"Man, that's the first time I've seen running lanes like that in about two years," Smith said.

According to the Arizona Republic, the coaching staff is being pragmatic about what it expects out of Smith. It isn't going to ask him to carry 25 times a game for 16 weeks. Instead, coaches would like to keep Smith's carries in the teens, and plug in backups Josh Scobey and Troy Hambrick to do the rest.

That's how it worked Sunday. Smith operated out of the single-back set most of the time and was able to pick and choose lanes and holes. He had gains of at least 10 yards on six carries, including an 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

"The touchdown run was a classic Emmitt Smith run where he lets the blocks develop," Green said.

Smith had 32 yards on seven carries in the first half, and the Cardinals made some adjustments at halftime. On the team's 65-yard touchdown drive, Smith gained 43 yards on five carries.

"I think we came out with a little different look and ran a couple new plays that we didn't run the first half," Smith said. "We had second-half plays that came out like gangbusters and gave us big runs."

Overall, Smith downplayed his performance because of the team's loss. But it was impressive, given that he hasn't gained more than 1,000 yards rushing since 2001 and missed six games last year because of a fractured scapula.

"From where I see it, it wasn't that good a game," he said. "If you lose, you lose."

Others were impressed, however, including St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk.

"You look at him out there and you wonder what he's doing playing," Faulk said. "But he makes things happen. He's effective. And you saw when he came out after halftime, he put up some runs and got the team going. ..."

And just to clarify. ... The Sports Xchange reported on Tuesday that Scobey is still the backup to Smith, despite the acquisition of Hambrick. Scobey played mostly in passing situations and remains a threat on kickoffs. He had a 71-yard return that set up a field goal.

Also of interest. ...

Anquan Boldin was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. According to East Valley Tribune staff writer Scott Bordow, Larry Fitzgerald looks like he wants to make it two in a row for the Cardinals.

Fitzgerald opened his NFL career by catching four passes for 70 yards against the Rams.

The numbers weren't as eye-opening as Boldin's 10 catches for 217 yards in last year's season opener, but Fitzgerald displayed all the skills that persuaded Green to select him with the third overall pick in April's draft.

"He's going to be one of those special players up there with the likes of (Philadelphia wide receiver) Terrell Owens," said Cardinals defensive tackle Russell Davis.

Green made it clear right from the start that Fitzgerald will be a big part of the Cardinals' offense this season. Arizona's first play from scrimmage was a flea-flicker, and Fitzgerald went high into the air between two defenders to haul down Josh McCown's pass. The play gained 37 yards.

"He'll make a lot of (great catches) for us," Green said. "It was a good, solid start for him."

Fitzgerald didn't have much to say about his performance, but he's already become a leader on the field.

As Bordow noted, "He was exhorting teammates all afternoon, slapping palms, bumping chests and, after Smith's touchdown, running up and down the sideline, as excited as a kid on Christmas morning."

"I just want to win," Fitzgerald said. "Coach Green brought me here to help with the winning, and I'm trying to do that any way I can. If it's picking up a teammate, making a catch, making a block, whatever I can do to help."

Rams safety Aeneas Williams saw enough of Fitzgerald on Sunday to know that the Cardinals have finally hit it big with a No. 1 pick.

"I think his upside, his potential, is tremendous," Williams said. "He has excellent hands. I think he is going to be a great receiver in this league. ..."

Meanwhile, McCown only completed three passes of longer than 11 yards -- one being the above-mentioned flea-flicker to Fitzgerald. Another was a 24-yard completion to Nate Poole on the last play of the game. Neither led to points.

Four times the Cardinals completed third-down passes short of the first-down marker. That, Green said, had to do with how the passing routes were structured and mentioned that McCown did not have the protection some times to wait and look downfield.

"Obviously, the inconsistency was there," McCown said after the team's light workout Monday. "But there were things they didn't stop us on. We killed ourselves."

Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler and Dunn scored early touchdowns, but the Falcons mostly struggled in their first game running the West Coast-flavored offense of coordinator Greg Knapp, who left the 49ers with Mora.

Vick spent much of the day running from All-Pro linebacker Julian Peterson, who forced two fumbles and sacked Vick twice.

T.J. Duckett didn't carry the ball until late in the third quarter, according to Pro Football Weekly, because Dunn was playing well. Duckett finished the game with just two carries (six yards) and one reception (one yard).

Meanwhile, Associated Press sports writer George Henry advised readers that one statistic stood out from all others.

"Third downs were a problem," Mora said Monday. "They won't be a problem this year, I think, if you look at offenses (in which) Greg Knapp's been a coordinator. As a matter of fact, he holds the National Football League record for highest third-down conversion percentage in history."

Vick, who led the Falcon offense to a 12th-place conversion ranking at 41.9 percent in 2002, felt embarrassed by the third-down performance at San Francisco.

"Oh, man, that's bad," Vick said. "It's tough. You just can't get in those situations. The majority of those situations were third-and-long, and you're not going to win many football games if you put yourself in those situations. We just have to prepare for it and be ready for it. Going into next week, I think it'll be a different story."

"That's something we're going to work to improve on," Dunn said. "We didn't do a good job today, but we know that's a big part of where we need to go. If you can't convert third downs, you have to get off the football field."

Also of interest. ...

According to ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli, the Falcons, in need of depth at tight end behind Crumpler, were torn last week between between putting in a waiver claim on Darnell Sanders of Cleveland or on Tennessee's Dwayne Blakley.

So, vice president of football operations Ron Hill suggested claiming both, figuring that Atlanta might get at least one of them. Instead, the Falcons were awarded both players, and that really upgraded their tight end corps and allowed veteran Eric Beverly to return to his natural position on the offensive line.

But was Lewis shut down by Cleveland or was he slowed down by a lack of carries?

As Baltimore Sun staff writer Jamison Hensley noted, he was limited to 20 attempts, lowering the Ravens' record to 2-10 over the past two years when he has 20 or fewer carries.

"You knew that they were going to stack up against the run, so we knew we had to be balanced against it but still not abandon the run," head coach Brian Billick said. "Nor did we."

The difference with Lewis yesterday compared to his usual dominant play against the Browns was his ability to break away from the defense.

Last year, he pulled away for six runs of 23 yards or more. Yesterday, he didn't have a run of 10 yards.

"They're a different team, and of course they weren't going to let us come in and do what we did last year," Lewis said. "I doubt they play that defense [four linemen and four linebackers] against anybody else. They played it against us because they know we're going to run the football, so they kind of put an extra back in there, and stayed kind of tight in the front so you couldn't get through and try to get those long runs. They played good solid defense."

Asked if he received enough carries, Lewis said, "I was pretty much satisfied."

It wasn't the same Lewis or offensive line. Two of the five starters -- All-Pro left tackle Jonathan Ogden (sprained knee) and center Mike Flynn (broken collarbone) - were sidelined, and backups Ethan Brooks and Casey Rabach didn't provide the same physical push.

"When you lose two of your starting linemen, things are going to be a little different," Lewis said. "But we'll get used to it."

The absences on the line affected quarterback Kyle Boller, too.

Brooks was repeatedly beaten by Browns end Kenard Lang, who tied a career-high with three sacks. He also forced a fumble. The pressure never allowed Boller to get into a comfort zone. He was wildly inaccurate and finished 22-for-38 for 191 yards.

One of Boller's two interceptions -- which came when he lofted a pass to a covered Kevin Johnson -- and his fumble resulted in all of the Browns' 10 fourth-quarter points.

"I don't think Kyle Boller is the reason we didn't win today," Billick said.

The Ravens also had to defend their play-calling.

Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, the Ravens chose to throw instead of run on third-and-two at their 49-yard line. Besides not seeing tight end Todd Heap uncovered 15 yards downfield, Boller overthrew receiver Travis Taylor down the middle of the field.

"If we complete that, it was a good throw," Billick said. "If Travis can open up and get that, it's a brilliant play and a brilliant call. ..."

But at least one observer had problems with the overall play-calling.

As Sun columnist Mike Preston put it: "The Ravens had 38 pass attempts and 26 rushing attempts. It should be the other way around. Lewis had 20 carries for 57 yards. Between Lewis, [Musa] Smith and [Chester] Taylor, they should combine for at least 30 carries a game, and grind the opposition down."

Also of interest. ...

Team officials told the Sun Tuesday night that Taylor probably will miss the next four games after re-injuring his groin. The former first-round pick, who missed the final two games of the preseason because of the injury, was hurt again in the first quarter of the season opener running a deep post pattern.

