refused to play it safe.
After Luck was down, Bengals safety Shawn Williams led with his helmet, welcoming Luck back to a league where more than a few rules have been changed since he last suited up. Technically, it was unnecessary roughness, not the newest commandment — thou shall not lower thy helmet — but Williams showed that the Bengals aren’t looking to change their stripes when it comes to contact. He was ejected from the game. Luck issued a “thumbs up” to his sideline. So it goes in 2018.
Fast-forward to the second half. Luck played the part of quarterback under duress. Cincinnati defensive end Carlos Dunlap got to Luck, wrapped him up for a sack and then rolled over Luck, allowing his full body weight to be felt. Whistles blew; flags flew. That is another violation that referees are training their attention on this season. A roughing-the-passer penalty was assessed, and a fumble return was called back. Dunlap exacted revenge two players later when he sacked Luck, and moved off of him quickly. It was a loss of 8 yards.
It wasn’t just the hits that drew all eyes to Luck. He proved that he’s a headliner once more, completing 39 of 53 pass attempts for 319 yards.
Fitz’ causing tantrums
That wasn’t voodoo in New Orleans. That was Fitzmagic.
The Bearded One was in midseason form on opening day. Ryan Fitzpatrick was accurate (21-of-28 passing), prolific (417 yards) and generous as he distributed two touchdowns to Mike Evans, one to Desean Jackson and another to Chris Godwin. Tampa Bay outlasted the Saints, 48-40, due to Fitzpatrick’s ability to keep pace with New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.
Not a bad return on investment for the backup quarterback. Fitzpatrick waved his wand as the starter due to Jameis Winston’s suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The suspension stemmed from a female Uber driver accusing Winston of groping her in Scottsdale, Ariz., in March 2016 .
New Orleans ended last season with the Minnesota Miracle. It started this one with a hangover. Tourists in the stands knew the feeling.
Play of the Day
In the annals, it goes down as a 28-yard reception on a drive that ended with a New England touchdown against the Texans just before halftime. Quarterback Tom Brady, starting back at his own 40-yard line, found Gronkowski streaking up the right seam, and placed the ball over the top of a pair of Texans. Gronkowski pressed the ball up against his facemask as he crashed to the turf, and Tony Romo, calling the game on site, exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! Is that a catch?” The ball moved in his hands, and may have hit the turf. Jim Nantz then threw it to Gene Steratore, who ruled that he would have overturned the call as an incompletion, but no official review was conducted as the Patriots got to the huddle and snapped the ball.
“I did make the catch,” Gronkowski said afterward. “I don’t know how. When I went to the ground I had it stable in my hand, so it was definitely a catch, but Tom went up to the line really quick just to make sure. We got the play off, which was nice.”
Bad Beat
Here are the Steelers, leading the lowly Browns, losers of 16 straight games, by a tally of 21-7 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.
You have the Steelers giving only four at the Browns. All is well.
Chaos ensues. James Conner, standing in for holdout Le’Veon Bell, fumbles; Cleveland’s Jabrill Peppers recovers and returns the ball to Pittsburgh’s 1. Carlos Hyde plunges in for a score, and the Steelers still lead by a touchdown.
Two plays later, Ben Roethlisberger fumbles, and Cleveland’s Joe Schobert brings it down to Pittsburgh’s 45. Browns being the Browns, they fail to manufacture any points, and punt. Pittsburgh follows with a punt, and then the Browns break with tradition, and score a touchdown to tie the game. Regulation concludes with a Pittsburgh punt and a Cleveland interception. All tied up.
Overtime offers more heartbreak. A punt parade ensues until Steelers kicker Chris Boswell misses a field-goal attempt with 1:44 to go. The Steelers then block Browns kicker Zane Gonzalez’s attempt to win with nine seconds remaining. It ends, 21-21.
How rare is this, you ask? It is the NFL’s first tie in Week 1 since 1971.
Three stars
1. Ryan Fitzpatrick
All hail the man of Harvard. He completed 21-of-28 passes, and stared down Drew Brees to get the Bucs on the board with an important NFC South win.
2. Rob Gronkowski
Rev up the party bus. The tight end caught seven balls for 123 yards and a TD as he continued to be the most dangerous threat in the NFL when healthy.
3. Michael Thomas
Not to be forgotten in the Saints’ loss. The wideout hauled in 16 catches for 180 yards.
He said what?
“Rob and I — we’ve been playing together for a long time. I remember a couple years ago, we threw, like, in April one year, and I mean we threw like 40 passes. We hit them all. So, I know his body language.” — Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on his relationship with tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Post Patterns
Tough Sunday for the New Guys in the coaching offices. All five coaches leading their teams for the first time fell Sunday. … Fumbling on the first play of the game is no way to commence a new campaign in Foxborough, but that is what Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson (17-of-24, 176 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) did. The Patriots made him pay for it, and never looked back as Watson struggled in his first game back from ACL surgery. … Any New England fans still pining for Jimmy Garoppolo saw the ex-Pat fall to earth against Minnesota’s defense as the Vikings won, 24-16. Jimmy G was picked off three times as he suffered a loss for the first time in six starts as a Niner. … Buffalo enjoyed its first playoff appearance in 17 years in January, and there is plenty of work to be done between now and New Year’s to make it back-to-back postseasons after a 47-3 beatdown in Baltimore. Josh Allen’s 6-for-15 and Nathan Peterman’s 5-for-18 are the type of stats that Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey will be saying “I told you so” about all year.
Fantasy Insanity
- The best Fitz is a low-leverage Fitz. Once again, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick showed he can be great when there is nothing on the line. As a decided underdog on the road as a placeholder until starter Jamies Winston returns from suspension, Fitzpatrick torched the Saints for five touchdowns (four pass, one rush), 417 passing yards and 42.3 fantasy points. Don’t expect a repeat performance next week at home vs. the Eagles. Low-leverage doesn’t mean consistent.
- The Saints defense, on the other hand, that’s a bit more inexplicable. The unit surprised everyone last season, both in the real world and in its fantasy performance, giving up 48 points to a backup QB with no run-game support. Consider us alarmed, but not enough to make a roster change before next week’s home clash with sort-of-undefeated Cleveland.
- We were hesitant to declare James Conner a circa 2015 DeAngelo Williams-level sub for Le’Veon Bell. After 31 carries, 135 yards and two TDs, Conner got closer to D-Will status.
— Drew Loftis
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