Breaking down every Week 1 game

Each week STATS INC. will arm you with the main talking points for each NFL game, including the top storylines around the league.

Sunday - Early games

Lions (0-0) at Falcons (0-0)

Detroit won its first two games of 2007, but finished the season by going 5-9 and recorded its seventh consecutive losing season. The Lions' last winning season was in 2001 when they finished with a 9-7 record. The Falcons lost their first three games of 2007 on the way to a 4-12 record — their worst season since finishing 4-12 in 2000. Atlanta is 22-20 all-time in season-openers after dropping the first game of 2007 in Minnesota, 24-3. Recently cut by the Bengals, Rudi Johnson was signed to a one-year deal by the Lions on Monday. Despite being slowed by a hamstring injury in 2007 and tallying just 497 yards on the ground, Johnson has 4,718 rushing yards since 2004 — fourth-most among all active players. Jon Kitna is back as starting quarterback for the Lions after becoming the first QB in Detroit history to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Kitna's total of 8,276 yards through the air the last two seasons is fourth-most in football behind Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. First-round draft pick (No. 3 overall), Matt Ryan will make his first NFL start on Sunday for the Falcons. Ryan will be the third different QB to start Atlanta's season-opener in the last three years (Vick-2006, Harrington-2007). Roddy White had 1,202 yards receiving in 2007 — tied for third-most in the NFC. White's performance was the best by a Falcons' receiver since Andre Rison recorded 1,208 yards in 1990. Atlanta started 44 different drives inside its own 20 last season and scored a touchdown just one time — fewest in the NFL. Detroit had 35 takeaways last season — tied with Tampa Bay for most among all NFC squads.

Bengals (0-0) at Ravens (0-0)

This is the second consecutive campaign that the Bengals and Ravens will open up against each other. Cincinnati defeated Baltimore, 27-20, in its first game of 2007 and has now won three straight season-openers overall. With their loss to the Bengals in the first game of 2007, the Ravens are now just 4-8 (.333) in season-opening contests — worst among all current AFC teams. The Bengals are 6-1 against the Ravens in the two teams' last seven meetings and 3-1 in Baltimore during that span. Willis McGahee took over as Baltimore's feature back last season and promptly rushed for 1,207 yards — 4th best among all NFL running backs. McGahee had seven touchdowns on the ground in 2007 — all during a 7-game TD streak from 10/14 to 12/3. Cincinnati scored 59 points on its first offensive possessions in 2007 — second in the NFL to New England's 71. Joe Flacco will make his NFL debut on Sunday for the Ravens. Flacco transferred from Pitt to Delaware after his freshman season and had 7,046 career passing yards in two seasons for the Blue Hens — 2nd most in school history. Both T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson (Ocho Cinco) are expected to play on Sunday for the Bengals after battling through preseason injuries. Johnson led all NFL receivers with 27 receptions of at least 20 yards in 2007 and Houshmandzadeh tied Wes Welker of the Jets for most catches last season overall with 112. Matt Stover has successfully kicked 348 consecutive extra points — the third-longest streak in NFL history. He needs to convert 24 in a row to pass Jason Elam and Jeff Wilkins (371) for the longest streak all-time. Stover leads all active players and is currently fourth all-time with 1,822 career points.

Seahawks (0-0) at Bills (0-0)

