We’re back and Week 1 is rolling! We had Hawkeyes galore in Green Bay, a couple of guys found the end zone, and Riley Moss is cooking.
Sam LaPorta, Jack Campbell, Lukas Van Ness, and Nick Niemann
Week 1 and we have a reunion in Green Bay. Van Ness was a feature in my Twitter feed Sunday afternoon, finishing Green Bay’s 27-13 win with 4 tackles, a half-sack, and a tackle for loss as the Packers kept the Lions offense under wraps. Niemann also finished with 4 tackles.
On the other sideline, LaPorta had a nice day, snagging 6 catches for 79 yards. Campbell led Detroit with 9 tackles. Sort of feels like if Detroit was ever going to legitimately challenge for a Super Bowl, it was last year. And they had the whole defense injured come playoff-time. Poor Lions.
Tight Ends
Good and bad here from former Iowa tight ends. We start with Noah Fant. As I mentioned last week, Fant was cut by Seattle after scoring just once last season (that was his lone score over a two-season stretch with Seattle.) He was quickly picked up by Cincinnati - a good pick up, since Erick All is set to miss the entire 2025 season - and he has already matched his touchdown total from a season ago.
Fant ended the game with 4 receptions for 26 yards and the above score as the Bengals held on for a Week 1 win, 17-16 in Cleveland (while we are here, non-tight ends; Geno Stone finished with 5 tackles in the Cincy secondary.)
The afternoon block was were we hit some bad. LaPorta had the Green Bay game, going 6-79 in a losing effort. In the Pacific Northwest against Fant’s former team, George Kittle had a nice start, catching 4 early passes for 25 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 17-13 win.
Unfortunately, Kittle was hurt later in the game, suffering a hamstring injury in the second quarter. He missed the remainder of the game. He will miss “a few weeks” according to Niners coach Kyle Shanahan. Ugh. Kittle’s hurt, Brock Purdy has a couple of knocks, Trent Williams was in and out of action…it’s Week 1!
In the final game of the weekend, T.J. Hockenson caught 3 passes for 15 yards. Minnesota was stuck in neutral for most of the night but surged in the fourth to win in Chicago, 27-24.
Amani Hooker and Riley Moss
Let’s stop in with Hooker real fast. Oh - very nice. Former Iowa guys getting PAID.
Hooker signs a new contract over the weekend, then immediately follows it up with 5 tackles and a near pick in Tennessee’s 20-12 loss in Denver. On the other side, Riley Moss had an excellent day in coverage, accounting for 7 tackles and 2 passes defended as Denver rode the defense through some really shaky quarterback play from Bo Nix to record the season opening win. Moss will have a lot on his plate this year with Pat Surtain II on the other side of the field. Heavy traffic coming Moss’s way.
A few guys logged tackles in Week 1 - Anthony Nelson had 3 for Tampa Bay’s 23-20 win in Atlanta, while Dane Belton finished with 4 for the Giants in a 21-6 loss to the Commanders. It was a tough opener for Kaleb Johnson - 1 carry, -2 yards - and rookie Yahya Black had 2 tackles as Pittsburgh won a 34-32 shootout over the Jets. AJ Epenesa had 1 tackle in Buffalo’s 41-40 comeback win over Baltimore in what was easily the game of the weekend.
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