Randy Hymes replaced Taylor for the rest of that game and will start in his place Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Ravens, who have a bye Oct. 17, hope to have Taylor back for their Oct. 24 home game against the Buffalo Bills.

"Given he has had the history with it, it would probably be prudent to let him rest until the bye," Billick said of Taylor.

Taylor, who had one catch for 5 yards against the Browns, has not missed a game since the 2000 season, when he sat out the last seven regular-season games and the four-game playoff run with a fractured collarbone.

Taylor's loss also leaves the Ravens with just four healthy receivers on the roster, including two rookies in Devard Darling and Clarence Moore.

Team officials said they are unlikely to sign a free-agent receiver.

"Devard and Clarence have to step up and be part of the rotation," Billick said. "We'll see what we can get done."

The new-look Bills under rookie coach Mike Mularkey were busy answering many of the same questions Monday that they dealt with a year ago regarding an offense that squanders opportunities and a defense that occasionally wilted in the clutch.

Those were the problems that cost coach Gregg Williams his job after last season's 6-10 finish. And they're ones that appear to be back following the Bills' 13-10 season-opening loss to Jacksonville.

"It seems like deja vu," running back Travis Henry said Monday, shaking his head.

Rather than celebrating what had been an efficient 58-minute performance, the Bills were lamenting how they let the Jaguars off the hook in the final two minutes.

Blame the defense for failing to stop the Jaguars from converting three fourth-down situations on Jacksonville's final drive.

Blame the offense for coming away with 10 points despite three trips inside the red zone. This unit was supposed to be improved after going seven games without scoring a touchdown last season.

And blame special teams, considering Rian Lindell missed a 42-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, costing the Bills three points that was the margin of defeat. Mularkey elected to spread the blame, believing there were plenty of mistakes that occurred well before the Jaguars had a sniff at the end zone.

"We've got to learn how to finish," Mularkey said. "There's not a better example of how fine a line it is to win in this league, and how it comes down to the very last play. It was, unfortunately, a very hard lesson to learn."

And it's a lesson Mularkey hopes the team takes into its next game, at Oakland on Sunday.

"We've all got to get over it soon," Mularkey said. "Because it's just one game that will be a memory here once we get on a roll. ..."

Make no mistake about it, however. If Drew Bledsoe doesn't play better, the Bills are going to have a very hard time getting on that roll.

And in an article published Monday, ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli quoted an unnamed NFL personnel man as saying: ""I think Mularkey is going to be a good head coach in Buffalo, but I'm not sure, after watching Sunday's game, if he is going to be able to salvage Bledsoe. ..."

For what it's worth, Henry missed most of the fourth quarter after leaving with cramps in his left leg. Although the ailment is not considered severe, the former Tennessee standout will be re-evaluated this week to make sure he will be fine going forward.

Willis McGahee handled the majority of the work out of the backfield in Henry's absence. Prior to his departure, Henry had 75 yards on 23 carries, and three receptions for nine yards.

After the game, McGahee told reporters, "I don't want to be no backup. That's their decision, not mine. My time will come. Only one person can start, and unfortunately he's the one that's starting."

As SI.com insider Peter King advised readers on Monday, the Bills risked this undercurrent of discord when they drafted McGahee in the first round of the 2003 draft with a stud running back already in-house, and the coaching staff knew it was something it would have to live with this year.

King summed up by suggesting: "For their sake, they'd better be winning, and Henry had better be starring, or Mount McGahee may erupt at any time. ..."

Also of interest. ...

As noted by the Sports Xchange, Eric Moulds matched his TD production of a year ago with a 17-yard reception in the first quarter against Jacksonville. His 40 career TD catches are second all-time in Bills history to Andre Reed's 86. ...

Tight end Mark Campbell's 27-yard reception was the second-longest of his career; he busted quickly into a seam over the middle and Bledsoe hit him perfectly. Attacking plays like were few and far between, however, in Buffalo's plodding offense. ...

And finally, also according to Pasquarelli, team officials are impressed with the speed in which journeyman quarterback Shane Matthews, signed less than two weeks ago after backups Travis Brown and J.P. Losman were both injured, had assimilated the Buffalo offense.

Both candidates -- Keary Colbert at receiver and Chris Gamble at returning kicks -- are rookies.

"Obviously that's a blow to lose a guy like Steve Smith," head coach John Fox said. "Obviously he's a big-play guy for us both offensively and in the kicking game. But as is football, there's injuries."

Smith, who signed a $27.5 million contract extension in the offseason, was Carolina's gamebreaker. He led the Panthers last season with career highs in receptions (88), yards receiving (1,110) and touchdowns (7). He also averaged 28.1 yards a kickoff return.

He broke his leg late in the fourth quarter of Carolina's 24-14 Monday night loss to Green Bay when he rolled his ankle as he was being tackled after a catch.

Smith made his way through the locker room on a pair of steel crutches after the game, needing help from a Panthers staff member to put his sock and shoe on his good foot.

One by one, the rest of the Panthers made their way to his locker to check on him.

"Steve Smith is very special out there for us, he's our home run hitter," safety Mike Minter said. "We are definitely going to miss him."

Fox said he was unsure how long Smith will be out, but broken fibula's typically take at least eight weeks to heal.

So the Panthers will turn to Colbert, their second-round pick out of Southern California.

Colbert was inactive against the Packers, but is expected to make his first start Sunday at Kansas City. In limited preseason action, Colbert caught eight passes and averaged 34.6 yards per catch.

"We feel good about Keary Colbert," Fox said. "Steve Smith was a big-play guy and really everything Keary Colbert's showed us, he's a big-play guy. He's going to get his opportunity."

Gamble returned kicks last season at Ohio State, totaling 92 yards on 20 punt returns and 115 yards on six kickoff returns. The Panthers used him once in the preseason, when he returned one punt for 2 yards.

Carolina will also try Eugene Baker at returning kicks this week, but he likely won't see any game action because he's a receiver and the Panthers already have four who are active each week.

So the job will probably fall to Gamble by default, and the first-round pick is already adjusting to starting in the secondary. ...

Other notes of interest. ...

Also according to Fryer, the Panthers' offensive line was worse than expected against the Packers, failing to open up holes for Stephen Davis or giving Jake Delhomme time to pass.

But Fox refused to blame either line for the loss, pointing instead to two third-quarter turnovers that led to 14 Green Bay points.

"Let me make this statement -- a lot of people think our O-line and D-line lost that game. That wasn't the case at all," Fox said. "We just got in a position where it was mental mistakes that put us behind 24-7. It was bang-bang back-to-back turnovers, so that adjusts how you play when you are down 24-7.

"Do we need to improve on the offensive line? Yes. But are they the reason we lost the game? No."

Fox indicated there will be changes to the offensive line this week. ...

Meanwhile, as Winston-Salem Journal staff writer Joe Menzer suggested Tuesday, fullback Brad Hoover wishes that the Panthers could play the Packers on Monday nights more often.

No, Hoover didn't rush for 117 yards against Green Bay as he did on Monday night, Nov. 27, 2000 -- the last time prior to last night that the Panthers had appeared on ABC-TV's Monday Night Football.

But Hoover did score the Panthers' first touchdown on a 1-yard pass from quarterback Delhomme in the second quarter. It was the fifth regular-season touchdown of Hoover's five-year NFL career -- and two have come on Monday nights against the Packers. ...

And finally. ... According to the Sports Xchange, Rodney Peete officially opened the season as Carolina's No. 2 quarterback behind Delhomme. Fox announced Chris Weinke as the team's third or emergency quarterback.

His on-field histrionics aside, Terrell had a career game last Sunday, snaring five passes for 126 yards.

In search of a competent receiver to replace the traded Marty Booker, Terrell showed big-play results in the team's loss to Detroit.

"We came out and wanted to get a win more than anything," said Terrell, who had a 35-yard reception that was ruined by a 15-yard taunting penalty when he handed the ball to a Lions player on the sideline after the catch.

Terrell was cursing at the officials after the Bears' first play from scrimmage, said Lions cornerback Fernando Bryant.

"The second play of the game he was cussing the ref out. … The second play of the game!" Bryant said. "And this is after he ran right straight through me, an obvious [offensive interference] call. He cussed the ref out and I was just thinking, 'What in the world?' We've got a whole game to play and he's doing this on the second play? Unbelievable."

Terrell sees nothing wrong with his actions.

"They are not penalties," he said. "I had my eyes closed on the sideline (after the 35-yard catch). I didn't run into one of their players. I didn't mean to hit the guy with the ball. I just dropped the ball. I didn't throw the ball at him.

"The ref called ticky fouls all day on us. They made bad calls."

