The Best of Week 1

September 11, 2023

By: Carlos Alvarez

Welcome Back

Did you enjoy the first Sunday of the NFL season? Don’t worry. It’s the new norm until February, and that feels pretty good. Plus, we’re crowning champs at the U.S. Open and FIBA World Cup before turning the page to the WNBA Playoffs and MLB Wild Card races. Tomorrow, we\’ll crown our winner of the Week 1 NFL Pick \’Em. Stay tuned.

Letter Rip!

9/11: A big thank you to those in The Sportsletter community who are first responders and real-life heroes. Today, we’re thinking about those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, as well as those who answered the call to take action. The Monday Night Football tributes tonight in New York should be heartwarming. Can\’t wait! (MNF: Bills at Jets, 8:15 pm ET)

NFL

The Best of Week 1

\"\"/ — *Photo: Mitchel Leff / Getty Images*

Cowboys, 49ers, Packers, Rams, Browns & Dolphins Log Most Impressive Week 1 Victories

Week 1, you didn’t disappoint. The opening Sunday of the NFL season brought us 14 NFL games to kick things off, and I spent 12 straight hours locked in. There were seven one-score games that came down to the wire and roughly four no-contest blowouts, including the Cowboys tearing apart the Giants on Sunday Night Football (40-0). The Packers also started the Jordan Love era with a blowout against the Bears while the 49ers and Rams were big NFC winners, too. The top quarterback nod of Week 1 belonged to Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) with 466 yards passing in a track meet against the Chargers. There\’s still one game to be played, and it\’s a good one (Bills at Jets, Tonight, 8:15 pm ET). Let’s relive Week 1’s best moments and highlights from Sunday.

Best of Week 1

SNF Dallas Dominion: The Cowboys secured the biggest butt-kicking of Week 1, in primetime on Sunday Night Football, with a 40-0 beatdown against the Giants in a downpour at Metlife Stadium. Two defense/special teams touchdowns in the first quarter sparked the onslaught. It was the fourth-largest road shutout in a season-opener in NFL history.

Love in Green Bay: The Jordan Love era in Green Bay started with a bang in a division rivalry. Love threw for 245 yards and 3 TDs as the Packers throttled the Bears (38-20). Aaron who?

Burrow Blanked: Three days after the Bengals made QB Joe Burrow the highest-paid player in the NFL, Cincy failed to score a touchdown and got ran over by the Browns in the battle for Ohio (24-3). Burrow was 14/31 for 82 yards in the Cleveland rain.

Chargers-Dolphins Shootout: The best game of Week 1 was a track meet in Los Angeles between the Chargers and Dolphins. The high-powered offenses combined for 70 points, but Tua Tagovailoa (466 yards) and Miami got the last laugh (36-34).

Purdy Dang Good: For 49ers fans wondering if Brock Purdy would pick up where he left off, look no further. The Niners shredded the Steelers on the road (30-7) while Purdy (240 yards, 2 TDs) casually used his multitude of weapons in a rout.

QBs in New Places: Three veteran quarterbacks with new teams all claimed wins in their new-team debuts. Jimmy Garappolo (Raiders, +1), Derek Carr (Saints, +1), and Baker Mayfield (Bucs, +3) all won in games decided by a total of five points.

Sunday’s Top Highlight: Falcons Rookie RB Bijan Robinson Breaks Ankles for 1st NFL Touchdown

Week 1 Top Performers

Quarterbacks

QB T. Tagovailoa (MIA): 28/45, 466 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

QB M. Jones (NE): 35/54, 316 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

