Week 1 proved to be the week of game-winning field goals and comebacks. There were four game-winning field goals and multiple come from behind victories this week in the NFL.
This was also a week where we saw mulitple fantasy standout performances from quarterbacks and wide receivers across the league. The following are games with some of those standout performers.
Denver 49 – Baltimore 27: Peyton Manning led the Broncos to a Thursday night victory over the defending Super Bowl champions. Manning threw for seven touchdowns and 462 yards. New offseason acquisition Wes Welker fit right into place, catching nine passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Julian Thomas will be very popular on the waiver wire after his 110-yard two touchdown performance as well.
Cincinnati 21 – Chicago 24: A back-and-forth battle that wasn’t decided until the last minute helped give Marc Trestman a win in his NFL debut. Both Brandon Marshall and A.J. Green had big game for their squads. Green had nine catches for 162 yards, and two touchdowns. Marshall also received for more than 100 yards and caught the game winning touchdown pass from Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Costly turnovers and penalties really hurt the Bengals in this season opener.
Miami 23 – Cleveland 10: Ryan Tannehill threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hartline in the third quarter, and the Dolphins never looked back. Tannehill, the Texas A&M alumnus looked sharp throwing for 272 yards and proving to be very accurate throwing the ball into tight spots, looked much improved since his rookie season. Despite Brandon Weeden’s three first half interceptions, the Browns defense kept them in the game holding Miami to just six points in the first half. Browns tight end Jordan Cameron showed a spark by catching nine balls for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Minnesota 24 – Detroit 34: Last years reigning MVP went 78 yards on the ground the first time he touched the ball in the 2013 season. Adrian Peterson rushed for 98 yards on the ground and also scored three touchdowns, but that wasn’t enough as the Lions prevailed. Lions off-season signing Reggie Bush had 90 yards on the ground, and another 101 receiving, including a 77-yard touchdown catch. Power back Joique Bell had two touchdowns on 6 carries for 25 yards.
Atlanta 17 – New Orleans 23: Although the Falcons jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead, Drew Brees and the Saints bounced back to a hard fought victory. Brees threw for 357 yards and two scores, while Atlanta’s Matt Ryan threw for 304 yards and two scores as well. Both offenses looked sharp, it took Roman Harper’s fourth-down pass interception in end zone to seal this victory for the Saints.
Tampa Bay 17 – NY Jets 18: Rookie quarterback Geno Smith lead the Jets to a last second victory against the Buccaneers. Following a first-down run by Smith, Buccaneer’s Lavonte David committed a personal foul setting up Jets Nick Folk with a game winning 48-yard field goal with two seconds left on the clock. Although it wasn’t a pretty victory, the Jets will take it after their offseason quarterback carousel.
Green Bay 28 – San Francisco 34: All of the off season hype was for the right reason as 49er’s Colin Kaepernick threw for 412 yards and three scores. This game went back and forth the entire game. Anquan Boldin had 13 catches for 208 yards and one score in his debut for San Francisco. Bay Area native Aaron Rodgers also had a great game going 21-37 for 333 yards and three scores of his own. The Packers battled, but just like in last year’s playoff they showed Kaepernick and the 49ers were too much to handle.
NY Giants 31 – Dallas 36: The Cowboys forced six turnovers, in their home opener vs. the turnover prone Giants. New York never gave up, due to two time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning throwing for 450 yards and four scores. Victor Cruz hauled in five catches for 118 yards and three scores of his own. The Cowboys were too much to handle as Tony Romo and Jason Witten connected twice in this game. Dallas ground attack was led by DeMarco Murray who rushed for 86 yards.
Philadelphia 33 – Washington 27: Chip Kelly and the Eagles started out to a 33-7 lead in their new up-tempo offense. Michael Vick threw 203 yards, two scores, and was also efficient on the ground running for 54 yards and another score. RG3 tested the waters after missing all preseason due to his torn ACL injury in last year’s playoff game vs. Seattle. RG3 and the Redskins just ran out of time, after connecting with Leonard Hankerson for a touchdown with just over a minute remaining the Redskins failed to get the onside kick, just falling short on a comeback.
