WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New York Jets

Curtis Martin was pulled at the goal line on the first drive after Martin had been fairly strong running the ball. Lamont Jordan was inserted and rushed the ball 3 consecutive times before scoring. These were the only goalline rushing attempts by the Jets. Overall, Jordan was not effective though netting 0 yards on 6 rushes.

Vinny Testaverde confidently completed short passes during an opening drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Lamont Jordan. In the second half however, he was continually unsuccessful on third down and finished with just 105 yards on 15 of 24 passing. He did have a perfect sure TD pass dropped in the first half.

Jets running backs were unproductive, gaining a combined 48 yards on the ground. They rushed 22 times for 57 yards (2.6 average)

The Jets managed just 158 total yards in the game. While they were unable to sustain drives, they remained in contention throughout due in large part to lack of turnovers and penalties.

Washington Redskins

Three of the Redskins off-season Jets acquisitions paid immediate dividends. After an opening kickoff return to the 29-yard line by Chad Morton, the Redskins initial drive was highlighted by two Laveranues Coles grabs for 26 yards, and the 12-play opening drive was capped by a 50 yard John Hall field goal.

QB Patrick Ramsey started his sophomore campaign looking like an experienced veteran, completing 12 of 13 passes for 156 yards and a score in the first half. He was less spectacular but still productive in the second half finishing as the games most valuable player.

New Redskin receiver Laveranues Coles exceeded expectations in the first half with 5 catches for 106 yards. He did not catch a pass in the second half however.

Former St. Louis Rams RB Trung Canidate started the game but gave way to Ladell Betts on the second series, indicating early that the Redskins will use a Running-Back-By-Committee approach this season. The pattern held form all night as Canidate gained 46 yards on 10 carries and Betts finished with 18 carries for 77 yards.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New York Jets

QB: Testaverde looked like an old QB thrust into action. He was cautious and looked to be following a "safe" gameplan. Testeverde executed a perfect bootleg in the first half, but the would-be 3-yard TD pass was dropped by Jerald Sowell in the end zone. It didn't matter however as Lamont Jordan subsequently scored from 1 yard out. He did seem most comfortable throwing to Chrebet. On the night the 39-year old backup's longest completion was just 17 yards.

RB: Curtis Martin was effective early as he carried the load in the first quarter but was limited for the rest of the game, finishing with 48 yards on 15 carries.

Lamont Jordan saw action but contributed little aside from the early touchdown. It might be too early to proclaim Curtis Martin and Jordan as this year's Fred Taylor and Stacey Mack but do not ignore what happened to Martin at the goalline.

WR: Wayne Chrebet's 4 catches for 40 yards led an unproductive Jets receiving corps. While certainly not fast, he still looked fairly quick but simply didn't see enough passes to make a big impact.

New recruit Curtis Conway caught 2 passes for 28 yards. The WRs struggled to separate from the Redskins defenders.

Santana Moss was a non factor and almost gained more yards rushing (9) than he did receiving (12 yards on 3 catches)

TE: Anthony Becht was the lone Jet TE to catch a pass finishing with 2 for 12 yards.

K: Doug Brien kept the Jets in the game in the fourth quarter with successful field goals of 30 and 41 yards.

Pass Defense: The Jets defense had difficulty containing Redskin receivers or disrupting Ramsey's' pin-point passes. They improved in the fourth quarter, stopping multiple third down conversions but were not able to hold on the final drive.

Rush Defense: The Jets gave up 160 yards on the ground including Ramsey's decisive 24 yard scamper that set up the game winning field goal.

Washington Redskins

QB: Ramsey quickly put to rest last year's Quarterback by Committee talk with an excellent game. Two stellar first-half plays highlighted the ability the Redskins were looking for when drafting him late in the first round last year. A perfect read and react, quick release on play-action resulted in a 20- yard completion to Robert Royal, setting up a 4-yard TD pass to Darnerien McCants two plays later. On the next drive he alertly ducked an impending sack and launched a 48-yard strike to Coles, again highlighting the presence and quick-release. At half time, he was red hot having completed 12 of 13 passes for 156 yards. He did come back to earth after the break with an interception and poor third-down decisions as the Redskin offense was less productive in the second half.

RB: Trung Canidate started but his carries were limited. He did show flashes of speed and elusiveness on consecutive carries in the fourth quarter. He finished with 46 yards on just 10 carries.

Ladell Betts received the bulk of the carries rushing 18 times for 77 yards. He also caught one pass for 4 yards.

Coach Steve Spurrier said after the game that Betts' performance did not necessarily mean Betts would see an increased role or become the starter.

WR: Laveranues Coles made a huge statement with an excellent first half. He looked extremely comfortable in the offense and seemed to have the confidence of Ramsey. He cooled off in the 2nd half with no completions (he was targeted for 2 passes in the 2nd half)

While Coles was in the spotlight in his Redskin debut, third year receiver Rod Gardner also contributed with 5 receptions for 32 yards. Gardner looked very comfortable as well in the offense.

Only two other receivers caught passes, totaling 8 yards.

TE: Robert Royal caught 2 passes for 24 yards. Zeron Flemister managed 1 catch for 6 yards. Neither seemed to be a focus in the game plan.

K: John Hall justified his acquisition by hitting all 3 of his attempts, including the 33-yard game winner with 5 seconds remaining. His first FG as a Redskin was for 50 yards.

Pass Defense: The Redskins had difficulty containing Testaverde's short tosses early, but shut him down in as the game progressed, particularly on third down. The tenacious pass coverage did not produce an interception but gave up just 105 yards passing on the night.

Rush Defense: Martin carried six times for good yardage on the opening drive but the Redskins rush defense tightened from then on and gave up just 57 yards in the game. The Jets longest rush was 12 yards.

The 158 total yards allowed was the lowest by a Redskin defense since 1992.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Baltimore Ravens

Rookie QB Kyle Boller looked shaky early in the game, but settled in during the second half to finish with fairly respectable numbers. The strong-armed quarterback was also consistently short on his deep passes, frustrating receivers Travis Taylor and Marcus Robinson, who were readily able to beat the Steelers' secondary deep. He did appear to settle in during the 4th quarter, however, and did an excellent job of moving around behind the line of scrimmage before finding Travis Taylor for his lone touchdown pass.

RB Jamal Lewis ran hard gaining 69 yards on 15 carries, including a nice 14-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter for the Ravens' first points. He also caught 2 passes for 4 yards but was replaced in passing situations by Chester Taylor who ended up with 3 catches for 10 yards. The Lewis touchdown run was followed by only two more rushing attempts (one by Lewis) as Baltimore went to the air in an attempt to catch up. Lewis also fumbled, setting up a Pittsburgh score on the next play.

Todd Heap was targeted early and often, including a successful 2 point conversion, finishing with 6 receptions for 55 yards on 9 total targets. Travis Taylor was the other primary receiving target, hauling in 5 passes for 33 yards and TD on 8 targets.

Pittsburgh Steelers

RB Amos Zereoue started the game and was not pulled in short yardage or red zone situations. Zereoue was somewhat unexpectedly pulled on passing downs, however, in favor of RB Verron Haynes, who also got all the carries during fourth quarter junk time. Jerome Bettis did not get onto the field until early in the 2nd quarter, when he was the primary running back for two consecutive drives covering much of the 2nd quarter. Bettis did not play in the 2nd half of the blowout victory.

QB Tommy Maddox picked up where he left off last season, looking comfortable in the pocket despite some significant pressure. He spread the ball well among his top receivers. Maddox was consistently on target to his receivers, who in turn were consistently open against the Baltimore secondary. Hines Ward finished the game with 9 receptions and 2 TDs, but Burress wound up with more yards. New TE Jay Riemersma had two red zone targets, resulting in two catches and one 20 yard TD.

Plaxico Burress left the field late in the 2nd quarter with what appeared to be a groin injury, but returned to action after the half and showed no ill effects.

The Steelers defense did an excellent job of getting pressure on Kyle Boller, but had little success stopping the Ravens running game, and while Boller was unable to take advantage of it, the secondary was often beaten on deep routes.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Baltimore Ravens

QB: Kyle Boller was harassed by the Steeler defense all afternoon with a variety of blitzes and coverage. He did show some presence in the pocket and didn't make a lot of mistakes. He threw one interception on the first series and he later fumbled twice, both fumbles recovered by the Ravens. He under threw Travis Taylor on a number of deep balls but that also turned out to be one of the Raven's best plays. On the drive leading to Jamal Lewis' touchdown two passes to Travis Taylor resulted in defensive pass interference penalties totaling 57 yards. He showed some ability to avoid the rush, especially in the second quarter when he ducked under a blitz by LB Kendrell Bell and was able to throw the ball away. He finally connected with Travis Taylor in the 4th quarter for a 5-yard touchdown and followed it up with a nice fade to Todd Heap for the 2-point conversion. He did complete a 43-yard pass to Travis Taylor but it was called back for pass interference on Taylor. Most of Boller's completions came later in the game when the Steeler's were giving up the underneath passes.

RB: Jamal Lewis started and looked to be in top form, gaining 3 or more yards on 12 of his 15 carries and running through and over tacklers, but was used lightly in the 2nd half, once the Steelers had built a large lead. He fumbled once while being gang tackled trying to lengthen a short 2nd half gain and the ball was recovered by Pittsburgh. Lewis was targeted 5 times in the passing game, although it resulted in only 2 catches for 3 yards, plus a drop. Backup RB Chester Taylor was used lightly to give Lewis brief breathers, and FB Alan Ricard also had 2 carries and a reception in the game as a ploy to keep defenders honest.

WR: Travis Taylor was obviously Boller's favorite WR target, and ran excellent routes while showing good hands in the game. He was consistently able to beat Pittsburgh's cornerbacks on deep routes, but was unable to make the catches as Boller's passes consistently came up short. Taylor was instrumental in Baltimore's first scoring drive, drawing two pass interference penalties on CB Dewayne Washington for a total of 57 yards.

Marcus Robinson was all but forgotten in the game, receiving only 4 targets and finishing with just 1 reception for 14 yards. He was also able to get open on deep routes and was targeted twice in this capacity, and was the intended target of an end zone pass, which was batted away by Pittsburgh.

Ron Johnson was targeted twice as Baltimore's third WR, hauling in one catch for 18 yards to convert a third down play. WR Frank Sanders did not play in the game, still recovering from the two dislocated toes which he suffered during preseason.

TE: Todd Heap was once again the primary receiving target for the Ravens, finishing the game with 6 receptions for 55 yards and a successful 2 point conversion catch, on 9 targets. With Baltimore coming into the game with only 3 wide receivers in uniform, Heap was often split out in the flanker position, and was able to beat cornerbacks and safeties consistently in coverage. The 2 point conversion was a beautifully thrown fade route to Heap, who went up over a CB to make the catch.

Terry Jones Jr. was also utilized in a receiving role, finishing with 3 receptions for 21 yards and a drop on his 4 targets. Jones lined up in the TE position when Heap was split to the outside, but should not be considered a threat to Heap's receiving numbers.

K: Matt Stover was hardly used in the game, converting on his only PAT attempt. Baltimore passed on what would have been a 55 yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, opting to punt the ball.

Pass Defense: Baltimore was able to put pressure on Tommy Maddox in the game, but the secondary broke down often against the Steelers' big and athletic receivers, and Pittsburgh was able to throw the ball at will throughout the game. Peter Boulware, Adalius Thomas, and rookie Terrell Suggs each recorded sacks, Suggs' first in the NFL coming on a 3rd and goal play in the first quarter.

Run Defense: The Ravens were tough on Pittsburgh running backs throughout the game, limiting the Steelers backs to 97 yards on 31 combined carries and wracking up 7 tackles for a loss, plus forcing a fumble which led to the Ravens 2nd touchdown of the game. None of the Steelers backs were able to consistently move the ball during the game.

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB: Tommy Maddox was cool and collected in the pocket all game long, even with defenders in his face and a poor rushing attack which proved unable to take the pressure off the passing game. While Pittsburgh's play calling was generally balanced between the pass and the run, including in the red zone, it was the pass that worked for them all game long. Maddox showed excellent vision of the field and accuracy in his passes at all depths and to both sides of the field, and showed no favoritism towards either of his top wide receivers, whether between the 20s, in the red zone, or on key 3rd down conversions. Interesting to note that his 7 red zone passes were thrown to 4 different receivers.

Antwaan Randle El took a total of 4 snaps at quarterback in the game, including two in a row with Maddox also on the field. Randle El handed off to FB Dan Kreider once, with the remaining 3 being quarterback sneaks, one of which was scored a sack.

Charlie Batch came into the game with about 6:00 remaining, with the outcome already well decided. Batch's duties consisted exclusively of handing the ball off to backup RB Verron Haynes.

RB: Amos Zereoue started the game and was not taken off the field in the red zone, nor on short yardage situations. The Steelers did seem to favor Verron Haynes in passing situations, however, and Zereoue was targeted only once in the game, resulting in a completion for -1 yard. Zereoue had a total of 4 red zone carries in the game, one of which he took in for the score from 8 yards out. He was also handed the ball on a 4th and 1 situation early in the game and responded, bouncing the run outside to his left and outrunning defenders to the corner for a 12 yard gain. Zereoue's final numbers of 15 carries for 56 yards (1 TD) are more indicative of how well the Ravens played the run, than of any shortcoming in his own rushing abilities-he rarely had any holes to work with and was often forced to make his first move behind the line of scrimmage.

