Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisNFL Week 1 Scores & Highlights – Tom Brady done for season?
September 8th 2008 13:11
NFL Week 1 Scores & Highlights – Tom Brady done for season?
The first Sunday of the NFL season is now in the books. It included some surprises, some injuries, and a running back with 220 yards whose name you probably won’t know.
New England 17 – Kansas City 10
The top story of course is that during the first quarter of the New England Patriots – Kansas City Chiefs game quarterback Tom Brady had to leave the game due to injury. Chiefs Safety Bernard Pollard hit him awkwardly in his left knee. Brady stayed on the ground in pain for quite some time before walking off the field. Many are saying they believe it is an ACL injury, and that it could put him out for the season. Of course that is speculation until after his MRI which is scheduled for Monday afternoon. It is however a bad sign that the Patriots immediately set up appointments to meet with both Chris Simms and Tim Rattay on Monday. The team must think he is done for the season in order to do that.
Brady was replaced by Matt Cassel. He did pretty good in relief, but he is no Tom Brady. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 152 yards, and connected with Randy Moss for a touchdown. Sammy Morris added a touchdown as he led the team in rushing on 10 carried for 53 yards. Laurence Maroney was a close second also with 10 carries, but just 51 yards. Of the 228 passing yards, 116 of them were to Moss.
Kicker Stephen Grostkowski added a 37 yard field goal as the Patriots scored 17 points. The defense held the Chiefs to just a 40 yard field goal, and a Damon Huard to Dwayne Bowe touchdown. Huard was also playing in relief of starter Brodie Croyle who left with a neck injury. Huard was 8 of 12 for 118 yards with one TD and an interception.
New England’s Ellis Hobbs had a big day. He managed to get a quarterback sack, an interception, and forced a fumble.
Matt Cassel getting into the game led to an unusual coincidence too. You see his older brother Jack Cassel is a pitcher for the Houston Astros. The Astros starting pitcher today was Wandi Rodriguez. Rodriguez had to leave the game early due to an injury, and Jack got the call. He came in and pitched four innings.
One other note about Tom Brady. A bit of freaky irony if you will. The Patriots had listed him on the injury report every week for about the past five seasons. Brady has started every game since taking over as the starter from Drew Bledsoe in 2001 (128 games). This week the team did NOT list him on the injury report, and look what happened.
Philadelphia 38 – St. Louis 3
Donovan McNabb threw for 361 yards and 3 TDs in this rout of the Rams. The team amassed a total of 522 yards while holding the Rams to just 166 total. They actually had three receivers go over 100 yards in the game; DeSean Jackson 106, Greg Lewis 104, and Hank Baskett 102. The Eagles defense also came up with 4 sacks.
Atlanta 34 – Detroit 21
The Atlanta Falcons got off to a surprisingly good start. Rookie Quarterback Matt Ryan became the first player to throw a touchdown with his first pass. Ryan finished 9 of 13 for 161 yards and one TD. The story of the game however was the Falcons new running back. Michael Turner until this season was stuck on the bench in San Diego behind LaDanian Tomlinson. Today he got to be the starter and took advantage of that fact. He carried the ball 22 times for a team record 220 yards while scoring twice and also catching one pass for 6 yards. John Abraham led the Falcons defense with 4 tackles and 3 sacks.
New York Jets 20 – Miami 14
Chad Pennington did pretty well against his old team connecting for 26 of 43 passes for 251 yard and two scores, with just 1 interception. It was not enough to spoil Brett Favre’s regular season debut as a Jet. Favre also threw 2 TDs, on 194 yards, but he had a running game behind him too. Thomas jones carried the ball 22 times for 101 yards and a TD. The Dolphins on the other hand had just 49 yards rushing as a team. Jets kicker Mike Nugent left the game with an injury after missing a field goal. After he left the Jets simply chose to not attempt another kick. They went for it on a 4th down situation which turned into Favre’s second TD, and then missed the two-point conversion try.
Tennessee 17 – Jacksonville 10
Vince Young also left early with what is being called a knee sprain, but the Titans defense controlled the game. They held the Jaguars to just 189 yards. They compiled a forced fumble, two interceptions, and seven sacks in the game.