QB J. Love (GB): 15/27, 257 yards, 3 TDs

Running Backs

RB C. McCaffrey (SF): 25 touches, 169 yards, 1 TD

RB A. Ekeler (LAC): 20 touches, 164 yards, 1 TD

RB A. Jones (GB): 11 touches, 127 yards 2 TDs

Pass-Catchers

WR T. Hill (MIA): 11 receptions, 215 yards, 2 TDs

WR J. Jefferson (MIN): 9 receptions, 150 yards

WR B. Aiyuk (SF): 8 receptions, 129 yards, 2 TDs

WR C. Ridley (JAX): 8 receptions, 101 yards, 1 TD

WR J. Meyers (LVR): 9 receptions, 81 yards, 2 TDs

Week 1 Scoreboard & Highlights

Lions def. Chiefs (21-20)

Falcons def. Panthers (24-10)

Ravens def. Texans (25-9)

Browns def. Bengals (24-3)

Jaguars def. Colts (31-21)

Buccaneers def. Vikings (20-17)

Saints def. Titans (16-15)

49ers def. Steelers (30-7)

Commanders def. Cardinals (20-16)

Packers def. Bears (38-20)

Raiders def. Broncos (17-16)

Dolphins def. Chargers (36-34)

Eagles def. Patriots (25-20)

Rams def. Seahawks (30-13)

Cowboys def. Giants (40-0)

Monday Night Football

Bills at Jets (8:15 pm ET)

B/R: Week 1 Didn’t Disappoint: Top Takeaways From Sunday’s Games

USA Today: Ravens RB JK Dobbins Suffers Season-Ending Torn Achilles

NFL: Notable Injury News From Week 1

The Sportsletter’s Top-10 Favorite NFL Teams

In yesterday’s Sunday edition, we asked for your favorite NFL teams. It helps us get to know the fan favorites before the start of each season, and it’s always fun to see how the fandom spread looks. Our community appears to be heavy on the AFC and NFC East. Here’s the breakdown of our community’s top-10 favorite teams: 1. Packers (6.3%), 2. 49ers (5.2%), 3. Bills (4.9%), 4. Jets (4.8%), 5. Giants (4.8%), 6. Patriots (4.7%), 7. Chiefs (4.4%), 8. Eagles (4.3%), 9. Dolphins (4.2%), 10. Cowboys (4.2%)

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US OPEN

The Coco Era is Now

\"\"/ — *Photo: Frey / TPN / Getty Images*

#6 Coco Gauff (1st Major) & #2 Novak Djokovic (24th Major) Win 2023 U.S. Open Titles

Welcome to the Coco Gauff era! If you didn’t know by now, the 19-year-old tennis phenom overcame another first-set loss to topple #2 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday morning for her first U.S. Open crown. It was also Gauff’s first career major, marking the official start of the Gauff era in women’s tennis. On Sunday, Novak Djokovic downed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to continue his dominating presence without much push-back. It was Djokovic’s third slam of the year (out of 4) and 24th in his illustrious career. See how the champs secured the wins this weekend:

Coco Gauff Wins 1st U.S. Open (1st Slam)

#6 C. Gauff def. #2 A. Sabalenka (2-6, 6-3, 6-2)

It was one year ago when Serena Williams hung it up and left a gigantic hole in women’s tennis. Enter Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old American superstar who’s been knocking on the door of her first slam for awhile now. Gauff needed mutliple comeback wins to reach the U.S. Open final on Saturday, and she needed one more. Aryna Sabalenka came out firing with a quick first-set victory (6-2), but Gauff stiffened up, taking 12 of the next 17 games en route to a dramatic finish. Upon match-point, a tear-filled Gauff collapsed on the court in joy. She’s just the tenth teenager to win a singles title at the U.S. Open (men or women), and it’s the first of many in a long career ahead.

Novak Djokovic Wins 4th U.S. Open (24th Slam)

#2 N. Djokovic def. #3 D. Medvedev (6-3, 7-6, 6-3)

The men’s singles finale on Sunday wasn’t another Djokovic-Alcaraz clash as many predicted, but instead featured Daniil Medvedev after the Russian star took down Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. Djokovic, though, was untouchable. Medvedev gave the Djoker a run in the second set, but this was a straight-set rumble to victory for Djokovic’s record 24th grand slam.