Jerome Bettis did not set foot on the field of play until early in the 2nd quarter, and was seen wearing a baseball cap and walking along the sidelines in the 1st period, leading one to believe that he knew he would not be called into the game at that time. For the game, Bettis had only 4 carries for 14 yards, all in the 2nd quarter, and one in the red zone. His first two carries were for a total of -1 yard, before he broke a 12 yarder to give him the more respectable 3.5 yards per carry average. Not surprisingly, Bettis was not targeted for a single pass in the game. If the Steelers had intended him to work the 4th quarter, that plan was vetoed when the Steelers came into that time frame with a commanding 27-7 lead.

Verron Haynes saw extensive playing time in the 2nd half. Haynes had only two carries in the first half for 7 yards, one of them in the red zone, but was often subbed into the backfield on passing downs. Haynes got most of his carries during 4th quarter junk time, and his 11 attempts for 18 yards totals are a bit deceptive as he lost 7 yards on a single play, fumbling the ball when Ravens DE Marques Douglas hit him during the handoff. Considering that the entire stadium knew what was coming on most of his carries, Haynes ran the ball fairly well. Even though Haynes was in the game on passing downs he was seldom targeted by Maddox. He had only 1 catch as did Zereoue.

WR: Hines Ward turned in a great day, finishing with 9 receptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. He consistently found holes in the Baltimore secondary and used his body to shield the ball from defensive backs. His first TD was a 4 yard reception in which Ward managed to find some open turf in the back of the end zone, while the second came on a beautiful 28 yard strike from Maddox when Baltimore safety Ed Reed missed his coverage responsibility. Ward had a third red zone target on a play which was negated by a defensive holding penalty.

Plaxico Burress was once again the big play man for the Steelers, hauling in 6 catches for 116 yards in the game. Burress had little trouble getting loose from Baltimore's corners, and did have two red zone targets, though one was batted down at the line and the other fell incomplete on an errant pass. Burress limped off the field late in the 2nd quarter after making a very nice 47 yard catch in tight coverage, apparently with a groin injury, but appeared ok as he returned to action after the half. He was largely quiet in the 2nd half, however, with only 1 catch for 18 yards on two targets.

Antwaan Randle El was targeted only once in the game, coming back on a pass thrown short to scoop up a key 3rd down reception from inches off the turf, picking up the first down with that 11 yard reception.

TE: New TE Jay Riemersma made an immediate impact with 2 catches for 29 yards. One was a 20-yard completion for a touchdown on a post pattern that had Riemersma pretty much alone on the play. The Steelers made last year's starter, Mark Bruener, inactive for this game. Jerame Tuman, the backup, got 1 catch for only 3 yards.

K: Jeff Reed had no problems kicking in notorious Heinz Field, connecting on both of his field goal attempts, from 29 and 31 yards, and going 4 for 4 on extra point tries.

Pass Defense: The Steeler pass defense used blitzes to try to pressure Raven's QB Kyle Boller into mistakes. It worked early as they intercepted a Boller pass on the first series. They held Boller to 152 yards on 43 attempts and sacked him twice. They also hit him at least 8 times and hurried him on more than a dozen passes. They allowed some yards at the end of the game as they let Boller complete passes to the receivers on short routes.

Run Defense: Pittsburgh sorely missed LB Joey Porter, recovering from a gunshot wound, in this game. The Ravens managed only 88 yards on the ground, but that was mostly because they abandoned the run after falling behind by 20+ points. The Ravens offensive line was able to open up large holes for Jamal Lewis throughout the first 3 quarters, and Lewis able to run through tackles when defenders were in position for the stop.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Houston Texans

QB David Carr led a fairly conservative offensive game plan for the Texans, but it was enough to upset the Dolphins on opening day. After being sacked an NFL-record 76 times in 2002, Carr was not sacked at all on Sunday against the Dolphins. Carr routinely had ample time to select his downfield receivers, and when necessary, he moved outside of the pocket or threw the ball away to avoid a sack. Carr hooked up with Corey Bradford for a 78-yard catch and run touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Rookie WR Andre Johnson was also a favorite target for Carr on Sunday, catching six passes for 76 yards.

Stacey Mack was the primary running back for the Texans against Miami. In typical Stacey Mack style (between the tackles), Mack ran the ball 27 times for 89 yards during the game. Rookie Domanick Davis was the only other RB that ran the ball for the Texans. Tony Hollings did not appear in the game.

PK Kris Brown attempted seven field goals in the game, converting from 36, 50, 23, 24, and 35 (the game winner, with 25 seconds left to play), while missing from 54 and 43.

Pro Bowl DE Gary Walker was inactive for the game with an injured left shoulder. Walker's replacement, Corey Sears was also injured during the game.

The Texans became the first expansion team to win the opening games in their first two seasons.

Miami Dolphins

QB Jay Fiedler threw for 227 yards and 3 TDs, but also threw two interceptions, including one to the Texans' Marcus Coleman with 3:53 left in the game that led to the Texans' game winning field goal.

The Dolphins' offense in the game was very inconsistent and not able to sustain drives when needed. Ricky Williams (17 for 69 rushing, 5 for 60 receiving with 1 TD) and Chris Chambers (7 for 118 receiving with 2 TDs) stood out on offense as expected.

After taking a 14-6 lead to halftime, the Dolphins began the third period with a very conservative, ball control offense, thinking that they would grind the Texans' down in the South Florida heat. This approach yielded them no results, and allowed the Texans to get back in the game on Corey Bradford's TD reception late in the third period.

Miami's defense was effective; holding the Texans to field goals rather than touchdowns. However, when it counted most Junior Seau and company were unable to stop the running by Stacey Mack and the arm of David Carr.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Houston Texans

QB: David Carr seems to have matured greatly from his rookie year. In the game, Carr was not sacked, and several times did the "right thing" to avoid a sack, by rolling out of the pocket or throwing the ball away when necessary.

RB: Stacey Mack was the primary ball carrier for the Texans, spending most of his time between the tackles. Mack ran for 44 yards in the first half, and 45 yards in the second half, but seemed to be more effective late in the game as he bulled for yards to keep the Texans' last two drives alive. Domanick Davis spelled Mack periodically in the game, totaling 36 yards in his appearances. Davis also had one pass thrown to him that resulted in an incompletion. Tony Hollings did not carry the ball during the game.

WR: Corey Bradford's catch-and-run 78-yard touchdown in the third quarter was the highlight of the day for the Texans' offense, as he outran the Dolphins defense over the last 68 yards to the endzone.

Andre Johnson also caught six of Carr's passes for 76 yards and led the Texans in receptions for the day. Johnson made a key 12-yard reception on a crossing pattern to keep a Texans' drive alive in the fourth quarter.

Jabar Gaffney had two catches in the first half for 59 yards, including a 33-yarder, but had only one catch in the second half.

TE: Billy Miller had a non-descript three catch for 20 yards day. Miller had an opportunity for a touchdown pass in the third quarter, but could not hold a reception in the right corner of the end zone.

K: Kris Brown was 5 for 7 in field goals, including the game winner from 35 yards with 25 seconds remaining in the game. Brown's misses were from 54 and 43 yards.

Pass Defense: The Texans' held the Dolphins' offense to 215 yards, with 113 of those coming on the three Dolphins touchdown passes. Overall, the Texans' kept the Dolphins' passing game in check, as they sacked Jay Fiedler twice, and intercepted him twice, including the key interception late in the fourth quarter by Marcus Coleman that led to the game winning field goal.

Run Defense: The Dolphins were held to 86 yards rushing (3.9 yards per rush), with Ricky Williams gaining most of those yards (69 yards). The longest run on the day was for 16 yards by Williams.

Miami Dolphins

QB: Fiedler made a questionable long out throw late in the fourth quarter that resulted in a interception and the eventual Texans' winning field goal. Fiedler was also involved in some questionable timeout usage on the opening drive of the second half as he twice had to use timeouts to keep from having a delay of game penalty called. The use of these two timeouts would become critical in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins had no opportunity to stop the clock late in the game when the Texans were driving for their game winning field goal.

RB: Ricky Williams gained 69 yards on the ground and 60 yards through the air, including a 35-yard touchdown on a screen pass early in the fourth quarter. Williams had a 48-yard run to the Houston 2-yard line nullified in the third quarter as TE Randy McMichael was flagged for offensive holding. Williams also fumbled the ball to the Texans in the first half which led to a 50-yard field goal by Kris Brown.

WR: Chris Chambers was the only visible Dolphins' receiver in the game as he caught seven Fiedler passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. The first touchdown was a catch and run 57-yard touchdown in which Chambers was wide open, Texans' DB Matt Stevens missed a tackle, and Chambers tight-roped down the right sideline for the touchdown. Chambers second touchdown was a spectacular one-handed grab in the back of the end zone late in the second quarter from 21 yards out. Chambers also gained 12 yards on a reverse early in the fourth quarter.

James McKnight was the only other Dolphin receiver to catch a pass (one for 12 yards).

TE: Randy McMichael caught one pass for 16 years. Donald Lee caught one pass for five yards.

K: Olindo Mare was 2 for 2 on extra points. (The Dolphins failed on a 2-point conversion on their third touchdown.) Mare did not attempt any field goals.

Pass Defense: The Dolphins gave up 266 yards through the air to David Carr and his receivers. More significantly, the Dolphins did not sack Carr during the game, nor did they intercept any of his passes. The Dolphin pass rush was not heavy during the game, as Carr had ample time to select a receiver, or evade the rush when he was flushed out of the pocket. Sam Madison nearly intercepted one of Carr's passes in the second quarter. When Madison was injured in the third quarter, his replacement, Jamar Fletcher, was tested by the Texans.

Run Defense: The Dolphins gave up 127 yards on the ground to the Texans. Overall, the Dolphins kept the Texans' ground game in check, but seemed to run out of gas in the fourth quarter as the Texans repeatedly gained first downs against the Dolphins' defense as they moved down the field for their fourth and fifth field goals of the game.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints

The Saints were their own worst enemy turning the ball over four times. The final stats will look good, but their only touchdown came midway through the 4th quarter with the Seahawks playing basically a prevent defense since the game was out of reach for New Orleans. Nine of their thirteen drives lasted 6 plays or fewer, but they still ended up with 359 yards of total offense.

QB Aaron Brooks showed he's over his bad shoulder by throwing the ball 47 times completing 29 passes for 274 yards. He looked comfortable in the pocket and his arm strength seemed fine, however he made several crucial fumbles. Both turnovers came during key Saint drives where they were moving the football. It was a disappointing offensive day considering they controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes.

RB Deuce McAllister was solid rushing 22 times for 99 yards (4.5 ypc) and he added 8 catches out of the backfield for an additional 35 yards.

WR Donte' Stallworth appeared healthy and was a major part of the Saints passing game as his 14 targeted passing attempts would indicate. Joe Horn twisted his left knee during warm-ups but appeared to be ok.

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle's offense showed up for only one quarter (the 2nd), but that was all it needed. They looked lost in the first quarter netting only 23 yards on 3 possessions. Then they did a complete 180 in the second quarter scoring on drives of 63, 38 and 77 yards.

RB Shaun Alexander picked up right where he left off scoring two touchdowns. The first on a short 1 yard run (that followed two plays after he was pushed out on the 1 on a nice 15 yard run around left tackle) and the other on a 10 yard screen pass. He finished with 108 yards on the ground and 2 receptions for 16 yards.

QB Matt Hasselbeck was unspectacular but steady throwing for 137 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Both WR's had almost identical stats - Koren Robinson had 3 catches for 56 yards and a score while Darrell Jackson had 3 catches for 53 yards. Robinson almost had another score late in the game but the pass in the end zone was slightly too high for him to come down with the ball (he did get a hand on it). Seattle settled for a field goal on the next play.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints

QB: Brooks had plenty of zip on the ball easing any worry about his shoulder. He finished with 29 completions on 47 attempts for 274 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. He overthrew Michael Lewis on a sure 45 yard touchdown towards the end of the third quarter. The Seahawks got mixed up in coverage leaving Lewis alone at the 8 yard line where he would have walked into the end zone. His one interception wasn't his fault coming after the pass hit Donte' Stallworth and was deflected in the air and getting picked off.

RB: Deuce McAllister will be the focal point of the offense. He carried the ball 22 times and also had 10 passes thrown his way (catching 8) for 35 yards. He finished with 99 yards on 22 carries (4.5 ypc). His long run was only 10 yards.

WR: Donte' Stallworth was a big part of the game with 101 yards on 8 receptions. He could have had a monster game though and also helped his team make this a closer ball game by catching the ball better. Of Brooks' 18 incompletions, 7 were thrown Stallworth's direction and at least 3 of these were catchable balls including the interception. Stallworth's hamstring worries seemed to be put to rest as he looked quick.

Joe Horn had 7 catches, 83 yards, 1 TD, and was targeted 9 times. He had a solid if not spectacular day. He seemed to draw the majority of the double teams when there were double teams and Brooks adjusted by targeting Stallworth more. The team is now reporting that Horn twisted his left knee during warm-ups but was able to play.

Jerome Pathon had 2 catches, 17 yards and was targeted 4 times). He showed nothing to indicate that he'll be a factor in stealing catches from Horn or Stallworth. He had no separation from defenders and appeared to be a 3rd option when passes did come his way.

