N.F.L. Week 1: Live Updates From Opening Sunday

Garoppolo underthrew a pass to Kendrick Bourne in the end zone. He missed seeing Raheem Mostert open in the end zone. His imprecision nearly injured tight end George Kittle, who had to jump for a short pass and was immediately upended, landing awkwardly on the grass.

Those are the facts, the salient details from San Francisco’s 24-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, who got their first September win since 2017.

And there is also this: The 49ers played without their starting center, their right guard and two starting receivers.

In those circumstances, without explosive options like Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk stretching the field, San Francisco needed Garoppolo to be flawless. And he was not close.

The 49ers, like many teams, should improve with more reps, more games. But whether they consider Sunday’s defeat a problem or an anomaly depends on how they evaluate Garoppolo’s performance.

A shanked Bengals field goal in the final seconds saves a Chargers victory.

Oh no, Bengals.

No, no, no, no, no.

(Yes.)

After Cincinnati drove from its own 18-yard line to the Chargers’ 3 with no timeouts, Randy Bullock shanked what would have been a game-tying 31-yard field goal with seconds remaining in regulation, allowing Los Angeles to escape with a 16-13 victory. As the ball sailed well right of the upright, Bullock reached down and grabbed his right calf, apparently injured.

It was a disastrous ending for the Bengals, who led by 13-6 early in the fourth quarter before combusting. On the fateful drive, Joe Burrow coolly led the offense, converting his lone third down, before throwing what would have been a go-ahead touchdown to A.J. Green, who was penalized 10 yards for offensive pass interference.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/13/sports/football/nfl-scores.html