Terrell refuses to believe that his repeated attempts to draw attention to himself make him an easy target for the officials.

"I'm not setting myself up for anything," he said. "They call what they want to call. The coaches here respect me for how I play.

"The only thing that is going to get this taste out of our mouth is a win at Green Bay. We haven't beaten them in the past three years."

Including Terrell's taunting, the Bears had three unsportsmanlike penalties against the Lions. All three had major impacts on the game.

A lot of guys made some bad plays and bad mistakes in the game," head coach Lovie Smith said. "Sometimes guys get excited and make mistakes. We had some bad penalties out there today that we have to correct. That's part of learning, and that won't happen next week."

Let's hope not. ... I'll also suggest that if Terrell truly believes this is all on the refs --and he continues to behave in a similar fashion, that win over the Pack he so desires will continue to elude him. ...

Also of interest. ...

Rex Grossman appeared afterwards and apologized to his teammates and Bears fans everywhere, vowing never again to make the mistake he committed in the waning seconds. This after Grossman on the verge of engineering a last-second, game-winning drive, ended it instead by tossing an interception in the end zone.

Grossman tried to make the impossible throw, a jump ball to Terrell behind two defenders. But the Lions' Bracy Walker picked it off, the same Walker who returned a third-quarter blocked field goal 92 yards in the play that according to the Tribune, "ripped out the Bears' hearts. ..."

According to the Sports Xchange, Smith wouldn't hear of it.

"It's definitely not Rex' fault for the loss," Smith said. "If anyone is going to take responsibility for the loss, of course it's me. Rex is one of our captains. Captains do that. When times are bad, they are going to step up and take a lot of the blame.

"Rex did a lot of good things to put us in position to have a chance to win at the end. We were short today; next time we won't be. ..."

On a more positive note, the decision to feature running back Thomas Jones instead of former starter Anthony Thomas worked out OK for the Bears. Jones ran for two touchdowns and gained 67 yards on 21 carries. He also led the team in receptions with six for 38 yards.

"The touchdowns mean nothing if you don't get the win," Jones said. "That's why we play this game, to win."...

For what it's worth, ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli noted last Friday that Thomas acknowledged the rumors that he had requested a trade after the Bears signed Jones in free agency this spring and declared him the starter.

And the fourth-year veteran, and former rookie of the year, allowed he still wouldn't mind a change of address. ...

Also according to the Xchange, tight end Desmond Clark, supposedly one of the prime targets in the Bears' offense, had just one catch for 28 yards, and he lost a fumble at the end of the play on the Lions' 36-yard line.

Receiver Justin Gage had just one catch for nine yards. He also had a 56-yard run off a reverse on a punt return to the Lions' 16, and he looked like he could have scored before stumbling on the foot of tight end Dustin Lyman who was blocking ahead of the play.

"Until the end, that is, when he proved he's not quite John Elway yet."

What could have been a game-tying drive in Cincinnati's 31-24 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday ended when safety Erik Coleman picked off a pass at the Jets 34-yard line just after the 2-minute warning to end the Bengals' final drive.

"My fault, my fault," said the 2002 Heisman Trophy winner and first overall pick in the 2003 draft. "I didn't see the safety coming over. I should have continued to check down."

Still, it was an impressive debut for Palmer, who didn't take a snap last season as a rookie while Jon Kitna led Cincinnati to an 8-8 season, a great year for a downtrodden franchise.

Palmer finished 18-of-27 for 248 yards with two touchdown passes and a passer rating of 105.2, which in most seasons is good enough to win the NFL passing title.

He also had an 11-yard third-down scramble for a first down to prolong a touchdown drive, and threw a beautiful 53-yard TD pass to Chad Johnson that brought the Bengals within a touchdown of the Jets with 6:24 left in the game.

Even that aborted final drive was impressive.

It started with 3:48 left at the Bengals 5 and included a 36-yard pass to Peter Warrick that got Cincinnati to its 49 with 2:00 left and with two timeouts, plenty of time to get the ball downfield.

"I was confident we were going to tie the game and then win in overtime," Palmer said.

Unfortunately, the next pass was thrown into double coverage toward the sideline. Coleman came from the middle of the field and grabbed the ball.

Overall, the reviews on Palmer were pretty good. The Bengals' loss was due more to the inability of the defense to stop the Jets than anything their QB did.

"Watching from the sidelines it looked like he played pretty well," head coach Marvin Lewis said, adding the usual coaching qualification: "I'll have to look at the tape."

Palmer's counterpoint in New York liked what he saw.

"I saw a young guy out there poised, confident, running around making plays, making plays with his arm," the Jets' Chad Pennington said. "The biggest thing he did today was he trusted his teammates. He's got some great weapons on the offensive side of the ball for him, and he delivered like he was supposed to."

Except for that last throw. ...

Meanwhile, Cincinnati Enquirer staff writer Mark Curnutte reminds readers that Johnson made all the catches against the Jets.

He caught one that was thrown at least two feet behind him. He grabbed a fluttering, tipped pass by screening the defensive back. And his masterpiece was the 53-yard touchdown pass he picked off the Giants Stadium FieldTurf in the fourth quarter.

"No matter where you put the ball," he said, "I'm going to get it."

"Best catch I've ever seen," Palmer. "The best catch on any ball I've ever thrown."

Johnson had five receptions for 99 yards, just missing his 11th career 100-yard game. He had a sixth for 43 yards that was called back by offsetting penalties. Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis jumped offside, but Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson was called for holding, a penalty he did not commit last year.

Four of Johnson's receptions, including the touchdown, resulted in first downs.

But Johnson wasn't happy.

"All those things are good, but we need to make more," he said. "Come next week, I need to double up on my workload and make sure we don't have this kind of game."

Palmer's ability to throw the deep ball could help Johnson reach his goal of 1,800 receiving yards. He has 1,701 to go in 15 games.

But the individual goals are secondary, Johnson said, to winning.

As for the rushing attack. ... Rudi Johnson had carried 245 times in the NFL without a fumble. He finally fumbled on his 246th carry -- in the third quarter Sunday -- and Jets cornerback Donnie Abraham returned it 41 yards for a touchdown.

The Jets took a 21-10 lead.

Linebacker Sam Cowart forced the fumble.

"He just made a great hit on the ball," Johnson said. "He got me when I was trying to cut."

Johnson, who had 70 yards on 24 attempts, had a 16-yard run on the next drive, which ended in a Bengals touchdown.

Other notes of interest. ...

After missing the first three games of the preseason with knee pain, the result of postseason knee surgery, Warrick had a strong game.

The wide receiver's five catches netted 76 yards. He rushed once for eight yards. "Once I get going," he said, "I'm fine."

For what it's worth, Warrick suffered a serious leg bruise making a catch against the Jets. It's on the other leg that the one that required postseason knee surgery. ...

And finally. ...

Kenny Watson was the backup tailback because Chris Perry's hamstring injury made him inactive. Watson's 6-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter was his first score since Dec. 29, 2002, for Washington. The score was the third of his career. According to the Sports Xchange, Perry has a chance of being back for the Dolphins, Lewis said.

Head coach Butch Davis said a report by ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli speculating Suggs has stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal column, is untrue.

The stenosis rumor started when Suggs was coming out of Virginia Tech and might have been one reason Suggs was available in the fourth round. But doctors at the scouting combines in Indianapolis and the Browns doctors' examined Suggs without finding anything unusual, Davis said Monday.

Suggs' most recent injury occurred Sept. 1, two days before the Browns played the Bears in the final preseason game. He did not play against Chicago, nor did he play against the Ravens in the regular-season opener.

The Browns had concerns about the possibility of stenosis after the recent neck injury that the team described as a stinger. A stinger results in numbness or tingling in the player's arm.

"We sent him to a specialist in New York the day before the Chicago game to get a second opinion and extra clarification," Davis said. "The doctor said the (stenosis) reports are erroneous. But he did have the stinger, and it caused weakness in the shoulder.

"He has to carry the ball and take a blow on the shoulder and not fumble the ball. They've given him clearance to return to practice."

Without Suggs, the Browns averaged 2.9 yards a carry against the Ravens, but Davis said the threat of William Green opened up the pass offense and play-action. ...

Of course, I'll monitor Suggs' status closely throughout the week and update as development warrant. ...

Meanwhile, Akron Plain Dealer reporter Burt Graeff advised readers on Monday that Green, making his first appearance in a regular-season NFL game since Oct. 18, 2003, against San Diego, was congratulated by legendary Browns running back Jim Brown afterward. "I'm proud of you," said Brown, grabbing Green by the hand.

Green looked pleased.

