Week 1 NFL Quick Hits

New Orleans @ Green Bay - These two teams may very well meet again down the road. This matchup got the NFL season off to an amazing start and it was fantastic to see two of the best QBs in the game go head-to-head. In all reality, though, we didn't really learn much from this game. Yes, Randall Cobb was great but don't expect him to score two touchdowns every week. Darren Sproles was explosive in the Saints offense and with Marques Colston's injury (a broken collarbone, could miss the next month or so) he may very well lead the entire team in receptions this year.

Philadelphia @ St. Louis - Michael Vick was chased around a lot more than I think any Eagles fan should feel comfortable with and the rushing defense was spotty at best. The Rams were hanging with the "Dream Team" but after a botched handoff from Sam Bradford led to a Juqua Parker fumble recovery TD the Eagles never looked back. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie looked lost at times in the nickel and will probably have nightmares of Danny Amendola. DeSean Jackson had a some big drops, particularly in the first half, but the entire Rams' receiving corps had trouble making catches yesterday. St. Louis may already be in red alert mode, though, with injuries to Bradford, Steven Jackson, Jason Smith, and Danny Amendola.

Buffalo @ Kansas City - Hoo-boy. This was a trendy pick by many analysts as an upset but I don't think anyone expected a 41 - 7 shellacking. I don't think Ryan Fitzpatrick will have many more four touchdown performances this year but Stevie Johnson looked great being matched up with one of the best corners in the league in Brandon Flowers. Money be damned, Fred Jackson showed, once again, that he is the far superior option to C.J. Spiller. The Chiefs offense will be better, but next week is a brutal matchup with Detroit and Jamaal Charles will have trouble finding holes. Eric Berry's season ending ACL tear may be the biggest injury in week one and the Chiefs' secondary is in a whole lot of trouble.

Atlanta @ Chicago - I doubt many people expected the explosive Falcons offense to be kept out of the end zone by the Bears. Jay Cutler looked sharp even with the pick six in the fourth quarter. Matt Forte deserves a contract extension and hopefully Bears management was paying attention. Even though I didn't pick the Falcons to make the playoffs I did expect them to win this particular game. I don't want to overstate things on week one but the Falcons do seem to have a lot of trouble winning outside of a dome.

Detroit @ Tampa Bay - This one hurts me quite a bit. I picked Tampa to make it to the Super Bowl but as I learned on Sunday, maybe they need a bit more time to grow. LeGarrette Blount rushed five times for 15 yards and was even pulled from the game towards the end of the second quarter and didn't play the second half. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay's head coach, says that they were in the two minute offense but I really don't understand why. The score was 20-13 at halftime, they were receiving the ball to start the second half, and they didn't really need to abandon the run. On the Lions' end, Matt Stafford was already limping towards the sideline at the end of the game (though they say it was just a cram, everyone in Detroit had to be holding their breath). Still, the Lions were mighty impressive and are a tough matchup due to their physicality.

Tennessee @ Jacksonville - This may have been the most confusing game of the day. The Jaguars completely dominated the box score but only won by two points. Chris Johnson showed a lot of rust, rushing for only 24 yards on nine carries, while he opposite number, Maurice Jones-Drew showed no ill effects with that surgically repaired knee (24 carries, 97 yards and one touchdown). Matt Hasselbeck seems to have gotten the memo to just chuck it deep towards Kenny Britt's direction, as Britt exploded for 136 yards and the Titans' only two touchdowns.

Cincinnati @ Cleveland - Andy Dalton is the least exciting player I can think of, but he's not the complete mess that he looked to be in the preseason. Bruce Gradkowski came in after Dalton went down with a wrist injury, only to complete five of 12 passes, but the 41 yard touchdown to A.J. Green proved to be the difference maker. Cedric Benson, who was literally in jail last week, rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown. For the Browns, Colt McCoy had his moments but making him throw 40 times is not a recipe for success.

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore - This was a bit of a shocker. It wasn't a surprise that the Ravens won but it was no one could have expected them to completely dominate the Steelers in every facet of the game. The Ravens forced seven turnovers, five of which came from Ben Roethlisberger. Lee Evans seemed to be a bit of a glorified decoy but as he learns the playbook I'm sure he'll post his average three to five catches for 30 to 50 yards. In all seriousness, though, I completely overlooked the Ravens' addition of Ricky Williams and he may be a major factor in which of these two teams wins the division. The Steelers did lose Willie Colon for the year and that could come back to haunt them.

Indianapolis @ Houston - This one got ugly in a hurry. Then again, who didn't see this coming? The Texans seemed to take years of frustration out in this game, completely dismantling the Colts. All of the positive publicity that came out of Indy in regards to Kerry Collins learning the playbook and being comfortable in the system completely went out of the window in a single quarter. Even without Arian Foster the Texans rushed for 167 yards (116 came from Ben Tate) and the Houston defense looked absolutely fantastic (Mario Williams had two sacks as a newly minted linebacker). Even if Peyton Manning is able to return on schedule, the Colts may be too far gone to be saved. Keep an eye on a pair of injuries: Kevin Walter for Houston (who was their number two WR and is a fantastic blocker and suffered a deep shoulder bruise) and Gary Brackett for Indy (he suffered a left shoulder injury in the fourth quarter and did not return).



NY Giants @ Washington - If one game could sum up "bad Eli" this would be it, especially that pick six by Ryan Kerrigan right in his face. Yes, the Giants have a team's worth of injuries, but they should not have been doubled up by the Redskins. Rex Grossman put up a fantastic Ryan Fitzpatrick impersonation and Fred Davis looked, at times, to be uncoverable. I'm not quite ready to jump on the Redskins bandwagon but they may end up surprising some people. I won't throw any dirt on the Giants, especially in week one, but they need to get healthy in a hurry: there is a trip to Philadelphia in week three looming.