TE: Conwell had a good first game in New Orleans catching 4 balls (with another 2 thrown his way). Brooks looked to him in the middle of the field several times.

Boo Williams didn't catch a pass although Brooks threw at him twice.

K: John Carney did have a short field goal and an extra point. At 39 years old, he's still a reliable kicker - he just didn't get any opportunities.

Pass Defense: Seattle's Hasselbeck was everyone's darling "sleeper" coming into this game after he finished last year with over 2000 yards passing in the last 6 games. For the most part, New Orleans held him in check. New Orleans got good pressure and held him to only 12 completions. They did end up with 3 sacks and no interceptions. The one long TD pass to Robinson was the result of the safety coming over and tackling the cornerback instead of the WR leaving Robinson an easy walk into the end zone.

Rush Defense: The run defense was just the opposite of the pass defense. Alexander ended up with 108 yards on the ground even though his longest run was only 15 yards. They also gave up 32 yards on only 5 carries to fullback Mack Strong who's in his 10th year and only has 103 carries in his career.

Seattle Seahawks

QB: Statistically, Hasselbeck started this season the same way he started last year, with one huge difference: the Seahawks won this year. Last year in the first game he threw for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns against Oakland with no interceptions (compared to Sunday's 137 yards 2 touchdowns and no interceptions). He seemed to come alive in the 2nd quarter completing 6 of 7 passes for 99 yards. In he would have completed 11 of his first 13 passes except 2 of his early attempts were dropped. Hasselbeck did not get flustered and was able to avoid the rush much of the time. 2 of the 3 sacks were coverage sacks where he avoided risking a costly turnover. Had Seattle needed to continue throwing and scoring in the second half, there was every indication that they could have done so.

RB: Shaun Alexander had 24 carries for 108 yards with 1 TD. He also had 2 catches for 16 yards, 1 TD, and was targeted 3 times. Alexander warmed up in the second quarter as the Seattle offense started cranking. He did a great job of picking his way through the holes that the Seattle line provided. Many of his runs came from running left behind Walter Jones. Seattle showed that Alexander is the primary choice in the red zone as he got the majority of the chances each time that the Seahawks got close to the goal line. He will benefit from good blocking downfield by the Seattle wide outs and likely will benefit from an improved Seattle defense. In the final series of the game, Alexander got inside the 1 yard line which may have resulted in a 3rd touchdown, however the play was called back because of a holding penalty.

WR: Koren Robinson had 3 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD and was targeted 5 times. He suffered from a lack of need for Seattle to move the ball through the air. He looked impressive on his touchdown catch, spinning through 2 defenders and took it 35 yards for the touchdown. He was targeted late in the game in the red zone but the ball was overthrown and Robinson made a valiant effort. His value may suffer if Seattle's play calling were to stay this conservative but that remains to be seen.

Darrell Jackson had 3 catches for 53 yards and was targeted 7 times. He remains very active as a possession receiver in this offense and based on the amount of passes thrown his way, could potentially catch more passes than Robinson this season.

TE: Itula Mili was basically a non factor catching only 1 pass for 2 yards.

K: Josh Brown paid early dividends for Seattle. He scored on 2 field goals (37 and 25 yards) and hit all his extra point attempts. All his kicks were right through the center of the uprights.

Pass Defense: The defense used a "bend don't break" strategy most of the game. They did give up 274 yards, but many of those came while in a prevent defense. Rookie cornerback Marcus Trufant made some key plays and displayed great speed. He did allow Joe Horn to score a red zone touchdown. Seattle sacked Brooks 3 times but one was on a botched play. They did not however get consistent pressure on the QB. Brooks had several throws where he had all kinds of time to find an open receiver. Their three sacks were about the only times they got to him all day.

Rush Defense: Last year this team ranked dead last in rushing yards allowed. It appears as though the leaky Seattle run D is a thing of the past. Linebackers Simmons, Brown and Godfrey combined for 19 tackles and a sack. They held Deuce McAllister from breaking anything long.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Atlanta Falcons

This game was a roller coaster ride for QB Doug Johnson. Filling in for the injured Michael Vick, Johnson started out completing his first four passes while setting up the Falcons' first field goal. He then looked terrible going 1 for 11. He was unable to make the quick read to find his second option and wasn't even close on many of his short passes. In the second half, he came back completing 11 of his last 12 while leading Atlanta to victory.

WR Brian Finneran broke his hand in the third quarter and is reported to be out up to six weeks. Off-season acquisition WR Peerless Price was not a factor. He was targeted only six times and had problems getting off of rookie CB Terence Newman's jams. TE Alge Crumpler was the Falcons' leading receiver with 5 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. No other Falcon had more than two catches.

RB Warrick Dunn got the majority of carries with 13. T.J. Duckett saw action on only two series and was not included in the short yardage offense. Rookie FB Justin Griffith made the most of his seven touches with 46 total yards.

Dallas Cowboys

QB Quincy Carter showed good accuracy when he had time in the pocket. Under pressure, his decision making broke down and that resulted in costly mistakes. His accuracy was woeful when he was on the run. QB Chad Hutchinson did not see any action.

Dallas used a running-back-by-committee approach the first 20 minutes until RB Troy Hambrick finally took over the load. His performance was adequate. RB Aveion Cason showed his speed taking it 63 yards on a quick trap up the middle. He was also very effective on screens.

WR Joey Galloway was Carter's deep target. WR Antonio Bryant did not start because of a torn quad muscle. However, he showed no effects of the injury as the number-two receiver. WR Terry Glenn started but was targeted only twice and had his only catch called back by penalty.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Atlanta Falcons

QB: Doug Johnson went through a stretch of 1 for 11. Take out that ugly stretch and he was 15 for 16 with two touchdowns and sneaking in a third. When he was on, he was stepping up in the pocket and throwing accurately. When he was struggling, he was not finding his second option and his accuracy was gone. He badly overthrew TE Brian Kozlowski in the end zone, costing his team a touchdown.

RB: Warrick Dunn carried the ball on five of the first seven Atlanta plays. He failed on two chances at running the ball in when the Falcons had the ball inside the five. He made a nice catch on an under thrown ball that he tumbled into the end zone for a touchdown. Johnson under threw him on another hitch that fell incomplete.

T.J. Duckett saw action on one series late in the first quarter and then again late in the third. He bounced a run outside for a nice 11-yard run. He did not see action when the Falcons had the ball for four plays inside the five.

Rookie FB Justin Griffith teamed up with Dunn for much of the game. He was an effective second option to Dunn on the ground and through the air. Johnson threw behind him on one incompletion.

WR: Peerless Price was expected to put up big numbers but had only two catches. One was a nice acrobatic grab inside the five on the sideline. The other was the first pass of the game. He did draw a pass interference penalty on a 10-yard hook. He had a 10-yard slant to him under thrown and a 15-yard crossing route broken up. He faced single coverage much of the day but could not get off rookie CB Terence Newman's jams.

Brian Finneran broke is hand in the third quarter and will be out up to six weeks. He was Johnson's deep target. He was badly overthrown on a 40-yard post and had a pass broken up 30 yards downfield.

Quentin McCord saw most of his action after the Finneran injury. He pushed off on a 24-yard touchdown catch that was called back from offensive pass interference in the first half.

TE: Alge Crumpler showed his speed on a 41-yard touchdown where Johnson rolled right and tossed it to a wide open Crumpler in the left flat. He led the Falcons with five receptions.

Brian Kozlowski started the game in Atlanta's two tight end set. He was led too far on a crossing route and was badly overthrown while open in the end zone.

K: Jay Feely was solid with kicks of 37 and 31.

Pass Defense: The Falcons got good pressure on Carter, forcing mistakes. S Kevin McCadam showed good coverage. S Keion Carpenter left in the third quarter with hamstring problems. His replacement, Tavaris Robinson, was subsequently burned on Galloway's 49-yard touchdown.

Rush Defense: The Falcons brought eight men in the box, daring Carter to throw the ball and shutting down the Cowboy running game. The one exception was Cason's burst up the middle for 63 yards. DT Ed Jasper got good penetration stopping runners in the backfield.

Dallas Cowboys

QB: Quincy Carter showed good accuracy while inside the pocket. When pressured, he lost his accuracy and made mistakes. He ran the play action well and had a beautiful pass 40 yards downfield to Galloway called back due to an illegal shift. He fumbled the ball on his only run past the line of scrimmage.

RB: Troy Hambrick took over the ball-carrying load in the second quarter. He slipped on an 8-yard reception, costing him additional yardage. Coach Parcells seemed reluctant to give Hambrick the carries at first but then seemed to settle on Hambrick as his RB.

Aveion Cason took over as the third-down speed back. He burst through the middle on a 63-yard touchdown. He had a 15-yard screen pass called back on a hold. All of that gain was made on his own.

Richie Anderson lined up all over the formation including as a single back and split out wide. Carter missed him on an incompletion inside the five.

WR: Joey Galloway was Carter's deep threat. He fumbled the handoff on a reverse on a 14-yard loss that was credited to Carter. He had 10-yard and 40-yard sideline routes broken up for incompletions.

Terry Glenn started but was only targeted twice. One was broken up and the other was a catch on a short hitch that was called back by penalty. That catch was late in the game when the Falcons were giving up the underneath routes.

Antonio Bryant did not start due to a torn quad. Bryant came through as Carter's number-two target. Besides his two receptions, he also was overthrown on a 12-yard crossing route and had a 15-yard out broken up.

TE: Dan Campbell was thrown behind near the goal line that would have been a touchdown.

Rookie Jason Witten was overthrown on an interception 20 yards downfield and he dropped a low throw on a 15-yard cross.

K: Billy Cundiff missed a solid kick that was wide right from 33 yards out. He also had an extra point blocked.

Pass Defense: The Cowboys were effective using the bump-and-run with rookie CB Terence Newman covering Price one-on-one. Pass interference on CB Mario Edwards negated an interception. Over-pursuit cost the Cowboys big plays.

Rush Defense: The Cowboys held Atlanta below 100 yards rushing by getting good penetration from DE Ebenezer Ekuban. Dallas was able to stop the Falcons on four plays inside the five before allowing Johnson in on a sneak.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Arizona Cardinals

This game was the tale of two rookies from two different cities. Both rookies Charles Rogers from Detroit and Anquan Boldin from Arizona made an immediate impact on the game scoring touchdowns in the first quarter. Arizona rookie WR Anquan Boldin had a record-breaking game with 10 receptions for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was the first Cardinal since 1963 to have a 200-yard receiving game. Boldin was targeted numerous times especially on third down and he was able to convert those receptions into enough yards to keep the drives going.

QB Jeff Blake put up impressive numbers with 28 completions out of 46 attempts for 363 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Blake was able to scramble out of the pocket and find his receivers. A number of his passes were thrown into coverage and almost intercepted and he is fortunate that he ended the game with only 1 interception.

TE Freddie Jones proved to be a valuable receiver and was Blake's second favorite target. He completed the game with 6 receptions for 65 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Cardinals offense struggled with clock management and penalties. They had 3 penalties for delay of game and 6 penalties for false starts. They also used 2 of their 3 timeouts in the first quarter to avoid a delay of game penalty.

Detroit Lions

WR Charles Rogers was the other rookie to make an impact on this game. He had an impressive start to his NFL career with 4 receptions for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns.

QB Joey Harrington showed presence of mind that he did not display his rookie year. He was able to target his third and fourth options rather than throwing the ball away on a number of occasions. He finished the game with 17 completions out of 30 attempts for 195 yards. His best and most impressive stat of the day being the 4 touchdown passes he completed.

The Lions' rushed for just 66 yards. But 12 of those yards were from a handoff to Charles Rogers. Shawn Bryson started but he and Olandis Gary split the carries throughout the game. Gary, a recent acquisition from the Buffalo Bills, was the leading rusher with 44 yards from 12 attempts. The majority of Gary's yards came at the end of the game when Detroit was winning and focused on the rushing game to run out the clock. Free agent rookie Avon Cobourne contributed 3 attempts for a total of 4 yards.

Special teams game the Lions a distinct advantage in the third quarter. Eddie Drummond returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown. Donte Curry was able to recover a muffed kick from Anquan Boldin. The Lions were able to score a touchdown on that turnover.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Arizona Cardinals

QB: Jeff Blake had an impressive first game with the Cardinals, despite the loss. He completed 28 passes for 363 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He was able to scramble in the pocket and find his receivers on the run. Blake's favorite targets throughout the game were clearly rookie WR Anquan Boldin and TE Freddie Jones. They combined for 16 of his 28 completions. The rest of his passes were spread throughout the other wide receivers and running backs. Blake fumbled the ball in the fourth quarter, which proved to be costly as the Lions went on to score a touchdown.

RB: Emmitt Smith began his Cardinal career with only 13 attempts. He did gain 64 yards on those rushes for an average of 4.9 ypc though. He was primarily held to small gains except for two rushing attempts, which were for 19 and 22 yards and occurred in the same drive. Marcel Shipp played early in the game to relieve Smith after his longer rushes and then did not factor into the game until later in the fourth quarter. Shipp rushed for a total of 19 yards on 4 attempts. Both running backs played a small role in the receiving game catching a combined 5 passes for 17 yards.

