NFL Week One Recap
The first week of the 2010 NFL season is in the books. The season kicked off with an NFC Championship rematch on Thursday night between Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings and Drew Brees and the world champion New Orleans Saints. The Saints continued their winning ways, holding Favre to just 171 yards passing in the 14 – 9 win. Brees only had 237 himself but the defense held the Vikings offense in check enough to get the victory.
The Sunday games were highlighted by an AFC matchup between the defending AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts and the up-and-coming Houston Texans. The Texans, behinf breakout star running back Arian Foster, defeated the Colts for the first time in their brief history, by a final score of 34 – 24. Foster chewed up the Colts defense for 231 yards and three touchdowns in a sensational effort. The impressive total sets a new franchise record for rushing yards in a game. The Colts’ Peyton Manning had a pretty good game himself with 433 yards passing and three Tds, completing 40 of 57 pass attempts.
In Foxboro, Massachussetts, Tom Brady showed the league that he is back, with a stellar performance in a 38 – 24 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals that was not as close as the final score. Brady 25 of his 35 pass attempts for 258 yards and threw three td passes. Wes Welker, who missed most of last season after undergoing knee surgery, caught eight balls for 84 yards and 2 scores. The Bengals’ overhyped wide receiver combo of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens combined for 19 receptions for 212 yards in the game.
The game with the most controversial finish was an NFC North matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. The Bears won the game 19 – 14. The controversy involved a call on an apparent game-winning touchdown catch by the Lions’ Calvin Johnson. With 25 seconds left on the clock, Johnson outjumped defenders to make the grab and appeared to get both feet down inbounds before tossing the ball aside. After a period of deliberation by the on-field officials, the play was called an incomplete pass, then the call was upheld by replay officials. Bears running back Matt Forte, who had an awful second season last year following an excellent rookie campaign, looked like the new Marshall Faulk in the Bears’ new offense run by new offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Forte, finished the game with 17 carries for 50 yards rushing, and a staggering 151 yards receiving for 2 tds, including an impressive 89-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter.
In other Sunday action, The Steelers defeated the Falcons 15 – 9 on a 50-yard Rashard Mendenhall touchdown run in overtime; the Giants beat the Panthers 31 – 18 with 3 td passes from Eli Manning to Hakeem Nicks; Jacksonville upset Denver 24 – 17; the Raiders lost to Tennessee 38 – 13; Seattle routed San Francisco 31 – 6; Miami beat Buffalo; the Browns lost to Tampa Bay; and the Cardinals defeated the Rams. Green Bay held on to beat the Eagles 27 – 20 after knocking out the Eagles’ starting quarterback Kevin Kolb out of the game, despite a spectacular performance from his replacement, former Pro Bowler Michael Vick. The former Falcon finished the game with 175 yards passing and 1 td, and 103 yards rushing on just 11 carries. Monday night saw the much-hyped New York Jets fall to the Baltimore Ravens thanks to an ineffective offense, and the Chiefs stunned the Chargers 21 – 14.
