Do You Still Believe in Miracles? Broncos' 87-Yard Final Play Highlights the NFL's Early Slate

Broncos 12, Bengals 7

Vikings 24, Browns 13

Colts 14, Jaguars 12

Saints 45, Lions 27

Cowboys 27, Buccaneers 14

Eagles 38, Panthers 10

Ravens 38, Chiefs 24

Jets 24, Texans 7

Falcons 19. Dolphins 7

With 11 seconds left, down by 1, and at their own 13, the Broncos pulled off something amazing, Kyle Orton threw to Brandon Marshall, but the ball was tipped, and another Brandon snagged it. Stokley ran the distance with time expiring to win the game, 12-7.

Witness the madness with a side of classic Gus Johnson:

Baltimore's Joe Flacco threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns while his running back, Ray Rice, rushed for 108 yards.

The Chiefs waited until minutes before the game to make a decision on quarterback Matt Cassel, but ultimately scratched him due to an injury he's been battling for the last few weeks. Brodie Croyle was adequate in his stead, going 16/24 for 177 yards, but Kansas City's running game was almost non-existent. Larry Johnson took the ball 11 times for only 20 yards.

The Indianapolis Colts kicked off the season with a 14- 12 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars did everything they could to stay in the game but an incomplete pass by David Garrard with 1:14 left put an end to their upset hopes.

The combination of Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne was too much for Jacksonville rookie Derek Cox too handle. Manning threw for 301 yards, connecting with Wayne nine times for 162 yards. Manning and Wayne also connected on a 35 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

Maurice Jones-Drew had 97 yards on 21 carries and added 26 yards on five receptions for the Jaguars in the loss.

After Tampa Bay closed the deficit to 6 points with an 11-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, it looked for a moment like the Cowboys could be in for a dogfight down the stretch. The Buccaneers were hanging around, and last year, this is the type of game Dallas might have lost.

On the ensuing possession, Tony Romo erased those notions quickly--with an 80 yard pass to Patrick Clayton, the third Cowboys receiver to score today, and yet another compelling reminder that the Cowboys will be just fine without Terrell Owens this year. Sure, it's the Bucs, you might argue.

You would be correct. But please, the post-TD, ass-slapping celebration between Tony Romo and Jason Witten probed at the deep misgivings I have about loving this particular team; just let me pretend for one week that our receivers will be good enough to make this work in 2009. That's all I ask.

Thomas Jones makes up for the Sanchez interception and scores a 38 yard touchdown to give the Jets a 24-7 lead. Jones has had 15 carries for 54 yards and 2 touchdowns for the game.

"Hi, I'm pretending to be Pam Oliver:

Donovan McNabb has the left the game with an apparent leg injury, and while the severity of the injury is unclear, he's in the locker room now, and not expected to return. I've talked to some of the Eagles staff on the sideline, but for now, nobody's saying much. Back to you, Dick Stockton."

Unrelated: Sideline reporters have a really easy job. We'll have more updates on McNabb's injury as they emerge.

Also, to answer my question from earlier, Carolina's backup quarterback is Josh McCown, he of the 71.6 career passer rating and distinguished backup quarterback lineage. The Panthers have given Delhomme the hook after three putrid, PUTRID quarters of football. I think it was his 4th interception that dealt the fatal blow, but he's been overmatched the entire game. Really, it's painful to watch.

Mark Sanchez throws his first interception that had massive consequences as the Texans return the interception 57 yards for a touchdown. The Texans are now down 17-7 with 12:18 left in the fourth quarter.

Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio gambled by going for it on fourth and two from the Colts six yard line. Maurice Jones-Drew made that gamble pay off with a six yard touchdown run to pull within two. Del Rio gambled again by going for the two-point conversion but the Colts stopped Jones-Drew for no gain. The Colts are set to receive with just under 11 minutes left in the game.

The NFL's circle of life is alive and well in Cleveland. The grizzled veteran (Brett Favre, nee Gunslinger) and green rookie (Percy Harvin) both just earned their first touchdowns of the season on the same play. And the score puts Minnesota firmly in control of their battle against the Browns.

It was a 6-yard pass from Favre, and Harvin continues to lead the Vikings in receiving today. And really, Favre and Harvin may be cut from a different generational cloth, but they share what matters: a childish enthusiasm for the game. That's what it's all about, folks.