Seattle is 11-21 all-time in season-opening games, but has won its last two, allowing just six points in each (20-6 over Tampa Bay in 2007 and 9-6 over Detroit in 2006). Buffalo is 19-29 all-time in season-openers, having dropped two straight by a combined three points (19-17 to New England in 2006 and 15-14 to Denver in 2007). With Shaun Alexander gone, Maurice Morris and new Seahawk, Julius Jones will battle for playing time behind Matt Hasselbeck this season. While Morris has started just 16 games in his 6-year career, Jones started all 32 games for the Cowboys the last two seasons and rushed for a combined 1,672 yards in those contests. Signed away from Atlanta following the 2006 campaign, Patrick Kearney went out in 2007 and had a career-high as well as NFC-leading 14.5 sacks in 2007. Kearney was one of just three players to have 10+ sacks and an interception last season (Jason Taylor and Elvis Dumervil were the others). Marshawn Lynch led all AFC rookies in 2007 with 1,115 rush yards. Lynch had troubles with an ankle injury during 2007, but still averaged 96.3 yards on the ground in his last six games of the season. Seattle has gone to the playoffs five straight seasons — the longest active streak of any NFC squad. The Seahawks have won four consecutive divisional crowns, also the longest active streak of any NFC team. Including the preseason, the Seahawks are scheduled to travel 34,766 miles this season — most of any NFL squad. Seattle will end up traveling 182 more miles than all the teams in the AFC North combined. Aaron Schobel has started every game for the Bills since being inserted into the starting lineup for the first time on October 28, 2001 (107 straight starts). Since that date, Schobel has 66 sacks — second-most among all active players (Jason Taylor-84).

Jets (0-0) at Dolphins (0-0)

Brett Favre makes his debut for the Jets on Sunday — the future Hall of Famer has a career record of 8-7 in games played in the state of Florida (1-1 at Dolphins, 2-0 at Jaguars and 5-6 at Buccaneers). Favre had one of his best seasons ever in 2007, which included going 6-2 on the road and posting a 96.5 rating in the process. Miami is 31-10-1 in home openers all-time — the best mark in the league. Overall, the Dolphins have dropped four of their last five season-opening contests. The Jets have swept the Dolphins in each of the previous two seasons, winning three of those games by a field goal. New York was just 1-7 on the road in 2007 with its only win coming at Dolphin Stadium (40-13). Chad Pennington will be facing his former team for the first time on Sunday. Pennington is No. 4 in Jets' annals in passing yards (13,738), passing touchdowns (82), attempts (1,919) and completions (1,259). The new Dolphins' starter has a career completion percentage of 65.6 — the best of any QB all-time with at least 1,500 attempts. Jerricho Cotchery has 164 catches for 2,091 yards over his last two seasons — both numbers are best among all Jets' players. Cotchery has eight career touchdown receptions with six of those coming on the road. Fresh off signing a new one-year contract extension, Ricky Williams is slated to be the Dolphins' starting running back in 2008 despite starting just four games since the beginning of 2005. His back-up, Ronnie Brown had four 100-yard games in seven starts last season before going down with a knee injury. Miami has finished last in the AFC East three of the last four seasons and is one of just five teams without a playoff appearance since division realignment in 2002. The Dolphins lost six games in 2007 by three points or less — most in the league.

Chiefs (0-0) at Patriots (0-0)

Kansas City lost its first two games of 2007 by a combined 40-13 (20-3 vs. Texans and 20-10 vs. Bears). The Chiefs then won four of their next five contests, but dropped their final nine games of the season to finish 4-12 on the year. The last time Kansas City finished with a record of 4-12 or worse prior to last year was way back in 1978 when they also ended the season 4-12. The Patriots have won 11 of their last 13 home openers, including a perfect 6-0 record at Gillette Stadium. New England has won 19 straight regular-season games overall — the longest streak in NFL history. Brody Croyle is slated to be the Chiefs' starting quarterback to begin 2008. The former third-round pick out of Alabama has six career starts under his belt, but is still searching for his first NFL victory. The Chiefs had just nine combined points on their opening drives last season — fewest in the NFL. Kansas City was one of two teams in the league without a first-drive touchdown in 2007 (Miami was the other). Tony Gonzalez posted five 100-yard games in 2007, giving him 23 for his career — one shy of tying Kellen Winslow's all-time record for tight ends. Gonzalez came up one reception short of 100 last season, finishing with the second-highest single-season total of his career (102 catches in 2004). Tom Brady is 86-24 (.782) as a starting quarterback during his career — best of any QB in the league with at least 10 starts under his belt. Brady's NFL-record 50 touchdown passes in 2007 matched his total from the previous two seasons combined. In addition to his record-setting 23 receiving touchdowns in 2007, Randy Moss had 183 receiving yards in the Patriots' first game against the Jets last season — the most of any receiver in the league in the 2007 season-openers. New England's 2008 opponents had a combined .387 win percentage in 2007 giving them the easiest schedule in the NFL based on last season's records.

