Around the NFL (Week 1): Dak Prescott shines in Cowboys beat down of Giants

Week One of the NFL regular season was filled with some exciting football (and there are two games still tonight). The Dallas Cowboys put together one of their best Week 1 performances in the history of their franchise. They delivered a beat down on the New York Giants, winning 35-17, starting off their season on an excellent note.

Here is a look at what happened elsewhere around the league in Week 1.

Final Scores

Green Bay Packers 10 Chicago Bears 3

Tennessee Titans 43 Cleveland Browns 13

Baltimore Ravens 59 Miami Dolphins 10

Minnesota Vikings 28 Atlanta Falcons 12

Buffalo Bills 17 New York Jets 16

Washington Redskins 27 Philadelphia Eagles 32

Los Angeles Rams 30 Carolina Panthers 27

Kansas City Chiefs 40 Jacksonville Jaguars 26

Indianapolis Colts 24 Los Angeles Chargers 30

Cincinnati Bengals 20 Seattle Seahawks 21

New York Giants 17 Dallas Cowboys 35

Detroit Lions 27 Arizona Cardinals 27

San Francisco 49ers 31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

Pittsburgh Steelers 3 New England Patriots 33

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Top Performers

1. Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys QB): 25-32, 405 yards, 4 touchdowns

In his first game of the 2019 season, Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott played arguably the best game of his NFL career to date. Behind new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Prescott led the Cowboys’ offense to a dominating day. Prescott got all his receivers involved, threw some outstanding deep balls, and did not turn the football over. He had a perfect quarterback rating, throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns. It was about as good of an opening week for the Dallas QB you could have wanted.

2. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens QB): 17-20, 324 yards, 5 touchdowns

The biggest offensive performance from Week 1 came courtesy of the Baltimore Ravens. Led by their duel-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Ravens flat out embarrassed the Miami Dolphins defeating them 59-10. Jackson is a guy who is known more for what he does with his feet than his arm, but on Sunday he was the exact opposite. Jackson threw for over 300 yards and an extraordinary five touchdown passes.

3. Sammy Watkins (Kansas City Chiefs WR): 9 receptions, 198 yards, 3 touchdowns

The wide receiver who had the best performance in Week 1 is a guy who the Dallas Cowboys once had interest in, Sammy Watkins. After signing in Kansas City in the 2018 offseason, Watkins had a disappointing year one in KC, catching just 40 passes for 519 yards and three touchdowns. In Week One of the 2019 season, Watkins has already tied his touchdown reception total from 2018, and has a quarter of his total receiving yards just one game in.

4. Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals QB): 35-51, 418 yards, 2 touchdowns

The only player on the list whose performance came in a losing effort is Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Coming off an injury-riddled season in 2018, Dalton needed to prove he can still be worth his big contract in 2019. He did just that in Week 1, throwing for 400 plus yards and two touchdowns against a tough Seahawks defense. Dalton became just the sixth player to throw for 400 yards against the Seattle defense during Pete Carroll’s tenure as head coach.

Key Injuries

Nick Foles (Jacksonville Jaguars QB)

After being signed to a $88 million-dollar contract this offseason, Nick Foles did not even get to play one full games as the Jaguars quarterback before getting injured. The former Eagle broke his clavicle early in the game, putting him on IR and out for the near future.

Tyreek Hill (Kansas City Chiefs WR)

It was not all good news for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon, as their star wideout Tyreek Hill went down with a serious shoulder injury. The Chiefs are reportedly weighing their options, but Hill’s injury could be serious enough to land him on IR.

Malik Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles DT)

Malik Jackson is another victim of being hurt immediately after signing a large contract in the offseason. The defensive tackle signed a three-year, $30 million dollar contract in the offseason, and left Sunday’s game with a “significant” foot injury. Jackson looks certain to be placed on IR, and there is doubt he will be able to return at all in 2019.