NFL week one recap: Chiefs, Panthers and Cardinals

TNS

A recent poll asked residents of major cities who prefer football over other sports such as baseball, basketball or hockey.

JERRIUS CAMPBELL, Sports Writer

Week one of the 2017 NFL season is in the books and the Kansas City Chiefs came out on-fire against the defending champions, the New England Patriots. Rookie running-back Kareem Hunt had a slow start in his first career appearance  but ended the night with an outstanding performance.

His very first NFL carry resulted in a fumble that ended up in the hands of the Patriots. However, this error would not stop him from having one of the best season debuts in NFL history. The Ohio-born player ended the game with 246 all purpose yards, 148 rushing and 98 receiving yards and finished with three touchdowns. The Chiefs beat the Patriots 42-27 on an exciting Thursday night feature.  

It seems as though the Carolina Panthers found a star in their rookie running back, Christian McCaffrey from Stanford. McCaffrey was a huge part of the Panthers offense on Sunday, participating in 70 percent of Carolina’s snaps. McCaffrey also played as a fullback and lined up in the slot as a wide receiver.
For the majority of the game against the 49ers, McCaffrey lead both teams in rushing yards. Carolina had an easy 23-3 win over the 49ers Sunday.

Injuries are becoming a problem early on for some NFL teams. Unfortunately, the Arizona Cardinals took a huge loss Sunday with the injury of former UNI running back, David Johnson. Reports say Johnson will be out with a dislocated left wrist that will require surgery. Johnson will be off of the depth chart for two to three months.

The Cardinals were not the only team to lose someone to injury. The Jacksonville Jaguars star wide-receiver, Allen Robinson, went down with a season ending ACL tear. The Jaguars may have to rely on their rookie running back Leonard Fournette to carry the offense this season.

Tonight’s game will feature the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals. Then on Sunday, some big games will include the Bills playing the Panthers, Bears playing the Buccaneers, Colts playing the Cardinals, Patriots playing the Saints, Titans taking on the Jaguars, Cowboys playing the Broncos and finally, the Packers will take on the Falcons in Atlanta.