"I am happy to get all this outside stuff put behind me," he said. "I feel I can play a lot better than I did, but it was good to get out there again.

"I got more comfortable as the game went along. ..."

Also of interest. ...

Jeff Garcia's Cleveland debut wasn't perfect. But it was good enough.

And after the Browns recorded their first opening-day victory since 1994, Garcia invited the entire team to his Westlake home to celebrate. Any who demurred might have been scared off by his father Bob Garcia, who jumped into the arms of receiver Andre King and quarterback Luke McCown and hugged stunned defensive end Courtney Brown as the players left the field.

"My dad is an intense, emotional, excitable guy," the younger Garcia explained. "He was on an all-time high."

The elder Garcia's excitement was understandable after his son finally got the offense rolling in the final 17 minutes of the game.

He hit rookie tight end Kellen Winslow for 21 yards on a crucial third-and-10 near the end of the third quarter, then found Quincy Morgan wide open for a 46-yard touchdown two plays later. On the next possession, Garcia's 51-yard strike to receiver Andre Davis keyed an 85-yard drive to a Phil Dawson field goal. Then, after Kenard Lang forced a fumble and Michael Myers recovered at the Raven 6, Garcia dove for a 3-yard touchdown that gave Cleveland a 20-3 lead with 4:20 remaining.

"I can see why he's great, his composure and his competitive side," Winslow said. "He knows what he's doing."

Garcia completed 15-of-24 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown without an interception, good for a 99.3 rating. He also ran 3 times for 13 yards.

"I talked about this being a rebirth for me," Garcia said. "It was so exciting for me to step onto the field, to be part of a show that we put on today."

After five seasons in San Francisco, Garcia savored his success, leaping into the Dawg Pound after his scoring run.

"I talked about doing that the first time I got into the end zone," he said. "It just so happened to be the right end zone and everything seemed to work out. I wanted to jump in and enjoy that moment with the fans."

But Garcia also enjoyed it for himself. Last year against Baltimore he was coming off an ankle injury and completed 14-of-29 passes for 112 yards with four interceptions for an 18.8 rating.

"I definitely had something to prove stepping on the field against the Ravens," he said. "I really struggled against them last year and I didn't want to put myself through that situation again."

Among Engel's questions:

Why was rookie running back Julius Jones in street clothes?

Did Eddie George leave at the half?

After fumbling on a crucial fourth-quarter drive, why was Richie Anderson the feature back, especially after ReShard Lee scored his first NFL touchdown after gaining every yard on a third-quarter drive?

The use of the running backs in a 35-17 opening-game defeat against Minnesota on Sunday raised more questions for a team that doesn't need them. Forced to play catch-up most of the game, the Cowboys rushed for just 71 yards on 21 carries.

For the record, head coach Bill Parcells said he decided Saturday that Jones would not play after he "didn't demonstrate anything in practice that gave me the idea that he could do it."

Said Jones: "I didn't play. I'm not going to say anything else."

The most puzzling case was Lee. With the Cowboys trailing 21-10 in the third quarter, his 62-yard kickoff return put the Cowboys at the Vikings' 31-yard line. He carried the ball on the next four plays, ending with his 7-yard touchdown run.

The next time he saw action in the backfield came with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

"It's a team concept," said Lee, who led the team with 35 yards on five carries. "I wasn't in their plan. They know what they're doing."

Parcells said had the score not been "prohibitive" he would have gone to Lee more.

After gaining 21 yards on six carries in the first quarter, George touched the ball twice in the second quarter and none in the second half. Parcells said the team was in a hurry-up mode, leading to more time for Anderson.

"I didn't expect to get the bulk of the load, and I'm perfectly fine with that," George said. "I understand what my role is. ..."

At least somebody does.

In a related note, ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli advised readers the Cowboys offered George to Miami before the Dolphins traded for Lamar Gordon of St. Louis. ...

Meanwhile, despite all the disappointment inherent in a loss, Vinny Testaverde played lights out against.

"As coach Parcells or another great basketball coach once said, there's winning and there's misery," Testaverde said. "And right now, there's misery.

"It's hard to be pleased with anything right now. When you don't win, it's not a good feeling."

Nonetheless, Testaverde completed 29 of 50 passes for 355 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked only once, and that was when he scrambled out of the pocket late in the game.

By comparison, Quincy Carter's best day passing in last year's 10-6 season was a 321-yard performance in the Cowboys' 35-32 overtime win over the Giants in the second week of the season.

What was most impressive, however, was that 22 of Testaverde's completions went to his wide receivers: nine to Johnson, eight to Antonio Bryant and five, including a magnificent touchdown catch, to Terry Glenn. Johnson had 111 yards receiving and Bryant 112. At no time last season did the Cowboys have two receivers with more than a hundred yards receiving in the same game.

As Star-Telegram staffer Jim Reeves put it: "That's indicative of a vertical passing game, something the Cowboys haven't consistently put on the field since Troy Aikman left town."

"I feel comfortable with the guys I've been working with," Testaverde said. "I've had some work with Keyshawn in the past and with [Anderson]. I feel good with the timing of the routes as far as that aspect of our game goes.

"I have some weapons to throw to. That's exciting in itself for me, to know we're going to get better at it and, hopefully, score more points with it."

"I thought he played very well," owner Jerry Jones said. "He played like a veteran. The offense had some spark to it."

Better yet, Johnson was making catches -- tough, over-the-middle catches that fans in Dallas haven't seen since the days of Michael Irvin. And he set the tone for Bryant to do the same.

One last note here. ... According to Pro Football Weekly, Jones, who is expected to split carries with George, should be available this weekend.

The same can't be said, however, of Anderson, who was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday after spraining his right knee late in the fourth quarter. The reserve running back's status likely will be updated within the next day or two, according to Parcells.

"What is the date?" he would ask, referring to the season opener when the games, and the numbers, would count.

When a shootout broke out Sunday night with Kansas City and the points started piling up, Plummer's advice to wait until the season opener seemed very wise.

Denver moved the ball easily at times against a Chiefs defense that returned almost every starter from last season. And on a night when the defense struggled to contain Priest Holmes and the Chiefs offense, it was the Broncos' big-play offense, led by Plummer and running back Quentin Griffin, that pulled out the season-opening 34-24 victory against the Broncos division rival.

Denver gained 413 total yards to Kansas City's 318 with an offensive game plan the Denver coaching staff probably started putting together in August. And perhaps the biggest tribute to the Broncos offense was its ability to make up for its own head-scratching mistakes, which almost gave the game away.

The Broncos' blunders started with Plummer who, after a sharp first half when he threw his first touchdown pass since last season, gift-wrapped 10 points to the Chiefs on two interceptions early in the third quarter. One of those was a left-handed throw under pressure that was intercepted by Kansas City's Monty Beisel at Denver's 30-yard line, reminiscent of a ball Plummer threw behind his back against Oakland his last year playing for Arizona. Kansas City turned that into a field goal to pull to 17-10.

"That's the way I've always played," said Plummer, who threw for 230 yards on 18-for-29 passing and two touchdowns to finish with an 81.1 quarterback rating after a dismal 40.8 rating in the preseason. "I'm not proud of that, but I've done stupid things before. If the game had been in the fourth quarter and that was my last throw, I'd be pretty mad, but I think the guys know I'm going to keep battling and fighting. Yeah, I'd like to have those two plays back, especially the left-handed jump pass."

Meanwhile, Griffin's debut as Clinton Portis' replacement was a huge success after he ran for 156 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns. But Griffin fumbled away a scoring opportunity at the 1-yard line late in the third quarter when he dropped the ball after a 7-yard gain that the Chiefs recovered in the end zone to stop Denver's drive.

"It was a shame he had that fumble on the goal line, and I know he'd want that back," Plummer said. "But we needed him on that last series and he made some guys look real foolish."

Griffin finished his stellar game with seven carries for 38 yards on the Broncos' final touchdown drive to finish off the Chiefs. On his second-to-last carry, Griffin juked through the Kansas City secondary for a 19-yard gain to put Denver on the Chiefs' 1-yard line.

"I was really proud of the way we hung in there," head coach Mike Shanahan said.

Other notes of interest. ...

Shanahan said Griffin's breakout game wasn't limited to when he had the ball. The coach praised Griffin's contributions picking up blitzes in the running game as well.

"He doesn't shy away from anything," Shanahan said. "He's a complete back. ..."

As Boulder Daily Camera sports writer Ryan Thorburn noted, coming off a disappointing sophomore season, Ashley Lelie didn't ease any doubts about his ability to to fill the void in the passing game created with the retirements of Shannon Sharpe and Ed McCaffrey by only making two preseason receptions.

