Alabama NFL Week 1: Josh Jobe makes the key play

The season-opening game between Philadelphia and New England on Sunday matched two of the four starting NFL quarterbacks from Alabama — the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and the Patriots’ Mac Jones.

But it was a lesser known Crimson Tide alumni who made the key play at the end of the game to preserve Philadelphia’s 25-20 victory.

With New England facing a fourth-and-11 snap at the Philadelphia 20-yard line while trailing by five points with 29 seconds to play, Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe pushed Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte out of bounds after Jones hit him for a 12-yard gain.

But video review showed Jobe actually pushed Boutte out of bounds before the wide receiver could get a second foot down inbounds, and the completion was overturned, sealing Philadelphia’s victory.

Jobe made the Eagles’ roster last season as an undrafted rookie. He played 21 defensive snaps and 279 special-teams plays in 14 games last season, including Super Bowl LVII.

In Sunday’s game, Jobe had the first pass breakup and the first forced fumble of his NFL career. He forced a fumble on a punt return, but the football went out of bounds.

Hurts completed 22-of-33 passes for 170 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, ran for 37 yards on nine carries and lost a fumble.

Hurts connected with wide receiver DeVonta Smith on a 5-yard touchdown toss as Philadelphia took a 16-0 lead with 2:39 left in the first quarter.

Jones completed 35-of-54 passes for 316 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and ran for 15 yards on two carries.

Jones threw touchdown passes of 9 yards to Hunter Henry with 4:34 left in the first half, 19 yards to Kendrick Bourne with 25 seconds left in the first half and 11 yards to Bourne with 3:37 left in the game.

On a rainy afternoon, Jones had a pass fluttered out of his hand, bounce off the target’s fingertips and turn into a 70-yard interception-return touchdown by Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay with 4:56 left in the first quarter.

Jobe, Jones and Hurts were among the 48 former Alabama players who got on the field on the first Sunday of the NFL’s 104th season.

Eight other former Alabama players were involved in the Philadelphia-New England game:

· Christian Barmore started at defensive tackle for the Patriots. Barmore made two tackles.

· Landon Dickerson started at left guard for the Eagles.

· Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe broke up one pass and made two tackles on special teams.

· Eagles cornerback Eli Ricks was designated as a game-day inactive.

· DeVonta Smith started at wide receiver for the Eagles. Smith had seven receptions for 47 yards and one touchdown. Smith scored on a 5-yard toss from Jalen Hurts with 2:39 left in the first quarter.

· Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson made one tackle on defense and one tackle on special teams.

In the other Sunday games:

Atlanta Falcons 24, Carolina Panthers 10

· Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center for the Panthers.

· Panthers guard Deonte Brown (Austin) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams did not record any stats in his NFL debut. Hellams joined Atlanta as a seventh-round selection in the NFL Draft on April 29.

· Panthers defensive tackle LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) did not record any stats.

· Bryce Young started at quarterback for the Panthers. Young completed 20-of-38 passes for 146 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and ran three times for 17 yards in his NFL debut. Young joined Carolina as the first player picked in the 2023 NFL Draft on April 27.

Baltimore Ravens 25, Houston Texans 9

· Will Anderson Jr. started at defensive end for the Texans. Anderson made six tackles, recorded one sack and registered two quarterback hits in his NFL debut. The third player picked in the NFL Draft on April 27, Anderson recorded the first sack of his career when he took down Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson for a 6-yard loss on a third-and-10 snap from the Ravens 43-yard line with 10:36 to play.

· Ravens cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Christian Harris started at linebacker for the Texans. Harris made six tackles and recorded one sack. Harris had one sack during his rookie season in 2022.

· Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (Hoover) was designated as a game-day inactive. Humphrey had foot surgery on Aug. 16 and has not returned to practice.

· Texans wide receiver John Metchie III was designated as a game-day inactive. Metchie did not practice over the past week because of a hamstring injury.

· Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o made three tackles in his NFL debut. To’oTo’o joined Houston as a fifth-round choice in the NFL Draft on April 29.

Cleveland Browns 24, Cincinnati Bengals 3

· Bengals safety Jordan Battle made one tackle on special teams in his NFL debut. Battle joined Cincinnati as a third-round selection in the NFL Draft on April 28.

· Amari Cooper started at wide receiver for the Browns. Cooper caught three passes for 37 yards.

· Browns running back Jerome Ford had 36 yards on 15 rushing attempts. He also lost a fumble.

· Browns offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Irv Smith Jr. started at tight end for the Bengals. Smith had three receptions for 17 yards in his first game with Cincinnati.

· Dalvin Tomlinson started at defensive tackle for the Browns. Tomlinson made one tackle in his first game with Cleveland.

· Jonah Williams started at right offensive tackle for the Bengals. Williams had been Cincinnati’s left tackle before this season.

· Jedrick Wills Jr. started at left offensive tackle for the Browns.

Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Indianapolis Colts 21

· Colts cornerback Tony Brown recorded the first interception of his NFL career when he picked off Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence with 13:08 left in the second quarter. Brown intercepted a pass intended for Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby on a first-and-10 snap from the Indianapolis 42-yard line and returned it 34 yards to the Jaguars 25. The Colts failed to capitalize on Brown’s takeaway as they were stopped on downs.

· Colts safety Ronnie Harrison is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.

