Stokley and Broncos Pluck a Win Out of the Air
Brandon Stokley caught the deflected pass, turned and looked upfield. Nobody stood between him and the end zone.
In the time it takes to sprint the length of the field, Stokley ran visiting Denver out of a crushing loss. His 87-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left Sunday — his only catch in the game — gave the Broncos a 12-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
“You know you need a miracle, and that’s basically what we got,” Stokley said.
The visiting Broncos looked finished after Cedric Benson’s 1-yard run put the Bengals ahead, 7-6, with 38 seconds left. No one felt worse than quarterback Kyle Orton, whose poor judgment in taking a late sack had cost the Broncos the chance to kick a clinching field goal.
Desperate, Orton threw a sideline pass that was nearly intercepted. The next play was a throw to the other sideline for Brandon Marshall. Cornerback Leon Hall cut in front of Marshall, went up for the ball and tipped it into the air.
The carom went to Stokley, who said he could not believe his luck as he headed for the end zone.
“So much went through my head,” he said. “I just thought: Get what you can. My mind was racing. What should I do? I felt myself pulling away.”
Six Touchdowns for Brees
¶Jeremy Shockey caught two of Drew Brees’s six touchdown passes and the Saints beat the Lions, 45-27, to extend visiting Detroit’s regular-season losing streak to 18 games. Shockey’s touchdowns were his first since being traded to the Saints from the Giants before last season. “It’s good to get that asterisk off my name,” Shockey said. Brees completed his first three passes for 49 yards, including a 26-yarder to Reggie Bush and a 9-yard touchdown to Marques Colston.
¶Aaron Rodgers brought the host Packers back late in the fourth quarter, heaving a 50-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings with 1 minute 11 seconds left to give Green Bay a 21-15 win over Chicago. Rodgers found Jennings again for a 2-point conversion. Jennings’s touchdown capped a forgettable debut for Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who threw a career-worst four interceptions.
New Faces, New Looks
¶After rolling into the end zone with his first N.F.L. touchdown in the Vikings’ 34-20 victory over the Browns, the Minnesota rookie Percy Harvin absorbed an unexpected hit — from Brett Favre. “I thought we were going to bump chests or something,” Harvin said. “He wasn’t slowing down. I took it and we fell to the ground. It was a great feeling.” Favre’s first start for the Vikings was his 270th in a row over all; the touchdown was No. 464 of his career.
¶Tony Romo began Dallas’s post-Terrell Owens era with a career-best 353 yards passing, including three long touchdowns that fueled the Cowboys’ 34-21 victory over the Buccaneers. Miles Austin avoided two tacklers on the sideline to score on a 42-yard reception just before halftime and Roy Williams streaked through Tampa Bay’s mistake-prone secondary on a 66-yard score early in the third quarter. Romo also teamed with Patrick Crayton on the longest completion of his career — 80 yards — in the fourth quarter. ¶Reggie Wayne had 10 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown in the Colts’ 14-12 victory over the Jaguars. Indianapolis’s newly aggressive defense pressured David Garrard into incompletions on his final two throws to seal the win.
Around the League
¶Matt Hasselbeck, playing his first game since Thanksgiving Day, overcame two interceptions in his first three throws to connect with John Carlson for two touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 28-0 win over the visiting Rams. St. Louis gained just 247 yards in a flop that looked alarmingly like its 38-3 loss against Philadelphia in last year’s opener. The Rams had almost as many penalties (10) — including two personal fouls by the volatile lineman Richie Incognito — as first downs (13).
¶Victor Abiamiri returned a fumble 2 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, and DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards for another score moments later as the visiting Eagles routed the Panthers, 38-10. The Eagles’ relentless defense produced seven turnovers and five sacks in its first game since the death of the unit’s longtime coordinator, Jim Johnson.
¶Tight end Tony Gonzalez caught a touchdown pass and became the 21st player in league history with 11,000 yards receiving, helping the Falcons beat the mistake-prone Dolphins, 19-7, in Atlanta. The matchup between the two most surprising teams of 2008 was not much of a game. The Falcons’ defense, highly suspect after losing five starters and looking shaky during the preseason, forced four turnovers.
¶Gaining nearly half of his team’s 203 total yards in one drive, Shaun Hill directed a 15-play, 80-yard drive for the winning touchdown with 7:26 remaining, and the 49ers beat the Cardinals, 20-16, and spoil Arizona’s home opener. The Cardinals rallied from 10 points down to go ahead, 16-13, on Neil Rackers’s 44-yard field goal with 14:52 to play, but the 49ers regained control with the drive that used up nearly half of the final quarter.
¶Joe Flacco went 26 for 43 for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns — all career highs — as the Ravens beat the visiting Chiefs, 38-24. Flacco threw as many as 30 passes in only four games last year, and the Ravens lost each time. This time, Baltimore rolled up a franchise record 501 yards. “It was fun,” tight end Todd Heap said. “We haven’t done that too many times around here, ever.”
Injury Report
Linebackers Brian Urlacher (wrist) and Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee) left the Bears’ loss to the Packers. ... Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb broke a rib in a win over the Panthers, who benched their starter, Jake Delhomme, and then lost his backup, Josh McCown, with back and foot injuries. ... Receiver Anthony Gonzalez (knee) left the Colts’ victory late in the first quarter after he ran across the line of scrimmage on a running play and crumpled to the ground without being hit.