But on Sunday night the former first-round pick showed off his speed in stretching the defense, fooled by a Plummer bootleg, on a 58-yard reception in the third quarter. On the next possession, Lelie made a 22-yard catch over the middle on third-and-11, setting up a Jason Elam field goal that have the Broncos a 27-24 lead.

"It felt good," Lelie said. "I really wasn't worried about it during the preseason."

More impressive still, Lelie suffered a dislocated shoulder during the game, but returned to the lineup after doctors popped it back into place. Lelie might be limited some in practice this week, but he is not expected to miss any game action. ...

According to the Sports Xchange, the team lost Garrison Hearst to a minor ankle sprain early in the game Sunday. Rookie Tatum Bell took over as Griffin's top backup and had two carries for 11 yards against the Chiefs.

Shanahan said he wouldn't know until later in the week if Hearst would be able to play this week.

"With ankles you really don't know until Wednesdays when you practice," Shanahan said.

Starting receiver Rod Smith had a good game returning punts on Sunday night and Shanahan said Smith would continue to be Denver's primary punt returner despite the additional injury risk. Rookie receiver Triandos Luke had returned punts in preseason, but he was inactive on Sunday.

And finally. ...

The Broncos used new cornerback Champ Bailey as a receiver in the first quarter. Plummer threw a swing pass to Bailey coming out of the backfield for an 11-yard gain.

Shanahan said he didn't know how much Bailey would play on offense the rest of the season, but he now knows Bailey can give his offense another playmaker.

"He never looks like he's tired on the sideline," Shanahan said.

Head coach Steve Mariucci announced Monday the wide receiver will be placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Rogers suffered the injury in the first quarter of Sunday's season-opening 20-16 victory at Chicago.

The second overall pick in 2003, Rogers played in the first five games last season before breaking his collarbone in practice. He had 22 catches for 243 yards and three touchdowns before going down for the season.

After going 5-11 in 2003, the Lions are expected to improve this season. Rogers and first-round pick Roy Williams were expected to provide quarterback Joey Harrington with a dynamic set of receivers.

Now, Williams undoubtedly will get more opportunities than he would have if Rogers had stayed healthy. But he won't have the luxury of as much single coverage from defensive backs, who might have double-covered Rogers on the other side of the field.

Tai Streets and Az-Zahir Hakim will take on bigger roles, and the Lions likely moved David Kircus from the practice squad to the regular roster after placing Rogers on IR Tuesday. Reggie Swinton, who was released in the final roster cuts Sept. 5, is still available as a free agent.

Running back Paul Smith, a highly regarded special teams player and backup fullback, will have shoulder surgery and was also placed on injured reserve Tuesday. ...

Also of interest. ...

Rookie running back Kevin Jones shows promise, but he has to learn when he can outrun the pursuit to the outside and when he has to cutback or simply turn upfield for a few yards.

As Detroit Free Press sports writer George Sipple noted, the Lions didn't get much production from Jones and the running game. Jones ran 15 times for 36 yards -- a 2.4 average -- and the team rushed for 77 yards overall. But Harrington said the running backs contributed in other ways.

"They ran hard, and it was tough yards out there today," Harrington said. "I was impressed with how hard they ran, how much they kept coming back."

Jones caught one pass for 34 yards, which put the Lions at the Bears' 6 in the third quarter. Jason Hanson kicked a 21-yard field goal four plays later for a 13-7 lead.

"Kevin had a great catch up the sideline and took it down to the red zone, which was huge for us," Harrington said.

Jones said he was satisfied with his pass protection because the coaching staff had been concerned with how he would respond in that area.

"They left me in there a couple of times, tested that out and I did what I was supposed to do," Jones said. "I thought it was a pretty good game. We got to see a lot of things. The Bears did a lot of things on defense."

Facing off against a front four of defensive tackles Kris Jenkins and Brentson Buckner and defensive ends Julius Peppers and Mike Rucker would prove to be a daunting task for even the NFL's best running backs.

But Green, as he did all of last season, made it look easy. Against a Carolina defense that allowed only four 100-yard rushers last season, Green rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns. If that wasn't enough, Green caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre to further complete his glorious game and complete Green Bay's 24-14 win over Carolina on Monday.

It was just the second time during Green's career that he had a three-touchdown day. He rushed for three against the Washington Redskins during the 2002 season.

Oh. ... By the way: He did it against the defending NFC champions.

"We pretty much did what we wanted," guard Mike Wahle said. "And that was against a really good team."

As the Packers did all of last season, they started the game by going to Green. The Packers went to him often and he gradually started to chip away at the Carolina defense. Late in the second quarter, Green broke free for a 6-yard touchdown that gave the 10-7 lead that the Packers carried into halftime.

During the entire game, Green never broke a run of longer than 12 yards, but almost every time he slammed into the Carolina defense, he seemed to jump up and walk away with a gain of 5 to 7 yards. In the third quarter, after Brett Favre hit Donald Driver for a 16-yard gain, Green stepped in on the next play and went straight through the middle of the line for a 3-yard touchdown.

"It was just like any other game," Green said. "The line gave me some good holes. I'm just glad we won."

As Carolina's defense tried to stop Green, Favre was able to be quietly effective.

On the Packers' next possession, they switched up the pass and the run as they marched down the field. While Green broke runs of 8, 9 and 12 yards, Favre moved the team with a 13-yard pass to tight end Bubba Franks, and a 9-yard pass to running back William Henderson.

It was only fitting that the 11-play, 67-yard drive culminated with Favre and Green finding each other for a touchdown pass that put the game out of Carolina's reach.

While the Packers were able to open the season with a win, several of the players said they felt the offense didn't begin to show what it was capable of doing.

"We weren't as crisp out there as we usually are," Packers tackle Mark Tauscher said. "A lot of times we gain a lot of yards but don't get into the end zone as much as we want to. That wasn't the case tonight. We were efficient. We scored points."

After a quiet preseason where he spent the final week nursing a minor left knee injury, there were some questions as to whether Green would have a rusty week or two before he reverted back to his 2003 form.

After Monday's performance against one of the NFL's best defenses, Green was his old self again. ...

Other notes of interest. ...

Running back Najeh Davenport suffered a strained hamstring returning a second-quarter kickoff and didn't return. He battled hamstring problems during training camp and missed considerable time.

Head coach Mike Sherman told reporters that Davenport is day-to-day, and the extent of his injury won't be known until later in the week.

With Davenport sidelined, Green carried a career-high 33 times, a much heavier workload than the Packers prefer. After the game, Green needed intravenous fluids for 45 minutes.

"We'd like to keep his numbers to about 28 plays, he probably had a few more than normal," Sherman said. "But [Tony] Fisher carried the ball (nine times for 32 yards). We ran the ball more than we normally do, too."

The Packers like Davenport to carry the load between the 40s to give Green a break and make sure he's fresh down close to the end zone. They also like Davenport's bruising style on kick returns.

All they had to show for the sixth-best offensive game in franchise history were a couple of ill-timed interceptions and fumbles, a few costly penalties and a sobering loss to the Chargers in the season opener.

Duarte went on to remind readers that error-free football became a staple for the Texans the past two seasons during season-opening victories over Dallas and Miami. Errors became habit-forming against the Chargers, as David Carr threw two interceptions and running back Domanick Davis fumbled twice, the last coming with the Texans driving for the potential tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

The four turnovers negated 336 yards total offense. San Diego converted two touchdowns off the miscues.

"Our offense moved the ball well at times, but it doesn't make any difference if you can't hold on to the ball," head coach Dom Capers said.

He was talking specifically of Davis.

Davis became the first 1,000-yard rusher in team history as a rookie last season and looked to carry over the success with two touchdowns on Sunday. Things unraveled in a hurry, as Davis fumbled at the San Diego 14-yard line -- his second of the day -- with 3:48 remaining to stall the Texans' final drive. Davis' first fumble, at the Houston 45-yard line, led to a that gave the Chargers a 10-6 lead in the second quarter.

"I made a big mistake at a critical time of the game," said Davis, who finished with a combined 157 yards. "I was playing a little too hard and trying to make something happen."

Carr was equally guilty. His first interception came near halftime with the Texans clinging to a 13-10 lead. His second -- tipped by linebacker Donnie Edwards and picked off by former Texans linebacker Steve Foley -- led to a touchdown.

"Last year we wouldn't have even been close," Carr said. "We would have lost this game by 30 (points), and rightfully so. The frustrating thing about this is we had three turnovers, but we were still on the (17-yard line) with a chance to go tie the game and send it to overtime. To lose the ball for the fourth time is just a kick in the gut."