Minnesota @ San Diego - This game amused me to no end. In fact, I had to verify with Bryan to make sure I was seeing Donovan McNabb's statline correctly. McNabb went 7-15, had one touchdown and one interception, and threw for 39 yards. Ryan Mathews had a catch of 37 yards by himself for the Chargers. I can't explain how this game required a comeback on San Diego's end. The Chargers did suffer some major losses: Nate Kaeding, their kicker, and Luis Castillo, a defensive end, are both potentially out for the season. Kaeding tore his ACL and Castillo broke his tibia (the Chargers are hopeful he may return), and that's not all: Mike Tolbert, who scored San Diego's three touchdowns, pulled up lame in the fourth quarter. His injury isn't believed to be serious but it seems like the injury bug has returned for this team.

Carolina @ Arizona - By far, this was my favorite game of the day. Cam Newton looked like a trainwreck in the preseason but he ended up having a historic day. Steve Smith has to be giddy getting fed the ball by a competent quarterback and the Panthers, oddly enough, went away from the running game. On the other side, Kevin Kolb looked fantastic and showed why the Cards were willing to trade their best corner and a second round pick. Patrick Peterson is still a work in progress on the defensive end, but in special teams he had the game winning touchdown on a punt return. I'll probably slap myself at the end of the year for suggesting this, especially with Jon Beason's season ending injury, but the Panthers may have another one of those patented worst-to-first NFC South runs. I don't think it will happen, but this time two days ago I didn't even think it was possible.

Seattle @ San Francisco - Ted Ginn had his annual flash of greatness early this year. Thanks for the memories, Ted, see you again next year. This was a great first game for Jim Harbaugh but we have all been teased by these very same 49ers before. Maybe this year will be different, maybe it won't. The defending NFC West champs looked like a team that could once again go 7 - 9. Tarvaris Jackson was asked to win the game for the team after they fell behind 16 - 0 and he proceeded to complete 56.8% of his passes for 197 yards. Just another day in the office for T-Jax.

Dallas @ NY Jets - I have never rooted for the Dallas Cowboys as hard as I was last night. Dez Bryant looked unstoppable and made some leaping catches over Darrelle Revis that had me going crazy (seriously, ask Bryan). Then he got hurt and that's was the beginning of the inevitable. Mike Jenkins got injured like fifteen times but was holding Plaxico Burress under wraps. Mark Sanchez looked so bad that Bryan was prompted to say this: "The Jets are going to have to take a QB next year in the draft." Tony Romo looked like he was on a mission to win a game that people were expecting his team to completely blown out. Then, like a switch had been flipped, the Jets came to life in the fourth quarter against the ravaged Cowboys secondary. Sanchez started to complete those passes to Burress, and LaDainian Tomlinson looked like he was 25 again with those runs after the catch. Dallas managed to bend but not break until Sanchez found Burress on a pass to his back shoulder for a touchdown. Then the block punt happened and just like that the Jets were back even. Sure, Romo had a fumble near the goal line when he was trying to make something out of nothing, but all the Cowboys had to do was hold on and take their shot in overtime. Bryant was still out there and dangerous on the outside but Revis could tell that the man just couldn't run and make the cuts he needed to. I knew when Romo threw that pass to Bryant's direction that Revis was going to pick it off, it just seemed like a fitting end to the turdburger that the Cowboys had served up in that fourth quarter. Fittingly, Nick Folk put Dallas fans out of their misery.

New England @ Miami - Even as a Patriots fan I have run out of things to say about Tom Brady. Earlier in the day I was watching ESPN and they were talking about Cam Newton's performance, saying that even the great Tom Brady had never thrown for as many yards as Newton did in his performance. Well, now the bar has been raised once again. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez may both end up in the Pro Bowl and each would deserve a nomination. The new look Pats defense had its moments but Chad Ochocinco looked lost at times on the offensive side. For the Dolphins, it seems like their offense has turned things around and their defense has taken some steps back. Granted they won't have to play the Patriots every week, but they have a long way to go. Chad Henne looked great and seems to have finally clicked with Brandon Marshall. The Pats did suffer a major loss on the offensive line, though, with Dan Koppen suffering a broken ankle. Marshall was beat up on Miami's side and he was limping off the field towards the end of the game but his injuries are unknown at this point.

Oakland @ Denver - There was a time when Darren McFadden was in danger of being labeled as a bust. My how the times have changed. The Raiders dominated in rushing (190 yards to 38) and that was the key to the game. It also doesn't hurt to have Sebastian Janikowski (is there any other kicker in the league that can hit a 63-yarder, even in Denver?) and Shane Lechler (who had a 58.2 average punt, which puts him in second place behind Andy Lee of San Francisco for week one) on your special teams.  Jason Campbell will very rarely be asked to win a game in Oakland and if he can put up a line like he did last night the Raiders will be in every game with McFadden (and even if he goes down Michael Bush is no slouch) and the specialists they have. For Denver, I don't really know what to say. Broncos fans were chanting for Tim Tebow but I don't know if they really know what they would be getting themselves into. Yes, Kyle Orton was erratic and the Broncos may have been a spark away from winning that game, but Tebow's ability to run would have been completely negated thanks to Oakland's defensive front. So I ask: do you think Tebow could have sat in the pocket and picked apart the Raiders' secondary?