Pittsburgh 38 – Houston 17
Steelers running back Willie Parker had two rushing touchdowns all last season. Sunday he carried the ball 25 times for 138 yards and 3 TDs. Ben Roethlisberger threw two more touchdowns to Hines Ward. The defense helped out too with a forced fumble, two interceptions, and five sacks. Three of which were by James Harrison who also caused the fumble.
Baltimore 17 – Cincinnati 10
Chad Ocho-Cinco didn’t get to play. The NFL told him he could not wear the name on his jersey yet. It seems he will have to purchase all the Chad Johnson jersey that have been made for him for this season before he can don his new surname. In case you missed it he had his name legally changed to Chad Ocho-Cinco in a Florida court earlier in the week. He had just one catch for 22 years.
Both teams combined for just 218 passing yards in this game. The difference was made in the Ravens running game they had four players combined for 229 yards rushing with 2 TDs. The Bengals lone touchdown came on a 65-yard fumble return by Johnathan Joseph.
New Orleans 24 – Tampa Bay 20
Drew Brees threw for 343 yards and 3 TDs in the teams opening game at the Superdome. He hit David Patten on a 39 yard TD, another to Decery Henderson that he took for 84 yards, and the game winning TD of 42 yards to Reggie Bush. Bush had a big game. He carried the ball 14 times for 51 yards, but also had 8 catches for 112 yards and the TD.
Buffalo 34 – Seattle 10
The story of this game was the Bills special teams unit. Roscoe Parrish returned a punt for 63 yards. They faked a field goal kick which resulted in punter Brian Moorman throwing a 19 yard TD pass to Ryan Denney. On the ensuing kickoff kicker Rian Lindell recovered a fumble which led to a 30-yard TD pass from Trent Edwards to Robert Royal which came about 20 seconds after the fake field goal score. Marshawn Lynch added a rushing TD, while Lindell hit two field goals.
Dallas 28 – Cleveland 10
Marion Barber left the game earlier with bruised ribs, but not before he carried the ball 16 times for 80 yards and 2 TDs. Felix Jones replaced him and scored his first NFL TD, and TO caught another from Romo. It was Owens’s 130th career TD, tying him with Cris Carter for second all-time. He only needs to catch Jerry Rice now at 197. Romo got hit hard and wound up with a bloody chin. He didn’t miss a play though, and had ti worked on after the offense came off the field.
Arizona 23 – San Francisco 13
Kurt Warner got the start for the Cardinals and led the team to a 10 point win while going 19 of 30 for 197 yards and 1 TD. Edgerrin James rushed for 100 yards, and Tim Hightower ran in for a score, while kicker Neil Rackers hit three out of four field goal attempts.
Carolina 26 – San Diego 24
This game was won by the Panthers in the final five seconds with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Dante Rosario as time ran out. Delhomme comng back from Tommy John surgery connected on 23 of 41 for 247 yards and the winning TD. The Panthers only other TD came on a 31-yard fumble return by Chris Gamble, and john Kasay added four field goals.
Phillip Rivers connected for 3 TDs on 17 of 27 passing for 217 yards.
Chicago 29 – Indianapolis 13
The Bears defense scored 9 points on a safety and a fumble return. Jason McKie ran in from one yard for a score, and rookie Matt Forte carried the ball 23 times for 123 yards and a 50-yard TD. Robbie gould added 2 field goals as they upset the Colts in their debut at their new stadium. Peyton manning was 30 of 49, but only for 257 yards and one score. The team was also held to just 53 yards rushing.
All in all it was an exciting first Sunday in the new NFL season. Lots of storylines will start to shape up from here.
If the Pats can’t cope without Brady who will takover the AFC East? Farve and the Jets?
The Bills?
Will McNabb continue to be good, or was it a one week fluke because he is fresh?
Will Marion Barber be 100% next week, or will Felix Jones get an early heavy workload in the Cowboys backfield?
Can the Chargers put a crushing last second loss behind them, or will it breed a losing streak?
Can the Bears dominate with little passing and lots of defense, again?
How long will it be before the Dolphins get that first win so they can let out a collective sigh of relief once they know they can’t pulloff a repeat of last season?
