NFL Week 1 Recap

The NFL opened its season back up with the Super Bowl 50 rematch on Thursday, while most of their games kicked off Sunday, on the 15^th anniversary of 9-11.

Carolina Panthers (20) vs. Denver Broncos (21) – The Broncos entered the Super Bowl rematch full of uncertainty without Peyton Manning under center. They instead had Trevor Siemian as the starting quarterback. The QB, who before the game had never attempted a pass in an NFL game showed flashes of potential for the defending champions. The Panthers went in looking for redemption for their championship loss but as they drove down the field, kicker Graham Gano missed a potential 50 yard field goal to win the game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31) vs. Atlanta Falcons (24) – Bucs quarterback, Jameis Winston had a fantastic start to the second season in his young career. The former Heisman Trophy winner and BCS National Champion threw for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns. It’s a good start for Tampa Bay who hope to turn their fortunes around and have their first winning season since 2010.

Buffalo Bills (7) vs. Baltimore Ravens (13) – The Ravens defense held their own against the Buffalo Bills in this low scoring affair. A Joe Flacco touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace in the second quarter were the Ravens sole touchdown of the game as two field goals from Justin Tucker put the game away for Baltimore.

Chicago Bears (14) vs. Houston Texans (23) – Brock Osweiler, the former Denver Bronco, got the win in his first start for the Houston Texans. Osweiler found DeAndre Hopkins for a 23 yard touchdown pass to put the Texans up 10-7 with in the second quarter. Osweiler put the Texans up with a second touchdown to wide out Will Fuller in fourth quarter as the Texans would go on to their first win in the season opener.

Cincinnati Bengals (23) vs. New York Jets (22) – Bengal, A.J. Green made himself at home on “Revis Island” this Sunday going for 12 catches, 180 yards, and a touchdown. The pass from quarterback Andy Dalton would serve as his only touchdown of the game. Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdowns in the season opening game. Two fourth quarter field goals put the Jets up in the fourth quarter but a 47 yard Mike Nugent field goal won the game for the Bengals.

Cleveland Browns (10) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (29) – Carson Wentz looked calm, cool, and collected in his first game NFL game against the Cleveland Browns. The No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft and former North Dakota State Bison threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns against Cleveland. The Browns had hoped that new acquisition Robert Griffin III and new coach Hue Jackson would boost up the team, but they never on track scoring their lone touchdown in the second quarter.

Green Bay Packers (27) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (23) – The Packers welcomed back wide receiver Jordy Nelson, who missed last season to an ACL tear. The wide out caught six passes for a touchdown in the season opener. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was responsible for three touchdowns (two throwing and one rushing) as the Packers pulled out a tight win in Jacksonville.

Minnesota Vikings (25) vs. Tennessee Titans (16) – The Vikings didn’t let losing their starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater for the season keep them from winning their season opener against the Tennessee Titans. An Eric Kendricks interception return for a touchdown off of an errant Marcus Mariota pass and a Danielle Hunter fumble return for a touchdown sealed the win for the Vikings.

San Diego Chargers (27) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (33) – Down as much as 21 in the game and 17 in the fourth quarter the Kansas City Chiefs found themselves in a hole to climb out of at home. Yet two touchdowns and a field goal put the game into overtime in the final nine minutes of regulation. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith capped the game off with a game winning two yard touchdown run in overtime. To make matters worse for the Chargers they may have lost wide receiver Keenan Allen to a knee injury after he went down in the second quarter.

Oakland Raiders (35) vs. New Orleans Saints (34) – The Raiders outlasted a four touchdown performance from Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a game that would need a two point conversion to decide it. Down 27-34 in their final drive, Raiders QB Derek Carr found wide receiver Seth Roberts for 10 yard touchdown. Instead of going for an extra point try to send the game into overtime Derek Carr would find Michael Crabtree for a two point conversion, giving the Raiders the season opening win.

Miami Dolphins (10) vs. Seattle Seahawks (12) – Unlike the Raiders, Saints shoot out, The Seahawks rallied to beat the Miami Dolphins in one of the lowest scoring contests of the day. With 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin for a two yard touchdown pass to win the game.

New York Giants (20) vs. Dallas Cowboys (19) – Eli Manning’s 3 touchdown day helped the Giants to a one point victory in Jerry’s World on Sunday. The game winning touchdown was scored by receiver Victor Cruz, who was playing in his first game in nearly two years after having torn his patella tendon against the Philadelphia Eagles early in the 2014 season. The game for the Cowboys marked the first for Dak Prescott who is starting at quarterback as Tony Romo is out with injury.

Detroit Lions (39) vs. Indianapolis Colts (35) – The Lions squeaked out a win against the Indianapolis Colts on a last second field goal. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck threw his fourth touchdown of the game with 37 seconds left on the clock to put the Colts up one but Matthew Stafford, who threw three touchdowns of his own during the game led the Lions down the field into field goal position, setting kicker Matt Prater up for a 43 yard field goal. The game would end on a Colts safety as they tried to lateral out of the end zone to extend the game and lost the ball out of bounds.

New England Patriots vs. Arizona Cardinals – The Patriots entered the game with their four time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady serving the first of his four game suspension and tight end Rob Gronkowski out with a hamstring injury. With Jimmy Garoppolo scoring a touchdown for 264 yards in the game. The Cardinals nearly pulled off the comeback but Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47 yard field goal sealing the victory for the Patriots in Garoppolo’s first career start.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will all open their seasons up with back-to-back Monday night football games. The Steelers will play the Redskins at 7:10 P.M. and the Rams and 49ers will kick off following the Steelers Redskins game on ESPN.