By: Saya Alvares 

Sports Editor 

The constant background noise of screaming fans, chilly weather, and seven-layer dip — America’s favorite time of the year has arrived. Here’s the rundown of noteworthy moments from the opening week of the National Football League’s (NFL) season. 

Week one of the NFL season started off with a bang on Sept. 8, with the NFL Kickoff Game showcasing the Buffalo Bills against the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Los Angeles Rams. This game ended with the Bills defeating the Rams 31-10, revealing relatively mediocre offense from both teams (a much higher performance from the Bills, hence the 31 points). This mediocrity includes four turnovers, which caused the Buffalo defense to step up their game. To highlight a specific player, defensive linebacker Von Miller finished with two sacks, two quarterback hits, and three tackles for a loss. Miller was also competing against his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, whom he last played with in the previous Super Bowl. Miller signed with the Bills in the offseason. 

The Dallas Cowboys are in for a long season after a not-so-promising start. Quarterback Dak Prescott is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks after suffering a thumb injury on his throwing hand in the fourth quarter of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even before the unfortunate injury, which will require surgery, Prescott completed less than half of his passes and the Buccaneers offense sacked him twice. The game ended with a score of 19-3, with the Cowboys only scoring a field goal at the beginning of the game.

The last game of the NFL’s opening week was a close one, with the Denver Broncos losing to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field by one point, 16-17. The Seahawks sported  bright, neon green, without a player who had been with them for the past nine seasons: Seattle’s ex fan favorite, quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson played his first game against his old team provoking boos from Seattle fans. Despite the lack of a warm welcome, Wilson still speaks highly of the team and the place he played for close to a decade. In the postgame conference, Wilson explained, “I wouldn’t be where I am today without this place, and so I’m grateful for that.”

Heading into week two on a more regrettable note, the San Francisco 49ers are in for a change in their offensive lineup after a season-ending injury in the first quarter. New starting quarterback Trey Lance suffered an ankle injury in a home game against the Seattle Seahawks. Lance successfully underwent surgery on Sept. 19 regarding both his fibula fracture and a ligament disruption. For good or for bad, Lance’s injury will require discarded ex starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to step back in for the rest of the season. Garoppolo impressively finished the game 27-7 after having zero reps during practice week. This leaves everything up in the air for the upcoming season; will Garoppolo pull through similarly to his 2020 season, or will the Niners suffer without their star pick from 2021?

Sources: (NFL, Buffalo Rumblings, CNN Sports, PFF, AS, Mile Hile Report, ESPN, Niners Nation, San Francisco Chronicle)