Miami at Houston
KEY: The Texans defense forced four turnovers in the second quarter and the Texans offense capitalized with 24 unanswered points to take a 24-3 lead into halftime. The Texans deflected four of rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s passes at the line scrimmage, two of which were by defensive end J.J. Watt turned into interceptions in the second quarter. Tannehill completed 20 of 36 passes for 219 yards and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns in his NFL debut.
TEXANS SAID: “Those guys (the Texans defense) are some of the best in the business at what they do. It’s fun to watch them operate out there and it’s fun watching them fly around.” — Running back Arian Foster of the Texans defense
DOLPHINS SAID: “(Ryan Tannehill) did fine. He never got rattled. He kept coming out there and slinging it. He had confidence. We got him pressured and hit too many times today, so we have to improve on that.” — Left tackle Jake Long on how rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill did in his NFL debut
Washington at New Orleans
KEY: As much as Griffin’s performance fueled the Redskins, it was their defense that kept the Saints in a constant catch-up mode. The Saints had just 23 three-and-outs all season in 2011, and they had five against Jim Haslett’s defense. The Saints converted just 2-of-11 third down situations after leading the NFL last year at 56.7 percent.
SAINTS SAID: “Today the difference was penalties (12 for 107 yards). It was second-and-20, so when we got to third down, it was third-and-long too many times. You get in third-and-long situations, you are not going to convert. I think the entire team needs to look themselves in the eye, look in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better?’ We are going to get this fixed.” — Interim coach Aaron Kromer
REDSKINS SAID: “We could’ve scored a few more points, but nothing’s ever perfect. I didn’t have to fall down on the (quarterback) keeper. But I’m not going to be Debbie Downer.” — Quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Buffalo at New York Jets
KEY: The Jets’ offensive line had an outstanding game as it gave Mark Sanchez plenty of time to throw and held the Bills — who signed premier pass rushers Mario Williams and Mark Anderson during the offseason — without a sack. Sanchez was sacked 39 times last year, when right tackle Wayne Hunter graded out as one of the worst linemen in football, but new starter Austin Howard and longtime starters Nick Mangold, Matt Slauson, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Brandon Moore did the job Sunday.
JETS SAID: “I told the guys in the locker room: Remember this, because it took a lot of work to get here. So don’t just throw it out the window. It doesn’t just happen on Sunday. It takes six days to get here and a great day of execution to have this feeling.” — Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
BILLS SAID: “I can’t turn the ball over three times and have us expect to dig ourselves out and win. That’s what happened today. It’s unacceptable (and) it’s embarrassing.” — Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Seattle at Arizona
Key: Arizona’s defensive stand to close out the game sealed the victory, but it wouldn’t have happened had Kevin Kolb not done a superlative job replacing the injured John Skelton and leading the Cardinals to a late go-ahead touchdown. His six completions were to four different receivers — two to Larry Fitzgerald (37 yards), two to tight end Todd Heap (19 yards) one to Rod Stephens-Howling (four yards) and one to Roberts for the touchdown (six yards).
CARDINALS SAID: “I want to talk about Kevin Kolb. Let’s talk about how poetic that was. The guy didn’t get any reps in practice, really. John got all the reps. He came in and led that game-winning drive. Defensively, we just went out there and did our job. Kevin really should be the one that’s talked about right now.” — Strong safety Adrian Wilson, when asked to discuss Arizona’s defensive stand late in the game, which had to withstand two pass-interference calls and numerous Seattle opportunities
SEAHAWKS SAID: “I thought Russell’s path was hard in the first half. They pressured a lot and made it tough on us, but he hung in there and he came back and did a very nice job getting us back in the game in the second half. We utilized the opportunities that we had, but we missed red zone opportunities.” — Coach Pete Carroll on the play of rookie quarterback Russell Wilson
San Francisco at Green Bay
KEY: The 49ers led the NFL with a plus-28 turnover margin last season. The Packers were second at plus-24. Nobody else was even close. On Sunday, the 49ers had the only turnover, coming on NaVorro Bowman’s interception when Aaron Rodgers didn’t see him in the passing lane as he fired about 15 yards downfield to an open Greg Jennings. The momentum-turning play, coming with the Packers having trimmed a 23-7 deficit to 23-15, was turned into Frank Gore’s 23-yard touchdown run on the next play.
PACKERS SAID: “It’s one game. This is a team that was in the NFC Championship last year. It’s a good team. Hopefully, we see them down the road in the playoffs.” — Quarterback Aaron Rodgers
49ERS SAID: “It was kind of one of those miracles, I think, to be a part of. I didn’t think I hit it great enough. I made 61 in pregame and it felt pretty good if I could just get it there and strike it right. But when I hit it, I felt like I missed it. It was tracking all right, and as a kicker, when you hit the goalpost, it usually makes that horrific noise and then usually bounces back. This time, it got the sweet bounce. I think this was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime type of deal. It is one of those things that you will never forget.” — Kicker David Akers
Jacksonville at Minnesota
KEY: After a sputtering start, Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder went back to basics. Which means: to Percy Harvin. Harvin, who had 104 yards from scrimmage, had three catches for 32 yards on the Vikings’ first touchdown drive and a 19-yarder that keyed the team’s third-quarter TD drive. As always, it seemed Harvin was a part of every key offensive moment. “That’s what I’m here to do,” said Harvin, who had 84 receiving yards and 20 rushing yards. “Anything this team needs me to do, I’ll do.”
