By: Olivia Wallace 

     On Thursday September 5, the NFL season kicked off almost seven months after the Super Bowl took place. 

     The Squire interviewed Eisenhower football player, Gavin Lindemuth, and he made his predictions on the current NFL season. When asked about the 2025 Super Bowl winner, he predicted, “Either the Philadelphia Eagles or the Houston Texans because of the talent they picked up in the offseason.” Lindemuth also predicted a few award winners for the season. He believes Patrick Mahomes will win MVP (Most Valuable Player), Saquon Barkley will win the OPOY (Offensive Player of the Year), and Myles Garrett will win the DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year). 

     The first game was played in Kansas City by the reigning Champions, the Chiefs, and the Baltimore Ravens. For the first game of the season, it was very exciting and came down to the wire. It was 27-20 with seconds remaining when reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson, threw a pass to tight end Isaiah Likely who caught the pass but was an inch out of bounds, allowing the Chiefs to win the opening game of the 2024-2025 season. 

     On Friday, September 6, the first ever NFL game in South America took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers played in an NFC (National Football Conference) matchup. With a slippery field, both teams struggled to score early, but, in the end, the Eagles came out with a five-point win.  

     Later that weekend, on Sunday afternoon is when things really got started. At one o’clock, eight games kicked off beginning an afternoon full of football. Two of these games got out of hand early, The New Orleans Saints took a 30-3 lead at halftime over the Carolina Panthers, and the final was 47-10. The Minnesota Vikings beat the New York Giants 28-6 through Sam Darnold’s surprising play at Quarterback. 

     Number one overall pick, Caleb Williams, got the first win by a rookie quarterback drafted with the first pick in over 20 years. Though the Chicago Bears were down 17-0 at the start of the game, the Bear’s defense was able to bring the team back to a 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans.  

     Two very close matchups also took place in this window, one of which was between the number two and four picks from the 2023 NFL Draft. C.J. Stroud (#2) and the Houston Texans took a division win 29-27 over Anthony Richardson (#4) and the Indianapolis Colts. Meanwhile, in the battle of Florida, the Miami Dolphins were off to a slow start against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the second half, the Dolphins defense stepped up and their kicker, Jason Sanders was able to kick two field goals in the final five minutes to give the Dolphins a 20-17 win. 

     In surprising fashion, the New England Patriots, that many project to be a bottom team, came out strong week one and were able to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 16-10. The Buffalo Bills also took a six-point win over the Arizona Cardinals behind strong quarterback play from Josh Allen. The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to beat the Atlanta Falcons behind Chris Boswell’s kicking. The Steelers scored only field goals winning 18-10 in Atlanta. 

     At four o’clock, the late window began with four more games taking place. Two other rookie quarterbacks were not as lucky as Caleb Williams. Rookie Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos struggled on offense allowing the Seattle Seahawks to make up for early mistakes and win 26-20. On the other hand, rookie Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders played well with his offense, but his defense struggled to stop the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense allowing them to win, 37-20. 

     The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers played in another divisional matchup in which the Chargers won by 12 with a final score of 22-10. At the same time, the Dallas Cowboys dominated the Cleveland Browns throughout the whole game and only gave up 17 points in a 33-17 win.  

     The Sunday Night Football game was played in Detroit as a rematch of a 2023-24 playoff game. The game appeared to be going the Detroit Lions’ way but the Los Angeles Rams were able to tie the game and take it to overtime. This did not matter, though, because the Lions were able to score a walk off touchdown. 

     Monday night, the last game of week one was played in Levi’s Stadium home of the San Fransisco 49ers and the visiting New York Jets. The 49ers put on a show even without star running back, Christian McCaffery. The Jets defense could not handle the 49ers offense allowing San Fransisco to win 32-19. 

     Stay tuned with the NFL by checking your team’s schedule. If you don’t have a team, there are games every Sunday until mid-January, and some games on Mondays and Thursdays as well. The Super Bowl will be played on February 9, so save the date.