Say what? The best quotes overheard in Week 1 of the NFL season

And just like that, Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season is in the books. Before we turn our attention to the Week 2 matchups — and dismiss Week 1 losses as entirely inconsequential (until they come back to haunt teams grappling to sneak into the postseason) — let us revisit what was said.

From the amusing impetus for New Orleans Saints‘ QB1 Jameis Winston‘s big outing to Mac Jones‘ inadvertent endorsement of The Patriot Way, here are 10 of the most memorable quotes of Week 1:

Jameis explains the Saints’ huge Week 1 win

Lewan holds himself accountable

“Got my a– kicked today, no way around that. I let the team and the fans down. Thank you Chandler Jones for exposing me. It will only force me to get better.”

— OT Taylor Lewan after the Tennessee Titans’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals

J.J. Watt wants his brother to pay up after 4-year, $112 million extension

.@_TJWatt should I send those outstanding IOU’s to your accountant or do you want to just Venmo me?

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) September 9, 2021

Gruden lives multiple lives in Raiders’ OT walk-off win

“I felt like I died and woke up and died again and I was like a cat, I had multiple lives tonight. I don’t like playing like that. It was tough, but again we did a lot of good things to win that game tonight.”

— Las Vegas Raiders Jon Gruden after winning an OT thriller against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football

Jones is a student of The Patriot Way

Mac Jones on why he didn’t accept the ball after throwing his first career TD pass: “It doesn’t really matter. It’s just one touchdown. We have to score more. It’s not like the game was over right there. We gotta do better in the red zone and get more touchdowns. And we will.” https://t.co/7jnkLNnSBD

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 13, 2021

Ramsey keeps it real on Rams D

“We don’t have no turnover chain or nothing. I mean we get paid to do this, you know what I mean? We get checks!”

— Jalen Ramsey on what motivates the elite Los Angeles Rams‘ defense

Vikings to the line

Zimmer on how he can emphasize cleaning up penalties in practice: “I can run ’em. If they jump offsides, I can run ’em. So I’ve done that before. It wouldn’t surprise me to do it again, because if they start doing ’em, then I’m going to get mad.”

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 15, 2021

Dream come true for Heinicke

“It’s something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life, being a starting quarterback in the NFL.

— Taylor Heinicke on the opportunity to start for the Washington Football Team after Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered an injury against the Los Angeles Chargers

Saints or AFC Richmond?

Saints coach Sean Payton said the positive COVID tests are mostly offensive coaches. So he and OC Pete Carmichael Jr., QB coach Ronald Curry and o-line coach Zach Strief feel like “Ted Lasso” with just the 3 or 4 of them. … Others have done what they can from hotel rooms.

— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) September 15, 2021

Vrabel sounds off on Julio’s unnecessary roughness penalty

“Critical mistake. That’s absolutely nothing that we coach or teach. That would fall under the category of doing dumb s— that hurts the team. Right there in bold letters.”

— Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel on Julio Jones‘ personal foul call that resulted in a 3rd & 1 turning into 3rd & 16 in their loss to the Arizona Cardinals