Sooners in the NFL: Week 1
Oklahoma is one of just two schools that can tout that they have three NFL starting quarterbacks at the beginning of the 2021 season.
Baker Mayfield with the Cleveland Browns, Kyler Murray with the Arizona Cardinals and Jalen Hurts with the Philadelphia Eagles all got the ball to kick off their respective franchise’s seasons on Sunday and all opened their year with a bang.
Murray and Hurts got things started with early afternoon kickoffs and it didn’t take long for either to settle in — especially the former Heisman trophy winner.
Murray and his Cardinals were in Nashville battling the Tennessee Titans who were coming off of a playoff run a year ago and with some notable additions in the offseason highlighted by wide receiver Julio Jones.
But, the underdog Cards looked far from it in this game as Arizona smashed the Titans by a final score of 38-13.
Murray was sensational, completing 21-of-32 passes for 289 yards and four touchdown tosses. He also ran for another score to help the Cardinals move to 1-0 on the season.
Kyler Murray
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
This was the fourth game of Murray's career where he had at least three passing touchdowns and one rushing, tying the NFL record for the most such games in the first three years of a career.
Up next for Arizona will be a collision with the Minnesota Vikings in their home opener next Sunday at 3:05 p.m. CT.
As for Hurts and the Eagles, they were in Atlanta battling the Falcons in a matchup of two first-year head coaches in Nick Sirianni and Arthur Smith.
Much like Murray and the Cardinals, this game was never close, with Philadelphia rolling the Falcons from the get-go.
Hurts was tremendous as he opened up his first full season as the starting quarterback in Philly completing 27-of-35 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns. He also tacked on another 62 yards on the ground to help the Eagles breeze to a 32-6 win.
Jalen Hurts
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia will host the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday at noon in their home opener.
Last but not least was Mayfield and the Browns who had the daunting task of battling Patrick Mahomes and the mighty Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium.
Mayfield started his fourth NFL season in elite fashion completing 21-of-28 passes for 321 yards to help the Browns go toe-to-toe with the two-time defending AFC champions.
Unfortunately for Mayfield and Cleveland, however, a late interception in the final moments sealed their fate as Kansas City picked up the 33-29 win.
Baker Mayfield
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
The Browns will be looking to get into the win column in their home opener next Sunday against the Houston Texans at noon.
All three Sooner hurlers looked the part of legit NFL starters on Sunday, clearly taking what they learned from Lincoln Riley while at Oklahoma and continuing to apply it at the next level.
Riley’s single-best recruiting tool to high school quarterbacks is what he has going with these guys at the next level, and that is off to a flying start in 2021.
Here is a full recap of how all the former Sooners did in Week 1 of the NFL season this week:
Arizona Cardinals
(38-13 W at Tennessee)
- QB Kyler Murray: Completed 21 of 32 passes for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns, 1 interception, 5 carries for 20 yards, 1 rushing touchdown
- DL Jordan Phillips: DNP (IR)
Baltimore Ravens
(27-24 L at Las Vegas)
- TE Mark Andrews: Caught 3 passes on 5 targets for 20 yards
- WR Marquise Brown: Caught 6 passes on 6 targets for 69 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 carry for 5 yards
- OT Adrian Ealy: DNP (Practice Squad)
- OG Ben Powers: Saw playing time at guard, 39 offensive snaps
Buffalo Bills
(23-16 L vs Pittsburgh)
- OT Cody Ford: Received start at right guard
- OT Daryl Williams: Received start at right tackle
Chicago Bears
(34-14 L at LA Rams)
- RB Damien Williams: 6 carries for 12 yards, caught 4 passes on 5 targets for 28 yards
Cincinnati Bengals
(27-24 W vs. Minnesota)
- LB Jordan Evans: 1 tackle
- RB Joe Mixon: 29 carries for 127 yards, 4.4 yards per carry, 1 TD, longest rush of 19 yards, caught 4 passes on 4 targets for 23 yards
- RB Samaje Perine: 5 carries for 22 yards, longest rush of 13 yards, caught 1 pass on 1 target for 7 yards
Cleveland Browns
(33-29 L at Kansas City)
- QB Baker Mayfield: Completed 21 of 28 passes for 321 yards, 1 interception, 1 carry for 7 yards
Dallas Cowboys
(31-29 L at Tampa Bay on Thursday)
- WR CeeDee Lamb: Played 61 snaps on offense and 2 on special teams. Made 7 receptions on 15 targets for 104 yards and 1 TD.
- DT Neville Gallimore: DNP
Detroit Lions
(41-33 vs. San Francisco)
- CB Parnell Motley: DNP (Practice Squad)
- K Austin Seibert: Made 1 of 2 field goal attempts, 2 for 2 on points after touchdown, long field goal of 49 yards
Kansas City Chiefs
(33-29 W vs. Cleveland)
- TE Blake Bell: Caught 1 pass on 1 target for 3 yards, 1 carry for 2 yards
- OT Orlando Brown: Received start at left tackle
- C Creed Humphrey: Received start at center
- LS James Winchester: Received start at long snapper on punts and placekicks.
Las Vegas Raiders
(W 27-24 vs Baltimore)
- DT Gerald McCoy: Saw playing time at defensive tackle, injured after 9 snaps and did not return
Los Angeles Chargers
(20-16 W at Washington)
- LB Kenneth Murray: 6 tackles, 4 assisted tackles, 10 combined tackles, 1 fumble recovery
Los Angeles Rams (W 34-14 vs Chicago)
- OT Bobby Evans: DNP
- LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo: DNP
Minnesota Vikings
(27-24 L at Cincinnati)
- WR Dede Westbook: Caught 1 pass on 1 target for 11 yards, returned 1 punt for 12 yards, 3 fair catches
New England Patriots
(17-16 L vs. Miami)
- DE Ronnie Perkins: DNP
- RB Rhamondre Stevenson: 1 carry for 2 yards, caught 1 pass on 1 target for 9 yards, 1 fumble lost
New York Giants
(27-13 L vs. Denver)
- WR Sterling Shepard: Caught 7 passes on 9 targets for 113 yards, 1 touchdown
Philadelphia Eagles
(32-6 W at Atlanta)
- QB Jalen Hurts: Completed 27 of 35 passes for 264 yards, 3 touchdowns, 7 carries for 62 yards
- OT Lane Johnson: Received start at right tackle
Pittsburgh Steelers
(23-16 W at Buffalo)
- DB Tre Norwood: Received start at cornerback, 4 tackles, 1 assisted, 5 combined
San Francisco 49ers
(41-33 W at Detroit)
- OT Trent Williams: Received start at left tackle
Seattle Seahawks
(28-16 W at Indianapolis)
- CB Tre Brown: Injured, DNP
Tennessee Titans
(38-13 L vs. Arizona)
- DE Amani Bledsoe: DNP (Practice Squad)
Washington Football Team
(20-16 L vs. LA Chargers)
- P Tress Way: 3 punts for a total of 138 yards, 46 yards per punt, 2 punts inside the 20-yard line
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