Joe Burrow’s shock career-low after signing monster $430m contract

The NFL’s highest-paid player delivered a nightmare outing in the first game of the season as his monster contract looms overhead.

Joe Burrow and JK Dobbins.

The San Francisco 49ers produced a statement victory on the opening Monday [AEST] of the new NFL season with an emphatic 30-7 crushing of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Cincinnati Bengals and their high-earning quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a surprise 24-3 defeat at divisional rivals Cleveland while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started life after Tom Brady with 20-17 victory at Minnesota.

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The 49ers, beaten in the NFC Championship game last season by the Philadelphia Eagles, made the perfect start with a convincing victory in Pittsburgh as quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

Brock Purdy and the 49ers taught Kenny Pickett and the Steelers a lesson. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

After grabbing the starting role in his rookie season, Purdy underwent elbow surgery during the off-season but showed no signs of any lingering issues as he completed 19 of 29 passes.

Running back Christian McCaffrey also enjoyed a dominant opening day as he rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown.

San Francisco got themselves underway with Purdy’s eight-yard touchdown pass into the endzone to Brandon Aiyuk and the same combination delivered again in the second quarter with Aiyuk brilliantly pulling in an 18-yard pass into the corner despite the close attention of Patrick Peterson.

The Steelers narrowed the deficit at the end of the first half when Pat Freiermuth collected a three-yard scoring pass from Kenny Pickett at the end of a 12-play, 95-yard drive.

But the 49ers defence held firm in the second half and McCaffrey’s magnificent 65-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter crowned an excellent win.

It was a reality check for the Steelers and quarterback Pickett, who was one of the preseason’s best performers but threw two interceptions in the loss.

BENGALS STUNNED AS BURROW HAS CAREER-LOW OUTING

The other defeated conference championship team from last year, the Bengals -- who lost out to eventual Super Bowl winners Kansas City in the AFC Championship -- had a very different start.

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who missed the first 11 games of last season after he was suspended following an investigation into sexual harassment allegations, threw one touchdown and ran for another in an impressive display from Cleveland.

Burrow signed a five-year contract extension with the Bengals that made him the league’s highest-paid player, with the 26-year-old due to earn $275 million ($A430m) from the deal, but he was held to just 82 yards passing, the lowest return of his career.

Joe Burrow and Myles Garrett meet on the field. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Watson got the Browns rolling with a 13-yard touchdown run at the end of the second quarter and then sealed the victory with a three-yard pass to Harrison Bryant in the fourth, with the quarterback then running in the two-point conversion.

Tampa Bay had turned to Baker Mayfield to replace the retired Brady and after a sticky opening in Minneapolis he made a winning start for his new club.

Mayfield threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns - tying the game at 10-10 with a 28-yard pass to Mike Evans late in the second before a seven-yard pass to Trey Palmer, at the end of a 16-play, 75-yard drive in the third put Tampa ahead.

The Vikings fought back, with Kirk Cousins finding Alexander Mattison for a touchdown early in the fourth, but Tampa won the game on a career-long 57-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin.

The Bucs defence then stood firm on the final two possessions for Minnesota.

CRUSHING INJURY BLOW FOR STAR RUNNING BACK

Elsewhere, the Baltimore Ravens got off to a winning start as they defeated the Houston Texans 25-9 but the victory looks to have come at a serious cost.

The Ravens’ starting running back J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles during the team’s Week 1 game against the Texans on Sunday, head coach John Harbaugh confirmed.

The season-ending injury is a crushing blow for Dobbins, 24, who missed the entirety of the 2021 season with a knee LCL tear in August of that year.

The Ohio State product had already punched home a touchdown for the Ravens on Sunday, taking eight carries for 22 yards and a score in a promising early development.

He appeared to roll his ankle while getting tackled near the sideline with about 10 minutes to play in the third quarter and was taken to the locker room shortly after.

J.K. Dobbins before he suffered his injury. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Dobbins was selected No. 55 overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft and has been unable to seize the starting running back role since his standout rookie year in 2020.

That season, he rushed for 805 yards in 134 attempts with nine touchdowns, appearing to emerge as a promising running option in the Ravens’ attack.

Following Dobbins’ knee injury in 2021, he returned for eight games in 2022, taking 92 attempts for 520 yards and two touchdowns.

Backup running back Gus Edwards figures to assume starting duties if Dobbins is indeed sidelined for the rest of the season.

Edwards has served as a backup for the Browns since 2018, running for at least 700 yards in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

#Ravens RB JK Dobbins is feared to have suffered a torn Achilles, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. A crushing injury. He’ll have an MRI to confirm.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 10, 2023

This article first appeared on The New York Postand was reproduced with permission.

NFL SCORES — WEEK 1

Chiefs 20 Lions 21

Browns 24 Bengals 3

Ravens 25 Texans 9

Vikings 17 Buccaneers 20

Falcons 24 Panthers 10

Commanders 20 Cardinals 16

Colts 21 Jaguars 31

Steelers 7 49ers 30

Saints 16 Titans 15

Originally published as Joe Burrow’s shock career-low after signing monster $430m contract