The NFL kicked off last Thursday when the Houston Texans visited the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs. This year the league had to go through harder procedures and faced many challenges to start playing because of the pandemic.
Unlike the NBA and NHL, the NFL is not using a bubble, which means that players are traveling from city to city. Players are not required to wear masks on the playing field, but they are required to wear masks in their facilities and so are tier 1 and 2 personnel, according to NFL.com. According to ESPN, tier 1 personnel consists of players, coaches, and others whose jobs require them to have direct contact with players. Tier 2 personnel include employees who may need to have close contact with players and other tier 1 personnel.
This week all 32 teams participated. Some of the bigger games included the Saints-Buccaneers game that featured two 40 year-old plus quarterbacks. The Saints came out on top 34-23, beating the historic Tom Brady in his debut with his new team. The Ravens-Browns game featured the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson crushing the Browns defense, passing for 275 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. The former MVP Cam Newton also debuted with a new team, rushing for 75 yards, 2 touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers, possibly fueled by the drafting of Jordan Love over the offseason, exploded for 364 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Many teams and players chose to show their respects to social justice movements going on right now, but in different ways. Some players stood, kneeled, sat down, raised their fists, or even just stayed in their locker rooms during the national anthem, according to deadline.com.
The top fantasy performers of Week 1 included Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs, Calvin Ridley, Russel Wilson, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Deandre Hopkins, and Adam Thielen.
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Player statistics from espn Week 1
Fantasy Football Leaders Weeks 1 to 17
NFL Sunday Social Activism Sees Six Teams Remain In Locker Room For National Anthem