The Latest on NFL Week 1 (all times EDT):
2:10 p.m.
Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack has been ejected after taking a swing at Chiefs linebacker Demarcus Robinson.
Jack had to be restrained by two team officials and essentially pulled off the field.
Jack and receiver Sammy Watkins got into a shoving match after a play, and then Robinson came in and shoved Jack in the back. Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey and others joined in, prompting officials to throw five flags and a hat onto the ground.
Jack eventually got the boot.
The delay allowed Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to get his left ankle taped on the sideline. He hurt it on the play, which ended with a sack by rookie Josh Allen and a forced fumble by Yannick Ngakoue. The Chiefs recovered.
Mahomes had limped off but came back for another third down snap after the fight produced offsetting flags. Mahomes couldn’t step out of the pocket and he was knocked down again as he threw a pass.
—Mark Long reporting from Jacksonville, Florida.
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1:50 p.m.
Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles has been knocked out of Jacksonville’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a left shoulder injury. And a short time later, Chiefs star wide receiver Tyreek Hill left the game with a shoulder injury.
Foles left the bench with medical personnel after throwing a 35-yard touchdown pass to DJ Chark in the first quarter against Kansas City. Defensive tackle Chris Jones slammed Foles to the ground and landed on him after he released the ball.
Jacksonville gave Foles a four-year, $88 million contract in April even though he’s never played a full season.
Rookie Gardner Minshew replaced Foles.
Shortly after Foles was injured, Hill got hurt after making a catch and looked to be in pain as he went to the sideline. He then rode a golf cart to the locker room. The team says his return is questionable.
Hill caught 87 passes for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
—Mark Long reporting from Jacksonville, Florida.
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1:35 p.m.
The Minnesota Vikings are off to a strong start against Atlanta, thanks in part to their first blocked punt in five years.
Eric Wilson recovered his own block of the punt by Matt Bosher at the 21-yard line after the first possession by the Falcons. The Vikings scored a touchdown three plays later and added another one after an interception by Anthony Harris gave their offense another short field, giving them a 14-0 lead with less than 7 minutes elapsed.
The last Vikings player to block a punt was Jasper Brinkley on Nov. 30, 2014, against Carolina. The Vikings actually had two in that game, the first by Adam Thielen. Both of those were returned for touchdowns.
—Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis.
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1:25
New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell has become the fastest player in NFL history to get 8,000 yards from scrimmage for his career.
Bell, making his debut for the Jets on Sunday, reached the milestone with a 5-yard run his first carry for New York in the first quarter of his 63rd career game. The 27-year-old Bell entered the game against the Buffalo Bills with 7,996 yards from scrimmage.
The previous fastest was Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who accomplished the feat in 64 games. Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson were next, both reaching 8,000 yards in 65 games.
The record counts only games players actually appeared in, so Bell’s mark doesn’t count the 16 games he missed last season while sitting out in a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The versatile running back signed a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the Jets in March.
—Dennis Waszak Jr. reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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1:10 p.m.
One game won’t make or break a season. But winners of Week 1 games are historically more than twice as likely to reach the playoffs than teams that lose their season openers.
Since 1978 when the league went to a 16-game schedule, 52 percent of teams that won their opener made it to the playoffs while only 24 percent of Week 1 losers reached the playoffs.
The Denver Broncos own the league’s best opening day record at 39-19-1 and the NFL’s longest active winning streak in openers at seven. They’ll try to make it eight straight when they open at Oakland on Monday night.
The longest active winning streak in the NFC belongs to the Packers, who won their fifth straight opener 10-3 at Chicago on Thursday night to kick off the NFL’s 100th season.
Bears fans can take solace in knowing that nine teams that lost on opening weekend ended up winning the Super Bowl.
—Arnie Stapleton reporting from Denver.
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1 p.m.
A couple of players knelt during the national anthem on opening weekend, continuing their quest to call attention to social and racial injustice.
Dolphins receiver Albert Wilson took a knee in Miami. It was the Dolphins’ first game since they traded Wilson’s teammate, Kenny Stills, who has also been kneeling before games and has been outspoken on the subject of social injustice.
The game was the first for Wilson since he suffered a hip injury last October that ended his 2018 season.
In Charlotte, Panthers safety Eric Reid continued his tradition of kneeling for the national anthem. Reid initially started kneeling alongside Colin Kaepernick in 2016 when they were teammates with the San Francisco 49ers.
—Steve Wine reporting from Miami and Steve Reed reporting from Charlotte, N.C.
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10 a.m.
The NFL season already is so unpredictable that Antonio Brown is a New England Patriot.
No, he won’t suit up Sunday night when the Patriots host Brown’s former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, from whom he forced a trade to Oakland in the offseason. He might be on the New England sideline at Gillette Stadium after seeking his release following a turmoil-filled few months with the Raiders.
Brown had been scheduled to earn up to $50 million from Oakland over the three-year deal. Instead, the Patriots guaranteed the wide receiver $9 million this season, with the potential to earn as much as $15 million.
Brown, a four-time All-Pro and one of the league’s most dynamic pass catcher, is not eligible to be officially signed until Monday.
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