That’s a wrap on our U.S. Open coverage! The next grand slam isn’t until January 2024 (Australian Open), so Gauff can hold the title of “women’s best player” for quite a while. Congrats to both champs!

ABC News: ‘Brought to Tears’: Coco Gauff Describes Moments After Her US Open Win

Yahoo! Sports: Coco Gauff Wins 1st Grand Slam Title With Wild Comeback in U.S. Open

ESPN: Novak Djokovic Tops Daniil Medvedev to Win US Open, 24th Major, 3rd of the Year

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CFB

Texas Takeover Headlines Week 2

\"\"/ — *Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images*

Texas Topples ‘Bama (34-24) to Jump Into Top 5 of Latest AP Poll

A thrilling Saturday of College Football saw more teams make statements, like Colorado’s second win under Deion Sanders, another blowout from USC, and Notre Dame’s high-octane offense. But the biggest story of Week 2 belonged to #11 Texas (now No. 4) with a road win at Tuscaloosa. QB Quinn Ewers (24/38, 349 yards, 3 TDs) and the Longhorns used a 21-point 4th quarter to stun the Tide, and effectively swap places in the standings. It’s still early, and a group of juggernauts have yet to be tested, but Texas and others have sent some early messages to the CFP committee.

Week 2 Notable Highlights

#11 Texas def. #3 Alabama (34-24)

#6 USC def. Stanford (56-10)

#10 Notre Dame def. NC State (45-24)

#13 Oregon def. Texas Tech (38-30)

#17 North Carolina def. App. State (40-34, 2OT)

Washington State def. #19 Wisconsin (31-22)

#20 Ole Miss def. #24 Tulane (37-20)

#22 Colorado def. Nebraska (36-14)

Miami def. #23 Texas A&M (48-33)

New AP Top-25

1. Georgia (2-0) | —

2. Michigan (2-0) | —

3. Florida State (3-0) | ↑1

4. Texas (2-0) | ↑7

5. USC (3-0) | ↑1

6. Ohio State (2-0) | ↓1

7. Penn State (2-0) | —

8. Washington (2-0) | —

9. Notre Dame (3-0) | ↑1

10. Alabama (1-1) | ↓7

CBS Sports: ‘Horns Impress by Silencing Tide, Ending Bama’s 21-Game Home Streak

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FIBA

Germany Captures FIBA World Cup

\"\"/ — *Photo: Sherwin Vardeleon / Getty Images*

Germany Wins 2023 FIBA World Cup; USA Falls to Canada (127-118, OT) in Bronze Medal Game

The final weekend of the FIBA World Cup featured two tough losses for Team USA, and they walked out of Asia without a medal. After losing the Germany by two in the semifinal clash (113-111), Team USA suffered an OT loss to Canada in the bronze medal game (127-118, OT). Dillon Brooks shredded the U.S. for 40 points in the third-place match. Meanwhile, Germany held off Serbia for the gold (83-77). Raptors’ PG Dennis Schroder had 17 in the win over the USA before 28 in the gold-medal round to win MVP of the FIBA World Cup.

USA’s International Issues: By the tournament’s end, Team USA lost three games down the stretch, including their final two. After finishing seventh in 2019, this marks the first time Team USA failed to medal in back-to-back FIBA World Cups since 1966-1970.

Semifinal Highlights

Germany def. USA (113-111)

Serbia def. Canada (95-86)

Medal Rounds

3rd-Place: Canada def. USA (127-118, OT)

Finals: Germany def. Serbia (83-77)

Sporting News: Canada’s Dillon Brooks Stars in OT Win for Bronze

USA Today: USA Basketball Result at FIBA World Cup is Disappointing But No Longer a Surprise

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HIGHLIGHTS

MLB

Braves Top Pirates (5-2) to Clinch 6th Straight Playoff Berth