Brandon Stokley caught the deflected pass, turned and looked upfield. Nobody stood between him and the end zone.
In the time it takes to sprint the length of the field, Stokley ran visiting Denver out of a crushing loss. His 87-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left Sunday — his only catch in the game — gave the Broncos a 12-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
“You know you need a miracle, and that’s basically what we got,” Stokley said.
The visiting Broncos looked finished after Cedric Benson’s 1-yard run put the Bengals ahead, 7-6, with 38 seconds left. No one felt worse than quarterback Kyle Orton, whose poor judgment in taking a late sack had cost the Broncos the chance to kick a clinching field goal.
Desperate, Orton threw a sideline pass that was nearly intercepted. The next play was a throw to the other sideline for Brandon Marshall. Cornerback Leon Hall cut in front of Marshall, went up for the ball and tipped it into the air.
The carom went to Stokley, who said he could not believe his luck as he headed for the end zone.
“So much went through my head,” he said. “I just thought: Get what you can. My mind was racing. What should I do? I felt myself pulling away.”
Six Touchdowns for Brees
¶Jeremy Shockey caught two of Drew Brees’s six touchdown passes and the Saints beat the Lions, 45-27, to extend visiting Detroit’s regular-season losing streak to 18 games. Shockey’s touchdowns were his first since being traded to the Saints from the Giants before last season. “It’s good to get that asterisk off my name,” Shockey said. Brees completed his first three passes for 49 yards, including a 26-yarder to Reggie Bush and a 9-yard touchdown to Marques Colston.
¶Aaron Rodgers brought the host Packers back late in the fourth quarter, heaving a 50-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings with 1 minute 11 seconds left to give Green Bay a 21-15 win over Chicago. Rodgers found Jennings again for a 2-point conversion. Jennings’s touchdown capped a forgettable debut for Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who threw a career-worst four interceptions.
New Faces, New Looks
¶After rolling into the end zone with his first N.F.L. touchdown in the Vikings’ 34-20 victory over the Browns, the Minnesota rookie Percy Harvin absorbed an unexpected hit — from Brett Favre. “I thought we were going to bump chests or something,” Harvin said. “He wasn’t slowing down. I took it and we fell to the ground. It was a great feeling.” Favre’s first start for the Vikings was his 270th in a row over all; the touchdown was No. 464 of his career.
¶Tony Romo began Dallas’s post-Terrell Owens era with a career-best 353 yards passing, including three long touchdowns that fueled the Cowboys’ 34-21 victory over the Buccaneers. Miles Austin avoided two tacklers on the sideline to score on a 42-yard reception just before halftime and Roy Williams streaked through Tampa Bay’s mistake-prone secondary on a 66-yard score early in the third quarter. Romo also teamed with Patrick Crayton on the longest completion of his career — 80 yards — in the fourth quarter. ¶Reggie Wayne had 10 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown in the Colts’ 14-12 victory over the Jaguars. Indianapolis’s newly aggressive defense pressured David Garrard into incompletions on his final two throws to seal the win.
Around the League
¶Matt Hasselbeck, playing his first game since Thanksgiving Day, overcame two interceptions in his first three throws to connect with John Carlson for two touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 28-0 win over the visiting Rams. St. Louis gained just 247 yards in a flop that looked alarmingly like its 38-3 loss against Philadelphia in last year’s opener. The Rams had almost as many penalties (10) — including two personal fouls by the volatile lineman Richie Incognito — as first downs (13).
¶Victor Abiamiri returned a fumble 2 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, and DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards for another score moments later as the visiting Eagles routed the Panthers, 38-10. The Eagles’ relentless defense produced seven turnovers and five sacks in its first game since the death of the unit’s longtime coordinator, Jim Johnson.
¶Tight end Tony Gonzalez caught a touchdown pass and became the 21st player in league history with 11,000 yards receiving, helping the Falcons beat the mistake-prone Dolphins, 19-7, in Atlanta. The matchup between the two most surprising teams of 2008 was not much of a game. The Falcons’ defense, highly suspect after losing five starters and looking shaky during the preseason, forced four turnovers.
¶Gaining nearly half of his team’s 203 total yards in one drive, Shaun Hill directed a 15-play, 80-yard drive for the winning touchdown with 7:26 remaining, and the 49ers beat the Cardinals, 20-16, and spoil Arizona’s home opener. The Cardinals rallied from 10 points down to go ahead, 16-13, on Neil Rackers’s 44-yard field goal with 14:52 to play, but the 49ers regained control with the drive that used up nearly half of the final quarter.
¶Joe Flacco went 26 for 43 for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns — all career highs — as the Ravens beat the visiting Chiefs, 38-24. Flacco threw as many as 30 passes in only four games last year, and the Ravens lost each time. This time, Baltimore rolled up a franchise record 501 yards. “It was fun,” tight end Todd Heap said. “We haven’t done that too many times around here, ever.”
Injury Report
Linebackers Brian Urlacher (wrist) and Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee) left the Bears’ loss to the Packers. ... Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb broke a rib in a win over the Panthers, who benched their starter, Jake Delhomme, and then lost his backup, Josh McCown, with back and foot injuries. ... Receiver Anthony Gonzalez (knee) left the Colts’ victory late in the first quarter after he ran across the line of scrimmage on a running play and crumpled to the ground without being hit.
Source: New York Times
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