· Calvin Ridley started at wide receiver for the Jaguars. Playing in his first game since the 2021 season, Ridley had eight receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown. He scored the first points of the game on a 9-yard throw from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Ridley recorded the 12th 100-yard game of his career. Ridley missed the 2022 season serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.

· Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson in on reserve/suspended by the commissioner. He must miss the first four games of the season for violating the NFL’s Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances.

New Orleans Saints 16, Tennessee Titans 15

· Titan defensive back Shyheim Carter is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Derrick Henry started at running back for the Titans. Henry ran for 63 yards on 15 carries and had two receptions for 56 yards, including a swing pass that he turned into a 46-yard gain. Sunday’s contest was the seventh since the start of the 2019 season in which Henry had no more than 15 rushing attempts. Tennessee lost all those games.

San Francisco 49ers 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 7

· Forty-Niners cornerback Anthony Averett is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Minkah Fitzpatrick started at free safety for the Steelers. Fitzpatrick made four tackles.

· Najee Harris started at running back for the Steelers. Harris ran for 31 yards on six carries, including a 24-yard gain, and had two receptions for 2 yards. Harris had never played in an NFL game in which he had fewer than eight rushing attempts before Sunday.

· Forty-Niners tight end Cameron Latu is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Levi Wallace started at right cornerback for the Steelers. Wallace made three tackles.

Washington Commanders 20, Arizona Cardinals 16

· Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Allen made three tackles, had one sack, recorded two tackles for loss and registered three quarterback hits. Allen came through with a sack on Arizona’s final possession of the game, putting the Cardinals in a third-and-16 situation. Two snaps later, Washington had possession and ran out the final 70 seconds on its victory.

· Commanders running back Derrick Gore is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Commanders defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis is on injured reserve and not eligible to play. Mathis must miss at least the first four games of the season.

· Daron Payne started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne made two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. Payne recovered Arizona quarterback Joshua Dobbs’ fumble at the Cardinals 29-yard line with two seconds left in the third quarter. Washington took advantage of the field position to score a touchdown to take a 17-16 lead with 11:48 left to play.

· Brian Robinson Jr. started at running back for the Commanders. Robinson gained 59 yards on 19 rushing attempts and had a 7-yard touchdown reception. Robinson caught a pass from quarterback Sam Howell for Washington’s first points of the season with 4:15 left in the first quarter.

Green Bay Packers 38, Chicago Bears 20

· Eddie Jackson started at safety for the Bears. Jackson made four tackles and broke up a pass.

Las Vegas Raiders 17, Denver Broncos 16

· Kareem Jackson started at right safety for the Broncos. Jackson began his 14th NFL season by making four tackles and intercepting a pass. Jackson got his 21st interception in his 194th NFL regular-season game and 185th start. He’s tied for sixth with Woodrow Lowe and Deshea Townsend in NFL interceptions among Alabama alumni. Jackson picked off Las Vegas quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the end zone with 2:01 left in the third quarter to preserve a 13-10 Denver lead.

· Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Raiders. Jacobs ran for 48 yards on 19 carries and caught two passes for 23 yards. A contract dispute kept Jacobs out of practice from the end of the 2022 season until Aug. 29.

· Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was designated as a game-day inactive. Jeudy returned to practice over the past week from a hamstring injury, but in a limited capacity.

· Broncos outside linebacker Drew Sanders did not record any stats in his NFL debut. Sanders joined Denver in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 28.

· Patrick Surtain II started at left cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made two tackles and broke up three passes.

· Raiders defensive tackle Byron Young did not record any stats in his NFL debut. Young joined Las Vegas in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 28.

Miami Dolphins 36, Los Angeles Chargers 34

· Dolphins guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) did not record any stats.

· Raekwon Davis started at defensive tackle for the Dolphins. Davis made one tackle.

· Dolphins defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Chargers punter JK Scott averaged 48.3 yards on three punts, with a net average of 41.7 yards. Scott had a 49-yard punt for a fair catch at the Miami 23-yard line, a 62-yarder for a touchback and a 34-yarder for a fair catch at the Los Angeles 35.

· Tua Tagovailoa started at quarterback for the Dolphins. Tagovailoa completed 28-of-45 passes for 466 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, ran five times for 5 yards and lost one fumble. Tagovailoa threw TD passes of 1 yard to River Cracraft with 1:42 left in the first half, 35 yards to Tyreek Hill with 2:12 left in the third quarter and 4 yards to Hill with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter. Each touchdown pass moved Miami into the lead, with the third setting the final margin.

· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle had four receptions for 78 yards, including one for a 35-yard gain.

Los Angeles Rams 30, Seattle Seahawks 13

· Jarran Reed started at nose tackle for the Seahawks. Reed made three tackles and registered a quarterback hit.

Dallas Cowboys 40, New York Giants 0

· Trevon Diggs started at cornerback for the Cowboys. Diggs made three tackles, broke up a pass and forced a fumble. Dallas recovered the fumble at the Cowboys 37-yard line with 11:19 to play.

· Giants center J.C. Hassenauer is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Xavier McKinney started at free safety for the Giants. McKinney made four tackles and broke up two passes.

· Evan Neal started at right offensive tackle for the Giants.

· Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson is on reserve/physically unable to play. Robinson must miss at least the first four games of the season.

· Giants defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson made three tackles.

· Giants wide receiver Cam Sims is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Week 1 started on Thursday night, when the Detroit Lions defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 21-20. Lions defensive back Brian Branch returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in his NFL debut.

Week 1 concludes on Monday, when the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.