WR: Anquan Boldin began his NFL career with a bold start. His 10 receptions for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns were stellar. Boldin showed an ability to make difficult catches making a great leaping catch in the second quarter. He also showed an ability to get yards after the catch by scrambling and dodging the Lions defenders and turned what should have been a short catch into a 71-yard touchdown reception.

The rest of the Cardinals wide receivers put up mediocre receiving numbers. Kevin Kasper had one reception for 23 yards. Bryan Gilmore had 2 receptions for 17 yards. Larry Foster, a former Lion had one reception for 7 yards in the second quarter before leaving to have x-rays on a sprained ankle. The ankle injury was not serious though and he returned after the half, but did not factor into the game after that point.

TE: Freddie Jones had a great game. He was Blake's second favorite target. He completed the game with 6 receptions for 65 yards and 1 touchdown. He was also targeted for 6 other passes that were incomplete.

K: Bill Gramatica finished the game with 1 field goal for 38 yards and 3 extra points.

Pass Defense: The Cardinals pass coverage was adequate, causing Harrington to look for his third and fourth options. They held the Lions to 195 total passing yards, but were hurt by the 4 touchdown passes.

Rush Defense: The Cardinals rush defense stepped up and held the Lions to only 66 yards total rushing. That being said, the game plan of the Lions did not focus a great deal on their rushing game until late in the fourth quarter when they had an established lead.

Detroit Lions

QB: Joey Harrington began his second year in the NFL with an impressive 4 touchdown passes. Two were to WR Charles Rogers, one to FB Cory Schlesinger, and one to Bill Schroeder. The rest of his stats were average. He completed 17 passes out of 30 attempts for 195 yards. The Lions offensive line provided him with good protection and he was not sacked and did not throw an interception. Harrington did show presence of mind in the pocket and was able to target his third and fourth options when his other options were covered. This was illustrated in his touchdown pass to Cory Schlesinger in the third quarter. Schlesinger was clearly Harrington's fourth option. Harrington was able to make the assessment quickly and then complete the pass.

RB: Olandis Gary was the leading rusher for the Lions. He had 12 attempts for a total of 44 yards. Though 38 of those rushing yards came in the fourth quarter after the Lions had established their lead. Gary was not a factor in the receiving game.

Shawn Bryson had 5 rushing attempts for a total of 8 yards. He did play a role in the receiving game catching 3 passes for 41 yards.

Rookie free agent Avon Cobourne also played very little rushing for a paltry 4 yards on 3 attempts.

Bryson and Gary were interchanged at the running back position throughout the game, even throughout series. It would be hard to say from this game alone if one of them is winning the starting running back position for the Lions after the preseason loss of James Stewart. Although you have to think that Gary will see more opportunities as he becomes more comfortable in the offense.

WR: Charles Rogers played a significant role in the Lions' offense catching 4 passes for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns. His second touchdown was in the second quarter and was an impressive diving catch. He also contributed to the rushing game, rushing on one attempt for 12 yards.

Bill Schroeder was the only other wide receiver targeted by Joey Harrington. He caught 4 passes for 36 yards and 1 touchdown. He was targeted a number of other times, once in particular in the second quarter that was broken up by Coby Rhinehart.

TE: Mikhael Ricks played a decent role in the Lions offense, catching 2 passes for 43 yards.

K: Jason Hanson's contributions to the game consisted of his 6 completed extra points.

Pass Defense: The Lions pass defense gave up 363 yards to Jeff Blake and the Cardinals. They were also hit by pass interference calls and holding calls that extended a number of the Cardinals' drives. They were unable to contain in particular Anquan Boldin and he beat them both with his receptions and yards after the carry. Dre' Bly proved to be a valuable addition from the St. Louis Rams as he intercepted Blake and ran it back 48 yards for a touchdown.

Rush Defense: The rush defense held the Cardinals to a total of 95 yards rushing. They were able to hold Emmitt Smith to primarily short gains except for two long runs in the second quarter.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

San Diego Chargers

RB LaDainian Tomlinson had no room to run the whole game. Likely a combination of poor play by his offensive line and excellent play by the Kansas City defensive line. He averaged just 2.61 yards per carry on 13 attempts. The Chargers tried to use a lot of screen and flare passes to get Tomlinson space to work but he added just 27 yards on 5 catches.

QB Drew Brees struggled in the first half due, in part, to several dropped passes by his receivers. He and his receivers seemed to get on the same page in the second half where he threw for two scores. His 2 interceptions were both a result of the receiver batting the ball in the air on a missed catch, rather than the result of poor decisions by Brees.

WR David Boston was unproductive in his San Diego debut. At halftime, Boston had one reception for 9 yards, one false start penalty, and one slip (while breaking the wrong way) that nearly resulted in an interception. Boston finished the game with two catches for 20 yards on just four targets.

TE Josh Norman led San Diego in receiving yards, hauling in four catches for 64 yards and a TD. Three of his four catches led to double-digit gains. He was wide open in the end zone for his 20-yard TD.

Kansas City Chiefs

RB Priest Holmes looked to be his old self as he ran over, through and around the Chargers defense for 2 scores and 85 yards on 18 carries (4.72 ypc) and added 98 yards on 7 receptions. He was the leading receiver for the Chiefs. Holmes left the game for good with 7:17 left in the 4th quarter and the Chiefs cruising with a 20-point lead.

QB Trent Green used play-action passes and screens to Priest Holmes to loosen up the Chargers' secondary. He passed for 280 yards and 1 touchdown. He did have 1 interception but it was due more to an excellent defensive play than to a poorly thrown pass.

TE Tony Gonzalez had just 2 catches for 18 yards and struggled to get open all day.

DE Vonnie Holliday dominated the first half defensively in his Kansas City debut, sacking Chargers QB Drew Brees three times, and pressuring Brees on several other plays. The revamped Chiefs defense (five new starters) bore little resemblance to last year's defensive unit (worst in the NFL in yards allowed last season), stopping San Diego six times in eight short-yardage situations.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

San Diego Chargers

QB: Drew Brees faced tremendous pressure all game long. He also suffered from his receivers dropping several crucial 3rd down passes in the first half. He didn't seem to be in synch with any of his wideouts all game but was successful with some flare and screen passes to LaDainian Tomlinson and also throwing downfield to his TE Josh Norman.

RB: LaDainian Tomlinson just didn't have any room to run. It looked like a combination of poor blocking and excellent defensive game planning by the Chiefs. San Diego tried to give Tomlinson room to run by throwing him screen and flare passes but the Chiefs defended these plays well. Tomlinson did lead his team in receptions (5 catches for 27 yards), but rarely saw daylight as a runner or receiver behind San Diego's porous offensive line. San Diego did not abandon the run after falling behind 24-0 at halftime - 6 of Tomlinson's 13 carries were in the second half.

WR: David Boston was nearly shut out in this game. He had just two catches for 20 yards. The Chiefs used a lot of safety help in covering Boston, which allowed the cornerback to play very close to Boston. Brees only threw to Boston on 3 plays because of this tight coverage scheme.

Reche Caldwell led the Chargers wideouts in targets (10), but caught just two of the passes thrown his way. He had two costly drops, including one pass that bounced off his chest and into the hands of SS Greg Wesley for an INT. Caldwell gained 14 yards on a reverse, the longest ground gain of the day for the Chargers.

Eric Parker caught two passes (3 targets) for 43 yards, including the game's final TD. Parker's TD reception was a great leaping grab just inside the end zone. Parker was productive as a punt returner - he had three returns of at least 10 yards, including an impressive 41-yarder that was one broken tackle from being a TD.

TE: Josh Norman was the most sure-handed of the San Diego receivers in this game. He finished with 4 catches for 64 yards and a score.

K: Steve Christie made both of his extra point attempts. The Chargers did not attempt a field goal.

Pass Defense: This young unit was burned early in the game by Johnnie Morton who was almost uncovered on his 20-yard touchdown catch. The pass rush produced three sacks (two by DE Adrian Dingle), one of which forced a fumble recovered by DE Marcellus Wiley. CB Quentin Jammer had a diving INT that withstood a replay challenge.

Rush Defense: The Chargers could not stop Priest Holmes whether he was running the ball from the backfield or catching the ball in the flat. This unit was badly overmatched early in the game. It looked like they made some halftime adjustments and while they had some success slowing Holmes in the second half the game was pretty out of reach by that point.

Kansas City Chiefs

QB: Trent Green took advantage of the young Chargers' secondary and racked up big numbers in the first half, totaling 204 passing yards. In the second half the Chargers corrected well defensively and held him to just 78 passing yards. The screen pass to Priest Holmes was successful for most of the game and the Chiefs kept coming back to it time and again. Green did throw one interception but it was due more to an outstanding defensive play than to a poor decision by Green. The Chiefs often lined up in four-receiver sets to spread the field, and Green spread the wealth, completing passes to eight different receivers.

RB: Priest Holmes showed no ill effects of last year's season-ending injury. He looked relaxed and smooth on most of his plays, especially on screen passes. The Chiefs went to him early and often as he had 47 total yards on the opening drive of the game. Holmes looked fast and strong as he ran through, over and around an overmatched Chargers' defensive unit. He led the team in receptions with 7 for 98 yards. It should be noted that he came out of the game for good in with 7:17 left in the 4th quarter with the Chiefs cruising on a 20-point lead.

WR: Eddie Kennison, like the other Kansas City Receivers, benefited from play action passes. With the defense so focused on stopping Holmes the receivers often found themselves in man-to-man coverage against a relatively inexperienced secondary. Kennison finished with 4 catches and 61 yards and looked comfortable catching balls across the middle.

Johnnie Morton only had two catches but one was a wide-open 20-yard score. He was literally uncovered in the end zone as a result of a blown San Diego coverage and almost looked surprised.

Dante Hall is the most exciting player in the Kansas City receiving corps. His ability to change direction on a dime and then accelerate to top speed quickly is fun to watch. He finished the game with 3 catches for 40 yards.

Marc Boerigter had just one catch for 25 yards but it was to the 5-yard line and set up the Holmes rushing score.

TE: Tony Gonzalez had trouble getting open all day and finished with just 2 catches and 18 yards on four targets. Gonzalez appeared to be healthy and played most of the game - he finished several blocks on running plays and screen passes.

K: The ageless Morten Andersen kicked off his 22nd NFL season with a perfect 5-for-5 day, 2 FGs and 3 PATs. His 46-yard FG near the end of the first half split the uprights with plenty of distance.

Pass Defense: Vonnie Holliday had all 3 of the Chiefs sacks in the game but the whole defensive front was dominant in this game. The secondary capitalized on both interception opportunities on balls that Chargers receivers tipped into the air.

Rush Defense: Contained Tomlinson by consistently getting a push up the middle with the DTs, and swarming to the ball. Their most impressive series came early in the fourth quarter when they stuffed Tomlinson on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 deep in KC territory, a stand that virtually clinched the game for the Chiefs. For the game, LaDainian Tomlinson was held to under 3 yards per carry. That neatly sums up how dominant the Chiefs' defensive front was in this game.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Chicago Bears

The Kordell Stewart Era in Chicago kicked off rather inauspiciously as the out-of-sync Stewart completed just 41 percent of his passes for 95 yards, threw three interceptions (including one that was returned 68 yards for a touchdown by Ahmed Plummer late in the first half), was sacked five times and lost a fumble.

It wasn't a completely abysmal afternoon, though. Stewart executed a picture perfect bootleg touchdown strike to TE Desmond Clark at a time when the game still mattered, and he finished as the Bears' leading rusher with 21 yards on six carries.

Although RB Anthony Thomas got the start on Sunday ahead of Adrian Peterson, neither were even remotely effective. The duo combined for just 27 yards on 11 carries.

On the day, the Bears managed just 127 yards of total offense.

San Francisco 49ers

On a day when the San Francisco 49ers literally lived up to their nickname on the scoreboard, Jeff Garcia proved his back is still healthy enough to carry the team, even when he doesn't have to. San Francisco's relentless defense forced five turnovers and blocked a punt that led to 33 points in a woefully one-sided game.

In just three quarters worth of work, Garcia completed 19 of 35 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns; he also ran for 36 yards and another score. His favorite target, to no one's surprise, was WR Terrell Owens, who gained 112 yards on seven receptions.

RB Garrison Hearst (11 carries for 56 yards) and RB Kevan Barlow (15 carries for 62 yards) alternated liberally in the San Francisco backfield, with Hearst scoring twice - on a 12-yard screen pass from Garcia in the first quarter, and again on a one-yard run late in the game.

The 49ers finished the game with 391 yards of total offense and 23 first downs.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Chicago Bears

QB: Aside from his three-yard dart to TE Desmond Clark for Chicago's lone score, Stewart looked extremely uncomfortable for most of the afternoon. A lot of that uneasiness can be attributed to San Francisco's punishing defensive effort, which pressured Stewart heavily for most of the day.

During a four-series stretch to end the first half, Stewart completed just three of 11 attempts for 34 yards, twice making bad decisions that led to interceptions and 10 San Francisco points. Although his favorite target was WR Marty Booker; Stewart frequently misfired in the direction of WR Dez White.

RB: Anthony Thomas, Adrian Peterson and FB Stanley Pritchett were ineffective early and non-factors late, and finished the game with a collective 33 yards on 13 carries (an average of 2.5 YPC). Pritchett did get the call on first-and-goal from the three-yard line on Chicago's lone scoring drive, but went for no gain. Interesting to note is that every one of Peterson's carries came during Chicago's third drive of the game, with San Francisco leading, 10-0.