Erik Rydholm, executive producer of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, crystallizes the disjointed feeling of watching 8 football games in brief 30 second windows:

On a perfect throw from Tony Romo, Roy Williams caught a 66-yard touchdown, as the Cowboys take command in Tampa Bay, and Dallas fans across the country (and throughout Mexico) enjoy a collective exhale as the offense proves it can score with Terrell Owens.

Peyton Manning finally hit a long pass to receiver Reggie Wayne. The 35-yard strike gave the Colts a 14-6 and added to the offensive stats of both players. Manning has been fantastic completing 20-of-24 passes for 243 yards. The TD reception was the seventh of the game for Wayne and he has 133 yards.

Thomas Jones punches the ball in from the one yard line on the Jets opening drive in the second half to take a 17 point lead over the Texans. The opening drive took 7:18 and Sanchez drove the team 87 yards.

I'm watching the Red Zone channel now, and while it's freaking fantastic for staying on top of all the action, the host is the equivalent of Adam Schefter reporting on methamphetamines. (Or rather, more methamphetamines.)

Let's take you to Jacksonville! Nowwww let's go to Detroit! Let's take a peek at the action in Houston! Okay, then: back to Carolina, where Jake Delhomme is trying preserve a shred of dignity. WAIT! Let's go to Cleveland!

I'm not sure I can handle this for an entire three hours. In any case, Tampa Bay K Mike Nugent missed a 46-yard field goal before the half--after Byron Leftwich overthrew a pass by a solid 8 yards, missing a wide open Antonio Bryant in the endzone--making it a 13-7 ballgame. Tampa will get the ball first after halftime.

Allaying any concerns--at least on that one play--about the explosiveness of the Dallas Cowboys' receiving corps, Tony Romo just threw a 42-yard strike to Miles Austin, who then wiggled his way out of tackle, and toed the sideline on the way to an endzone. A nice effort, and one that certainly bodes well for the prospects of the Dallas offense.

After the Vikings go three and out with 1:30 left in the second quarter, Josh Cribbs returns a punt 67 yards to give the Browns a 13-10 lead. This would be the Browns first touchdown at home since Week 9 last season.

Two Indianapolis Colts turnovers have kept the score close in Indianapolis. The Colts have a 7-6 lead over the Jags but Peyton Manning threw an interception in the end zone and Joseph Addai fumbled at the Jaguars 26. The Colts have put up 206 yards on offense including 168 passing yards.

Mark Sanchez throws his first touchdown of his career with a 30 yard touchdown throw to Chansi Stuckey. On the drive, Sanchez went 3/5 for 60 yards. In the game Sanchez is 8/17 for 121 yards in what to this point has been a very defensive game between both teams.

Brady Quinn hit Braylon Edwards on a 38-yard TD pass but Edwards was knocked out of bounds. The Vikings won the challenge and the ball was placed at the six. The Browns failed to convert the first-and-goal and settled for a field goal. Browns coach Eric Mangini elected to run the Wildcat twice and the Vikings stopped Cribbs both times.

Jake Delhomme's woes continue--this time with an interception to Sheldon Brown (his second on the day). Keep in mind: it's NOT a good sign when a quarterback has Tommy John Surgery, so this sputtering really comes as no surprise. Donovan McNabb quickly converted that into into a touchdown to someone named Brent Celek.

To review: the Eagles are looking pretty impressive, and... uh... who's Carolina's backup quarterback again?

Early in the second quarter, Jake Delhomme was sacked by Eagles DE Trent Cole, fumbled, and Eagles DE Victor Abiamiri returned it for a touchdown. Then, after a defensive stop from Philadelphia, Eagles WR Desean Jackson--a whirling dervish, I tell you!--got a few blocks, one of which was obviously an uncalled clipping penalty, and just like that, he was high-stepping down the high-stepping into the endzone for a touchdown. 

Joseph Addai made up for his earlier fumble scoring a three-yard run to give the Colts a 7-3 lead. Addai has 31 yards on 12 carries. Manning has thrown for 168 yards in the first half and is 14-for-18. Reggie Wayne lead the Colts receivers with 98 yards on six receptions.

Adrian Peterson punches it in from one yard out after starting the drive on the Cleveland 23. Favre has been relying on the outstanding running game in Minnesota with only six pass attempts in the Vikings first 16 plays.

A Josh Scobee 24-yard field goal is the only score on the board despite big offensive numbers for both the Jaguars and Colts. Maurice Jones-Drew has 46 yards rushing on only six carries and David Garrard is 7-for-9 for Jacksonville.
Peyton Manning is 10-for-13 for 96 yards completing three passes for 47 yards to Reggie Wayne. The Colts have driven into Jaguars territory twice but a Peyton Manning interception and a Joseph Addai fumble have given the ball to the Jaguars.