Buccaneers (0-0) at Saints (0-0)

Tampa Bay won the NFC South in 2007 after finishing in last place in 2006. The Bucs have now won their division two of the last three seasons and three times overall since division realignment in 2002. Jeff Garcia returns as Buccaneer quarterback this season after posting an 8-5 record as starter in 2007. Garcia had 13 touchdown tosses and just four interceptions last year, posting a 94.6 rating in the process. It was the second-best single-season rating for a Tampa Bay quarterback all-time (Brian Griese-97.5 in 2004). Drew Brees threw for 4,423 yards in 2007, breaking his own franchise record of 4,418 yards in 2006. Since joining the Saints two years ago, no quarterback in football has as many passing yards as Brees' (8,841). Tampa Bay gave up an average of just 278.4 net yards per game in 2007 — best among all NFC squads. Marques Colston has 168 career receptions for the Saints — most of any player in his first two NFL seasons all-time. Saints' players dropped 41 passes last season, second-most in the league (NYG-42). The Buccaneers lost their 2007 opener, 20-6, to the Seahawks and have dropped two straight and three of their last four season-opening games overall. Including a 41-10 setback at the hands of the Colts in their 2007 season-opener, the Saints lost the first four games of 2007, scoring an average of just 12.8 points in those contests. New Orleans is 13-28 (.317) all-time in openers — worst among all current NFL teams.

Rams (0-0) at Eagles (0-0)

The Rams went just 3-13 last season — their worst season since going 3-13 in 1991 when they were still known as the LA Rams. St. Louis lost its first eight games of 2007, getting outscored by a combined 219-99 in the process. Philadelphia finished a disappointing 2007 campaign by winning its last three games of the season and ended up with an 8-8 record overall. The Eagles had just 19 takeaways last season — fewest in the NFL. Donovan McNabb started 14 of 16 games last season for the Eagles — his most since starting 15 times in 2004. McNabb went 5-1 in final six starts of 2007, posting a 95.3 rating in those contests. Torry Holt recorded his eighth-straight season with at least 1,000 yards receiving in 2007 — tying Cris Carter and Marvin Harrison for the third-most all-time. With 1,000 yards in 2008, Holt will tie Tim Brown for the second-most in NFL history behind Jerry Rice (11). Brian Westbrook led the NFL in 2007 with 2,104 yards from scrimmage (1,333 rush, 771 rec.). Westbrook had 90 catches last season and now has 338 total since 2003 — most of any running back in the league. In missing last season's playoffs, the Eagles have now alternated postseason appearances in each of the last four years (2004-yes, 2005-no, 2006-yes, 2007-no). The Rams allowed 147 points in the fourth quarter last season — most among all teams in the league. St. Louis safety, Oshiomogho Atogwe had seven interceptions in his final eight games of 2007 and eight total on the season — most in the NFC and second-most in the league behind Antonio Cromartie (10).

Texans (0-0) at Steelers (0-0)

The Texans won three of their last four games last season and finished 2007 with the best record in team history at 8-8. Houston has played Pittsburgh twice all-time, splitting the two games with the Steelers. Pittsburgh's opponents this season had a combined .598 win percentage in 2007. Based on last season's records, the Steelers will play the toughest schedule in the league this season. Ben Roethlisberger had 32 touchdown passes in 2007 — most in Steelers' franchise history. The previous record was held by Terry Bradshaw who had 28 in 1978. After starting 61 of the Texans' 64 games from 2003 to 2006, Andre Johnson was able to start just nine of 16 contests in 2007 due to a knee injury. Despite the injury problems, Johnson averaged 94.6 yards per game last season — highest among all players with at least 50 catches. Houston's players dropped just 15 total passes in 2007 — fewest among all NFL squads. The Steelers led the NFL in time of possession last season, averaging 33:18 per game. The Texans defeated the Chiefs, 20-3, in their first game of 2007 and are now 3-3 all-time in season-openers. Pittsburgh has won five straight season-openers — the longest active streak of any team in football.