We will just have to tune in and see how it all turns out. Starting tonight with a Monday Night football doubleheader. Game one starts at 7PM ET between Minnesota and Green Bay. Will Adrian Peterson run all over the Defrosted Tundra, or can Aaron Rodgers take a solid hold of the reins in his first outing? The second game begins at 10:15 ET between long-time hated rivals Denver and Oakland. Will Jay Cutler live up to the hype? Will Shanahan switch running backs in week 1? Can the Raiders gel enough to get it done?
The first Sunday of the NFL season is now in the books. It included some surprises, some injuries, and a running back with 220 yards whose name you probably won’t know.
New England 17 – Kansas City 10
Brady was replaced by Matt Cassel. He did pretty good in relief, but he is no Tom Brady. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 152 yards, and connected with Randy Moss for a touchdown. Sammy Morris added a touchdown as he led the team in rushing on 10 carried for 53 yards. Laurence Maroney was a close second also with 10 carries, but just 51 yards. Of the 228 passing yards, 116 of them were to Moss.
Kicker Stephen Grostkowski added a 37 yard field goal as the Patriots scored 17 points. The defense held the Chiefs to just a 40 yard field goal, and a Damon Huard to Dwayne Bowe touchdown. Huard was also playing in relief of starter Brodie Croyle who left with a neck injury. Huard was 8 of 12 for 118 yards with one TD and an interception.
New England’s Ellis Hobbs had a big day. He managed to get a quarterback sack, an interception, and forced a fumble.
Matt Cassel getting into the game led to an unusual coincidence too. You see his older brother Jack Cassel is a pitcher for the Houston Astros. The Astros starting pitcher today was Wandi Rodriguez. Rodriguez had to leave the game early due to an injury, and Jack got the call. He came in and pitched four innings.
One other note about Tom Brady. A bit of freaky irony if you will. The Patriots had listed him on the injury report every week for about the past five seasons. Brady has started every game since taking over as the starter from Drew Bledsoe in 2001 (128 games). This week the team did NOT list him on the injury report, and look what happened.
Philadelphia 38 – St. Louis 3
Donovan McNabb threw for 361 yards and 3 TDs in this rout of the Rams. The team amassed a total of 522 yards while holding the Rams to just 166 total. They actually had three receivers go over 100 yards in the game; DeSean Jackson 106, Greg Lewis 104, and Hank Baskett 102. The Eagles defense also came up with 4 sacks.
Atlanta 34 – Detroit 21
The Atlanta Falcons got off to a surprisingly good start. Rookie Quarterback Matt Ryan became the first player to throw a touchdown with his first pass. Ryan finished 9 of 13 for 161 yards and one TD. The story of the game however was the Falcons new running back. Michael Turner until this season was stuck on the bench in San Diego behind LaDanian Tomlinson. Today he got to be the starter and took advantage of that fact. He carried the ball 22 times for a team record 220 yards while scoring twice and also catching one pass for 6 yards. John Abraham led the Falcons defense with 4 tackles and 3 sacks.
New York Jets 20 – Miami 14
Chad Pennington did pretty well against his old team connecting for 26 of 43 passes for 251 yard and two scores, with just 1 interception. It was not enough to spoil Brett Favre’s regular season debut as a Jet. Favre also threw 2 TDs, on 194 yards, but he had a running game behind him too. Thomas jones carried the ball 22 times for 101 yards and a TD. The Dolphins on the other hand had just 49 yards rushing as a team. Jets kicker Mike Nugent left the game with an injury after missing a field goal. After he left the Jets simply chose to not attempt another kick. They went for it on a 4th down situation which turned into Favre’s second TD, and then missed the two-point conversion try.
Tennessee 17 – Jacksonville 10
Vince Young also left early with what is being called a knee sprain, but the Titans defense controlled the game. They held the Jaguars to just 189 yards. They compiled a forced fumble, two interceptions, and seven sacks in the game.
Pittsburgh 38 – Houston 17
Steelers running back Willie Parker had two rushing touchdowns all last season. Sunday he carried the ball 25 times for 138 yards and 3 TDs. Ben Roethlisberger threw two more touchdowns to Hines Ward. The defense helped out too with a forced fumble, two interceptions, and five sacks. Three of which were by James Harrison who also caused the fumble.
