Week 1 of the NFL season produced its share of on-field drama and social-media jabs, with the New York Giants’ postgame tease after Sunday Night Football drawing the most attention. New York beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 in a game the Giants controlled from start to finish.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart completed the night with 230 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and 54 rushing yards. According to ESPN Research, Dart became the third quarterback in Giants history to record three passing touchdowns and at least 50 rushing yards in a game. New York’s defense limited Dallas to 244 total yards, the fewest the Giants have held the Cowboys to since 2008. Tight end Isaiah Likely, in his debut with the team, had eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
After the victory the Giants shared a short clip of SpongeBob SquarePants character Sandy Cheeks — who is from Texas — singing ‘I want to go home’ and retreating into her tree dome. The post was widely interpreted as a jab at the Cowboys.
Other teams joined the trolling parade following tight Week 1 finishes. The Buffalo Bills beat the Houston Texans 36-31, a game decided when Greg Rousseau forced a sack fumble on Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud with 16 seconds remaining. Bills quarterback Josh Allen finished with 334 passing yards and four total touchdowns (two rushing, two passing). Dalton Kincaid led Buffalo with 130 receiving yards and DJ Moore had five catches for 100 yards and a score. Buffalo posted images that included a horns-down gesture toward the Texans’ mascot and a recreation of Houston’s blue-tile skyline reading ‘Bills Win.’
The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the Mike Tomlin era’s next chapter with a 20-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Pittsburgh recorded two forced turnovers, including a T.J. Watt interception returned for a touchdown, and four sacks; Watt had two of those sacks and became the first Steelers player with at least two sacks and an interception return for a touchdown in a game since LaMarr Woodley in 2010, according to ESPN Research. The Steelers followed the game with a viral TikTok bird meme captioned ‘Feather in our cap.’
San Francisco defeated the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in Australia, closing the game with 24 unanswered points. Brock Purdy threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers; the Rams finished with 290 yards and two turnovers. The 49ers posted an image of Vegemite spread to spell a ‘W.’ Seattle opened its title defense with a 13-10 win over New England; Seattle lost Sam Darnold to a hip injury on the first drive and Drew Lock stepped in under center.
