Key takeaways from NFL’s opening Sunday

The first week of the NFL is almost concluded, and what a week it’s been for some teams.

Fourteen games have been played so far, with the Falcons-Eagles and Vikings-49ers to be contested tomorrow rounding out the opening week of the 2015 NFL season.

We’ll begin with the kick-off game – the Pittsburgh Steelers against the New England Patriots. You knew this was going be a shootout as soon as you saw it on the schedule.

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Ben Roethlisberger was 26/38 for 351 yards, a touchdown and a pick, while Tom Brady reminded us why he’s called ‘Tom Terrific’. The Super Bowl MVP was near-perfect, completing 25 of 32 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns.

Perhaps sending a message to Roger Goodell, Brady played out of his mind and threw all over his opponents to get the win. Rob Gronkowski finished with five catches, 94 yards and three touchdowns.

The Buffalo Bills got their first win under Rex Ryan as they defeated the heavily-favoured Indianapolis Colts 27-14. A great debut for Tyrod Taylor in his first start finished with him throwing for 195 yards and a touchdown while completing 14 of 19 passes, solidifying his starting spot going forward.

This Bills team is for real – it may only be the first week, but by beating the Colts, one of the premier teams in their conference, they show they’re not messing around. Le’Sean McCoy didn’t have a great game, but the defence notched two interceptions and two sacks – impressive statistics for the first game.

Continuing the theme of quarterbacks being on point, we come to the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Houston Texans 27-20. Alex Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns, while Travis Kelce reeled in six receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Still no touchdown pass to a wide receiver yet.

Houston used both Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett at quarterback, with Hoyer taking the majority of the snaps. If the Texans start going on a losing streak, expect Mallett to get a look in. Nate Washington caught two passes for 105 yards, while DeAndre Hopkins caught six passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

The biggest upset of the entire week may have come courtesy of the St Louis Rams, who have a habit of upsetting the Seattle Seahawks in recent years. Remember Week 7 of last season? The fake punts? The trickery in the return game? Rams won that game 28-26 when all was said and done.

This one had to go overtime, but those sneaky St Louis players triumphed over the Seahawks again, this time winning 34-31. Nick Foles looked impressive in his debut for his new team, completing 18 of his 27 attempts for 297 yards and a touchdown. I’ll predict the Rams to go 9-7 this year – who’s with me?

The Arizona Cardinals beat the New Orleans Saints 31-19 in exactly the start they wanted to their season. Drew Brees may have thrown for 355 yards with one touchdown and an interception, but Carson Palmer outplayed him at every opportunity, going for 307 yards and three touchdowns.

Many thought the Cardinals would suffer a drop off this season with Todd Bowles gone, but they came out firing in their first game. It is only the first week, but by beating a team like the Saints they’ve shown they’re dangerous if Palmer can remain healthy. That’s a big ‘if’ at 35 years of age, though.

The battle of rookie quarterbacks kicked off with the Tennessee Titans steamrolling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 42-14. Marcus Mariota proved he’s the better player, completing 13 of 16 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns, while Winston only managed 210 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Bishop Sankey turned 12 carries into 74 yards and a touchdown, while Kendall Wright caught four passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. The Titans sit atop of the AFC South as the only winner after the first week – could they be possible dark horse playoff contenders with Mariota at quarterback?