CANTON, OH — Thanks to a 27-11 win by the Las Vegas Raiders over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game, the 2022 NFL season officially began Thursday evening at Tom Benson Stadium.
One year after drafting QB Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars would select DT Travon Walker No.1 overall out of Georgia. Walker, who helped lead the Bulldogs to their first national championship since 1980, looked like a potential dominant player in registering his first NFL sack of Raiders quarterback Nick Mullens.
For the game, Walker registered one sack in limited action.
With Lawrence, Etienne in street clothes on the sidelines, Jacksonville showed flashes of hope under first year head coach Doug Pederson.
Las Vegas, under first-year head coach Josh McDaniels, gave the former Canton, OH native a perfect homecoming in looking like and explosive opportunistic team that forced two fumbles on the night.
After spending a majority of his career in Foxboro under Bill Belichick, and a brief stint as head coach of the rival Denver broncos, hopefully the second time proves to be the charm for both the Raiders and McDaniels.
With the game being delayed 45 mins due to inclement weather, in the form of lightning and rain, a less-than full-capacity crowd came to cheer and support McDaniels and the “home” Raiders, complete with their trademark torch used for home games.
With starters such as Derek Carr, Hunter Renfroe and DaVanta Adams watching from the sidelines, last night hopefully provided a glimpse of how they will look and perform on the field this season for a team hoping to compete in a stacked AFC West that features Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes.
If last night was any indication, then it’s going to be a fun and exciting season out in the desert.