WR: Marty Booker paced the Bears with six catches for 48 yards, but his longest reception covered just 11 yards.

Stewart had no hesitancy throwing Dez White's way. Connecting with White was another issue altogether. White finished with 28 yards and just three catches.

David Terrell recorded one grab for six yards.

TE: Desmond Clark was one of precious few Bears' bright spots Sunday, finishing with two receptions for nine yards and a quality catch of Chicago's only touchdown. No other Bears tight end caught passes.

K: Paul Edinger kicked one extra point.

Pass Defense: Free safety Mike Brown made Jeff Garcia pay for trying to force a throw to Terrell Owens with an interception early in the second quarter. Other than that, the Bears pass defense failed to record a sack, surrendered 229 yards passing, two touchdown passes and five plays of 19 or more yards.

Rush Defense: The Bears allowed six different ball carriers to rush for 162 yards on 42 carries, an average of 3.9 YPC. But perhaps the most telling moment of the game for Chicago's rush defense came not in the final stats, but on consecutive Garcia scrambles midway through the second quarter. On second-and-goal from the five-yard line, Garcia gained two yards before taking a vicious hit by LB Brian Urlacher. One play later, an unfazed Garcia scored from three yards out.

San Francisco 49ers

QB: Garcia combined for 265 yards of total offense (229 passing, 36 rushing) and three touchdowns, effectively removing all suspicion about his troublesome back. He was on the receiving end of several solid blows - including one from heavy-hitting LB Brian Urlacher - and was no worse for wear.

Backup QB Tim Rattay spelled Garcia early in the fourth quarter but failed to attempt a pass or rush.

RB: Garrison Hearst officially got the start but shared the backfield all afternoon with Kevan Barlow. Both players were productive and efficient - Hearst with two touchdowns and 97 total yards and Barlow as the game's leading rusher with 62 yards.

Hearst scored San Francisco's first TD on a flawless 12-yard screen pass on third-and-seven, then needed two carries to cover 25 yards on the 49ers' final touchdown drive, set up by Kordell Stewart's third interception.

FB Fred Beasley caught two passes for 17 yards, but gained zero yards on two carries, including one scoring opportunity on first-and-goal from the one-yard line prior to Hearst's second TD. Backup RB Jamal Robertson finished with nine yards on six carries.

WR: Terrell Owens performed as you might expect him to, finishing with seven receptions and 112 yards on an afternoon when he took five different passes deep into Chicago territory, getting tackled or going out of bounds at the 12-, 15-, 11-, 17 and 11-yard lines.

Tai Streets got up from a jarring hit on his 16-yard touchdown catch and ended the game with 48 yards on four receptions, including a 19-yard grab.

Cedrick Wilson caught two passes for eight yards.

TE: Jed Weaver, filling in for the injured Eric Johnson, was an absolute non-factor Sunday and didn't seem to figure at all in the game plan. Garcia only threw in Weaver's direction once - and that was midway through the third quarter.

K: Jeff Chandler enjoyed a near-perfect start to the 2003 season, connecting on all five of his short field-goal attempts (from 22, 29, 28, 24 and 26 yards) and hitting four of five PATs, thus barely missing out on a 20-point game.

Pass Defense: Simply, the 49ers turned in a dominant performance Sunday, frustrating Kordell Stewart all game long and recording three interceptions (highlighted by the first of two by Ahmed Plummer, which he returned 68 yards for a touchdown), five sacks and an average completion of just 6.8 yards.

Rush Defense: Even before the game got out of hand late in the first half, San Francisco did an effective job of stifling Chicago' ground game. The Bears' longest run of the day was an eight-yard scramble by Stewart and they finished with a paltry 55 yards rushing for the game on 20 carries, an average of 2.8 YPC.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

Ed McCaffrey failed to catch a pass for the first time in 68 consecutive games. Ashley Lelie started at the second WR, opposite Rod Smith. McCaffrey did see playing time, making a seal block on the first drive to help spring RB Clinton Portis on a 9-yard run in the red zone on the first TD drive. Lelie was much more prominent during the game, rushing twice on two reverses and having three passes thrown his way.

Clinton Portis was the main focus of the Denver offense, establishing the run game early. Portis was 65% of the offense on the first three possessions - ten carries, three catches on twenty offensive plays. Portis and the Denver offensive line dominated and controlled the game, keeping the Bengal defense frustrated all day. The Denver running game allowed the Broncos to control the game, both on tempo and on the scoreboard.

Jake Plummer tried to establish himself as the new architect of the Denver passing game. He did not look steady, overthrowing receivers and looking skittish in general. His three interceptions were a mere footnote to the game, thanks in part to the Bengals' four turnovers. Plummer finished with 12 completions in 25 attempts, 115 yards and an abysmal QB rating (21.7).

The Denver defense had a productive day, stifling the Bengals' running game, scoring a TD, registering four sacks and forcing four turnovers.

Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati tried to control the ball and the clock early, giving the majority of the offense to the steady hands of RB Corey Dillon. Dillon carried the ball all of the first three offensive plays, but could not muster the first down. In fact, three of the five first-half possessions (plus one then was a kneel-down) ended in 3 plays or less.

QB Jon Kitna was responsible for much of the ineffectiveness of the Cincinnati offense. Kitna overthrew receivers, made poor decisions, threw two INTs, and fumbled the ball twice (one was overturned by review). The turning point for Kitna in the game was the second INT, an ugly decision inside the Bengal's 10 that resulted in an easy TD for Denver that virtually ended the game.

TE Matt Schobel was the lone bright spot for Cincinnati catching 4 passes for 97 yards.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

QB: Plummer's poor performance was masked by both the strong running game by Portis and the ineffectiveness of the Bengal offense. He had three interceptions, a 48% completion percentage and zero touchdowns. His first INT was not his fault, given that it was tipped, but this is the 12th time in Plummer's career that he has thrown 3 interceptions in a game. Also, he had a tendency to throw behind or late to his receivers, missing opportunities that were there for bigger plays. Plummer additionally had the benefit of strong protection (sacked only once) and not having to run or scramble to buy more time.

RB: Clinton Portis was the star of the Denver offense, tallying two TDs and over 100 yards. Portis briefly left the game in the 4th quarter, due to a minor injury, but returned on the next series. Portis played well after the outcome was decided, which certainly does not hurt his productivity.

WR: Rod Smith had a good game, catching 5 passes for 43 yards and also carrying three times for 23 more.

Ashley Lelie started the game, but caught no passes and only saw the ball thrown his way three times (once deep). He did not make a play on the deep ball, which was intercepted, but did get two rushing carries on end-around reverses. Officially he gained 12 yards, but he had 15 called back due to a penalty.

Ed McCaffrey not only didn't have a catch, he was not even thrown to the entire game. McCaffrey played into the 4th, but Shanahan did not have any predilection to continue his streak of 68 consecutive games with a reception.

TE: Carswell was the lone Bronco TE to catch a pass finishing with just one catch for 10 yards. He was thrown to another time, wide open, but Plummer missed him.

K: Jason Elam was consistent and productive, hitting on three field goals, the first 51 yards, and ad 12 points.

Pass Defense: The Bronco defense had little difficulty controlling the first three quarters of the game, holding Kitna to 10 of 20 for 86 yards. On the rare occasion when a Bengal WR broke free, Kitna missed him. Kitna padded his numbers in the fourth quarter, long after the outcome was decided. Kitna's second INT was returned by LB Ian Gold 12 yards for a score. The D forced three turnovers and recorded four sacks.

Rush Defense: The Broncos were able to focus against the run early, since Kitna was so ineffective in the air. They stuffed Corey Dillon, holding him to just 34 yards and the Cincinnati run attack to 51.

Cincinnati Bengals

QB: QB John Kitna was very ineffective, and chants of "Carson" rained down from the stands early in the third quarter. Kitna turned the ball over four times, with two INTs and two fumbles (one was reversed by review). To make matters worse, the second INT was an ugly bad decision deep inside his own territory and was returned for a score. Kitna overthrew wide open receivers (usually Chad Johnson) and gave Cincinnati fans little hope for a comeback.

Kitna made poor decisions early as well - it looked like he threw to WR Peter Warrick too early in the second quarter, actually lateralling the ball to him two yards behind the QB. Warrick was fortunate to only lose 3 yards.

RB: Corey Dillon tried to carry the Bengal offense, but with the passing game so ineffective, Denver was able to focus on the run. Dillon managed just 34 yards on 14 carries (and 2 catches for 7 more). The Bengals only gained 51 yards on the ground.

WR: Chad Johnson was able to get open, and despite Kitna's inaccuracy wound up with 6 catches and 95 yards and a score. Johnson was open deep, but Kitna overthrew him. The ball flew towards Johnson on 11 occasions. Chad's lone score was a beautiful leaping, diving catch where he rolled over for the last three yards to score a 41 yard TD.

Peter Warrick had four catches for 31 yards and ran twice for 11, but Warrick displayed a penchant for running East-West rather than North-South. This didn't gain him many yards, if any, and gave the defense too many opportunities to catch up with his quick footwork. One other note of Warrick - he made a number of bad decisions fielding kicks. He let one punt land outside the 20 and roll to the 6 when he could have stopped it, and also he fielded a ball at his own 4 yard line, managing to get out to only the 10 yard line.

Only two other receivers caught passes (not counting TEs or RBs), with 3 catches for 24 yards.

TE: One lone highlight of the game came from TE Matt Schobel. Schobel caught 4 balls for 97 yards, and looked impressive over the middle.

K: The kicking game was not emphasized by design, due to the lack of confidence by HC Lewis. While the 50-yard attempt in the first quarter would have been long, it would have tied the score at 3-3 and been a much better option than to go for it on 4th and 10.

The new kicker Graham scored one field goal of 26 yards, and one extra point.

Pass Defense: There was little pressure on Plummer and the defense only had one sack, but they did manage to pick off the QB three times.

Rush Defense: Portis ran at will against the Bengal defense, gaining 120 yards on 24 carries (5.0 per carry). As a team, Denver gained 184 yards. Denver focused on this weakness with not just Portis, but also five end-arounds / reverses by the wide receivers which gained 35 yards (and 15 more recalled by penalty).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

Rodney Peete was benched during half time after seeing only 2 full quarters of play. Jake Delhomme saved the day and has been named the starter. Peete led seven 1st half drives, each ending quickly with a punt. "Backup QB" Jake Delhomme played the entire 2nd half, guiding the Panther's to a dramatic come from behind win on a TD pass to Ricky Proehl with 16 seconds left in the game. He finished 12 of 20 for 122 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT.

Stephen Davis ran for 111 yards on 22 carries, including a nice 20-yard run to open the game. It was one of many runs on a day where he repeatedly made something out of nothing. He also had 1 catch for 11 yards. Davis got all the rushing carries for Carolina except for 2.

Three different receivers each caught a 2nd half touchdown from Delhomme: Muhsin Muhammad, Ricky Proehl, and Steve Smith.

The Carolina Defense had a pretty good day, recording 4 sacks, a safety, a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt. On the Jaguar's second to last series, Carolina forced a punt after only 3 plays. The defensive unit also blocked a FG attempt as time expired, guaranteeing victory. LB Mike Caldwell injured his knee in the 1st half and left the game.

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB Mark Brunell completed 23 of 27 passes for 2 TDs and no interceptions making the Jaguars look a little silly for shopping him around so much this Summer. Even with a weak receiving corps, he looked solid.

Owners of RB Fred Taylor felt just like last season as Marc Edwards' sole carry was a 2 yard TD run after Taylor took the ball down to the 2 on the previous play. Taylor was effective running the ball and receiving, especially on screen passes. He did not score any TD's, but his combined yardage of 122 total yards was excellent.

The Jaguar defensive unit collected 4 sacks and 2 INT's. They held Carolina scoreless in the 1st half, but gave up 24 points in the 2nd half. New acquisition, Hugh Douglas had 5 tackles and 1 sack.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

QB: Rodney Peete spent most of his time running away from defenders because his pass protection constantly broke down. Also, he was sacked 3 times in the 1st half. However, he did throw some passes that simply didn't reach their intended targets. Peete's worst series came after the Carolina Defense recovered a fumble at the Jacksonville 35, giving the offense a great opportunity. Instead, after 3 terrible plays, including a sack, the offense punted.

Jake Delhomme started the 2nd half with a little help from Stephen Davis, who rattled off back-to-back 10-yard rushing plays on Carolina's first series of the 3rd quarter. On the fourth play of that same drive, a pass interference call on Jacksonville gave Carolina the ball on the Jaguar 14. Delhomme hit Muhsin Muhammad for a 13-yard TD pass on the next play. Delhomme's next series was the first lengthy drive of the day for Carolina. However, a pass to Muhammad on 3rd and 7 to the Jacksonville 1-yard line was called back for offensive interference. The drive wasn't a total loss, as John Kasay connected on a 49-yard FG attempt. Delhomme's third series wasn't his best. On 3rd and 4, he threw up an ill-advised pass to anyone for the taking. It was picked-off by Jacksonville. The timing of this interception was terrible as Carolina had some momentum building. Delhomme threw another TD pass to Muhammad on the next series, but it was reviewed and ruled incomplete. Two plays later, Steve Smith made a great catch for a TD. The passing 2-pt. conversion failed miserably. Delhomme's next series ended after 3 plays because of another ill-advised pass that was intercepted with only 4:30 left in the game. However, his last series provided to be the most important. Carolina's longest drive of the night ended with Delhomme throwing a TD to WR Ricky Proehl with 16 seconds left in the game.

