The NFL set the stage for the regular season with a highly anticipated showdown between the two biggest stars of the new generation. A game that has always been the defining match up of the season since the arrival of Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. Some have likened it to the new Patriots vs. Colts: a clash of two of the best quarterbacks on Superbowl-contending teams battling for glory. I've personally compared it to a potential Messi/Ronaldo era. The keyword here is 'potential '.

Was it a genius move by the NFL to provide the best match up of the season on day 1? Did the game live up to all the hype? And did Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson put on a performance like a prime El Clasico at the Bernabeu (another soccer reference)?

Let’s get into it. 

If you read my last piece on my opinion on the state of the league, you would know that I’m not high on the NFL right now. Too many rule changes have led to too many penalties, taking me out of the game and changing the once beautiful yet violent game I loved. However, you would also know that I talked about hope. Hope in the form of Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson: the two dynamic dual threats that have been battling for a trip to the big dance since they both started playing together.

The constant shift in the rule book has changed the game, but so have these two players. Speed and finesse are king on both sides of the ball, and Patrick Mahomes’s offense showcases them best. Lamar Jackson glides the ball into the receiver's hands and tiptoes down the sideline on his way to the first down marker. This is how the game is played now, and although I miss the old days of brute force, I can admit that the shift in the game has created plenty of entertainment. However, the question still remains, was it a genius move to have this as the first game of the season? 

I ask this question because teams are sometimes stuck in first gear at the beginning of the season. Some don’t hit their stride until halfway through. If we had waited until then, would we have gotten a better match up? Well, after the game, that question became irrelevant.

Of course, starting the season with this match up was a great idea. It was the two biggest names in the game trying to start the season with a bang and guess what, they did. I don’t know how anyone else feels about it. I don’t have Instagram or Facebook and haven’t paid attention to any sports sections today. Part of me doesn’t want to know other people's opinions because I don’t want their point of view to ruin mine. After all, I had a blast watching that game.

It had defense (Chris Jones was an absolute terror, forcing the Ravens' offensive line to set up with seven blockers), it had offense (it would be too much to name all the highlight reel players on both teams), and even Derrick Henry was able to get on the boards (important because as a Titans fan, I still love King Henry). 

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were still too many penalties brought on by an emphasis on illegal formation. Some of those calls were ridiculous (in my opinion). In fact, the first series started with three of them. Lamar Jackson also had moments where he could have stepped up and turned the possible into a definite (see the last two sentences of the first paragraph to get that reference), but sadly, he didn’t.

Still, when the penalties dried up and everyone got into their stride, the game lived up to the hype. Jackson and Mahomes didn’t invent the dual threat game, but they certainly have perfected it by fitting the ball into incredible windows and escaping the pocket to pick up first downs when needed. I saw some things in that game that truly made me believe that the sport is in the right hands. 

And that final play, come on, does it get any better? Maybe for Ravens fans, but let's be real: his toe was on the line, no touchdown.

Thursday night, the first game of the season, Chiefs vs. Ravens, was a great move by the NFL. For someone on the fence like me, it made me excited to watch more football this year. 

Here’s to the start of a new season.