Sunday’s NFL Sidelines - Week 1

These are the capsules from each of the NFL games played on Sunday, September 13th.

Green Bay Packers 21, Chicago Bears 15

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Faced with a third-and-one and down by four points late in the final two minutes at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers rolled the dice and came up big winners in the latest renewal of the NFL’s oldest rivalry. Instead of just going for the first down, Aaron Rodgers went for it all. Rodgers found Greg Jennings wide open for a 50-yard TD pass with 1:25 left to give the Pack a 21-15 win over the upset-minded Chicago Bears. That
culminated a five-play, 75-yard drive for the Packers. Jay Cutler was up-and-down in his debut as Bears quarterback with one TD pass and four interceptions. The former Denver Broncos signal-caller completed 17-of-36 for 277 yards.

San Francisco 49ers 20, Arizona Cardinals 16

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Do you believe in Super Bowl hangovers? The Arizona Cardinals, last season’s NFC champions, were opening at home, where they have won 12 of 16 games the past two regular seasons. Not this time. The surprising San Francisco 49ers marched into Glendale and pulled off a shocking 20-16 upset of the favored Cardinals. The Niners were having an awful second half until Shaun Hill directed them on a game-winning 15-play, 80-yard drive. Hill
hit Frank Gore with a 3-yard TD pass with 7:29 left for the go-ahead score. Hill was a calm 18-of-31 for 209 yards on the day and managed the Niners to 7 of 18 third-down conversions. The Niners won despite being outgained in total yards, 299-to-203. This was the Cardinals’ first loss to an NFC West team in two seasons.

New York Giants 23, Washington Redskins 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The defending NFC East champion New York Giants opened with a not-as-close-as-the-score-would-indicate 23-17 win over Washington. Eli Manning threw a 30-yard TD pass to Mario Manningham. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora ran back a fumble 37 yards in his return from a knee injury and Lawrence Tynes added three field goals for the Giants. The Redskins trailed the entire game but pulled within 23-17 with 1:30 left on a 17-yard TD pass from Jason Campbell to Chris Cooley. But the Giants recovered the onside kick, and ran out the clock. The Giants outgained the Redskins 351-to-272 in total yards and had a 13-minute advantage in time of possession.

Seattle Seahawks 28, St. Louis 0

SEATTLE (AP) - New Seattle coach Jim Mora’s defense pitched a shutout in the Seahawks’ 28-0 whitewash of sloppy St. Louis. Matt Hasselbeck, in his first game since last Thanksgiving, overcame two interceptions in his first three throws and threw a pair of TD passes to John Carlson. Hasselbeck finished 25 of 36 for 279 yards passing, his most for an opener. Seattle beat the Rams for the ninth straight time with its biggest win to begin a season since a
38-0 victory over Philadelphia in 1998. St. Louis disappointed for new coach Steve Spagnuolo, managing just 247 yards and committing 10 penalties.

Minnesota Vikings 34, Cleveland Browns 20

CLEVELAND (AP) - Brett Favre is a winner in his Minnesota Vikings debut. In his 270th consecutive start, Favre engineered his first victory running the Vikes’ offense in a 34-20 win over Cleveland. The 39-year-old QB tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to rookie Percy Harvin while completing 14 of 21 passes for 110 yards in his debut in purple. After hooking up with Harvin, Favre sprinted into the end zone and tackled the young wide receiver who was just 4 years old when the QB broke into the league with Green Bay.

Favre also enjoyed having Adrian Peterson in his backfield. The electric Vikes running back ran 25 times for 180 yards and scored on a pair of 1-yard plunges. He capped his day with an electrifying 64-yard TD run. The Vikings produced 225 of their 310 yards on the ground in the fourth quarter to make it 34-13.

Philadelphia Eagles 38, Carolina Panthers 10

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Philadelphia Eagles might need that Michael Vick insurance policy a lot sooner than they had victory. Donovan McNabb limped to the locker room with a fracture rib after scoring a 3-yard TD run in the Eagles’ 38-10 rout of Carolina that left Panther fans booing their QB, Jake Delhomme, who committed five turnovers. Delhomme finished with 7 of 17 for 73 yards with four interceptions and a lost fumble.