Jaguars (0-0) at Titans (0-0)

Jacksonville won six of its last eight contests in 2007 and made the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons. The Jaguars outscored opponents by an average of 12.9 ppg (256-153) in those games. Fred Taylor recorded his second consecutive and seventh career 1000-yard season in 2007. Just one active running back in the league currently has more career rush yards than Taylor's 10,715 — Edgerrin James (11,607). Maurice Jones-Drew has 26 total touchdowns (22 rush, 2 receiving, 2 KOR) since he joined the league in 2006 — tied at No. 4 with Randy Moss over the last two seasons. Tennessee (543 rushes) and Jacksonville (522 rushes) ran the ball more than any other teams in football last season. The Jags were 9-3 with David Garrard under center to begin the game and 2-2 with Quinn Gray starting in 2007. Garrard has now started 30 games in his career and is 19-11 in those contests. Vince Young is back for his third NFL season in Tennessee. In addition to his 947 rush yards since joining the league in 2006 (most among active NFL QBs), Young has 28 career starts under his belt and posted a 17-11 record in those games. Jacksonville is 9-4 (.692) in season-opening games all-time — the best win percentage of any current NFL squad. The Oilers/Titans are 25-23 all-time in season-openers. The Jags and Titans have split their season series in each of the last two and three of the last four seasons overall. This is the second consecutive campaign that Jacksonville and Tennessee will face off in the season-opener (Titans beat the Jaguars, 13-10 in the 2007 opener).

Sunday — Late games

Cowboys (0-0) at Browns (0-0)

The Cowboys will play 12 games this season against teams with .500 or better records in 2007 — tied for most in the league. Dallas has eight games on its schedule against 2007 playoff teams (also tied for most in the NFL). Including preseason games, the Browns are scheduled to travel just 6,416 miles in 2008 — the fewest among all NFL teams this season. Just one of Cleveland's roadtrips will be more than 1,000 miles (at Jacksonville). Tony Romo had seven 300-yard passing games in 2007 (tied with Brett Favre for second-most in the league) — included in those games was a career-high 345-yard performance in the first game of 2007 vs. the Giants. Terrell Owens (129) is just one touchdown catch shy of tying Cris Carter (130) for second-most in NFL history. Owens had 1,355 yards receiving in 2007 — his most since garnering 1,412 while a member of the 49ers in 2001. Despite missing the last two preseason weeks with a concussion, Derek Anderson is expected to start for the Browns on Sunday. Anderson threw for 3,787 yards in 2007 — the most by a Browns' QB since Bernie Kosar had 3,854 yards through the air in 1986 — and his 29 TD passes tied Frank Ryan in 1966 for second-most in Browns' history (Brian Sipe-30 in 1980). Braylon Edwards has been sidelined with a severely cut right foot since August 9, but is also expected to be in the Browns' starting lineup on Sunday. Edwards set single-season Browns' records in both receiving yards (1,289) and touchdown receptions (16) in 2007. Dallas is 32-15-1 (.681) in season-opening games — best of any current NFC team. The Browns have dropped the first game in each of their last three seasons and are now 27-28 (.491) in season-openers. Since dropping its first home game in 2007, Cleveland has won seven-straight home contests in a row. These two teams last faced each other in 2004 (a 19-12 Dallas victory).

