FanHouse 08NFLWeekOneRecaps

Tennessee beat Jacksonville in a key AFC South opener. Here's my look at who were the heroes and goats of the season opener.

Stars Of The Game

1. Titans Defensive Line

It's hard to understate how dominant this group still is. Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch get most of the credit, but Tony Brown, Justin Jones and Jevon Kearse all helped out as the Titans completely shut down one of the best running games in the league. Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew were held to 31 yards combined as the Titans forced Jacksonville to give up the running game. They also combined for six of the Titans seven sacks.

2. Titans RB Chris Johnson

In a game where most offensive stars were swallowed up by the defenses, Johnson was the best skill player on the field. The rookie showed outstanding speed plus more power than you would expect. Johnson had five plays of 10+ yards, while the rest of the Titans team had four.

The important thing to remember about Sunday for the Carolina Panthers is that the the San Diego Chargers played a very good game. Why is that important? Because the Cats won, that's why.

Jake Delhomme, after completing a highly improbable walk-off touchdown pass to Dante Rosario (see right) was by all accounts pretty emotional, "Oh man, I don't know how to put in words. Let's be honest ... Games like this, they don't happen often. This ranks for me, I promise you, and with good reason."

Delhomme missed all of last season, and believe me when I say that having to watch Mittens mangle your team for an entire season is good enough reason to cry.

The comeback was especially impressive because it came amid an efficient three touchdown performance by Philip Rivers and a near 100 yard game for LaDanian Tomlinson. Of course, it was never a blowout: Carolina showed offensive balance and defensive toughness and in the end, and more importantly, they flashed some of Delhomme's trademark last second luck.

And luck matters a whole hell of a lot more in a short football season than it does in other sports -- a few good bounces and a few close wins turns a decent team into a playoff and Super Bowl contender.

Which is what both of these teams are going to be in 2008, and for likely the same reason: the return of their quarterbacks. It's an encouraging sign for San Diego that Rivers played like he did against a tough and underrated defense, considering he was Captain Strugglesworth last year.

Well, Atlanta won't go 0-16, but after they thumped the Lions, the big question now is are the Falcons better than everyone expected, or are the Lions worse?

Here's my take on who starred and who's to be blamed for the Falcons' big win.

Stars Of The Game:

1. Falcons RB Michael Turner.

Coming into today, the big question surrounding Turner was how well he'd play now that he was the primary ball carrier, instead of the guy who fills in when LT needs a breather.

I think we can consider that question answered. Turner had six runs of 10 yards or more, including a 66-yard touchdown to single-handedly demolish the Lions defense. His 220 yards is the Falcons' single-game record. Backup Jerious Norwood wasn't bad himself (17 carries for 93 yards), but Turner gave the Falcons a game-changing tailback, something that they haven't had since Warrick Dunn was in his prime.

In a battle of which team had the most preseason babel, the Baltimore Ravens bested the Cincinnati Bengals using that same old defense we've all grown to love.

Carson Palmer and the Bengals always bi-polar offense scored just diez points and were outplayed by a rookie quarterback from the University of Delaware who apparently isn't rattled by the National Football League.

Joe Flacco went 15-29 for 129 yards and a touchdown, adding a 38-yard jog for a touchdown that put the Ravens up 17-3 at the end of the third quarter.

"It's just football. It's a lot of fun, though, just like it's always been," said Flacco, the 18th overall pick in the NFL draft. "I think our offense was in control all day. And obviously we had a lot of help from our defense."

The defense they are talking about held that Bengals offense to just seven first downs, 154 total net yards and Palmer to just 99 complete yards passing. It isn't totally clear if the Ravens defense is that good or the Bengals offense is that bad. The one thing that is certain is the Chad Ocho Cinco era is off to smoking start.

Mike McKenzie, the Saints' best corner and the best player on their defense last year, was inactive today. That's not good. Jason David donned pads but as far as I could tell didn't step foot on the field. That was good. The result -- new corners Randall Gay (brought in through free agency) and Tracy Porter (a second-round draft choice) got the start and provided the Saints with something they haven't had in years -- competent corner play on both sides.

But they weren't the only new Saints to make an impact. Jonathan Vilma, the team's leading tackler, and Sedrick Ellis, a beast who constantly penetrated double teams, were just as advertised, and Jeremy Shockey took a while to get going but made some clutch catches for 54 yards. These players were the difference in the Saints' win.

The Jets-Dolphins game was everything you could have wanted. The game went down to wire with the Jets pulling out the 20-14 victory.

Brett Favre was, at times, amazing. His two TD passes came on great plays by him: a beautiful play-action pass deep to Jerricho Cotchery and a gritty (and lucky) pass to Chansi Stuckey on a 4th-and-13. He managed the game very well and didn't do anything stupid.

Add to the fact that the Dolphins were very competitive -- which isn't a huge surprise to those who watched them last season.

Sure, Miami was a horrid 1-15 last year .. but it wasn't as if they were totally inept. They took the Washington Redskins into overtime before falling 16-13 at FedEx Field ... just the first of five games the Dolphins lost by exactly three points.

Today, the Dolphins kept that fight alive. Trailing 20-7, Miami rallied late with an amazing drive that ended with Chad Pennington's 11-yard TD pass to Derek Martin. After stuffing the Jets, Miami again waltzed down the field to the New York 18-yd line. After a couple tough incompletions, Pennington was picked off in the end zone and the game was over.