NFL News & Notes: Regular Season Opens, ‘Next Level’ Shootout Recalled

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Larry Henry

Last Updated: Sep 2^nd, 2025

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NFL News & Notes: Regular Season Opens, ‘Next Level’ Shootout Recalled

With the NFL regular season kicking off this week, the league is generating news leading up to the first game of the year, a Sept. 4 matchup between the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Dallas Cowboys.

Those news stories include:

The high-profile engagement of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop singer Taylor Swift.
The Dallas Cowboys traded edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.
The signing of backup quarterbacks for insurance around the league, including the New England Patriots picking up former New York Giants backup Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito.

On the gaming front, the American Gaming Association estimated that $30 billion will be wagered legally on NFL games this season, an 8.5% increase over last season. Across the country, sports betting is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C. Legal sports betting is slated to begin Dec. 1 in a 39th state, Missouri.

Big Numbers

On social media sites, stats are being rolled out heading into the new season.

Recently, DraftKings posted statistics showing which quarterbacks threw for the most passing yards in a single game over the past five seasons. The top four:

Joe Burrow of Cincinnati vs. Baltimore in 2021: 525 yards
Kirk Cousins of Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay in 2024: 509 yards
Jamis Winston of Cleveland vs. Denver in 2024: 497 yards
Jared Goff of Detroit vs. Buffalo in 2024: 494 yards

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Also recently, BetMGM posted information highlighting the 2016 “next level” shootout featuring Baker Mayfield of the University of Oklahoma and Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech, calling it “still the most ridiculous box score in football history.”

Mayfield: 27-36, 545 yards, 7 TD
Mahomes: 52-88, 734 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT

The Oklahoma Sooners won the game, 66-59.

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