The return of football doesn’t only mean the return of incredible touchdowns, excellent quarterback play, and electric atmospheres at opening stadiums. Football’s start to the 2022 season also means opening the door to some of the more “disrespectful” player-on-player, player-on-team, or team-on-team plays of the week.
To be clear, a disrespectful play doesn’t necessarily constitute as a blatant middle finger to an opponent or a team clearly calling out a rival in bold neon lights. It’s so much more than that. Yes, even football can be a subtle game of pettiness.
A disrespectful play can simply be a superstar quarterback playing to the whistle and perhaps adding a little edge on a savage stiff-arm in a clutch moment. It might look like a bruising bell cow running back finally getting a taste of his own medicine. Or it could be an entire team channeling some controlled rage over a former teammate who seemingly can’t stop talking about them in public.
Here’s a look back at the most disrespectful plays from Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season.
Derrick Henry gets a taste of his own medicine against the Giants
Most of the time, when you watch Derrick Henry, he’s driving some poor linebacker or cornerback into the ground with a powerful stiff arm or simply running them over. The Titans’ star running back, with an appropriate “King Henry” nickname, has built his reputation around humiliating defenders with physicality.
On Sunday, the Giants and linebacker Tae Crowder did not shy away from Henry. In fact, on a carry right up the gut — where Henry usually makes someone pay — Crowder sent the tailback flying in a nonchalant manner reminiscent of what Henry usually does to poor defenses:
Derrick Henry 3-yd rush blown up by Tae Crowder#Giants 0 #Titans 10 2nd pic.twitter.com/HJs4EHNgkU
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) September 11, 2022
No wonder the Giants pulled off the 21-20 upset victory. They weren’t afraid of Henry or his “royalty,” who averaged just 3.9 yards per carry against New York.
Josh Allen stiff-arms a Rams' DB into oblivion
For more reasons than one, the Bills were clearly the better team against the Rams on Thursday night. Despite playing a mistake-filled game, Buffalo blew out the defending Super Bowl champs — no small task for anyone.
But there was a time in their 31-10 laugher of a win where the Bills let the Rams hang around. Early on in the second half, Josh Allen decided to make a statement with a ruthless stiff arm on a third-and-long:
Josh Allen plays football like one of his parents was a Ford F150 pic.twitter.com/2KNIdQoP2U
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 9, 2022
Good lord! Let’s see the frozen replay of that for posterity:
add it to the Sistine Chapel pic.twitter.com/CI4kHeXwLj
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 9, 2022
Yeah, that’s a perfect metaphor for what the Bills did to the Rams when it mattered most. Three easy touchdowns in the last 23 minutes of play can be encapsulated by Allen stiff-arming L.A.’s Nick Scott into another dimension.
Myles Garrett gives Baker Mayfield the ultimate housewarming gift
Baker Mayfield has not been shy about how he feels the Browns treated him on his way out the door in Cleveland. Now a Panther, Mayfield reportedly wore his heart on his sleeve and said he would [expletive] up the Browns just before the season started.
While Myles Garrett took the high road at first in response, I would safely conclude Mayfield’s comments were used as bulletin board material. How would I know that, you ask? Let’s revel in Garrett driving Mayfield to the ground for the first of two back-to-back sacks for Cleveland in a 26-24 win:
Myles Garrett gets by Ikem Ekwonu for the first of two back-to-back sacks on former teammate Baker Mayfield 😈 pic.twitter.com/Bv5jNuCwUa
— PFF CLE Browns (@PFF_Browns) September 11, 2022
If you think the above sack looked like it had a little more bite to it, you’d be correct!
#Browns Myles Garrett acknowledged that some of Baker Mayfield’s stuff in the week leading up “had us a bit off the leash”
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 11, 2022
*Note to self: Do not get Myles Garrett (two sacks, two QB hits) angry.
**Note to self, addendum: Do not play with Myles Garrett for a few years, then publicly pretend like you ever have an advantage over the athletic freak at full tilt.
Za'Darius Smith gets the first laugh over Packers during a perfect "Revenge Game"
Once a stalwart for the Packers’ defense, Za’Darius Smith was unhappy with how his tenure ended in Green Bay. After a back injury knocked Smith out of most of the 2021 season, the Packers released the star pass rusher before the onset of this past free agency.
In an interview with Tyler Dunne from Go Long, Smith said he specifically signed with the Vikings so he could deal with some of his lingering ill feelings on the Packers:
“That’s why I felt the way I did with Green Bay — I gave that [expletive] my all. I put my blood, sweat… I put my back on the [expletive] line. I put everything. And that Year 3, I was treated bad. That’s why I’m here now. So, I can play them twice a year.”
Boy did Smith’s wishes come true on Sunday. In a two QB hit, one-sack, one-tackle-for-loss performance, Smith even got to lay the wood on a “blocking” Aaron Rodgers in an awkward moment for the Green Bay passer:
Aaron Rodgers throws a block at Za'Darius Smith, gets blown up, gives Smith his propers after stumbling around a bit pic.twitter.com/w4bwUBbjlq
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 11, 2022
You know you hit a guy well if he’s stumbling around out of shock before responding to you.
On a macro level, this opening Vikings win — where the Minnesota defense held the Packers to just seven points — will probably be something Smith savors for a while. And I don’t blame him.
The Saints joyfully put an exclamation point on another embarrassing Falcons collapse
The Falcons were in cruise control against the rival Saints. Throughout most of the afternoon, Marcus Mariota, Cordarelle Patterson, and Drake London were doing what they wanted against the Saints’ defense. By that same token, the New Orleans attack couldn’t muster up much consistency, even with occasional productive plays.
Anyone who’s ever watched the Falcons was likely only waiting for the facade of success to drop. It’s just what they do. Their instincts were correct as Atlanta made a valiant team effort to blow a 26-10 lead with 12:41 left in the fourth quarter. Again, it’s their M.O. — kind of like how someone on Jackass will hurt themselves for comedy. Except that’s intentional.
Still, with just seconds left on the clock, the Falcons had a chance at eking out a win with a last-second 63-yard field goal attempt from Younghoe Koo. The Saints did … not allow that to happen. And emphatically so:
BLOCKED.
RETURN TO SENDER. pic.twitter.com/79kXF1X90y
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 11, 2022
I can’t even begin to imagine the Saints’ satisfaction after that kick. How do you bottle that energy? How do you ever get down from the euphoria?
A blown lead for a salty Arthur Smith is humiliating enough. Have it happen against the hated Saints, and they’ll start putting your job on notice in Atlanta soon enough. No wonder Smith was so angry and testy. Smith knows the deal, and he knows what the Falcons are known for.