With the suspended Michael Vick watching from a luxury suite, Kevin Kolb finished the game at quarterback for the Eagles. Vick is scheduled to be activated in Week 3. After the game, Eagles coach Andy Reid said he would not rule out McNabb’s availability next week, saying: “We’ll just see how he does over the next little bit.“

Baltimore Ravens 38, Kansas City Chiefs 24

BALTIMORE (AP) - Joe Flacco’s sophomore season has started much the way his rookie campaign went - with another stellar performance. The nerveless Baltimore quarterback completed 26 for 43 for 307 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs, in the Ravens’ 38-24 win over Kansas City. That ruined the head coaching debut of Kansas City’s Todd Haley, whose team scored more than expected after sacking its offensive coordinator less than two weeks ago. Baltimore amassed a franchise-record 501 yards. But the game wasn’t decided until a 31-yard touchdown catch by Mark Clayton with 2:06 left broke a tie. Willis McGahee scored with 31 seconds left to clinch it.

Dallas Cowboys 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Who needs Terrell Owens?

Tony Romo threw for 353 yards and three long touchdowns as the Cowboys began their post-T.O. era with a 34-21 victory that ruined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ debut under coach Raheem Morris. Romo hooked up with Miles Austin on a 42-yard yard TD just before halftime. Roy Williams scored on a 66-yard TD play early in the third quarter. Romo teamed with Patrick Crayton, who had six catches for 135 yards, on an 80-yard TD pass that was the longest
completion of Romo’s career.

Indianapolis Colts 14, Jacksonville Jaguars 12

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indianapolis has a new coach, a revamped defense and, thankfully, the same old Peyton Manning. The Pro Bowl quarterback threw for one touchdown, Joseph Addai ran for another, and the Colts defense stopped Jacksonville twice in the fourth quarter to preserve a tighter-than-expected 14-12 season-opening victory. Manning tied John Unitas’ franchise record for career wins with 118, but it was hardly a thing of beauty. His favorite target was Reggie Wayne with 10 catches for 162 yards and a TD that made Colts coach Jim Caldwell a winner in his NFL head coaching debut in his first game since replacing Tony Dungy.

Atlanta Falcons 19, Miami Dolphins 7

ATLANTA (AP) - In a matchup of the two more pleasantly surprising teams of the 2008 season, Atlanta beat mistake-prone Miami 19-7. New Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez hauled in a touchdown pass and became the 21st player in NFL history with 11,000 yards receiving. Mike Peterson forced a fumble with a
vicious hit and had an interception. Atlanta’s defense forced four turnovers and shut down a Miami team that won the AFC East after going 1-15 two years ago. Matt Ryan threw two touchdown passes as he starts his second season as Falcons QB.

New York Jets 24, Houston Texans 7

HOUSTON (AP) - The Mark Sanchez era has begun with a victory for the New York Jets. The rookie QB out of Southern California threw for 272 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut, Thomas Jones scored twice and the Jets throttled Houston’s high-powered offense 24-7 to win in Rex Ryan’s debut as head coach. Sanchez, the fifth overall pick in the draft, was poised and confident the whole day and showed NFL toughness, completing at least three passes as he was being knocked down.

Denver Broncos 12, Cincinnati Bengals 7

CINCINNATI (AP) - After a brutal offseason, Josh McDaniels won his NFL coaching debut as Denver pulled out a tense 12-7 win over Cincinnati as the Broncos opened the post-Mike Shanahan era. It took just 27 seconds for Denver to go from what looked like a crushing loss to an unbelievable win. Brandon Stokely caught a tipped pass and outran Cincinnati’s shocked defenders for an 87-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left for the Broncos’ winning touchdown. Denver managed just 10 first downs and could run for just 75 yards. But Kyle Orton was a winner in his first game since replacing Jay Cutler as Broncos quarterback. Orton completed 17 of 28 for 243 with no interceptions. But the win belonged to Denver’s defense, which held the Bengals to one first down in the second half.

New Orleans Saints 45, Detroit Lions 27

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The 0-for-2008 Detroit Lions have started 2009 the same way. Drew Brees tied a New Orleans record with six TD passes and threw for 358 yards in the Saints’ 45-27 rout of the Lions. That extends the Lions’ string of regular-season losses to 18. Two of Brees’ touchdown passes went to Jeremy Shockey, who hadn’t scored since being traded from the New York Giants to New Orleans last season. Matthew Stafford’s first start was inconsistent. The 2009 top overall draft choice was 16 of 37 for 205 yards with three interceptions. He led two touchdown drives, but the Lions’ porous defense kept Detroit winless since 2007.

There’s a doubleheader for Monday night football fans. Buffalo and Terrell Owens visits New England in Tom Brady’s return to quarterback after missing virtually all last season with a knee injury. That will be followed by an AFC West tilt when San Diego visits Oakland.