The Texans also committed six penalties, the most damaging a 40-yard pass interference call against rookie cornerback Dunta Robinson and a15-yard punt interference by cornerback Jason Bell that allowed the Chargers to start the eventual game-winning drive at their 41. ...

Carr isn't ready to call it a season just yet, however, calling the mistakes the Texans made "fixable."

Other notes of interest. ...

Receiver Jabar Gaffney had two of his four receptions on third down-and-long situations to extend drives. ... The Texans' two biggest plays of the game came on screen passes of 38 yards to Davis and 27 yards to No. 2 man Tony Hollings.

The Texans scored on their first two drives for the second time in team history. The other time was against Jacksonville last Sept. 28. ... Davis tied his single-game receiving record for running backs with 70 yards.

And finally. ...

According to Pro Football Weekly, fullback Moran Norris was unable to play against the Chargers due to a bruised left shoulder, an injury aggravated during practice last week.

The fullback, who had been listed as questionable going into the game, was replaced by Jarrod Baxter.

Referee Mike Carey's crew called six "coverage" penalties -- all in the second half.

Patriots flagged included safety Rodney Harrison, cornerbacks Tyrone Poole and Asante Samuel and linebacker Mike Vrabel. Harrison's holding call against tight end Marcus Pollard was declined. Colts linebacker David Thornton picked up a holding penalty, and a holding call against rookie cornerback Jason David was declined.

The league office directed its officiating crews during the offseason to enforce illegal contact outside the 5-yard "chuck zone" and defensive holding in pass coverage. Contributing to the edict was New England's aggressive play against Colts receivers in last January's AFC title game. There were seven penalties called in that game, all before the snap of the ball.

The Colts took advantage of New England's defensive game plan that generally had its safeties playing deep to limit big plays to receiver Marvin Harrison. The Colts rushed for 202 yards on 42 carries behind Edgerrin James (30-142) and Dominic Rhodes (10-42).

But they were unable to take advantage of that solid ground attack, primarily because of two lost fumbles by James.

It was their first loss while rushing for 200 yards since 1983. They had won 16 straight when reaching that mark, including all 15 in their Indy era.

According to the Sports Xchange, James didn't try to deflect any blame for the two fumbles.

"You have be honest about it. Two times down there (inside New England's 20-yard line), and I messed it up," James said. "You hate to have an opportunity like that and just blow it. I wanted to do good so bad. Sometimes you overdo things."

"You're supposed to score when you get down that close," Manning agreed. "We just made mistakes. This stinks."

For what it's worth. ... Mike Vanderjagt, who had his NFL record 42- consecutive field goal streak snapped when he missed a 48-yarder that could have sent the game into overtime, also withstood post-game questioning without making excuses.

"Really, there's no reason (to have missed). I didn't choke. I didn't feel the pressure. It just didn't go in. I'm not perfect, I guess, anymore," he said. ...

Also of interest. ...

In an article published last Thursday, SportsLine.com insider Pete Prisco advised readers that if the Colts have their way, they will retain both James and Harrison next year when they become unrestricted free agents. Owner Jimmy Irsay said last week that he thinks it's doable.

One option would be to sign one player to a long-term deal and franchise the other.

The problem with that could be Harrison. Prisco suggested he'll be seeking a signing bonus in the $20 million-$25 million range -- or higher. That's what some league executives are hearing agent Tom Condon will be looking to get. With Peyton Manning getting $35 million in signing-bonus money this offseason, indications are Harrison has his eyes on something moving toward that number.

Two things of note there: Harrison is 34 and receivers aren't nearly as valuable to a team as a quarterback.

But Harrison doesn't listen to that type of talk, and is said to be a player who thinks he's as valuable to the team as Manning.

There is a chance the Colts could opt to franchise Harrison, paying him the average of the top five receivers in the league, and try and work out a new deal with James, who is 25. The decision on James will come based on how he plays this year, but all indications are he's back to his pre-knee injury form. ...

And finally. ...

Tony Dungy was the only NFL coach not to issue an instant replay challenge in 2003. He needed only one game to test the officiating tool this season.

He challenged James' fumble at the Patriots' 18-yard line in the third quarter -- and lost.

"The second-year quarterback, in his 14th NFL start, did an imitation of John Elway and Joe Montana on Sunday. ..."

Well. ... That may be a bit of a reach, but the second-year signal caller clearly showed the poise and leadership, driving the Jaguars 80 yards on a game-winning drive in the final 2:07 in the season opener against the Bills.

Leftwich's dramatic 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie Ernest Wilford on the final play of the game gave the Jaguars a 13-10 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 72,389 at Ralph Wilson Stadium, and was the first road victory of head coach Jack Del Rio's regime.

"Good teams find a way to win and we want to become a good team," said Del Rio, whose team lost three games in the final 30 seconds last season.

"All those games we lost last year, hopefully, we can find a way to win them this year," said wide receiver Jimmy Smith. "Traditionally, we found a way to lose games like this at the end."

Leftwich, who had failed to put a touchdown on the board in 17 drives during the preseason, completed only 11 of 23 passes for 75 yards in his first 10 drives against the Bills. But he wasn't worried.

"I never get gun-shy," he said. "I just keep throwing the ball."

Leftwich overcame two interceptions and some cramping in his forearm though he didn't use that as an excuse for some errant throws.

"The only thing that matters is we found a way to pull it out," he said.

On the final drive, Leftwich completed 7 of 13 passes for 72 yards. As Stellino suggested: "It was the kind of football Leftwich likes -- just drop back and throw."

"It reminded me of Marshall," he said. "I just felt so good about the situation. The guys in the huddle were so confident. I just knew we were going to find a way to win that football game."

Leftwich completed three fourth-down throws on the game-winning drive. The first one was a 45-yard pass to Smith down the left side on a 4th-and-14 play from the Jacksonville 34.

"I let the old vet go up and make a play," said Leftwich, who watch Smith out-jump cornerback Nate Clements for the ball.

Four plays later, Leftwich completed a 6-yard pass to Troy Edwards on 4th-and-2 at the Buffalo 13.

That gave the Jaguars a first down at the Buffalo 7. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said the team basically called the same play four times in a row with different personnel and formations with four receivers running vertically into the end zone.

Leftwich failed to complete the first three, although Edwards dropped the second, and Musgrave felt George Wrighster was interfered with on third down.

It was down to one play with four seconds left with the game on the line.

The play called for the 6-foot-4 Wilford, who was lined up outside on the third-down play, to move inside for a matchup on 6-2 linebacker Takeo Spikes.

Wilford almost blew it when he lined up in the wrong spot, but Edwards corrected him. Leftwich lofted the ball and Wilford jumped up to grab it in the back of the end zone.

The officials ruled Wilford was pushed out of bounds and called it a touchdown. The ruling was upheld after referee Ron Winter reviewed the instant replay.

"It happened so fast. It happened so slow," Wilford said. "The ball was in the air and it was [like it was] going in slow motion. Everything was just happening slow, slow, slow."

The catch more than compensated for what was not a vintage showing for the Jaguars. They converted only 2 of 13 on third down and allowed Buffalo to convert 7 of 14. Taylor ran for only 61 yards in 17 carries and the Jaguars managed only one sack.

But what counts is that they found a way to win.

"Hopefully, this really is the start of the new era they've been talking about," Smith said. ...

Also of interest. ...

Smith showed he can still come up with big plays with his clutch work on the final drive, but he also contributed to two interceptions when he bobbled one pass and fell down on another.

As the Sports Xchange suggested on Tuesday, Reggie Williams, the team's top draft pick, caught only two passes for nine yards in his debut against the Bills "and there are still questions whether he was worth the ninth pick in the draft."

Edwards, who lost his starting job to Williams, led the team with five catches for 37 yards, but dropped a pass on the goal line on the winning drive.

And finally. ...

Running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who has missed more than a month with a foot injury, will return to practice this week and is expected to play Sunday against Denver.

And as Pro Football Weekly suggested, "Priest Holmes picked up right where he left off last season, rumbling for 151 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries in Sunday night's loss to the Denver Broncos.

He also had two receptions, but lost two yards.

It's worth noting, that Holmes has gone on record with his desire to break off some longer runs this year as a means of reaching the 2,000-yard barrier.

He got his wish against the Broncos.

Holmes' tackle-shedding 33-yard TD run in the third quarter topped anything he did in 2003. He finished with 151 and a 5.8-yard average. ...

Veteran receiver Eddie Kennison was fortunate to have gotten away with an apparent fumble that might have wiped out his 57-yard catch on Kansas City's second offensive snap, part of an eight-play TD drive.

