Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts marked Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley’s first appearance in an NFL regular-season contest since Oct. 24, 2021. But the former Alabama standout described himself as “pretty relaxed” for his return to NFL action after almost two years.

Ridley had eight receptions for 101 yards with one touchdown in the Jaguars’ 31-21 victory on Sunday.

MORE NFL:

· RAMS SIGN FORMER ALABAMA TIGHT END

· EAGLES ADD ANOTHER ALABAMA ALUMNUS

· WILL ANDERSON JR. ACHIEVES FRANCHISE FIRST

Ridley became the fourth player to produce at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in a season-opening game for the Jaguars. Ridley is second player to do so in his debut for Jacksonville, joining wide receiver Allen Hurns in 2014.

But the important stat for Ridley was the score.

“Just so happy we got the win,” Ridley said after the game. “I’m a win-first type player. When I go out there, I want to play good, but I want to win the games. It feels so good, we worked so hard. …

“I just love this team, man. I’ve worked so hard with them. I just want to win with them. I just want to get the W’s. I want to play in meaningful games. I want to win. I think we’re going in the right direction, and I just think that’s the most important part.”

Ridley scored the Jaguars’ first points of the season when he caught a 9-yard pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence with 5:18 left in the first quarter on Sunday.

“It was great,” Lawrence said about Ridley’s return performance. “Not a surprise to me. I don’t think it was to anybody. He played great. It was cool to see him in his first game back. I’m sure he was amped up and ready to go. But just to play well and make some huge plays for us, it was awesome.”

RELATED: CALVIN RIDLEY SURPASSES TERRELL OWENS, JULIO JONES, TYREEK HILL IN FIRST GAME BACK

Ridley joined Jacksonville in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 1.

“I thought he did some really nice things,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said of Ridley’s Jaguars debut. “Had a couple of explosive plays there, the touchdown off kind of the scramble. I thought he really did a good job. There’re things we can clean up, but overall, pretty good for us and just one of the weapons that Trevor can use.”

Ridley missed the 2022 NFL season while serving a gambling suspension imposed by the league, which determined that he bet on NFL games. Ridley had played only five games in 2021 when he left the Atlanta Falcons to focus on his “mental wellbeing.”

The NFL has said it was during this period away from the Falcons that he bet on league games. For that, the NFL suspended him indefinitely on March 7, 2022, which turned out to be for the 2022 season after he was reinstated on March 6.

A first-round selection of the Falcons in 2018, Ridley never played for a winning team in Atlanta. But Jacksonville is coming off a playoff season and got the jump on its AFC South rivals in 2023 as the only team in the division to win during Week 1.

The Jaguars play the Kansas City Chiefs at noon CDT Sunday at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, in their Week 2 game.

The Jaguars’ 2022 season ended with a 27-20 loss to the Chiefs in the second round of the AFC playoffs.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

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