WINNERS
Chris Johnson RB/Ten: One of the biggest stories of the offseason was when Chris Johnson guaranteed that he would break the all-time single season rushing record. He is slightly behind that pace after game one, but he did have a big game today against the Raiders. He rushed for 142 yards on 27 carries, averaging 5.3 ypc and had 2 TDs. The big win, however, was that he broke off a 76 yard TD run, showing the same trademark huge play ability that he showed all of last year. If Johnson rushes for 100 yards next week against Pittsburgh, he will tie Barry Sanders for the most consecutive 100+ yard rushing games in NFL history. It should be a tough test against Pittsburgh but if he breaks a big play, he can do it.
Arian Foster RB/Hou: When the Texans drafted Steve Slaton, they thought they'd have a steady running back for a long time. Fast forward to this preseason, when Arian Foster was labeled the number 1 running back and the Texans really weren't sure what they were going to get from the RB position. Fast forward a little further and you'll find that Houston is pretty comfortable with what they have. Foster ran for 231 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Colts defense. Foster carried the Texans to a huge win over the Colts.
Giants red zone defense: The Giants gave up 18 points to the Panthers; They could've given up 39. In what turned out to be a real sloppy football game, the Giants' defense had 3 interceptions in the end zone against Matt Moore. Deon Grant, Kenny Phillips and Terrell Thomas had the 3 interceptions for the Giants.
Hakeem Nicks WR/NYG: Nicks had 4 catches on Sunday...3 touchdowns. Nicks had touchdown catches of 26, 19 and 5 yards. The most impressive of which was probably the 5 yarder, in which he laid out and made a nice hands catch, using those ginormous gloves he calls hands. There was question about Nicks coming into the season and how much he was going to be featured in the offense plan. The Giants know that they have a very good WR in Nicks and it looks like they figured out how to use him.
Houston Texans: In what was considered, believe it or not, a must-win for the Texans in week 1, they performed brilliantly. The Texans were previously 1-15 against the Colts in their short history and in order to have a shot at the division this year, they needed to prove that they could hang with the Colts, especially at home. They got out to a nice 13-0 lead and when it looked like the Colts were going to get back into the game (getting as close as 13-10), the Texans pulled away again and went up 27-10 halfway through the 4th quarter. The Texans showed they have what it takes to hang with the Colts this year.
Pittsburgh Steelers: As I predicted, without Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers kept the ball on the ground and controlled the tempo of the game. They ran the ball 25 times, while passing 26 times. The defense showed up big-time in the game, allowing only 58 net yards rushing. Even though Ryan threw for 252 yards, the Steelers kept him to only a 5.4 ypa average and out of the endzone. A win is a win and a win without Roethlisberger is a big one.
Wes Welker WR/NE: After tearing his ACL less than one year ago, Welker was very strong in his 1st game back. Welker caught 8 balls for 64 yards and 2 TDs. The 8 catches are no surprise, but Welker only had 4 TDs all of last year, so the 2 TDs today are a nice edition to his statline.
Clay Matthews LB/GB: Matthews recorded double digit sacks last year as a rookie and the Packers were quite excited about him coming into this year. But then Matthews hurt his leg in the Packers' Family Night scrimmage and basically the entire preseason. He was also switching from ROLB to LOLB, so he really had no time to practice the switch in the preseason. How did he respond? Matthews had 2 sacks and hands down, the biggest play of the game, when he stopped Vick on a 4th and 1 run with under 2 minutes left in the game. The Eagles were on the Packers 41 and were driving to tie the game.
Matt Forte RB/Chi: In his 1st real game in Mike Martz's offense, Forte only rushed for 50 yards. So why is he in the "winners" column? Forte caught 7 passes for 151 yards and 2 TDs. One of those passes was an 89 yard reception where Forte showed off his athleticism, running down the sideline. The game was against the Lions, but this could be a good sign for Forte and the Bears.
Honorable mention: Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Vince Young, David Garrard, Mike Vick
LOSERS
Kevin Kolb QB/Phi: It was a tough day for QBs in Philly today. It was raining and windy and the field conditions were not great. However, Kolb only completed 5 passes out of 10, for 25 yards. He looked out of sync with the offense and just plain not comfortable in the pocket. He didn't find his biggest playmaker, Desean Jackson, a single time and only targeted him once, which was almost intercepted. Kolb didn't get a chance to show what he had in the 2nd half as he was knocked out of the game in the 2nd quarter with a concussion.
Chicago Officiating Crew: Plain and simple, the game was stolen from Detroit today. The Lions, who have 2 wins in the past 2 years, played well enough to win today. With under a minute left on the clock, Calvin Johnson "caught" a ball in the endzone, had possession for about 2 full seconds and then dropped the ball as he was getting up. It was a controversial call, but in my opinion, the refs made the wrong one in a crucial spot.
San Francisco 49ers: I was debating on putting the Seahawks in the "winners" column, but I finally decided that it was more of a loss by the 49ers then it was a win by the Seahawks. There's no arguing that the Seahawks played a great game, but the 49ers were awful. After the 49ers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, they didn't score again. The 49ers were pretty much everyone's pick to win the terribly weak NFC West this year, and while this obviously doesn't end their chances, the 49ers should be concerned after getting blown out by Seattle today.
C.J Spiller: Things looked like they were falling into place for Spiller. Fred Jackson got injured early in the preseason and Spiller responded by having a strong preseason. He got the start in Miami and it looked like he might be able show what he had very early on in the season. How did he respond? Spiller carried the ball 7 times for 6 yards. That's right, a 0.9 ypc average. Granted, the Bills have a terrible offensive line, but you can't run for less than a yard per carry, no matter who your line is.
St. Louis Rams Coaches Clock Management: The Rams had a chance to make Sam Bradford a hero in his 1st career start. After managing one win all of last year, the Rams were only down 17-13 to the Cardinals after they got the ball with a little over a minute left in the 4th quarter. After Bradford completed a pass to Fells to get to the Arizona 48 yard line with 46 seconds left, the St. Louis coach decided not to use a timeout. St. Louis, which had two timeouts left, didn't get the snap off until there were 30 seconds left. The result was that they ended up having to throw up a hail mary into the endzone as time expired. Had they managed the clock better, they might have been able to give Bradford a shot to win the game with a makeup pass.
Honorable Mention: Indianapolis Colts run D, Matt Moore, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis WR's
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