Kennison, wide open behind Denver corner Kelly Herndon, stumbled after catching the ball, then fumbled after he rose and was belted immediately. The down-by-contact call prevented any review of a fumble Denver recovered and should have kept had not the play been blown dead. ...

Johnnie Morton made it through Sunday's game unscathed, so he likely will be in the starting lineup for Week 2, according to head coach Dick Vermeil.

The former Lions came off the bench versus the Broncos after missing nearly all of training camp with an Achilles injury. Return specialist Dante Hall will drop back to third on the team's depth chart. ...

According to Kansas City Star beat man Adam Teicher, the Chiefs found a way to get running back Larry Johnson on the active roster. Vermeil hinted they wouldn't be able to suit up Johnson and Derrick Blaylock as the backups to Holmes.

But they did. Johnson suited up for only six games last season.

Johnson's struggle to make the active list on a weekly basis is due to his inability to get the job done on special teams. Should something happen to Holmes, Johnson would still be the long-term replacement. ...

And finally. ...

Lawrence Tynes' first NFL field-goal attempt was anything but easy. The Chiefs sent Tynes out for a 63-yard try on the last play of the first half.

Tynes' attempt was short, and it wasn't until the Broncos had gone to their locker room and trucks were setting up for a halftime show on the field that the Chiefs pointed out to the officials that the ball was spotted incorrectly for the field-goal attempt.

The line of scrimmage should have been the Denver 40, but it was spotted at the 45. After the Broncos were summoned from the locker room, the ball was initially spotted at the Denver 36 before the fix was made.

Tynes' 58-yard attempt had enough distance but was wide right.

Feeley played well enough coming off the bench in the Dolphins' season-opening loss to earn a start this week at Cincinnati, coach Dave Wannstedt said Sunday.

That means a demotion for Jay Fiedler after four seasons as the starter.

Feeley threw for a touchdown but had an interception returned for a score in the Dolphins' 17-7 loss Saturday to Tennessee.

"To give us the best chance to beat the Bengals and do what we need to do offensively, he'll be ready to do that," Wannstedt said.

But Feeley's hold on No. 1 is tenuous. Wannstedt said he may continue to shuffle quarterbacks.

"Whatever we've got to do to win at any position, we're going to do it," he said.

The start Sunday night will be Feeley's first since 2002, when he became a hero in Philadelphia by going 4-1 as the Eagles' No. 1 quarterback after Donovan McNabb and Koy Detmer were hurt. Those are Feeley's only NFL starts, and he started just eight games at Oregon.

But Wannstedt opted to gamble on the inexperienced Feeley after Fiedler threw two interceptions in the first half against the Titans and led Miami to just three first downs. Fiedler went to the bench with Miami trailing 7-0.

"It wasn't the score as much as the turnovers," Wannstedt said. "That's the one thing we know we can't do. I just felt at halftime we needed to do something offensively to give us a spark and to get into a little bit of rhythm. That was my reasoning for the change."

Feeley went 21-for-31 for 168 yards. Under pressure from a blitz, he made an errant throw that Lamont Thompson returned 37 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Titans lead.

"When he has had problems -- we've got to understand he doesn't need to make a play," Wannstedt said. "If something bad happens blocking-wise, route-wise or coverage-wise that he doesn't have control over, hey, let's move on to the next play. Throw it away in the dirt."

The quarterback change will likely be popular with Miami fans. They were booing Fiedler by the second quarter, and they cheered Feeley even when he came off the field after his first series stalled following a 34-yard drive.

Fiedler is 36-18 as a starter, but has never been a crowd favorite.

"As I've always done in my five years here, I'm ready to contribute to the team's success in any way I can," Fiedler said in a statement released by the club. "Everyone wants to start, but if I don't, I'll do everything I can to help A.J. and to be as prepared as possible in case I do play. ..."

For what it's worth, SportsLine.com insider Pete Prisco advised readers last Thursday that the "worst thing the Dolphins can do with their quarterback position is to juggle Fiedler and Feeley. ... That's a horrible way to play football."

In a related note. ... ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli noted last Friday that Miami apparently had a suitor or two for Fiedler during the offseason. They kept him instead. …

Also of interest. ...

Chris Chambers had six catches last Saturday, but none for more than 10 yards, and according to Palm Beach Post staff writer Joe Schad, he wasn't pleased that the team didn't try to go downfield more.

"I like to go down the field and today we weren't able to do that," he said. "The corners just sat on our routes. ... Earlier in the game we could have loosened them up a bit. Give me an opportunity to go down the field and make some plays."

Wannstedt had a different take on the offense. It was not lost on Wannstedt that Miami's 44 pass attempts were the team's most in 29 games, dating back to the fourth game of the 2002 season, at Kansas City.

"You wanted the ball thrown," Wannstedt told reporters. "You got the ball thrown."

That said, the coach still understood Chambers frustration. Wannstedt said he had hoped to get Chambers involved in "five or six" downfield passes.

"We called a lot of those play-action things trying to get the ball down the field to him," Wannstedt said. "Chris wants to make big plays. Nobody believes in Chris more than I do. We're trying to get him the ball and he knows that."

Still, Wannstedt clearly doesn't want the Dolphins to be a passing team, because that won't give them a chance to win.

"Well, we're trying -- I mean, I don't believe in throwing the ball -- we have to run the ball in order to win," Wannstedt said.

And while we're on the topic of running the ball. ...

In an article published Monday, Miami Herald staffer Jason Cole advised readers that Wannstedt declined to discuss specifics about the injuries to running backs Travis Minor and Sammy Morris, all indications are that Lamar Gordon will be the starter Sunday night at Cincinnati.

Gordon played most of the game after Minor and Morris were knocked out of Saturday's 17-7 loss to Tennessee because of sprained ankles. Several times, Wannstedt said he was pleased with Gordon's play and added the newcomer should improve after a week of practice.

"Lamar this week will be fine," Wannstedt said. "He'll get a full week of work. The plan we have and [will] practice this week, the guys who are called upon to execute it will be fine this week. I'm not concerned about that at all."

Wannstedt said he was impressed with Gordon, who carried 12 times for 32 yards and caught five passes for 30 yards. Gordon also gained a first down on a fourth-and-1 play.

"I liked his toughness," Wannstedt said. "I liked his ability to make some guys miss. On the [first] fourth-and-1. ... He was hit in the backfield, and he made a great run to pick up the first down. Somebody came clean and actually almost knocked his legs out from under him."

Better yet, Gordon has two seasons remaining on his original NFL contract at minimum salaries of $380,000 for 2004 and $455,000 for 2005. That's a lot less than they were paying Ricky Williams, from whom Miami is still trying to elicit an $8 million payback for breach of contract.

According to the Sports Xchange, Minor is unlikely to play in Sunday's game at Cincinnati because of his injury.

And finally. ...

Fullback Doug Easlick, a long shot to make the team as an undrafted free agent, was happy to see playing time because starter Rob Konrad was out with a thigh injury.

"When I first ran out it still felt surreal and still hasn't set in too, too much, Easlick said."

Easlick didn't carry the ball, but he had a 4-yard reception and a key block for Gordon on a 4th-and-1 play.

Konrad's availability for Sunday's game remains in question while he continues recovering from an infection in his right leg.

With no decision yet on Smith's appeal of a four-game substance abuse suspension, Smith proved his value Sunday in Minnesota's 35-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The second-year back rushed for 76 yards and caught the Vikings' first touchdown pass of the game. He also returned three kickoffs for 54 yards.

A few weeks ago, it looked unlikely Smith would even play against the Cowboys. With the uncertainty of his situation, he's apparently gained a new respect for his time on the field.

"We just go day-to-day, and that's the way that I'm going about it," Smith said.

With a sprained knee sidelining starter Michael Bennett, the Vikings were fortunate to have Smith available as the featured runner.

"The guy played unbelievable," Bennett said. "Unbelievable."

Early in the second quarter, Smith caught a soft pass from Daunte Culpepper and raced untouched for a 63-yard score to make it 7-3. As Smith ran toward the end zone, teammate Randy Moss came up a few paces behind to block a defender.

Afterward, Moss said he told Smith during the week that the play would work against Dallas -- and that he would catch Smith before the end zone.

Joking aside, having Moss on his heels likely wasn't Smith's motivation.

The NFL informed Smith on Aug. 19 he would face a four-game ban after testing positive for marijuana. He already was in the league's substance-abuse program for at least one previous positive test.

Head coach Mike Tice demoted Smith to the third unit the following week. Because Smith wouldn't be on the field for the opener, Tice said, there was no need to get him ready.