Baltimore 17 – Cincinnati 10
Chad Ocho-Cinco didn’t get to play. The NFL told him he could not wear the name on his jersey yet. It seems he will have to purchase all the Chad Johnson jersey that have been made for him for this season before he can don his new surname. In case you missed it he had his name legally changed to Chad Ocho-Cinco in a Florida court earlier in the week. He had just one catch for 22 years.
Both teams combined for just 218 passing yards in this game. The difference was made in the Ravens running game they had four players combined for 229 yards rushing with 2 TDs. The Bengals lone touchdown came on a 65-yard fumble return by Johnathan Joseph.
New Orleans 24 – Tampa Bay 20
Drew Brees threw for 343 yards and 3 TDs in the teams opening game at the Superdome. He hit David Patten on a 39 yard TD, another to Decery Henderson that he took for 84 yards, and the game winning TD of 42 yards to Reggie Bush. Bush had a big game. He carried the ball 14 times for 51 yards, but also had 8 catches for 112 yards and the TD.
Buffalo 34 – Seattle 10
The story of this game was the Bills special teams unit. Roscoe Parrish returned a punt for 63 yards. They faked a field goal kick which resulted in punter Brian Moorman throwing a 19 yard TD pass to Ryan Denney. On the ensuing kickoff kicker Rian Lindell recovered a fumble which led to a 30-yard TD pass from Trent Edwards to Robert Royal which came about 20 seconds after the fake field goal score. Marshawn Lynch added a rushing TD, while Lindell hit two field goals.
Dallas 28 – Cleveland 10
Marion Barber left the game earlier with bruised ribs, but not before he carried the ball 16 times for 80 yards and 2 TDs. Felix Jones replaced him and scored his first NFL TD, and TO caught another from Romo. It was Owens’s 130th career TD, tying him with Cris Carter for second all-time. He only needs to catch Jerry Rice now at 197. Romo got hit hard and wound up with a bloody chin. He didn’t miss a play though, and had ti worked on after the offense came off the field.
Arizona 23 – San Francisco 13
Kurt Warner got the start for the Cardinals and led the team to a 10 point win while going 19 of 30 for 197 yards and 1 TD. Edgerrin James rushed for 100 yards, and Tim Hightower ran in for a score, while kicker Neil Rackers hit three out of four field goal attempts.
Carolina 26 – San Diego 24
This game was won by the Panthers in the final five seconds with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Dante Rosario as time ran out. Delhomme comng back from Tommy John surgery connected on 23 of 41 for 247 yards and the winning TD. The Panthers only other TD came on a 31-yard fumble return by Chris Gamble, and john Kasay added four field goals.
Phillip Rivers connected for 3 TDs on 17 of 27 passing for 217 yards.
Chicago 29 – Indianapolis 13
The Bears defense scored 9 points on a safety and a fumble return. Jason McKie ran in from one yard for a score, and rookie Matt Forte carried the ball 23 times for 123 yards and a 50-yard TD. Robbie gould added 2 field goals as they upset the Colts in their debut at their new stadium. Peyton manning was 30 of 49, but only for 257 yards and one score. The team was also held to just 53 yards rushing.
All in all it was an exciting first Sunday in the new NFL season. Lots of storylines will start to shape up from here.
If the Pats can’t cope without Brady who will takover the AFC East? Farve and the Jets?
The Bills?
Will McNabb continue to be good, or was it a one week fluke because he is fresh?
Will Marion Barber be 100% next week, or will Felix Jones get an early heavy workload in the Cowboys backfield?
Can the Chargers put a crushing last second loss behind them, or will it breed a losing streak?
Can the Bears dominate with little passing and lots of defense, again?
How long will it be before the Dolphins get that first win so they can let out a collective sigh of relief once they know they can’t pulloff a repeat of last season?
We will just have to tune in and see how it all turns out. Starting tonight with a Monday Night football doubleheader. Game one starts at 7PM ET between Minnesota and Green Bay. Will Adrian Peterson run all over the Defrosted Tundra, or can Aaron Rodgers take a solid hold of the reins in his first outing? The second game begins at 10:15 ET between long-time hated rivals Denver and Oakland. Will Jay Cutler live up to the hype? Will Shanahan switch running backs in week 1? Can the Raiders gel enough to get it done?
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