In terms of opening-weekend action for the NFL, week one did not disappoint. From kickers around the league reminding everyone how hard their job is to unprecedented upsets, big league football is back and here to stay.
Looking at highlight performances around the league, a handful of NFL Pack Pros saw plenty of action. Some made the most of new opportunities and others struggled in the face of adversity, but it can’t be denied that NC State football’s influence on the NFL continues to grow by the year.
Bradley Chubb – Denver Broncos, LB
Despite a 17-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Broncos linebacker Bradley Chubb pieced together the most impressive performance amongst Pack Pros over the weekend. Racking up six total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, Chubb looked like his 2020 Pro Bowl and First-Team AP All-Pro self again.
Having missed a significant amount of playing time in his now five-year NFL career, Chubb’s health is always the largest indicator of performance. As was shown in week one, when the Pack Pro can get himself on the field, he’s a handful for any offensive line.
Russell Wilson – Denver Broncos, QB
Wasting no time in getting to theatrics, the NFL knew what it was doing scheduling Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson’s return to his previous home in week one. After finally deciding to move on from Seattle after 10 years with the franchise, Wilson looked good in his new threads despite the loss.
Denver’s offense experienced some kinks to be worked out as the season progresses, which is to be expected under a first-year head coach and fresh face at quarterback. Wilson struggled especially with his new receiving core, due to a combination of both unfamiliarity and an energized Seattle secondary unit.
Wilson posted the league’s third-best 340 passing yards in week one with a touchdown on a 69.1% completion percentage. The high yardage and efficiency with the football was quickly overshadowed by the lack of points attributed to the scoreboard, however, with Denver dropping a game in Seattle that many would’ve expected them to walk away with.
Jacoby Brissett – Cleveland Browns, QB
Jacoby Brissett got his first taste of on-field action with the Cleveland Browns in Sunday, Sept. 11’s matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Heading into week one, fans around the league had the game penciled in as Panther’s quarterback Baker Mayfield’s day for revenge against the team that decided to let him go in the offseason. However, it was Brissett and the Browns that walked out of Bank of America Stadium undefeated after the seventh-year signal caller set up a game-winning field goal attempt for Cleveland kicker Cade York.
In what was a fairly ugly showing of quarterback play for both sides, Brissett filled in as game manager for the Browns. Tossing for 147 yards and a touchdown on a 52.9% completion rate, the Pack Pro was able to do just enough for Cleveland to come out on top.
Looking ahead, the Browns will need more consistency in the pocket out of Brissett in his assumed 11-game stint as the starter while Deshaun Watson serves the remainder of his suspension. For a veteran quarterback who’s bounced around like Brissett has in his playing days, it can be hard to find that balance, especially in the first year with a new team. However, the extended opportunity at starter could be Brissett’s best opportunity at extending his time as a pro.
Ikem Ekwonu – Carolina Panthers, LT
On the opposite end of Brissett’s win, Carolina’s rookie offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu was given a warm welcome to the league from the Browns’ stout defensive front. After being taken off the draft board at No. 6 overall in the offseason, high expectations were set top Ekwonu to instantly plug in to the line to protect the Panthers’ circus wheel of quarterbacks.
Protection was hard to come by for Mayfield against his former team, however — Ekwonu alone was charged with four total pressures in the form of two sacks and two quarterback hurries.
Trenton Gill – Chicago Bears, P
Called on to punt six times in the Bears’ 19-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, rookie Trenton Gill saw the third-highest punt count in the league in week one. Despite the high volume, Gill’s biggest highlight of the day had to be a once in a lifetime unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for wiping the field down with a towel in a dead-ball period.