RB: Stephen Davis' 111 rushing yards are impressive considering that they didn't come easy. On many occasions, after he took the handoff, he got to the line of scrimmage only to find it stuffed. He would then turn a loss into a gain by bouncing the play to the outside for positive yards.

DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings each had one carry for 6 yards and 4 yards, respectively. Foster also had 3 catches for 16 yards. Goings could have vultured a red-zone TD late in the 4th quarter on a second down reception, but the play was snubbed out pretty quickly.

WR: Steve Smith led all receivers with 4 catches for 44 yards, and 1 TD.

Muhsin Muhammad's lone catch was for a 13-yard TD. He also made a great effort on another pass in the end zone for a TD, but the replay convinced the officials to reverse their call.

Ricky Proehl had 2 catches for 20 yards, and 1 TD, which came on 4th down with only 16 seconds left in the game.

TE: Kris Mangum had 3 catches for 28 yards and Delhomme seems comfortable throwing to him.

K: John Kasay was 1/1 (49-yard FG).

Pass Defense: The Panther's gave up 272 passing yards and 2 TD's to Brunell. They made a Jacksonville TD just before the half appear effortless.

Rush Defense: Carolina held Jacksonville to only 75 yards rushing. Brunell was also pressured several times, but somehow managed to convert plays when he wasn't sacked.

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB: Mark Brunell had a very efficient day: 23 of 27 for 272 yards, and 2 TD's. He was mobile enough but clearly not the scrambler he used to be. He appeared intent on showing the league and fans he didn't deserve to be shopped around so much this Summer. An 85% completion rate is pretty solid.

RB: Fred Taylor had 71 yards on 22 carries and 51 yards on 5 receptions. The best news of all: he didn't get injured. On the downside, he saw Marc Edwards score the short yardage TD and this has to bring back memories of 2002 and Stacey Mack.

LaBrandon Toefield had 2 carries for 4 yards, and 1 reception for 3 yards.

FB: Marc Edwards vultured Jacksonville's first TD on a 1st and goal play. He also had 2 catches for 7 yards.

WR: JJ Stokes led all receivers with 6 catches (for 42 yards).

Jermaine Lewis had 3 passes thrown to him and made all 3 catches for 90 yards, including a 65-yard TD. He was not targeted until the 3rd quarter.

Matthew Hatchette had 4 passes thrown to him and made all 4 catches for 60 yards, including a 33-yard TD.

TE: Kyle Brady had spoiled the streak with 2 incomplete passes thrown his way. He made one catch for 11 yards.

K: Seth Marler made 1 of 2 FG's, connecting on a 40-yard attempt. Mike Minter blocked his 55-yard attempt.

Pass Defense: Jacksonville's defense gave up 263 total yards, most of them in the 2nd half. The 2nd half collapse included a pass interference call that gave Carolina great field position, which they later capitalized on with a score.

Rush Defense: The Jaguar's didn't have an answer for Stephen Davis. They had him stuffed at the line of scrimmage on several occasions, but could not stop him once he changed directions. They did a decent job pressuring both Carolina QB's, especially Peete.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

St. Louis Rams

RB-Marshall Faulk and the Rams running game never got started forcing them to rely heavily on their offensive passing weapons. QB-Kurt Warner had a decent day by the numbers with 342 yards in the air but was sacked 6 times, fumbled 6 times (losing 3) and was intercepted once. He suffered a "mild to moderate" concussion and spent the night in a New York hospital before returning to St. Louis Monday.

WR-Isaac Bruce and WR-Tory Holt both had 100+ yard receiving days with Holt scoring the Rams only touchdown on a fantastic catch in the fourth quarter. Rookie WR-Shaun McDonald was utilized frequently and contributed 53 total yards.

The Rams let two opportunities to cut the difference to 7 points slip away in the fourth quarter when they went for it on 4th and long and didn't bring in Kicker Jeff Wilkins for what would have been 48 and 43 yard field goal attempts.

New York Giants

RB-Tiki Barber had his third best day ever with 146 yards rushing and another 19 yards on 2 catches. He did have one fumble early in the game, a play in which he apparently sprained a finger. But he recovered well, gaining most of his yardage in the second half. The only thing missing from his stat sheet today was a touchdown.

QB-Kerry Collins added 202 yards through the air in a well balanced New York Giants offensive plan. He looked calm and efficient.

WR-Amani Toomer hauled in two catches early in the game, one for 21 yards and the next for 77 yards.

TE-Jeremy Shockey contributed 3 catches for 36 yards and was under thrown by QB-Collins at the Rams 12 yard line, if the ball had been on target Shockey could easily have added a touchdown to his stats.

The Giants defense completely shut down the Rams running game and put incredible pressure on Rams QB-Kurt Warner the entire game.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

St. Louis Rams

QB: Kurt Warner took numerous hits and for the most part looked confused running the offense. He hung in there the whole game, and spent the night in a New York hospital with what is being described as a "mild to moderate" concussion; likely suffered early in the game on one of his early fumbles. Unable to run the ball, the Rams relied on the passing game with Warner displaying moments of confidence, completing 34 of 54 passing attempts for 342 yards. Warner lost 3 of 6 fumbles and had an interception in the third quarter; his only touchdown pass was a 37 yard strike early in the fourth. After the game, coach Mike Martz said he regretted leaving Warner in the game and that even though Warner was able to answer the doctor's questions, that he just "didn't seem right" to Martz.

RB: A dismal day on the ground for the Rams left Marshall Faulk with 9 carries for 28 yards, his longest of which was an 18 yard run. Faulk had a slightly better average catching the ball as he hauled down 7 catches for 27 yards.

Backup RB-Lamar Gordon didn't play, but third string RB-Arlen Harris had 1 carry for 5 yards and 1 catch for 11 yards.

WR: The Rams wide receivers had good days with both Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt gaining more than 100 yards each. Bruce had 8 catches for 120 yards, while Holt had 7 for 111 yards and scored the Rams only touchdown.

Rookie WR-Shaun McDonald was the Rams third receiver and caught the ball 6 times for 46 yards. McDonald was actually QB-Warner's preferred target for the day if you include the 8 incomplete passes thrown his direction - and gained 7 yards on 2 carries to boot, 5 on a double reverse and 2 on a pitch out from QB-Warner.

Holder and WR Dane Looker got in on the action with 2 catches for 13 yards and one pass on a second quarter fake field goal.

TE: Tight Ends Brandon Manumaleuna and Cam Cleeland were utilized minimally with 2 catches each. Manumaleuna caught 2 for 11 yards and Cleeland had 2 for 13 yards.

K: Jeff Wilkins was 2 for 2 on field goals hitting from 39 and 28 yards but the story here is missed opportunities. On subsequent drives late in the fourth quarter, while down by 10 points, the Rams opted to go for it on 4th and long, turning the ball over on downs both times. Field goal attempts in each case would not have been chip shots but were within Wilkins range at 48 and 43 yards.

Pass Defense: Things looked promising when Strong Safety Adam Archuleta sacked New York Giants QB-Kerry Collins on the first play from scrimmage, but overall the Rams had just an average day defending the pass, giving up 202 yards through the air. Defensive End Leonard Little had one sack of Giants QB-Collins midway through the second quarter that also resulted in a forced fumble.

Rush Defense: The Rams Rush Defense looked good early and held the Giants to 33 yards rushing before halftime. After the half, the Rams had a difficult time containing New York Giants RB-Tiki Barber who added 113 yards to his total before the day was over. Total, the Rams gave up 149 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground.

New York Giants

QB: The New York Giants play calling was balanced and Kerry Collins had an average day passing the ball going 14 for 26 with 202 yards in the air. A second quarter pass to WR-Amani Toomer netted 77 yards, and nearly a touchdown if Toomer had not been pushed out-of-bounds at the Rams 12 yard line. Collins lost 1 of 2 fumbles and had no interceptions on the day.

RB: Tiki Barber had a great day running the ball with 146 yards on 24 carries. Barber added 19 yards on 2 catches and consistently cut to the wide-open holes created by the offensive line. In the first quarter Barber fumbled the ball away and sprained a finger but returned to the game for the next series. On the Giants third quarter scoring drive Barber had back-to-back 15 and 22 yard runs to set up the score but came out on the 1st and goal play.

RB/PR-Brian Mitchell spelled Barber in the game and got the 1st and goal call and touchdown; his only carry of the game. Mitchell also caught 2 passes for 17 yards, and a 12 yard gain on a screen pass was called back on an offensive penalty.

Backup RB-Delvin Joyce played a few downs in relief and caught 1 pass for no gain.

WR: Amani Toomer finished with only 2 catches, but 98 yards. the aforementioned 77 yard strike and another prior to that of 21 yards.

WR-Ike Hilliard had 4 catches for 32 yards.

TE: Jeremy Shockey caught his first pass of the day for a 14 yard gain and finished with 3 for 36 yards. Shockey was targeted on the play following the long gain by Toomer in the second quarter, but Collins threw the ball behind him. If the pass had been on the mark Shockey could have walked into the endzone. Shockey was a big contributor today. With his blocking ability, he appears to have as much fun springing Barber around the end as he does catching passes.

In double Tight End sets Marcellus Rivers stepped in only for blocking duties and left the game with an injury.

K: Matt Bryant was 3 for 3 in the field goal department hitting from 24, 47 and 44 yards out. Bryant's 47 yard field goal in the third quarter could just as easily have been a miss as it hit the left goalpost and bounced in instead of out.

Pass Defense: The pressure put on Rams QB Kurt Warner by the New York Giants pass rush was one half of the big story today. Yes, Warner threw for 342 yards, but with 54 pass attempts on the day you expect him to put some yards up. The Giants sacked Warner 6 times and made him fumble 6 times. Defensive End Kenny Holmes recovered one of those fumbles in the endzone for a touchdown. Additionally, Free Safety Omar Stoutmire had one interception in the third quarter that he ran back for 33 yards.

Rush Defense: The other half of the big story was the fact that the New York Giants completely shut down the Rams running game, only allowing the Rams 40 yards rushing and forcing them to predictably move the ball through the air.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New England Patriots

The Patriots were utterly dominated on both sides of the ball by the Buffalo Bills. By the end of the first half, New England's offense had only mustered a paltry 32 total yards.

Facing constant pressure up the middle and having no time to set, QB Tom Brady was completely ineffective. Already down 14-0 early in the second quarter, Brady threw interceptions on consecutive drives. The first INT was returned 37 yards for a touchdown by DT Sam Adams. The second occurred when Brady missed a wide-open David Patten in the end zone, having his under thrown pass tipped and intercepted.

Unable to move the ball, RB Antowain Smith was replaced by Kevin Faulk. Faulk was the lone bright spot for the Bills, rushing for 62 yards on 10 carries. However, Smith did come back in on goal line situations. Smith was stopped on all three of his goal line rushes for no gain.

Due to a blanketing Bills' secondary and Brady's problems at quarterback, the Patriots wide receivers were ineffective.

Buffalo Bills

QB Drew Bledsoe was picture perfect; leading the Bills to touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. The Buffalo offensive line gave Bledsoe all day to throw and he spread the ball around, hitting seven different receivers. He finished the first half, 10 of 17 for 161 yards and a touchdown. He did throw an interception, but it was when he was trying to make something happen on a fourth and fourteen play late in the first half.

RB Travis Henry was a workhorse for Buffalo, carrying 28 times for 86 yards and also catching three passes out of the backfield. He had touchdown runs of 1 and 9 yards.

The Bills receivers had little trouble getting open against the Patriots secondary and seven different receivers combined for 17 catches.

K Rian Lindell capped off Buffalo's scoring with a 44-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter.

The new additions to the Bills revamped defense paid early dividends. DT Sam Adams had a sack and an interception returned for a touchdown. S Lawyer Milloy contributed with 5 tackles, a sack, and a tipped pass that was intercepted in the end zone. LB Takeo Spikes had six tackles and two interceptions.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New England Patriots

QB: In the Patriots first two drives of the game, Tom Brady was 1-3 for -3 yards, going three and out. On his third drive, Brady threw a ball right to DT Sam Adams that he intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Brady missed a sure touchdown, when his under thrown pass to David Patten was tipped and intercepted in the end zone. Pressured by the Buffalo rush, he was off target and continued to make poor decisions all game long. Brady finished 14 of 29 for 123 yards and threw four interceptions.

RB: Antowain Smith looked slow and finished the game with 6 rushes for 7 yards. He did get all the goal line carries, but failed three times to get into the end zone.

Kevin Faulk was the sole bright spot and looked good rushing for 62 yards on 10 carries. He gave way to Smith though at the goalline.

Larry Centers played the third down role catching 4 passes for 18 yards. He was also very effective running the draw plays and carried 5 times for 36 yards.

WR: Troy Brown had only 1 catch for 10 yards and was completely taken out of the game by the strong play of the Buffalo secondary.

David Patten was the most productive Patriots receiver, catching 2 balls for 48 yards. He was wide open in the end zone, but Brady failed to get him the ball.

TE: Christian Fauria and Daniel Graham had one catch each for short yardage and were a non-factor.

K: Adam Vinatieri was only on the field for the opening kickoff. That says a lot right there.

