Peyton Manning gained revenge against his former team and put his recent Super Bowl nightmare behind him by leading the Denver Broncos to a season-opening 31-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Manning threw three touchdowns, all to tight end Julius Thomas, in the second quarter as Denver grabbed a 24-0 advantage and held on when the Colts made a final push in the fourth.
“It’s a good start, it’s good to be 1-0,” Manning told reporters. “(We) never take winning for granted. It’s a different year – the season opener. We were excited.”
Manning had lost his previous match-up last season with Indianapolis, where he enjoyed a prolific tenure for more than a decade, and was also coming off a disastrous 43-8 Super Bowl defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks back in February.
But in his first chance at redemption for the 2014 season, the 38-year-old threw for 269 yards in his home match-up with Andrew Luck, the quarterback who replaced him in Indianapolis.
Luck threw for 370 yards, two touchdowns with two interceptions, and put a scare into the Broncos with a late comeback.
Luck ran for a nine-yard score to cut the lead to 24-7 just before half-time.
After a Colts field goal and a fourth-quarter Denver score that made it 31-10, Luck struck on a 41-yard pass to Dwayne Allen and again with a nine-yard TD pass to Hakeem Nicks that pulled the visitors within seven.
The Colts’ final drive stalled at Denver’s 39-yard-line when Luck’s fourth down pass fell incomplete.
“Not taking advantage (of opportunities) put our defence in a tough position,” Luck said. “That’s as much the offense’s fault for not putting drives together. A lot of mistakes were made.”
The New England Patriots suffered a shock 33-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins on the opening Sunday of the season.
For Tom Brady and the Patriots the only solace from their first opening game defeat since 2003 will be the reminder that 11 years ago they bounced back to win the Super Bowl.
But if quarterback Brady wants to get his hands on the Lombardi Trophy again this season he will need better protection than he received against a surprisingly aggressive Miami defence.
The Patriots led 20-10 at half-time in the AFC East clash, Rob Gronkowski marking his return from injury with a six-yard touchdown reception.
But, despite several absentees through injury, Miami were too much for Bill Belichick’s team after the break with their pass rush dominant and their running game effective.
The Dolphins scored 23 unanswered points including a Mike Wallace pass reception in the third quarter and a Knowshon Moreno rushing score in the fourth.
Brady was sacked four times including two strip sacks from Cameron Wake that shifted the momentum in Miami’s direction.
Field goals from Matt Bryant proved decisive in Atlanta's win over NFC South rivals New Orleans at the Georgia Dome.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw for a franchise-record 448 yards and three touchdowns but the Saints’ running game delivered with running back Mark Ingram rushing two touchdowns and carrying for 60 yards.
Ingram’s second touchdown looked to have sealed the road win for the Saints but Bryant converted a 51-yard field goal to force the game into overtime.
The Saints had first possession but William Moore forced a fumble from Marques Colston and Atalanta linebacker Joplo Bartu recovered the ball at New Orleans 38.
After three plays gained four yards, Bryant was sent out and won the game with a 52-yard field goal.
In another divisional meeting, the Pittsburgh Steelers, ahead 27-3 at half-time, gave up their 24-point lead with Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter.
But Shaun Suisham’s 41-yard field goal in the last seconds spared Pittsburgh’s blushes.
Colin Kaepernick threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns as San Francisco 49ers handed the Dallas Cowboys an early reality check.
The 49ers scored three times in the first quarter – twice Kaepernick connecting with Vernon Davis for scores and after that Dallas did little more than add respectability with a pair of touchdowns in the second half.
The Houston Texans ended their 14-game losing streak from last season thanks to a strong showing from running back Arian Foster, who rushed for 103 yards in the 17-6 win over the Washington Redskins.
The New York Jets relied on their rushing game in their 19-14 home win over the Oakland Raiders, putting up 212 yards on the ground. Chris Ivory ran for 102 yards including a fourth quarter touchdown.
The Philadelphia Eagles came back from a 14-0 first quarter deficit to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-17 with quarterback Nick Foles throwing for 322 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Cam Newton had to sit out Carolina's trip to Tampa Bay with injury but his deputy Derek Anderson did an admirable job throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-14 road win for the Panthers.