Panthers (0-0) at Chargers (0-0)

Carolina won four of its first six games in 2007, but lost seven of the final 10 contests to finish at 7-9. The Panthers were rather unstable at the quarterback position last year and ended up with four different QBs that started at least one game — tied with the 49ers for most in the league. Jake Delhomme played in just three games last season due to an elbow injury that sidelined him for most of the year. Delhomme posted a rating of 100+ in each of his three 2007 starts and has a combined QB rating of 116.1 dating to the last game of 2006 (his last four starts). San Diego won its 2007 season-opener (14-3 over the Bears), but dropped three straight games following that victory to start last season, 1-3. However, the Chargers reeled off 10 wins in their last 12 contests and finished on top of the AFC West for the second straight year (and the third time in the last four seasons overall). Philip Rivers has a 25-7 career record as starter for the Chargers. However, Rivers is 15-1 at home since becoming San Diego's starting QB in 2006. The Chargers led the NFL in both takeaways (48) and turnover differential (+24) last season. LaDainian Tomlinson has rushed for at least 1,200 yards in each of his first seven NFL seasons — tied for the longest streak to start a career all-time (Eric Dickerson). Carolina defeated St. Louis, 27-13, in its first game of 2007, snapping a 3-game losing streak in season-openers. The Panthers are now 5-8 all-time in openers. Julius Peppers had just 2.5 sacks in 2007 after averaging 10.5 per season in his first five NFL campaigns.

Cardinals (0-0) at 49ers (0-0)

After sweeping the Niners in both 2005 and 2006, Arizona was swept by San Francisco in 2007. The two games between Arizona and San Francisco last season were decided by a combined nine points (20-17 and 37-31). Kurt Warner will make his 12th straight start for the Cards' in the 2008 season-opener after starting the last 11 games of 2007. Warner (93.2) is currently the third highest rated passer in NFL history (behind Steve Young (96.8) and Peyton Manning (94.7)) and had a career-high 484 passing yards in Arizona's 37-31 loss to San Francisco in 2007. The Niners acquired Isaac Bruce via free agency in the offseason to bolster their receiving corps. Bruce has 14,109 career receiving yards which currently leads all active NFL players and is No. 3 on the all-time list behind Jerry Rice (22,895) and Tim Brown (14,934). Originally a sixth-round draft pick by the Saints in 2002, J.T. O'Sullivan is slated to make his first career NFL start this weekend for the 49ers. The former UC-Davis quarterback has played in just five games during his career, passing for 148 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Former Miami Hurricane players, Edgerrin James (85.7%) and Frank Gore (76.7%) have the highest percentage of their teams' rush yards over the last two seasons. Anquan Boldin has 413 career receptions — the most by any player all-time in his first 68 NFL games. Boldin's partner, Larry Fitzgerald is averaging 105.5 receiving yards per game vs. the Niners since the beginning of 2005 (6 games). The Cardinals have missed the playoffs nine straight seasons — the longest active streak in the league. The last time Arizona appeared in the postseason was 1998 as a wild-card team. San Francisco averaged just 145.0 passing yards per game in 2007 — lowest in the league.

Bears (0-0) at Colts (0-0)

This will be the first game in the Colts' new home, Lucas Oil Stadium, after they spent 24 seasons at the RCA Dome (1984-2007). Indianapolis has won five straight home openers overall. After winning the NFC North in both 2005 and 2006 (going a combined 24-8 in those seasons), the Bears slipped to 7-9 in 2007. Chicago was 3-5 on the road last season, but is 2-0 all-time when playing the Colts in Indianapolis. Over the past 10 years, Indianapolis is 24-9 (.727) during the first month of the season — best among all teams in football. Kyle Orton won the Bears' starting job over Rex Grossman and will be under center on Sunday vs. the Colts. Orton has 18 career starts under his belt and is 12-6 in those games. Devin Hester had six return touchdowns in 2007 (4 kickoff and 2 punt) and already has 11 total for his career — fourth in NFL history (Brian Mitchell-13, Eric Metcalf-12, Dante Hall-12). Since division realignment in 2002, the Colts are the only team in football to make the playoffs each and every season (six straight appearances). Peyton Manning has started 160 straight games and despite not participating during any preseason contests due to surgery on his left knee six weeks ago, is expected to be in the starting lineup against the Bears on Sunday night. Manning has a career rating of 94.7 — second-best in history and best among all active QBs. The Colts have posted five straight 12-win seasons — the longest such streak in NFL history.