Pass Defense: The Patriots pass rush was held at bay by the Bills' offensive line. They generated no pressure on Bledsoe and the secondary could not keep up with the speedy Buffalo receivers.

Rush Defense: The New England rush defense fared little better than the pass defense. While they were able to contain RB Travis Henry, they could not stop him. The only bright spot was when they forced a Henry fumble and recovered it. The ineffective Patriots offense kept them on the field too often and they were worn down by the bruising Bills' offensive line.

Buffalo Bills

QB: Drew Bledsoe took the Bills on a 9 play, 80 yard opening drive for a touchdown. He was 3 for 4 for 51 yards on that drive. He followed that up with a 15 play, 90-yard drive, capping it off with a 7-yard touchdown pass to TE Dave Moore. With great protection form his offensive line, Bledsoe was able to pick apart a tired New England secondary. He continued to make smart decisions throughout the game and finished a respectable 17 of 28 for 230 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

RB: Travis Henry got the call early and often. He capped off the first Buffalo touchdown drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Later in the fourth quarter, he scored the Bills final touchdown of the game with a nifty 9-yard run. With the game well in hand, Buffalo kept giving the ball to Henry using him to effectively control the clock. He finished the game with 28 carries for 86 yards and caught 3 passes out of the backfield for 37 yards.

WR: Eric Moulds' 4 catch for 81 yards performance led the Bills' receiving corps. On the opening drive, he drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone that set up the first Buffalo touchdown. With the game well in hand, the Bills kept the ball on the ground in the second half.

Josh Reed had 1 catch for 5 yards, but dropped a 50-yard bomb on a perfectly executed flea flicker. In the second quarter, he had another ball go in and out of his hands that would have been an easy touchdown. Reed did draw a 24-yard pass interference call that helped set up the final Buffalo touchdown.

Bobby Shaw caught 3 passes for 51 yards including two important third down conversions on the opening touchdown drive.

TE: Dave Moore had 1 catch for a 7-yard touchdown.

Mark Campbell added 3 catches for 24 yards.

K: Rian Lindell converted on his only attempt, a 44- yard field goal that ended the Bills scoring late in the fourth quarter.

Pass Defense: With the newly acquired ex-Patriot Lawyer Milloy in the secondary leading the charge, Buffalo shut down the Patriots passing game. They produced four interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. The Bills pass rush was in Brady's face all day and gave him little time to throw the ball. Buffalo forced several incomplete passes with bone jarring hits.

Rush Defense: Antowain Smith was only able to gain 7 yards on six carries. Buffalo shut him down three times on the goal line, the last preserving the shutout and ending the game. Although they did allow 105 yards rushing and 154 yards passing, the Buffalo defense completely dominated this game putting a goose egg on the board for the Patriots.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Minnesota Vikings

Moe Williams received the bulk of the playing time at RB in place of the injured Michael Bennett and capitalized by gaining 80 yards on 22 carries. He produced no big plays but ground out consistent yardage, including 6 straight carries (including 2 first downs) on the Minnesota's final drive. He appeared to give coach Mike Tice exactly what he was looking for - dependable production with no mistakes.

Daunte Culpepper's 3 TD passes catapulted the Vikings to a 27-3 third quarter lead. He did not throw an interception and also scrambled effectively for 50 yards. He did fumble twice, the last one allowing the Packers to cut their deficit to 30-25, the eventual final score.

Randy Moss continued his domination of the Packers with 9 catches for 150 yards and a TD. His TD came after he had a touchdown reception called back on his pass interference penalty. No other Viking receivers made an impact.

Thanks to 4 INTs and a fumble recovery, the Viking defense managed to hold the lead despite forcing only 1 punt.

Green Bay Packers

2nd half injuries decimated the Packers receiving corps. Donald Driver caught just 2 passes for 27 yards and was carried off the field on a stretcher after he went high for an acrobatic catch and landed on his head. X-rays were negative, and trainers say he suffered a neck strain. WR Robert Ferguson continued his inability to stay on the field, suffering injuries to his knee and ankle on a reception to the Minnesota 1 yard line. Stay tuned for news on both injuries but it's believed that than Ferguson's injuries could limit him severely. WR Javon Walker took advantage of the opportunity, as he caught 5 balls for 84 yards and a TD.

Brett Favre led a spirited comeback effort, made necessary by his 4 INTs. His third interception came in the final minute of the 1st half and was returned into Packer territory, resulting in a FG that put Minnesota ahead 20-3. He bounced back from his horrid 1st half to finish with 248 yards and a TD.

Ahman Green didn't carry the ball until the 3rd drive of the game, and promptly fumbled. He finished with only 15 carries due to the early deficit, but was still a big factor. Green managed 115 yards of total offense and ran for 2 TDs.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Minnesota Vikings

QB: Daunte Culpepper managed the game well, avoiding the interceptions that plagued him most of last season. He was also able to continue drives with 3rd down scrambles of 17 and 18 yards. He did fumble twice, once as he moved up in the pocket to run, and the other on a baffling bootleg call with just 2:24 left in the game. The Randy Ratio was in full effect, as he targeted Moss on 13 of his 30 pass attempts. He completed just 6 of the 17 passes intended for other receivers.

RB: Moe Williams put in a workman-like effort, racking up 80 yards on 22 carries. He also showed the ability to run the clock out, as he grounded out 2 first downs late in the game, and seemed poised to get a third before Culpepper's bootleg. Williams was not a factor in the passing game.

Doug Chapman was ineffective with 4 carries for 9 yards, while Onterrio Smith did not contribute.

WR: Randy Moss was nearly unstoppable in this game, as he caught 3 passes of more than 20 yards while he also showed a willingness to go over the middle in traffic. He pushed off on a TD catch that was nullified, only to catch a beautiful 13-yard TD just two plays later. The Vikings faked a couple handoffs to him but never delivered.

D'Wayne Bates was the only other receiver with more than one catch. He caught 2 for 15 yards and a touchdown. Much-discussed rookie Nate Burleson did not catch a pass and was targeted just once.

TE: Culpepper did not use his tight ends much. Hunter Goodman caught a 3-yard pass.

K: Rookie Aaron Elling hit field goals of 22, 34 and 46 yards without a miss. He converted all 3 PATs. He looked solid on all his kicks.

Pass Defense: The Vikings intercepted 4 balls, including two by Corey Chavous. The pass rush failed to put pressure on Favre, but managed to hold their own thanks to some poor throws and mistakes in route-running by Packer receivers.

Rush Defense: The Vikings held the Packers to 62 yards on 19 carries. Green Bay did not run the ball early, and then found themselves behind early. Chris Claiborne recovered a fumble and also had the lone Viking sack.

Green Bay Packers

QB: Brett Favre started the game wild, before settling down late in the 1st half. The big story was the 4 interceptions he threw, although three of them were somewhat of a fluke. The 1st INT was intended for Javon Walker and it bounced off Walker's shoulder pad. On the second one, he had TE David Martin open, who tripped and fell. The 3rd one was intended for Donald Driver, who cut left to the corner of the end zone instead of continuing over the middle where Favre threw. The final INT was thrown into double coverage, intended for Javon Walker, the Packers' only remaining WR. This last one ended the game, for all intents and purposes. Favre did hook up with Walker on a nice 24-yard TD pass, and finished with 248 yards.

RB: Ahman Green fumbled his second carry and with the Packers trailing, the running game was put aside. He only rushed 15 times for 53 yards. He was the choice at the goal line, however, and converted two TD runs. He also caught 7 passes for 62 yards so his total numbers were very good.

Najeh Davenport was not a factor, with just 3 carries for 8 yards.

WR: Both Donald Driver and Robert Ferguson were injured on the Packers' 1st drive of the 4th quarter. Prior to that point, Favre had tried to spread the ball among his top 3 receivers. He targeted Driver 5 times, Walker 4 times and Ferguson 9 times. After the injuries, Favre tried Walker 3 more times, for a TD and an INT. Driver finished with 2 catches for 27 yards, Ferguson caught 6 for 53 and Walker caught 5 for 84 yards and a TD. It was all-or-nothing with Walker. The result of his 7 chances was 1 TD and 2 INTs by Favre.

TE: Bubba Franks finished with 3 catches for 18 yards. He was not a force in the red zone, as the Packers used Ahman Green twice and tried Donald Driver the other time they were there..

K: Ryan Longwell made his only FG, a 27-yard kick, and both extra points.

Pass Defense: The Packers could not contain Randy Moss. That, along with the 5 turnovers on offense, lost the game. Moss caught 3 passes for 56 yards on one drive, while S Darren Sharper was not in the game. They recorded 2 sacks, but failed to keep Culpepper in the pocket.

Rush Defense: Green Bay's run defense was decent. It held Minnesota's RBs to 89 yards in 26 carries, but allowed Culpepper to run for over 5 yards per carry. They did, however, force two fumbles.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Indianapolis Colts

Although many may be thinking the Colt's Offense has been "Dungified", they need to take note that Manning went to the air 43 times in this game. In fact, at one point, the Colts called 3 straight pass plays inside the 5 yard line. Manning appeared out of sync in the first half, and the Browns were consistently taking away Harrison down field. Manning and the Colts were finally able to move the ball and win the game by basically ignoring the Receivers down field, and focusing on underneath passes. The Brown's Defensive plan to take away the down field plays and blanket Harrison worked extremely well.

RB Edgerrin James appeared to be running a full strength in this game. He carried the ball 15 times for 67 yards and caught 5 passes for 29 yards. He tipped one pass which led to Manning's second interception.

WR Marvin Harrison caught 9 passes for only 44 yards. Manning distributed the ball among 8 different receivers, with 3 passes each going to WR Reggie Wayne, WR Troy Walters, and TE Marcus Pollard.

The box score will show that Reggie Wayne had 3 receptions for 33 yards. This is not an accurate report of his impact on the game. All three of the receptions came on "do or die" 3rd down conversions. The final catch came on 3rd and 10 with under 2 minutes left in the game where Wayne picked up 15 yards to keep the game winning drive alive. Manning was very comfortable going to Wayne in High pressure situations.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns were unable to convert on 2 first and goals from inside the 5 and seemed to learn nothing from their playoff loss to the Steelers last season as they employed a prevent defense in the final 2:30, allowing the Colts to drive for a game winning field goal.

QB Kelly Holcomb was unimpressive in his first game as the starter. He was 20 of 29 for 182 yards with 2 interceptions. Both interceptions were on under thrown balls up the middle, which went right to the defender. Holcomb nearly was picked off a 3rd time on a similar throw. He also missed RB William Green on a screen pass, which would likely have resulted in a TD in the 4th quarter. Holcomb did not complete a pass for longer than 24 yards and did not throw any deep passes during the game.

WR Dennis Northcutt seemed to be at the center of the Browns attack, as they went with a 3 WR set almost exclusively in the first half. WR Quincy Morgan caught his single pass early in the game. After that, he was virtually invisible for the rest of the game. The defense on Morgan was nothing that he couldn't overcome, it was simply that Holcomb never looked at him again even once for the rest of the game.

RB William Green ran the ball 21 times for 86 yards and caught 3 passes for 19 yards. However, he was unable to convert on 4 runs from inside the 5 (including 2 rushes from the 1). WR Dennis Northcutt led the team with 5 receptions for 57 yards and played on most downs as the 3rd receiver.

The Cleveland Browns defense played above expectations, holding the Colts to 278 yards of total offense and 3 field goals.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Indianapolis Colts

QB: Peyton Manning had tons of time to throw, but looked out of sync with all receivers except Harrison (who was taken away down field by the Browns). Manning made some bad decisions, and threw 2 INTs in the first half. He came back in the second half with short underneath passes, and found the seams in the Brown's Defense to lead the Colts to a win. Great game planning in the locker room at halftime. Manning had 27 completions on 43 Attempts for 211 yards and the 2 interceptions, the first was in the End Zone that could have been a TD to Pollard who was open at the time. The other INT was in no way Manning's fault. It came on a pass to James that hit his hands, and deflected into the waiting arms of LB Ben Taylor. On another play, Manning failed to notice Harrison, standing all alone wide open, wildly waiving his arms in the End Zone. It would have been an easy 35 yard TD. Manning went to TE Dallas Clark in the End Zone, but it was broken up by LB Daylon McCutcheon. On another 1st and 10, Manning had Harrison in the End Zone, but the ball Harrison should have caught went off his hands.

RB: Most importantly, Edgerrin James appeared to be 100% healthy in this game. He was effective throughout the game and was the only RB to make a carry. He finished with 67 yards rushing and 29 receiving. He did have one fumble but was recovered.

Ricky Williams was on the field for a few passing formations, and caught 2 passes for 19 yards. Dominic Rhodes and James Mungro were unavailable due to injury.

WR: Marvin Harrison, who killed the Browns last year, had 9 reception for 44 yards. Harrison's down field routes were totally taken away by the Browns. His receptions came on short passes over the middle where he was tackled immediately. On 1st and 10, CB Daylon McCutcheon bit on the play action to James, leaving Harrison standing wide open in the End Zone, waiving his arms wildly, as Manning threw the ball to James for a 7 yard gain. It would have been an easy 35 yard TD. On a different 1st and 10, Manning went to Harrison in the End Zone, but the ball he should have caught went off his fingers.

Reggie Wayne had 3 receptions for 33 yards. All three of Wayne's receptions came on critical 3rd downs that kept the respective drives alive. WR Troy Walters brought in 3 receptions for 27 yards and did nothing of note in the game.

