1/1

Steelers

  1-0

  Roethlisberger dodged sacks and the champs dodged a bullet with Tennessee’s kicking game failing to deliver. Pittsburgh’s defense was solid, but Troy Polamalu suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee and could miss 3 to 6 weeks.

2/3

Eagles

1-0

While the Eagles’ offense struggled in the first half, they found a way to hang 31 points on the Panthers before halftime thanks to great defense and special teams play… Unfortunately, with the game in the bag, McNabb suffered a cracked rib on a run-up-the-score-TD-dash. You hate to see this, especially in a situation where the risk of getting hurt isn’t worth the reward of scoring another touchdown. A more conservative coaching staff might have called a bunch of runs, burned more clock, and settled for a field goal… Jeff Garcia to the rescue again? RT Shawn Andrews out for the year.

3/4

Giants

  1-0  

The Giants’ defense shut down Washington’s running game. Osi Umenyiora was back to his old tricks, stripping the ball from Jason Campbell and returning it 37 yards for a score.

4/2

Patriots

  1-0  

  Brady was tentative in the early going. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around he was back to his old self as the Patriots pulled out a miracle comeback versus the Bills… Jerod Mayo left with a right knee injury. On another note, do you think the Patriots’ defense could have used Richard Seymour? This team could win the Super Bowl this season. Would it matter if they wouldn’t get anything for Seymour at the end of the year? When did getting a first round draft pick two years down the road become more important than trying to win the Super Bowl now?

5/9

Vikings

1-0

  Brett who? Adrian Peterson roasted the Browns’ defense for 180 yards rushing and 3 TD’s.

6/5

Colts

  1-0  

  Manning threw for 300 yards, Reggie Wayne caught 10 balls for 162 yards and 1 TD, and the Colts’ pass defense stifled the Jaguars en route to a narrow victory… Anthony Gonzalez suffered a strained ligament in his right knee and will miss 2 to 6 weeks.

7/7

Ravens

  1-0

  In an unusual game the Ravens trailed Kansas City 14-10 in the 3rd quarter while the Chiefs had less than 65 yards of offense. Overall Baltimore’s offense out-gained that of the Chiefs 501 to just 188…

8/8

Titans

0-1

The usually potent kicking game of the Titans failed to get the job done in Pittsburgh as Tennessee fell to the Steelers in overtime. It’s a tough loss in the standings, but our power rankings won’t fault them for losing in OT at Heinz Field.

9/12

Falcons

1-0

  John Abraham and Kroy Biermann each notched 2 sacks, and the Falcons forced 4 turnovers, resulting in a double digit victory over Miami.

10/19

Packers

1-0

  After a season of close losses, Rodgers and the Packers finally pulled out a close victory. And it couldn’t have come in a more important game– week 1 versus Da Bears.

Cowboys

  1-0  

Romo, Williams, Crayton and Austin erupted in Tampa Bay. Enthusiasm should be tempered slightly as Tampa Bay is expected to be weak defending the pass in ’09.

12/15

Bills

0-1

In a loss that conjured up memories of a Monday night meltdown versus Dallas two seasons ago, the Bills let the Patriots off the hook with questionable “extra effort” on special teams decision making… On another note, in our preseason predictions we talked about how good Buffalo’s defense could be this season. But when their offensive line laid an egg in preseason, we downgraded our season prediction from (10-6) to (7-9). The way their O-line played last night, the Bills could surprise if that play keeps up. Unfortunately on the defensive side, Posluszny broke his arm and Kelsay injured his knee.

13/6

Panthers

  0-1  

  Are the Panthers this bad? Doubtful. While Carolina’s defense statistically held down Philadelphia’s offense in the 1st half, the Panthers somehow managed to give up 31 points as Jake Delhomme picked up right where he left off in last season’s playoffs– completing nearly as many passes to the opposition as to his own teammates.

