It’s been a painfully long off-season for NFL fans, and week one hasn’t disappointed. Here are some of the talking points:
Griffin flies and Redskins spurred
There is no denying the Robert Griffin III was the most impressive rookie of the week. In his first regular season game, the Heisman trophy winner out of Baylor caused a huge upset in New Orleans to shock the Saints.
Bringing his high-octane offence into the Pros, Griffin posted 320 yards for two touchdowns, but most impressive was his accuracy. Completing 19 of his 26 attempts, Griffin has seamlessly slotted into the Redskins offence and Mike Shanahan’s decision to trade three first round draft picks for him may have been justified. Griffin posted a whopping passer rating of 139.9.
Additionally, Griffin rushed for 42 yards on ten carries. The biggest question will be how long Griffin can stay healthy. The NFL has a history of destroying players of Griffin’s style over an extended period of time. But for the moment, he looks to have the whole team behind him and far more experienced than his game tally suggests.
Was Peyton Manning injured or on holiday?
The 36-year-old Denver Broncos quarterback is looking his evergreen self of yesteryear. Missing all of last season due to ongoing issues with his neck, which required three intensive corrective surgeries, he has returned to the NFL after a yearlong absence, albeit with a new team.
Doubters across the league questioned whether he would be worth the money it would cost to bring him in and many decided his injury made him too much of a risk.
However, the four time NFL MVP and future Hall of Famer has come back in fine form, as if nothing was ever wrong. If anything, the year off looks to have done him good, after carrying the Indianapolis Colts for a decade for a lengthy list of personal accolades and one Superbowl victory.
Manning led the Broncos to a 31-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw a near perfect game, completing 19 of 26 attempts for 253 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 129.2. The Steelers front is one of the most aggressive defences in the league and Manning had no issue facing the music.
Sanchez puts Tebow talk to rest
Speculation over the quarterback situation has not been silenced since the New York Jets made a play to secure Tim Tebow from the Denver Broncos during the off season. Unable to score during the preseason, it was just a matter of time before the spotlight was turned to the Jets’ offence and a weakness would be concluded within starting quarterback Mark Sanchez.
On opening week, Sanchez led the Jets to a 48-28 victory over the Buffalo Bills, throwing 266 yards for three touchdowns and one interception in the process. Greatly assisted by rookie Stephen Hill, who hauled in five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns, Jets fans should be pleased with Sanchez’s performance.
Both the Jets’ running games and passing games turned up with RB Shonn Green rushing for 94 yards and a score, for the Jets much criticized offense to boast the highest score of the week.
Tim Tebow did not take a single snap at quarterback and it looks to stay like that for a while.
Philadelphia limp to victory
A lot is expected from the Philadelphia Eagles this season, after a disappointing campaign last year. Most predicted the Eagles to fly to Cleveland and steamroll the Browns, who started rookie quarterback Brendan Weedan.
But it was not until late in the final quarter that the Eagles secured the victory.
Trailing the Browns with less than two minutes on the game clock, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick completed a four yard pass to give the Eagles a 1 point go ahead lead.
Injured in the preseason, but not badly enough to miss the game, Vick was abysmal, completing just 29 of his 56 attempts. Although he posted 317 yards and threw two touchdowns, he also had four interceptions and a terrible passer rating of 51.0.
For the Browns, Weeden basically served victory on a silver platter to the Eagles by completing just 12 of his 35 attempts, with four interceptions for a passer rating of 5.1. Still, the Eagles just managed a meagre 17-16 victory.
Neither of the teams deserved to win that game but if the Eagles continue with that awful performance, they are set to disappoint once more.
Adrian Peterson is back
After a career threatening ACL injury, most doubted Adrian Peterson would ever be back at his best. Most running backs struggle to find the strength and acceleration required to succeed at the position after such an injury but Peterson hit the field running and never looked to be caught.
Peterson ran for 84 yards from 17 carries to hit the end zone twice for two touchdowns, on a day the Vikings could not score in the air. Greatly assisted by rookie kicker Blair Walsh, the Vikings tied the game with a 55 yard field goal with 20 seconds on the game clock before Walsh won the game in overtime with a 38 yard field goal, giving the Vikings a 26-23 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Having Peterson back healthy and fit was the number one priority for the Vikings, who are in the toughest division in the NFC North and relying on a second year quarterback.
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