Troy Walters played in place of the injured Brandon Stokely and also caught 3 passes for 27 yards.

TE: Marcus Pollard was clearly the favorite target at TE. He caught 3 balls for 28 yards and was the target of Manning's first INT in the end zone.

Dallas Clark had a single reception for 18 yards. Clark did get a look in the Red Zone as Manning went to him in the back of the End Zone, but the pass was broken up by LB Daylon McCutcheon.

TE Joe Dean Davenport had 1 catch for 7 yards, and is barely worth mentioning.

K: Mike Vanderjagt was the Colt's scoring offense, going 3 for 3 on field goals of 22, 46, and the game-winner of 45 yards (despite a bad snap).

Pass Defense: The Colts defense did an excellent job of containing the Brown's receivers. They were able to put adequate pressure on the Brown's QB and capitalized on 2 INTs which were thrown right to CB Nick Harper. LCB Walt Harris forced a Fumble by striping the ball from RB William Green late in the game, that was recovered by WR Dennis Northcutt.

Rush Defense: The Colts gave up 99 yards on the ground. They were able to stop the Browns on 2 series inside the 5. LB Marcus Washington made 2 key stops on runs from inside the 2. Rookie SS Mike Doss led the team with 7 solo and 3 assisted tackles. Dwight Freeney came out of the game to have his ankle examined, but was back in after a short break. Freeney was unable to get going as the Browns double teamed him all day. He finished with a single tackle, and no assists or INTs. Freeney was completely shut down.

Cleveland Browns

QB: Holcomb's debut as the starting QB this season was less than stellar. He was 20 of 29 passing for 182 yards, but threw 2 interceptions and connected on no deep passes. Both interceptions were on forced balls which were under thrown in the middle of the field. He threw a similar ball which was dropped. He also badly missed a screen pass to William Green, which would have gone for a TD and put the Browns ahead 10-6 in the 4th quarter. Holcomb was not being heavily pressured on any of these throws. The Browns seemed to be running a ball control offense and he attempted no throws longer than 20 yards during the game.

RB: William Green had 21 rushes for 86 yards. Green had a 29 yard reception called back for holding. The Browns went with Green on the 1st and 3rd downs from the 1 yard line, but he couldn't convert, and they settled for a FG. Green came up just a couple of inches short on the 3rd down attempt. Late in the game, Green lost another opportunity to score as Holcomb threw the ball into his back at the Goal Line. Had Green been turned around and ready, it would have been a "walk in standing" TD. In the second half, The Browns came out with Green right, left, and center with a few short controlled passes, to march down the field and eat up the clock. Green fumbled the ball on a CB Walt Harris strip in the 4th quarter, but was saved as Northcutt was able to recover the fumble.

James Jackson was listed 2nd on the depth chart and was in for one series in the first half, getting 2 carries for 6 yards.

Jamel White was the back who spelled Green late in the first and during the second half, rushing 2 times for 7 yards and catching 4 passes for 19.

Every effective run was to the right side of the line (away from the spot vacated by the injured Ross Verba). Keen defenses may be able to take advantage of this tendency.

WR: Quincy Morgan notably was a non-factor in this game, catching only one ball for 14 yards. The coverage on Morgan wasn't overly spectacular, Holcomb simply ignored Morgan, and didn't look for him at any point in the game. Morgan was used for Kick Offs, and took a huge hit while trying to block on a kick return.

Dennis Northcutt was the center of the Brown's passing attack. Holcomb forced the ball to him in traffic, as Northcutt made a couple of amazing receptions between defenders. Northcutt brought down 5 receptions for 57 yards. The Browns consistently ran a 3 WR package in the first half that seemed to feature Northcutt. Northcutt kept a late 4th quarter drive alive with the recovery of William Green's Fumble when CB Walt Harris striped the ball from him.

Kevin Johnson added 3 catches for 26 yards and Andre' Davis was the only other receiver to get involved, catching 1 pass for 18.

TE: Steve Heiden caught 2 passes for 22 yards. Aaron Shea started at H-back and managed 1 catch for 7 yards. Neither factored prominently in the game plan.

K: Phil Dawson hit both of his attempts from 19 and 20 yards out.

Pass Defense: LCB Daylon McCutcheon forced a fumble and had 8 tackles. Those tackles were the result of the numerous underneath passes to Harrison right in the path of McCutcheon, who spent the day tackling Harrison immediately after the catch. McCutcheon also broke up a pass to TE Dallas Clark in the End Zone. LBs Ben Taylor and Kevin Bentley each intercepted Manning. Bentley's INT was in the End Zone, killing the Colt's chance of scoring. SS Robert Griffith forced a fumble and had 5 tackles. In some short yardage situations, the Brown went to a 5 DB "nickel" package that was highly successful.

Rush Defense: The rush defense did and adequate job, holding James to 67 yards. The young LBs held their own. The unit came out strong with fast, "Everyone to the ball" tackling, and great line penetration. Although his stats were nothing special (1 Tackle, 2 assists), LB Kevin Bentley had a huge day, consistently finding himself in the path of the Colt's attack, disrupting plays. DE Courtney Brown had a personal foul called on him for roughing the passer in the Red Zone that resulted in giving the Colts a fresh set of downs at the 4 yard line.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland offense still seems stuck in it's preseason doldrums. Despite Rich Gannon posting solid numbers (24-38, 264 yards, 2 TD), the Raiders offense was pretty much out of sync for most of the night. The Titan crowd noise was incredible and T Barry Sims was whistled for three false-start penalties on the opening drive alone, and it really set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Number two wide receiver Jerry Porter apparently re-injured his strained abdominal muscle and left the game after just 1 reception for 6 yards. Tim Brown assumed his old number two role and was very effective. Despite not catching a pass until there was 2:37 left in the third quarter (just after Porter left the game), Brown finished up with 5 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Charlie Garner had an exceptional game. Although he only rushed 7 times for 22 yards, he caught eight passes for 112 more, including a 46-yard touchdown. He showed his usual speed and burst and did not show any lingering effects from his preseason knee injury.

Tennessee Titans

Steve McNair played an almost flawless game. He was outstanding from start to finish. He finished up 25-38 for 269 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The interception wasn't his fault, as it came on a deflected pass off the hands of Derrick Mason. At times, it appeared impossible for the Raider defenders to corral McNair. Oakland consistently got close to him, but they couldn't catch him. He unleashed the full repertoire tonight in leading his team to victory. One cannot say enough good things about the way he performed.

Derrick Mason was by far McNair's favorite target. He hauled in 10 receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. He was able to get open all day, and McNair looked his way whenever possible.

Eddie George faded quickly after a nice start. The commentators spoke of how he was finally healthy after two injury-riddled seasons. After his quick start, however, the Raiders began to bottle him up. Robert Holcombe came in on every third down situation, and stayed in the game for an extended time on one drive when George was not effective. George did get the red zone carries, but didn't do much with them.

Kicker Joe Nedney left the game with a sprained MCL (knee) after making a tackle during a kick return. Coach Jeff Fisher said afterward that Nedney may also have damaged his ACL. Punter Craig Hentrich handled the kicking duties, and connected on all three of his field goal attempts.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Oakland Raiders

QB: Despite the announcers commentating on how much pressure Tennessee was getting on him, Rich Gannon actually had time to throw. And when he did throw, the results were usually pretty good. But the problem was that he did a lot of looking and bouncing around, searching in vain for an open receiver. The Raiders just looked out of sync as a whole. Late in the game, Gannon's knee twisted under him but he avoided serious injury and returned to the game on the next series.

Marques Tuiasosopo entered the game when Gannon left briefly, and was nearly picked off on his only attempt. He did show good skills in eluding the oncoming rush, though.

RB: Not much happened on the ground for Oakland. Charlie Garner gained just 22 yards on 7 carries, and Justin Fargas added 6 more yards on 2 carries. Fargas did, however, have a nice run called back by a penalty. Garner was a major factor in the receiving game, as one might expect. He led the team in receptions (8), receiving yards (112), pass targets intended (10), and scored on a nice 46-yard reception from Gannon. He also had a 10-yard reception called back due to a Teyo Johnson penalty.

WR: The vaunted Raider passing attack was missing a major cog in WR Jerry Porter, who left the game due to a re-aggravation of his strained abdominal muscle. Almost immediately after Porter went out, Tim Brown made his first catch of the game. Brown assumed the number two role for the remainder of the contest, and finished with 5 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. Brown looked excellent while he was in, even contributing a vicious block on a Charlie Garner reception late in the contest.

Ageless Jerry Rice was fairly quiet, with just 4 receptions for 43 yards. He was targeted on just 5 passes.

Porter's replacements, Ron Curry and Alvis Whitted, did not contribute anything to the Raider passing game other than being warm bodies.

TE: Doug Jolley was involved early and often. Gannon didn't appear to seek him out necessarily, but when the main options (Rice, Porter, etc.) were not getting open, Gannon looked to Jolley as a safety valve. Jolley was targeted 7 times, and ended up grabbing 5 passes for 33 yards.

Rookie Teyo Johnson did not catch a pass, and his only contribution hurt the Raiders, as a blocking penalty on him negated a nice reception and run by Charlie Garner.

K: Sebastian Janikowski, looking even bigger than last year (even the announcers said it), connected on both of his field goal attempts (both from 47 yards out). However, following one of his field goals, he booted the ensuing kickoff out of bounds.

Pass Defense: Had no answers for McNair. Even when they got through the Tennessee line, there was no way they could get to McNair. He lit them up for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns, not to mention leaving multiple Raiders clutching at air throughout the contest. They did intercept one pass that came off a Derrick Mason deflection. Also, Rod Woodson appeared to strip the ball away from a receiver for what would have been an easy touchdown, but the play was whistled dead just as the ball came loose. CB Terrence Shaw was picked on early when he was covering Mason, and he was soon switched to Drew Bennett. Shaw also was whistled for a long pass interference penalty early in the game.

Rush Defense: After an iffy start, Oakland settled down and contained Eddie George. George's first 5 carries went for 23 yards, but his next 15 carries netted him just 19 yards.

Tennessee Titans

QB: McNair was outstanding. His stats show that he turned the ball over twice, yet one was a deflected interception (that Tennessee recovered after the INT return was fumbled) and the other was a highly debatable fumble in which his arm was actually moving forward. Outside of those two hiccups, McNair was nearly flawless. On one play, he was almost taken to the ground only to heave a pass in the direction of Derrick Mason, who caught it for an 8-yard gain. It is safe to say that this offense is focused around the talents of McNair, and he played an excellent game all the way around.

RB: Eddie George started well, with 23 yards on his first 5 carries. But he registered just 19 yards on his next 15 carries. He did catch 3 passes for 23 yards, but his impact on the game was minimal. He also came out for Robert Holcombe on every third down.

Robert Holcombe was the third down back and carried the ball 6 times for 15 yards.

WR: Not that it's a surprise, but Derrick Mason is the man in Tennessee. He was targeted by McNair 13 times, and recorded 10 receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. On the TD, the refs ruled that Mason would have landed in bounds had he not been pushed out by an Oakland defender, but it was pretty obvious that they were incorrect. Despite the gift touchdown, Mason made a nice play on the ball, which was just one of many good catches and plays he made during the course of the game.

Rookie Tyrone Calico scored the first points of the game on an 11-yard touchdown reception, but did not catch another pass all game. He went in late and drew a long interference penalty on Charles Woodson, setting up the last Craig Hentrich field goal. The play prior to that one, Calico was wide open in the end zone for what could have been an easy touchdown, but McNair chose instead to tuck the ball in and run with it.

Justin McCareins drew a pass interference penalty on Terrence Shaw early on that helped set up the Calico touchdown. McCareins was targeted 5 times and caught 3 balls for 43 yards.

Drew Bennett lost two 10-yard receptions to penalties and ended up not catching a pass, despite being targeted 3 times.

TE: Frank Wycheck dropped what would have been a big gain on the first pass targeted for him. The announcers quoted Wycheck as saying, "I'm interested to see what happens the first time I get hit". This is a clear sign that he is not completely confident that he's recovered from his latest concussion. He did make a nice play in forcing a fumble on Derrick Gibson, who had just intercepted a Steve McNair pass.

Erron Kinney, who started the game at fullback, ended up having a productive game catching 4 of the 5 passes intended for him, totaling 46 yards.

K: Joe Nedney left the game with what was termed a sprained MCL. Coach Jeff Fisher said afterward that Nedney may also have damaged his ACL. Nedney had earlier missed an extra point, but it was due to a bad snap, not any fault of Nedney.

Craig Hentrich replaced Nedney after the starter suffered a sprained MCL. Hentrich blasted field goals from 49, 34, and 33 yards out.

Pass Defense: Were really helped along by the crowd noise and the lack of discipline shown by the Raiders offensive line. Oakland tallied 8 penalties for 176 yards in the first quarter alone, which prevented them from really getting into a rhythm. Tennessee did do a solid job in coverage, as Gannon clearly had time to throw but was unable to find anyone open. DL Jevon Kearse left the game briefly with an apparent neck injury after a helmet-to-helmet collision with his own teammate.

Rush Defense: Clearly, Charlie Garner and company had nowhere to run. Raider runners totaled 34 yards on 10 carries. It got to the point where the Raiders used the short passing game as their running game, a tactic they often employed last season as well.