Professional Football Kicks Off with a Bang!

Photo+provided+using+the+Creative+Commons+License+via+Google.+%28Johnathan+Moreau%29.

Photo provided using the Creative Commons License via Google. (Johnathan Moreau).

Gigi Hanner

The NFL preseason is in full swing now, and week 3 began just last night as the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles squared off, ending with a 35-0 win for the Patriots.  

For the Patriots, Mac Jones, Cam Newton, and Brian Hoyer played QB, with Newton scoring one touchdown. For the Eagles, Joe Flacco and Nick Mullens played QB, each recording an interception. The Patriots finished with 486 total yards, with the Eagles only finishing with just 163. The Patriots bested the Eagles in multiple ways, not only with points, but also accumulating nearly three times as many passing yards and rushing yards.

So far, the following teams have perfect records: the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New England Patriots, the Tennessee Titans, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, the Los Angeles Chargers, the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns, the Buffalo Bills, the Baltimore Ravens, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Denver Broncos, the Chicago Bears, and the Arizona Cardinals. 

For the Bears, there has been a lot of fan speculation as to who the starting quarterback will be week 1. With Mitchell Trubisky now in Buffalo, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton, and rookie Justin Fields are all competing for the starting job. Unfortunately, Offensive Tackle Teven Jenkins recently suffered a back injury and is now out for the entire season. In their first game against the Dolphins on the last weekend, Fields threw for 142 yards, and completed 70% of his passes, while running for a score. 

On Saturday the 21st, the Titans faced Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, and pulled out ahead with a 34-3 win. Antonio Brown is facing yet another controversy after punching Chris Jackson at a joint practice on Thursday. Also on Saturday, the Raiders faced the Rams and won 17-16. The Colts won 12-10 against the Vikings on Saturday as well. 

When the Bears faced the Bills Saturday afternoon, they lost 15-41. For the Buffalo Bills, Mitchell Trubisky had a 71% completion rate. For the Bears, Andy Dalton had a 64% rate, and Justin Fields ended with a 47% completion percentage. As for game statistics, the two teams were pretty equal, with the Bills only having slightly more total yards. 

There is one more week of preseason before the first regular-season games begin. In the next week, the Bears will face the Titans, the Vikings face the Kansas City Chiefs, and more. A very exciting year of football is only just beginning!