NFL week one: First impressions

Wide receiver Vincent Brown #86 of the San Diego Chargers dives and touches the pylon for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Houston Texans at Qualcomm Stadium

Bengals 21 Bears 24

The Bears defense doesn’t miss a beat with Urlacher. The recently retired middle linebacker was said to leave a big hole in the Bears defense. However, Sunday proved that this Bears defense will continue to cause turnovers and stuff the run. For the Bengals, AJ Green had over 200 yards receiving and two TDs in the loss.

Raiders 17 Colts 21

Terrell Pryor impressed in his first start but showed in the end that he is still a rookie. Pryor had signs of a QB that could keep plays alive and make plays down the field. However, on a first and goal from the Colts 8 yard line, Pryor ate a sack that cost his team field position and a chance to win the game. For the Colts, Andrew Luck came out firing in the first half, struggled much of the second half, but was able to put together the game winning drive.

Falcons 17 Saints 23

The upset of the day as Sean Payton returned to the sidelines to guide the Saints to a win. The Falcons, who figured to be the favorites in the NFC, struggled all day protecting Matt Ryan as the supposed fire-powered offense was only able to muster up 17 points. For the Saints, defensive coordinator Rob Ryan had an impressive debut, often confusing and frustrating the Falcons O-line with his blitz packages.

Titans 16 Steelers 9

Two defenses battled as the Titans were able to down the Steelers. The Steelers offense was unable to do anything due to the offensive line getting dominated throughout the whole game. For the Titans, the offense wasn’t very impressive, but did get a TD and a trio of field goals.

Cardinals 24 Rams 27

The St. Louis Rams kicked a last second field goal for the win. Sam Bradford had a very impressive performance that included driving down the Rams to set up the last second field goal. Cardinals’ Carson Palmer looked impressive on his debut as he was able to hit Larry Fitzgerald on a very nice TD throw. The Cardinals also got a good contribution from new RB Rashard Mendenhall.

Eagles 33 Redskins 27

Chip Kelly’s offense had Philly flying, taking the spotlight off RG3 for a second. And I’m very curious to see how NFL defensive coordinators will adjust to Vick and the Eagles. The Eagles defense was extremely impressive, forcing a lot of three and outs and turnovers. Going back to RG3, he definitely had a rough first half with limited mobility, but still had a great second half and it seems both teams do not lack weapons going forward.

Texans 31 Chargers 28

The Texans had a second half comeback to stun the Chargers in San Diego. The game, that seemed to be going the Chargers’ way after they picked off Matt Schaub two plays into the game, got away from them at the end. Schaub was able to lead three touchdown drives in the second half and then Houston was able to win on a last second field goal. Phil Rivers, the Chargers QB, had a very good start to the game and ended up throwing three touchdown passes but threw a costly pick at the end.