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NFL winners and losers, Week 1: Write the Steelers off at your own risk

Sports / Football /

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will recap the best and worst from around the league. Here are our winners and losers from Week 1:

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

It might not matter who plays quarterback. The Steelers will still find a way to win.

With veteran Russell Wilson sidelined by a lingering calf injury, Pittsburgh spoiled...Read more

Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS

Dave Hyde: No defending police overreaction, but Tyreek Hill isn't blameless

Sports / Football /

The emotion belonged to Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. But it should be everybody’s emotion right now. The words he chose should be everyone’s words when considering wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s incident with Miami-Dade police, now that an officer’s body-camera video has been released.

“Really, the time since (Sunday) to now, I think ...Read more

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

Video shows police pulling Tyreek Hill out of McLaren, pushing NFL star to ground: 'From 0 to 60'

Sports / Football /

Tyreek Hill wouldn't keep his sports car window down when a police officer asked him to do so after the Miami Dolphins star receiver was pulled over for a traffic violation before Sunday's NFL season opener at Hard Rock Stadium.

Body-cam footage of the incident that quickly escalated into Hill being forcibly removed from his black McLaren 720S,...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Dieter Kurtenbach: The 49ers' slobberknocker win over the Jets was the perfect start to a long, tough season

Sports / Football /

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Your mom lied to you.

Bullies do prosper.

At least they do in the NFL.

The Niners proved it on Monday.

There was a point in the 49ers’ 32-19 prime-time dismantling of the New York Jets when the Niners had nearly three times as many yards as their opponent.

It wasn’t in the first quarter or the second, when ...Read more

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

Greg Cote: Dolphins' Tyreek Hill was victim of police abuse of power, MDPD needs to apologize

Sports / Football /

MIAMI — Police officers wear body cameras for many reasons. One of them is to perhaps record incriminating evidence against the bad guys. But sometimes the police turn out to be the bad guys, and the incriminating evidence is on them.

“What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?” will stand as one of the most important quotes from this NFL season ...Read more

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mike Tomlin says Russell Wilson 'feeling better' but Steelers preparing as if Justin Fields will be Week 2 starter

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PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin said Russell Wilson's injured calf is "feeling better than it did" but that the Steelers are preparing as though Justin Fields will be the starting quarterback again when they play in Denver on Sunday.

Wilson is not scheduled to participate in the week's first practice on Wednesday, but Tomlin said he will monitor his...Read more

Robert Saleh feels better about Jets' 0-1 start than their 1-0 record last year because of Aaron Rodgers

Sports / Football /

The New York Jets were 1-0 last season despite Aaron Rodgers‘ season-ending Achilles injury

Now, the Jets find themselves 0-1 following their 32-19 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.

However, Robert Saleh feels much more optimistic about this year’s team.

“I know we’re going to get the defense fixed,” Saleh ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Jim Alexander: The Harbaugh Era with LA Chargers begins well

Sports / Football /

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – In Jim Harbaugh’s debut as Chargers coach, he did indeed bring a Big Ten-style offense with him. Problem was that for a half, three yards and a cloud of nylon wasn’t getting it done.

At least it wasn’t until J.K. Dobbins, um, warmed up.

But maybe that’s not the best descriptive term. It was more than sufficiently ...Read more

W.R. EVERLY III/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

How dementia-stricken ex-Eagles fought to be compensated by the NFL's controversial concussion deal

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia was freezing. Teeth-chattering winds whipped across every pocket of the city on Jan. 11, 1981, down to Veterans Stadium, where thousands of tightly packed fans, thrumming with manic energy, were fixated on the unforgiving playing field.

There, the Philadelphia Eagles were hosting the NFC championship game and ...Read more

Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Mac Engel: Cowboys defense expose who has the NFL's worst contract: Cleveland's Deshaun Watson

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CLEVELAND — Dallas Cowboys fans may be upset that their team made Dak Prescott the highest paid player in NFL history, and there are scores of fans elsewhere irate over the state of their team’s quarterback, but Deshaun Watson and his Cleveland Browns have everyone “beat.”

A few hours after the Cowboys handed Prescott his four-year, $...Read more

Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

David Murphy: Eagles desperately need more from Bryce Huff, their biggest Week 1 bust since Ricky Watters

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — Dollar for dollar, has there ever been a worse debut by an Eagles player than Bryce Huff against the Green Bay Packers on Friday night?

