NFL: Thoughts About the First Sunday

controlled the game well and didn't commit any turnovers, Marshawn Lynch ran well, Lee Evans was excellent, and the defense was solid.

If the Bills play like this all year, there's no question they could lock up that last wildcard slot.

 

4. Donovan McNabb

Finally healthy for the first time in what seems like ages, McNabb, playing without his top three receivers, went all crazy on the St. Louis defense, throwing for a ridiculous 361 yards and three touchdowns, including a 90-yarder to Hank Baskett.

Being a Cowboys fan and watching that game, I could feel my stomach quivering and my heart beating fast, kind of like when you see the girl you're crazy about talking to the star quarterback of the football team.  You've got to be scared.

 

5. Jake Delhomme

Another quarterback coming off an injury, Delhomme played extremely well against what is supposed to be a stacked San Diego defense.  Delhomme went for a respectable 247 yards against the Chargers, and threw the game winning touchdown as time expired.

The Panthers can't win like that every week, but they sure played well against a possible Super Bowl team.

 

Five Worst

1. New England Patriots

The Patriots played extremely well.  Randy Moss showed last year wasn't a fluke.  Then again, the Patriots might not want to think about last year.  Not because they lost the Super Bowl, but because the man who led them there, the all-mighty Tom Brady, went down awkwardly with a knee injury, taking the Patriots' playoff chances with him.

Every single person in Gillette Stadium stopped breathing at that moment.  I mean every single person.  Without Brady, the Patriots are a middle-of-the-pack team in the AFC, if that.

Brady's injury hasn't been fully examined yet, but from the look of it, it is not good.  Eric Mangini is walking around with the biggest smile on his face right now, as his team is now the favorite to win the AFC East.  But watch out for the Buffalo Bills.  This should be an interesting battle.

 

 

2. Houston Texans

Maybe the Texans couldn't handle all the hype.  Maybe they're not as good as people have been giving them credit for.  Maybe they just had one bad week and could go 15-1 the rest of the year.  Whatever the case, the Texans did not look good.

Matt Schaub looked awful, especially during his two interceptions.  There are two kinds of interceptions, in my mind.  First, there are the ones that are brought on by pressure on the quarterback or the receiver running the wrong route/failing to catch the pass.

Then there are the stupid interceptions caused by the quarterback over/under throwing the receiver or making a stupid, stupid throw.  Schaub's interceptions were the latter.

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