VIKINGS SAID: “I’m ecstatic we won this one. Really. But when you have a five-point lead, and they have to go 80 yards to score a touchdown with no time outs, that can’t happen. I’m glad to get the win. We’re 1-0. But we have to do better.” — Defensive end Jared Allen.
JAGUARS SAID: “Defensively we had the game in our hands. It was ours to win. We let it slip away. With that amount of time on the clock we feel like if you want to be a great defense, that has to be the knock-out punch. We obviously didn’t do that today.” — Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny.
Philadelphia at Cleveland
KEY: The Browns took the ball away from the Eagles five times, but never scored a touchdown off those takeaways. All three field goals scored by Phil Dawson came from takeaways, but the fact Philadelphia did not yield a touchdown on their mistakes was critical. The Browns had a chance for a fifth interception; just before Michael Vick threw the game-winning touchdown, a pass in the end zone went through the hands of rookie linebacker L.J. Fort.
BROWNS SAID: “I put ourselves in harm’s way. Our defense played plenty good enough to give us the chance to win.” — Quarterback Brandon Weeden.
EAGLES SAID: “You have to have these type games to be a championship football team. We’ll go back to the drawing board, look at the film and get better.” — Quarterback Michael Vick
Indianapolis at Chicago
KEY: The Bears struggled in the passing game and with pass protection at the start, but they were able to soften the Indianapolis defense with running; Matt Forte rushed for 53 yards on five five-quarter carries, leading to a short touchdown run by Michael Bush. The Bears failed to make a first down on three of their first four possessions but scored on three straight possessions in the second quarter, when they controlled the ball for more than 11 of the 15 minutes. In that quarter, Jay Cutler completed 12 of 15 passes for 207 yards. Not counting an end-of-half kneel-down, the Bears scored points on five consecutive possessions in the second and third quarters. The Colts pass rush was effective early but lost Dwight Freeney for the game with a sprained ankle in the first quarter.
BEARS SAID: “We’re pretty pleased with Jay Cutler and what he tried to do today. Jay did an outstanding job today.” — Coach Lovie Smith.
COLTS SAID: “I feel solely responsible for four turnovers. I put the whole team in a bad situation. That will be a big point of emphasis in my mind after this game.” — Quarterback Andrew Luck.
St. Louis at Detroit
KEY: The Lions emerged as one of the league’s best offensive teams last season and they overcame an otherwise spotty performance with a clutch two-minute drive to win the game. Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who threw three first-half interceptions, hit Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson for 20-yard completions to set the 80-yard drive in motion. An 18-yard hookup from Stafford to Johnson advance the Lions to the St. Louis 5-yard line. Two plays later, Stafford checked down and connected with running back Kevin Smith for the winning touchdown with 10 seconds remaining.
LIONS SAID: “In the grand scheme of things, maybe it serves us better. Having a close win, a battle-tested team, maybe that serves us better in the long run than having an easy victory.” — Coach Jim Schwartz
RAMS SAID: “We weren’t intentionally trying to give up 20 yards a chunk. Not when you’re up by three. Once they got near field goal range, all of a sudden the mindset goes to keeping them out of the end zone.” — Coach Jeff Fisher
New England at Tennessee
KEY: While the Patriots were able to establish a running game, picking up 162 yards on 35 rushes, the Titans couldn’t. They averaged only 1.3 yards on 20 carries, with Chris Johnson being held to four on 11 attempts. The play which symbolized Johnson’s day came in the fourth quarter, when Tennessee had 1st-and-goal at the New England 1. Johnson took a handoff and looked for room around right tackle, but was nailed for a 5-yard loss by Vince Wilfork and the Titans had to settle for a field goal.
TITANS SAID: “It’s football. I know I’m the quarterback, but I’d do the same thing again.” — QB Jake Locker, asked if he’d make another tackle after injuring his left shoulder in the fourth quarter.
PATRIOTS SAID: “We played great complimentary football today. We got the football in good field position for the offense and they scored.” — DT Vince Wilfork
Atlanta at Kansas City
KEY: It was the ability of Falcons QB Matt Ryan to operate the offense in his first regular season game with new coordinator Dirk Koetter. Atlanta had a minimum number of mistakes on offense. They scored on their first eight possessions (four TDs, four FGs). They did not turn the ball over, allowed just one sack of Ryan out of 32 passing plays and had only one penalty for delay of game. There were 55 snaps and they produced 376 yards and only four negative plays. It was an impressive performance for Koetter and Ryan in their first game together.
CHIEFS SAID: “I told the team that the season is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. Even though we worked to win this one and we weren’t able to win, we have 15 more to play. We cannot let this one negatively affect the next 15.” — coach Romeo Crennel.
FALCONS SAID: “I really liked the way that our guys played. They played with a lot of passion. They played for 60 minutes and they finished. That’s what you have to do to have the success we want to have.” Falcons head coach Mike Smith.