Anthem protests steal spotlight around league
From locked arms to fists in the air, season’s first Sunday anything but boring
Opening day in the NFL saw Kansas City cornerback Marcus Peters raise a black-gloved fist during the U.S. national anthem, a protest amplified later Sunday when four Miami Dolphins knelt on the sideline with hands on their hearts as “The Star Spangled Banner” played in Seattle.
The protests were inspired by San Francisco backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the first NFL player who chose to sit and take a knee during the anthem in pre-season games to call attention to what he termed the oppression of blacks and other minorities.
Peters’ gesture was the only one visible throughout the early games Sunday, as the anthems took on more significance because of the15th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks.
“I come from a majority black community from Oakland, California . . . so the struggle, I seen it,” Peters said after the Chiefs beat San Diego 33-27 in overtime. “I still have some family in the struggle. All I’m saying is we want to educate those, the youth that’s coming up.”
The four Miami players — Arian Foster, Michael Thomas, Jelani Jenkins and Kenny Stills — registered their protest shortly before kickoff. All four stood at the conclusion of the anthem.
Several teams, including the Chiefs and Seahawks, saw their players link arms during the anthem. Peters, the 2015 defensive rookie of the year, was the last person in the Chiefs line and had his arm free to raise it. GIANTS 20, COWBOYS 19: Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to Victor Cruz in his first game in nearly two years, as the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 2019 Sunday in Texas. SEAHAWKS 12, DOLPHINS 10: Hobbled by an ankle injury, Russell Wilson pulled off another fourthquarter comeback, throwing a twoyard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 31 seconds left, giving Seattle the win over the Miami Dolphins. LIONS 39, COLTS 35: Matthew Stafford took advantage of one last chance Sunday and Matt Prater redeemed himself with a 43-yard field goal with eight seconds to give the Lions a victory at Indianapolis.
Detroit won for only the second time in Indy, and it came just 37 seconds after it looked like Andrew Luck had rallied the Colts for an improbable last-minute victory. CHIEFS 33, CHARGERS 27: Alex Smith dove for a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, completing the Kansas City Chiefs’ frantic rally from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the San Diego Chargers in their season opener.
Kansas City needed 10 plays to march 75 yards in overtime, and Smith finished off the biggest comeback in franchise history with his keeper from the two-yard line on third-and-goal. RAIDERS 35, SAINTS 34: Oakland gambled with a two-point conversion that David Carr converted with a pass to Michael Crabtree for the winning points with 47 seconds left.
Brees eclipsed 400 yards passing for the 14th time in his career, tying Peyton Manning for the most such performances in NFL history. BENGALS 23, JETS 22: Mike Nugent kicked a 47-yard field goal with 54 seconds left, lifting the Bengals over the Jets.
Andy Dalton threw for 366 yards and a touchdown to A.J. Green, who caught 12 passes for 180 yards to help the Bengals beat the Jets for the first time in 10 meetings in New Jersey. EAGLES 29, BROWNS 10: Carson Wentz had 278 yards passing and two touchdowns in a stellar NFL debut as the Eagles beat Robert Griffin III and the Browns.
Promoted from No. 3 quarterback to starter just eight days ago, the No. 2 overall pick from North Dakota State looked like a franchise player. Wentz played mistake-free football despite missing the last three preseason games with injured ribs. He finished 22-of-37 with a 101.0 passer rating.
A new quarterback (Griffin) and new coach (Hue Jackson) couldn’t help the Browns (0-1) avoid losing their opener for the-12th straight season. BUCS 31, FALCONS 24: Jameis Winston bounced back from an early interception to throw four touchdown passes as Tampa Bay claimed a winning record for the first since 2012 by opening the season with a victory over the Falcons.
Winston began his second year as a pro by going 23-of-33 for 281yards. VIKINGS 25, TITANS 16: Eric Kendricks returned an interception 77 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter and Danielle Hunter scored a 24-yard TD off a fumble return and the Vikings beat the Titans.
The Vikings wound up forcing three turnovers in the span of just under seven minutes and also had two sacks. The defending NFC North champs needed the help from their defence in scoring 25 straight points after being shut out in the first half and Adrian Peterson, the NFL’s 2015 rushing leader, being smothered. PACKERS 27, JAGUARS 23: Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, leading the Packers to a victory against the Jaguars.
Rodgers looked every bit like, well, a two-time league MVP. He extended plays with his feet, escaped sacks and had precision accuracy all over the field. TEXANS 23, BEARS 14: Brock Osweiler threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns in his debut with Houston to lead the Texans and their revamped offence win over the Chicago Bears.
Osweiler, who signed to a $72 million (U.S.) contract from Denver in the off-season, was helped by an offence filled with playmakers.
He completed passes to eight different receivers, led by rookie firstround pick Will Fuller, who became the first player in franchise history to have 100 yards receiving in a debut with 107 and a touchdown.
DeAndre Hopkins added 54 yards and a score and running back Lamar Miller had 106 yards rushing in his first game with the Texans.