We may have to go all the way back to Ricky Watters in the "For Who, For What" game in 1995. That one was worse, right? Watters averaged 2.18 yards on 17 carries, lost a fumble, and alligator-...Read more

Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images North America/TNS

49ers Studs and Duds: Jordan Mason and a standout rookie dominate the Jets

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That’s how you start a season.

The 49ers might have messed around all training camp and preseason, but there was no tomfoolery on display Monday night, as the Niners punched the Jets in the mouth early and refused to relent for a single moment.

The Niners didn’t even need four quarters to dismantle the Jets, chasing New York quarterback ...Read more

Jerod Mayo puts end to Drake Maye talk after Patriots Week 1 win

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Jerod Mayo didn’t even let Jermaine Wiggins finish the question. The New England Patriots head coach knew where the radio host and former tight end was going.

Wiggins was trying to ask Mayo if the Patriots planned to introduce some packages for rookie backup quarterback Drake Maye given how well the offensive line protected starter Jacoby ...Read more

Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times/TNS

Matt Calkins: Why the Seahawks were lucky to win their season opener

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SEATTLE — They may have scored 17 points in the second half and gotten more than 100 yards from their running back.

They may have held their opponent to 3.3 yards per play, which would have easily been tops in the NFL last season if sustained for 17 games.

The Seahawks are 1-0 under new coach Mike Macdonald after a 26-20 victory at Lumen ...Read more

Nic Antaya/Getty Images North America/TNS

Rams receiver Puka Nacua heading to injured reserve because of knee sprain

Sports / Football /

LOS ANGELES — Rams receiver Puka Nacua suffered a knee sprain during the season-opening overtime defeat to the Detroit Lions and will be placed on injured reserve, coach Sean McVay said Monday.

Nacua suffered a right posterior cruciate ligament sprain Sunday in the second quarter of a 26-20 loss at Detroit, reaggravating an injury he suffered...Read more

Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Dieter Kurtenbach: For Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers, the 2024 season is a challenge unlike any they've faced

Sports / Football /

Reaching the Super Bowl is a monumental task.

Overcoming the lingering emotions of losing that game is an even greater challenge.

And that’s the challenge facing the San Francisco 49ers, the most recent Super Bowl losers — in overtime, no less — this season.

While every 49ers player will carry the weight of lofty expectations — ...Read more

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

Bodycam footage led police director to reassign officer in Tyreek Hill detention

Sports / Football /

MIAMI — Body camera footage from the roadside detention of Miami Dolphins player Tyreek Hill led Miami-Dade Police Department Director Stephanie Daniels to temporarily transfer one of the officers to administrative duties, she said Monday morning.

In a brief interview, Daniels said she had seen a portion of the bodycam footage from officers ...Read more

Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS

McDaniel laments what Hill, Campbell endured: 'Hard for me not to find myself more upset'

Sports / Football /

MIAMI — An emotional Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel expressed empathy on Monday regarding how Tyreek Hill and Calais Campbell were treated in being handcuffed by police on Sunday.

“This is too much under the spotlight to get swept under the rug,” McDaniel said.

In the hours before the Dolphins’ 20-17 win against Jacksonville on Sunday, ...Read more

Daniel Mears/The Detroit News/TNS

Rams-Lions takeaways: Puka Nacua, offensive linemen injuries a major concern

Sports / Football /

The Detroit Lions defeated the Rams 26-20 in overtime on Sunday night at Ford Field in Detroit.

What we learned from the season-opening loss:

The Rams have injury problems

It's only one game, but it's starting to look like 2022, when injuries ravaged the Rams during their historic Super Bowl hangover.

Star receiver Puka Nacua suffered a ...Read more

Wagner Meier/Getty Images North America/TNS

Marcus Hayes: Eagles OC Kellen Moore's main job: Keep Jalen Hurts from further devolving into Carson Wentz

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — Kellen Moore and Doug Nussmeier have their work cut out for them.

They weren't hired only to refresh Nick Sirianni's stale offense. They weren't hired only to soften the blow of losing retired center Jason Kelce, who effectively ran the offense on the field the past three seasons.

Moore and Nussmeier were hired to salvage ...Read more