Carolina put together a long opening drive which ended in an 11-yard TD run from DeAngelo Williams. The drive was kept alive on a fourth and short conversion several plays before scoring six.

Philly punted on its first drive, which was followed by Jake Delhomme's first of many INTs to come. The pass was thrown well behind the crossing receiver, and picked by Sheldon Brown and a pretty impressive catch. The Eagles turned the pick into three points off a 48-yard FG.

Though the Cowboys defense looked porous in surrendering a long drive to the supposedly-middling Tampa Bay offense, Cowboys FS Gerald Sensabaugh came up with a blocked field goal to keep the Buccaneers off the score board. Big play, and man, do I love that name.

This game is getting close to being over before it started. Brees had a 29 yard touchdown to Robert Meachem after the Saints received the ball on the Saints 47. Brees is now 5/5 for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. Fantasy owners rejoice.

The Cowboys marched down the field in Tampa Bay, only to be felled by Ronde Barber and their own disorganization when it appeared Tampa was helpless in stopping their offense. For about five plays, though, Dallas was flawless in reaching the Tampa Bay 35-yard line.

Then, after Ronde Barber came unblocked on a corner blitz to sack Tony Romo, the Cowboys followed with a broken play, a timeout, and two yard run. As a Cowboys fan, I will choose to look at the silver lining: we got that far, at least, and Nick Folk drilled a 51-yarder that would have been good from 60.

Now? Let the Leftwich era begin!

Peyton Manning led the Colts down the field completing four passes for 41 yards but the drive ended with an interception in the end zone. Manning was looking to Reggie Wayne but rookie CB Derek Cox.

The first touchdown of the day comes in Detroit where Drew Brees goes 3/3 for 49 yards capped off by a 9 yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston.

The New York Jets and the Detroit Lions are both ready to start fresh with new coaches and a rookie QB. Jim Schwartz and Rex Ryan are first year head coaches and they both decided last week that their fate will rest on the arm of a rookie.
Lions head coach Jim Schwartz named Matthew Stafford the starting QB last week with the intentions of starting fresh in Detroit. Last season they went 0-16 and they would like to forget about that season.

"It's the same name on our jerseys, but the guys in the jerseys are totally different. The coaches on the sidelines are totally different. It's a new outfit this year, and it just kind of seems like what happened last year happened last year. We've got our first game, and we're starting new on Sunday."

“We’re placing huge importance on this game; Sanchez said it’s a must-win game and that’s how I feel,” Ryan said. “I think we’re bringing a good team with us. Let’s see what we have.”

You know, it's only appropriate that Brett Farve's comeback to the NFL--is it even a "comeback" if none of us ever thought he'd really leave?--will begin in Cleveland, a city that's well past its prime, has a few redeeming qualities, but is mostly just depressing, as the redeeming qualities only serve as a reminder of what the city could be. Indeed, if everything looked like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and if Brett Favre played every game like last year's Patriots-Jets game, this would be a very different conversation.

Still, FOOTBALL IS BACK! In that spirit, the Daily Norseman gets you ready for today's Vikings-Browns tilt with a fantastic preview. To which I would only add, it's "AD" for Adrian Peterson, not "AP." "AD" stands for "All Day" which makes it an awesome nickname, "AP" might as well be "Reuters," and besides, it's the least creative nickname ever. This is not up for debate.

Also, if you're an American, there's an approximately 20% chance you're a Cowboys fan. In that case, check out Blogging the Boys' comprehensive two part preview. Though if you're familiar with Byron Leftwich's professional track record, any preview that goes beyond "Leftwich is starting" may be superfluous. Then again, "Wade Phillips is coaching," so who knows?

Just one day after Browns rookie RB James Davis was in a one car crash, he will suit up for his first NFL game. Davis was listed as questionable after the crash but he has been listed as active by Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini. Davis is expected to get some carries as the backup for Jamal Lewis.

ESPN.com is reporting that Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel will not play in the game against the Ravens today. The Chiefs are expected to start Brodie Croyle but no decision has been made yet.

Whoever plays QB for the Chiefs, the game plan will remain the same.

"I don't think a whole bunch [of change] really for any of those guys," Haley said. "It might be a little more [shot]gun, a little less gun, or there might be different things you do for different guys. But other than that I think the game is, especially now ... it's Thursday and it's almost go time."

The Ravens defense will be licking their chops and ready to get after whoever lines up under center at 1 PM.