The NFL is back and it began with a rematch of Super Bowl 50. To close out Week 1, we get a Monday Night Football doubleheader, that started with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating Washington, 38-16, to open the night. The night cap featured the Los Angeles Rams as they stumbled to a loss against the San Francisco 49ers, 28-0.
Trevor Siemian and the Denver Broncos were the only team that entered the weekend 1-0 after edging the Carolina Panthers, 21-20, on Thursday night.
On Sunday, the marquee matchup of the day was a back-and-forth duel between the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.'The two teams both advanced to conference championships in 2015, but came up short with disappointing ends to promising seasons. Even without Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots are a team with a well-rounded defense and plenty of other weapons for Jimmy Garoppolo to work with, and rallied for a 23-21 road win.
Before that, there was a group of nine games that kicked off at 1 p.m. ET, and three that started after 4 p.m. ET. And almost all of them were wild.
In the first group of games, the Baltimore Ravens topped the Buffalo Bills, the Minnesota Vikings rode their defense to a win over the Tennessee Titans and Carson Wentz looked impressive in a win for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Cleveland Browns. Some of the matchups that looked like they should have been lopsided ended up being the tightest games of the week.
The Kansas City Chiefs needed the biggest comeback in franchise history to erase a huge San Diego Chargers lead and win in overtime, while the Jacksonville Jaguars came dangerously close to pulling off a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minute of what turned out to be a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
In the second slate, the Seattle Seahawks came back late in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Dolphins despite a banged up Russell Wilson. The Dak Prescott-led Dallas Cowboys fell in a heartbreaker to the New York Giants, 20-19. And then there was also a rollercoaster game between the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions that the Lions won after Matt Prater hit a late field goal.
Below, we've got the schedule and final scores so far for Week 1:
Final scores for Week 1 (all times ET)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Atlanta Falcons 24
Philadelphia Eagles 29, Cleveland Browns 10
Minnesota Vikings 25, Tennessee Titans 16
Oakland Raiders 35, New Orleans Saints 34
Cincinnati Bengals 23, New York Jets 22
Kansas City Chiefs 33, San Diego Chargers 27 (OT)
Houston Texans 23, Chicago Bears 14
Baltimore Ravens 13, Buffalo Bills 7
Green Bay Packers 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 23
Seattle Seahawks 12, Miami Dolphins 10
Detroit Lions 39, Indianapolis Colts 35
New York Giants 20, Dallas Cowboys 19
New England Patriots 23, Arizona Cardinals 21
Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Washington 16
San Francisco 49ers 28, Los Angeles Rams 0
Highlights
Aaron Rodgers throws a perfect touchdown, even while a defender yanks him down.
DeMarco Murray scored a Superman touchdown for the Titans.
The Browns started off horribly, then Terrelle Pryor made a terrific 44-yard grab.
Joe Flacco recovered from a not-so-elite fumble to throw an elite 66-yard touchdown.
Dolphins WR Kenny Stills dropped a perfectly thrown pass, and suffered an existential crisis in slo-mo.
721 days later, the Victor Cruz salsa dance is back.
Terrance Williams didn't get out of bounds and the clock ran out on the Cowboys.
The Colts' last-gasp effort should have been set to "Yakety Sax."
Larry Fitzgerald caught his 100th career touchdown pass.
Jimmy Garoppolo caught one of his own passes and looked like a real NFL starting quarterback in New England's win.
Eli Rogers' first touchdown came after the ball accidentally bounced off Sammie Coates' hands and into Rogers' face.
Antonio Brown had a huge night, but the refs wouldn't let him get away with a little thrusting.
Major Injuries
Keenan Allen was carted off with a torn ACL. The Chargers later placed him on injured reserve.
Texans linebacker Brian Cushing left the game against the Bears with an MCL tear. He’s expected to be out for six weeks.
Bills left tackle Cordy Glenn exited in the second quarter with a leg injury and shortly after, he was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux has a broken fibula and is expected to miss six weeks.
Robert Griffin III injured his shoulder against the Eagles and the Browns later placed him on injured reserve.
Russell Wilson limped off with an ankle injury, but stayed in the game and led the Seahawks to a win. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll expects his quarterback to play in Week 2.
Bucs defensive end Jacquies Smith is done for the year with a torn ACL.