The Seattle Seahawks may have had Sunday off after their Week 1 Wednesday victory over the New England patriots, but there were a couple of former Seahawks from last season’s Super Bowl team who made big impacts on their new teams.
As part of a revamped Cincinnati Bengals defensive front, edge rusher Boye Mafe’s debut couldn’t have gone much better. The free agent pickup recovered a Bucky Irving in the first quarter, which led to a Cincinnati touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But Mafe is paid first and foremost to generate pressures and get sacks. His first sack as a Bengal doubled as Baker Mayfield’s third lost fumble of the game. Mafe was matched up against the elite Tristan Wirfs, and while Mafe was initially not a factor in the rush, Mayfield thinking he had infinite time in the pocket was woefully misguided, and Boye was lurking.
Cincinnati burned five minutes off the clock on its ensuing drive and kicked a field goal to go up 33-20, eventually hanging on for a 33-27 win. Mafe was involved in two of Cincinnati’s four takeaways, which is a promising start for a defense that has been subject to heavy criticism over the past few years.
Meanwhile, it was a winning debut for Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, whose offense looked sharp in a 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins. The former Seahawks offensive coordinator’s first game ball, however, was not to Ashton Jeanty after his 147-yard, two-touchdown performance. It was to wide receiver Cody White, who was released by the Seahawks during roster cuts and signed to the Raiders practice squad.
White was elevated to the game day roster, playing 11 snaps on offense and 14 on special teams. While White had no catches and just one target, his special teams value he showed in Seattle came through for Vegas on this touchdown-saving tackle on Dolphins returner Jaylen Wright. Instead of a 27-20 game late in the third quarter, the Dolphins ended up turning a red zone possession into a missed field goal, no points, and didn’t touch the Raiders red zone for the rest of the afternoon.
And lastly, while Riq Woolen’s Philadelphia Eagles debut showed just one tackle and no passes defensed, he also had no penalties committed and was part of why the Washington Commanders passing game struggled to function for most of the afternoon. Jayden Daniels had no success throwing the ball when he was the primary cover guy. Terry McLaurin might has well have been on a milk carton as a missing person.
All things considered, a very good day at the office for Super Bowl champion Seahawks in their new digs. And we still have the Kansas City Chiefs debut of Kenneth Walker III to look forward to on Monday Night Football.