14/10

Chargers

1-0

The Chargers squeaked out a victory at Oakland on Monday night, but center Nick Hardwick and right guard Louis Vasquez left the game with injuries.

15/14

Bears

0-1

Lack of wide receiver experience makes it hard to win on the road against a team with a solid secondary like Green Bay… The Bears suffered a tough loss at Lambeau. Cutler threw 4 interceptions. And Brian Urlacher was lost for the year.

16/20

Jets

1-0

Sanchez frustrated the Texans in Houston, displaying his ability to extend plays– which is highly important when playing in an offense without a true #1 receiver. And how about that Jets’ defense?

17/13

Redskins

  0-1

The Redskins couldn’t get their rushing game going on the road against the Giants… Not much of a surprise considering the mismatch between Washington’s offensive line in comparison the Giants’ defensive line.

18/18

Saints

1-0

Brees threw 6 TD’s as the Saints’ offense erupted against the Lions. We don’t need to remind anyone the Lions are coming off an (0-16) campaign.

19/23

49ers

1-0

San Francisco brought their solid defense to Arizona, and walked out with a victory. Shaun Hill improved upon his impressive win percentage, and didn’t throw any interceptions, while Kurt Warner threw two.

20/11

Cardinals

0-1

  The Cardinals came into the season wanting to run the ball more. But they don’t have the offensive line for it, mustering just 40 yards rushing in an opening day home loss to the 49ers.

21/16

Dolphins

  0-1

  Chad Pennington and Anthony Fasano lost two fumbles each as the Dolphins squandered good rushing defense in Atlanta.

22/21

Texans

0-1

  With expectations higher than ever, the Texans suffered a disappointing home loss to the Jets and their rookie quarterback.

23/22

Seahawks

  1-0  

  John Carlson had a big day and Hasselbeck bounced back from a tough start en route to a 28-0 win over the hapless Rams… Yes, “hapless”. Don’t expect a 10 place rise in the rankings over this… The bigger story is Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill both departing the game with injuries, potentially leaving the Seahawks thin at linebacker.

24/27

Raiders

0-1

  Richard Seymour transforms the Raiders’ defense. In the 4-3 Seymour is a great pass rusher. Now the Raiders just need to add an element of unpredictability to their defense to shake things up at crucial moments in a game! Meanwhile, if the Raiders were suiting up a quarterback who’s not currently a work in progress, they might actually be able to contend for the division. But they made Russell their starter, so Garcia wanted out. Are the Raiders more concerned about how they win– as opposed to whether or not they do win?

Jaguars

  0-1

  With Garrard throwing for just 122 yards, Jacksonville played the Colts tight in Indianapolis, but came up two points short.

26/28

Broncos

  1-0  

  With so much going wrong in Denver this season, Brandon Stokley made it all go away (even if for just a little while) with a Hail Mary reception from Kyle Orton at Cincinnati.

27/25

Bengals

0-1

The Bengals lost a heartbreaker at home to the Broncos on a fluke hail mary. Equally as disturbing was the fact the Bengals were nearly shutout for the entire game against a team which allowed 448 points last season.

Buccaneers

0-1

  Williams and Ward rushed well, and Leftwich had a good game. So what went wrong? Tampa’s pass defense was like Swiss cheese against the Cowboys.

29/29

Browns

0-1

  Brady Quinn started at QB, but it made little difference as the Browns couldn’t stop Adrian Peterson.

Chiefs

0-1

  In the 3rd quarter with less than 65 yards of offense, the Chiefs somehow led Baltimore 14-10. Then it all fell apart. Overall the Chiefs were out-yarded 501 to 188.

31/31

Rams

0-1

  Last season the Rams averaged being outscored by 14.5 points per game. They started the new season at nearly double that number losing 28-0 at Seattle… I’d rank them last, but the Lions have a streak going.

32/32

Lions

0-1

  Stafford threw 3 interceptions in his debut. The Lions have some kind of regular season losing streak going.