Auburn NFL roundup

[aubiefifty 16,737]

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Auburn NFL roundup: Anthony Schwartz starts fast

By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

5-6 minutes

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Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s absence on Sunday cleared space for the Cleveland Browns to get a contribution from wide receiver Anthony Schwartz in his first NFL game.

The Brown lost their season-opener 33-29 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but not before putting the two-time defending AFC champions in an early hole behind quarterback Baker Mayfield’s connection to Schwartz.

A third-round draft choice from Auburn on April 30, Schwartz caught three passes for 69 yards and had a 17-yard run in his debut.

Schwartz caught a 16-yard pass on third-and-3 during Cleveland’s first possession, had a 44-yard reception on the opening snap of the second and caught a 9-yard pass and ran for 17 yards on consecutive plays during the third as the Browns scored touchdowns the first three times that they had the football.

The 22-10 lead wasn’t enough for Cleveland, though.

Schwartz became the fourth rookie in Cleveland history with at least 69 receiving yards in a season-opening game, joining Oscar Roan (69 yards) in 1975, JaJuan Dawson (83) in 2000 and Corey Coleman (69) in 2016, and he’s the only one of those players who had any rushing yards in his debut.

Beckham sustained a season-ending knee injury in the seventh game of the 2020 campaign. He warmed up before Sunday’s game, but the Browns decided the three-time Pro Bowler wasn’t ready to play yet.

Schwartz was among the 14 former Auburn players who got on the field on the first Sunday of the NFL’s 102nd season.

In the other Sunday games:

Houston Texans 37, Jacksonville Jaguars 21

· Jaguars safety Rudy Ford (New Hope) made three tackles.

· Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) was designated as a game-day inactive.

Seattle Seahawks 28, Indianapolis Colts 16

· Braden Smith started at right offensive tackle for the Colts.

Carolina Panthers 19, New York Jets 14

· Derrick Brown started at defensive tackle for the Panthers. Brown made four tackles, recorded a sack and knocked down a pass. Brown had two sacks last season as a rookie.

· Jamien Sherwood started at linebacker for the Jets in his first NFL game. Sherwood made one tackle. A fifth-round choice in the NFL Draft on May 1, Sherwood left the game because of a foot injury.

Cincinnati Bengals 27, Minnesota Vikings 24 (OT)

· C.J. Uzomah started at tight end for the Bengals. Uzomah caught two passes for 35 yards. Uzomah had a 32-yard reception on a fourth-and-1 snap in overtime that moved Cincinnati to the Minnesota 20-yard line. The Bengals’ Evan McPherson kicked the game-winning field goal as time ran out in the extra period three plays later.

San Francisco 49ers 41, Detroit Lions 33

· Forty-Niners defensive end Dee Ford (St. Clair County) recorded a sack and two quarterback hits. Ford played for the first time since Sept. 13, 2020. A back injury limited him to only the first game during the 2020 season.

Philadelphia Eagles 32, Atlanta Falcons 6

· Falcons defensive lineman Marlon Davidson (Greenville) made three tackles.

· Falcons long snapper Josh Harris handled the snapping duties on six punts and two field-goal attempts and made three tackles on special teams.

· Eagles punter Arryn Siposs averaged 47.3 yards on four punts in his first NFL game. Siposs had a 41-yard punt downed at the Atlanta 8-yard line, a 48-yard punt that was returned 7 yards to the Atlanta 14, a 46-yard punt downed at the Atlanta 8 and 54-yard punt that was returned 7 yards to the Atlanta 31, but an illegal-block penalty on the return pushed the Falcons back to their 18.

Denver Broncos 27, New York Giants 13

· Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton caught three passes for 65 yards. On New York’s third snap of the season, Slayton caught a 42-yard pass to move the Giants to the Denver 30-yard line, but New York ended up punting from the Broncos 43.

Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 16

· Noah Igbinoghene (Hewitt-Trussville) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Patriots defensive back Jonathan Jones made the seventh interception of his career with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter to put New England’s offense at the 50-yard line trailing by one point. The Patriots couldn’t capitalize on Jones’ takeaway and lost a fumble at the Miami 11-yard line.

· Linebacker Brandon King (Thompson) played but did not record any stats.

Los Angeles Rams 34, Chicago Bears 14

· Bears defensive lineman Angelo Blackson made four tackles.

Week 1 kicked off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the Dallas Cowboys 31-29 on Thursday night. Tampa Bay cornerback Carlton Davis intercepted a pass, and Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean reached a career high with nine tackles.

Week 1 concludes with the Baltimore Ravens-Las Vegas Raiders game at 7:15 p.m. CDT Monday at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver C.J. Uzomah celebrates after an NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Cincinnati.AP Photo/Emilee Chinn

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group.

[Mikey 16,565]

Last season I mentioned a couple of times that I thought Schwartz was our best receiver. I got shouted down every time, but whatever. Now Schwartz is off to a good NFL start and the "best" guy has been cut.