How Did Joe Burrow, Other Former LSU Tigers Fare in Week One NFL Matchups?
Week one of NFL is primarily in the books and a number of LSU players were on full blast in their respective matchups. From Joe Burrow to Jamal Adams, a number of former Tigers made strong impacts in their 2020 debuts.
Joe Burrow (QB)
Burrow was dodging Los Angeles Chargers defenders all afternoon but was still able to turn in a solid debut for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Heisman Trophy rookie completed 23-of-36 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown.
The highlight of the afternoon for Burrow came on a 23-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter, the first of his young NFL career. With three minutes to go and trailing 16-13, Burrow trotted out for the chance to pick up a win in his debut.
Burrow led a 79-yard drive that resulted in a chip shot field goal to send the game into overtime, but missed to end his debut in heartbreaking fashion.
The productive outing still led to a 16-13 defeat in the debut, making former No. 1 overall picks 0-13 in their debuts at the quarterback position. Much of Burrow's success this year will be predicated on how the offensive line in Cincinnati holds up this year and it wasn't the best debut for the guys up front. With weapons like Joe Mixon out of the backfield and AJ Green, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins at receiver.
"At the end of the day, I made too many mistakes for us to win the game and we didn't make enough plays," Burrow said.
"'D.' I can't miss that throw to A.J. (in the end zone). A high schooler can make that throw. And I can't throw the ball right to Melvin Ingram when we're in scoring range, so it was a tough way to lose."
Patrick Queen (LB)
A fellow rookie from LSU's loaded 2020 class, Queen turned in a marvelous debut performance with the Baltimore Ravens. En route to a dominant 38-6 win over the Cleveland Browns, Queen recorded eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble at middle linebacker.
Queen follows a in a long line of successful linebackers for the Ravens organization and if this performance is any indication, will likely be a successful rookie season.
"I felt very comfortable, the coaches prepared me, guys came and talked to me," Queen said. "I just felt like I was at home. This is what I expected. I wanted to do better than I did, but I'm grateful for what I got."
Devin White (LB)
After a sluggish start to his rookie campaign, White was arguably one of the most dominant linebackers by season's end in 2019. That continued into his week one performance against the New Orleans Saints, recording 11 tackles, including one tackle for a loss.
White has established himself as one of the league's premier linebackers in a short amount of time and is a pro bowl caliber player this season.
Jamal Adams (S)
Adams spent the first few seasons of his NFL career in purgatory with the New York Jets but received his wish for a trade during the offseason. He wound up in Seattle and there wasn't much game time where he wasn't flashing on the screen.
The former LSU star recorded 13 tackles and a sack in his first outing with the Seahawks after a 2019 All-Pro season with 75 tackles, 6.5 sacks, an interception and an interception returned for a touchdown.
"I wasn't bored. I was blitzing. I was having fun,“ Adams said.
Russell Gage (WR)
The Falcons spent most of their 38-25 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday playing from behind and the passing attack reaped the awards. Former LSU receiver Russell Gage has carved out a nice role with the Atlanta offense and brought in nine receptions for 114 yards in the loss.
With Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley demanding much of the defense's attention, Gage was able to thrive in the slot. Could it be a sign of things to come? Time will tell.
Other former Tigers week one debuts:
Justin Jefferson (WR): 2 catches, 26 yards
Odell Beckham Jr.: 3 catches, 22 yards
Jarvis Landry: 5 catches, 61 yards
Deion Jones: 8 tackles
Duke Riley: 7 tackles, 0.5 sack
Barkevious Mingo: 4 tackles