Monday games

Vikings (0-0) at Packers (0-0)

The Vikings were 8-6 through 14 games in 2007 and poised to make a run at the playoffs. However, losses to Washington (32-21) and Denver (22-19) in its last two games kept Minnesota out of the postseason for the third straight campaign. This game marks the Packers' first game without Brett Favre as their starting quarterback since September 27, 1992. The last QB not named Favre to start a game for Green Bay was Don Majkowski. The Packs' first-round draft pick in 2005, Aaron Rodgers will make his first career NFL start on Monday night. Green Bay has beaten Minnesota four straight times, outscoring the Vikes by a combined 89-40 in the process. Adrian Peterson led the NFC in rushing last season (1,341 yards), becoming the first rookie to lead the conference in rush yards since Barry Sanders did so in 1989. Peterson also led all NFC players with 43 runs of 10 yards or more in 2007. Defensive end, Jared Allen was acquired by the Vikings from Kansas City in the offseason for multiple 2008 draft picks. Allen led all NFL players with 15.5 sacks in 2007 (Minnesota was No. 8 in the NFL with 38 sacks in 2007). Green Bay is 17-3 in its last 20 regular-season games overall and 9-1 at Lambeau Field during that span. Three different quarterbacks started at least once for the Vikings in 2007, but none was better than Tarvaris Jackson. A second-round pick out of Alabama State in 2006, Jackson was 8-4 as Minnesota's starting QB last season. Green Bay's All-Pro defensive end, Aaron Kampman has 27.5 sacks over his last two seasons — most among all NFC players and second-best in the NFL behind Shawne Merriman (29.5).

Broncos (0-0) at Raiders (0-0)

Denver won its first two games of 2007 by a combined four points (15-14 vs. Buffalo and 23-20 vs. Oakland). However, the Broncos finished up the season by going 5-9 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. The Raiders are 34-13-1 all-time in home openers, but have dropped eight of their last 10 games against the Broncos overall (either at home or on the road). Oakland has finished with at least share of last place in every season since participating in Super Bowl XXXVII and have a league-worst 19-61 record over the last five seasons. JaMarcus Russell is set to make his second career NFL start on Monday night. The No. 1 pick out of LSU in 2006 lost his first start to San Diego in the 2007 season finale by the score of 30-17, completing 23-of-31 passes for 224 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Justin Fargas had a team-high 1,009 rushing yards last season for the Raiders — Fargas is just the second Oakland running back to top the 1000-yard mark in the last seven seasons (also LaMont Jordan in 2005). Including 16 games in 2007, Jay Cutler has started the last 21 games for the Broncos, posting a 9-12 record in those contests. Denver is 5-0 when Cutler has a rating of 100 or higher (4-12 when he doesn't). Bronco cornerbacks, Champ Bailey (42 INT) and Dre' Bly (38 INT) are No. 1 and 2 among all NFL cornerbacks when it comes to picking off opposing quarterbacks since 1999. Mike Shanahan is 11-4 as head coach in season-opening games — the 11 victories are most among all NFL head coaches (Mike Holmgren is second with 10).

Please note by clicking on "add a comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.

Member Comments

   

Add a comment

Post Comment

No comments yet.

Report Abuse

 

   

Add a comment

NFL Teams

• Arizona Cardinals
• Atlanta Falcons
• Baltimore Ravens
• Buffalo Bills
• Carolina Panthers
• Chicago Bears
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Cleveland Browns

• Dallas Cowboys
• Denver Broncos
• Detroit Lions
• Green Bay Packers
• Houston Texans
• Indianapolis Colts
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Kansas City Chiefs

• Miami Dolphins
• Minnesota Vikings
• New England Patriots
• New Orleans Saints
• New York Giants
• New York Jets
• Oakland Raiders
• Philadelphia Eagles

• Pittsburgh Steelers
• St. Louis Rams
• San Diego Chargers
• San Francisco 49ers
• Seattle Seahawks
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Tennessee Titans
• Washington Redskins