But when the league put the suspension on hold while an appeal hearing date was set, Smith -- who ran for five touchdowns as a rookie last season -- was more than ready.

"I still come out prepared the same, as if I'm going to be play. With that in mind, I'm just going to continue to do that and stay tuned," he said.

"He's maturing, he's a great running back and I'm definitely excited to have him on my team and being able to use him," Bennett said.

Bennett said he's planning to return for next Monday night's game at Philadelphia. But if he can't, Smith could end up starting because Moe Williams sprained his right ankle against the Cowboys.

"If I'm available, then coach is going to use me, there's no doubt about that," Smith said.

Tice said: "Hopefully we'll get to keep him a little longer. ..."

Meanwhile, Tice ruled out Bennett for Monday night's game, but said he could be ready in time for Minnesota's Week 3 matchup against Chicago.

However, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Tuesday, Bennett, who began a running program this weekend, is more likely, however, that he will return for the Oct. 10 game at Houston -- which likely will be the first game for which Smith is ineligible.

Bennett said Monday he is running at about 70 percent.

"Coach Tice said to just take my time with it," Bennett said. "We still have Onterrio Smith, Moe, Mewelde [Moore] and Larry Ned. It's just a matter of time. If I have to wait, I have to wait. But I'm getting better each and every day. ..."

Also on the injury front. ...

The St. Paul Pioneer-Press reported that Williams had a boot on his right foot and was on crutches Monday. "It hurts," Williams said. " But it feels a lot better than it did last night."

Tice said Williams probably wouldn't practice Thursday, but could play Monday if he practices Saturday. ...

According to the Associated Press, tight end Jim Kleinsasser will miss the next two weeks after an MRI revealed his right knee injury was worse than originally thought.

The team thought Kleinsasser, who was hurt in Sunday's season opener against Dallas, hyperextended his knee. But an MRI on Monday revealed damage to his anterior cruciate ligament.

"We're going to give that injury a couple of weeks, re-evaluate and see where he's at," Tice said Tuesday.

Jermaine Wiggins and rookies Jeff Dugan and Richard Owens are the other tight ends on the roster.

Other notes of interest. ...

In case you weren't paying attention, the team's passing attack appears to be hitting on all cylinders. Culpepper threw a career-high five touchdowns passes, spread the ball to nine receivers and posted a 147.1 quarterback rating.

Moss remained patient with only one catch for 10 yards at halftime. He caught two second-half touchdown passes of 1 yard and three yards. Kelly Campbell capped the scoring in the 35-17 victory with a 43-yard touchdown. He got a step behind the defense and then showed a last-second burst to catch up to Culpepper's deep ball.

Newcomer Marcus Robinson had a 3-yarder on a fade route. Smith's 63-yarder came after Culpepper called an audible, replacing a dive play on third-and-one into a dump pass over the line of scrimmage against an all-out blitz. ...

When asked to comment on the notion that Culpepper is currently on pace to throw for 80 touchdowns, Tice said, "Don't start all that (stuff). ..."

But the team's receiving corps apparently couldn't help themselves.

"He'll probably hit over 50," said Campbell. "It might be the year Daunte sets records team-wise and leage-wide."

"Five touchdowns in this offense is nothing," said Robinson.

"I'll have 30 of his 80," Moss said. "The pace I'm going, I'm looking at 30."

Of course, Moss is actually on a 32-TD pace, but as he put it: "I'll give the benefit of doubt and say 30."

"The Pats held the lead and the ball in the fourth quarter of an up-and-down, season-opening battle against Indianapolis, and everyone was thinking the same thing: It's Dillon Time."

Despite the pleading of more than 68,000 at Gillette Stadium, the Pats reverted to the Antowain Smith era, repeatedly going to the air instead of grinding the ball (and some clock) behind Dillon. The Pats ran 13 plays in the fourth quarter. Nine were passes. Four were runs.

The crowd, which had regaled Dillon with chants of "Cor-ey, Cor-ey" earlier in the evening, was quick to voice its disapproval. Dillon, though, was not. In fact, he was more than happy with his workload (15 carries, 86 yards).

"I'm not going to go against the play-calling at all," Dillon said. "I think you know (offensive coordinator) Charlie Weis is a smart guy, a very smart coach. Whatever he calls, you've got to go with it and respect it and try to get it done. ... In this point in my career, I don't care about the carries and the stats. As long as we go out there and get a win, I'm more than fine with it."

Overall, Weis had an excellent night. Once again determining that the weakness of the Colts was their secondary, the Pats spread the field and let Tom Brady pick apart the defense. Brady still is the best player on the team, and the offense will continue to go through him. No one has a problem with that.

"That's just great coaching," Dillon said. "We mix it up well. Like I said before I even came here, this team was already set. I don't think we're going to do anything out of the ordinary and change the method of how we go about winning."

Other notes of interest. ...

Also according to Felger, it's not often that you hear a Patriots player describe himself or his unit as "dominant."

But tight end Daniel Graham has seen the potential of having him and first-round pick Benjamin Watson on the field at the same time, and he just can't help himself.

"I think when we're both on the field it's going to give defenses trouble," said Graham a day following the Pats' 27-24 win over Indianapolis on Thursday night. "It opens up the receivers as well. If our offense rolls, we're going to be a dominant offense."

This will be an interesting season for Graham, the 2002 first-round pick who showed flashes of brilliance over his first two years while also displaying bouts of inconsistency. No one has ever doubted Graham's ability. Many people believe he can be a star, most notably Brady, who has been a huge supporter since Graham first walked on the field in the spring of 2002.

Head coach Bill Belichick has also repeatedly praised Graham's work in the offseason. And veteran safety Rodney Harrison is another fan. Harrison goes against Graham in practice and is constantly giving him pointers on how to beat certain coverages.

That affinity within the organization remains firmly in place despite the fact Brady now has Watson and a deep, talented group of receivers at his disposal. On Thursday, Graham had seven catches (tied with Deion Branch for the team high) and an 8-yard touchdown.

The scoring play was a perfect example of Brady's trust in Graham, who was well covered as he headed into the end zone. But at the exact same moment, Brady lofted a pass into the back corner and Graham broke for the flag. Touchdown.

"That's how the play was designed," said Graham. "It was supposed to be a flag route. We worked on that play all week in practice, and the practice paid off."

But Felger added: "There's still work to be done. ..."

That was on display on Brady's costly fourth-quarter interception. Facing a third-and-11, Brady read cover-2 and thought Graham was headed deep down the middle. But Graham cut off his route and defensive back Nick Harper ended up with the ball.

Either Brady threw to the wrong spot or Graham missed the coverage. Whatever, it's still a work in progress.

Meanwhile, many have surmised that the drafting of Watson has lit a fire in the belly of Graham. He said that's not the case.

"I never felt pushed when they drafted him," said Graham. "When they did I figured why they did it -- it's a two tight-end set. They wanted to add depth to the position, and that's what they've done. ..."

For what it's worth, Brady's 335 yards passing marked the seventh time he has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game, not including the two times he did so in the postseason. He registered a 111.2 passer rating, and the Patriots are now 17-0 in games in which Brady reaches 100 for an individual game passer rating.

Also noteworthy. ... Brady has veto power at the line of scrimmage and he exercised that option numerous times last Thursday.

Brady and Weis worked all week on the intricate details the game plan and throughout the contest, Brady changed the play at the line of scrimmage depending on what he recognized in the Colts' defensive alignments.

Other notes of interest. ...

As reported by the Sports Xchange, receiver Troy Brown was evasive about his injury status entering the game and was inactive with a knee injury. His absence cost the team when replacement punt returner Branch misplayed a fourth-quarter punt and muffed it for a turnover at his own 33-yard line.

Brown was apparently close to playing and could be back for the Cardinals game with the extra rest created by the Thursday season opener.

And finally. ...

The Patriots signed Rabih Abdullah and added the running back to their 53-man roster. The former Buccaneer and Bear will serve as some insurance with Kevin Faulk's status again uncertain.

Belichick told reporters on Tuesday that he'd update Faulk's status Wednesday when the injury report is released. However, the prospects of Faulk playing against Arizona on Sunday can't be that good given Faulk remained out of town as the Patriots returned from a weekend off.

Faulk has been home in Louisiana attending to family matters after the death of his mother. Services were thought to be scheduled for early this week.

Belichick has also acknowledged that Faulk suffered a knee injury in the Pats' preseason game against Carolina Aug. 26. The next day, the injury was classified as day-to-day.

The Saints managed just 74 yards on 19 carries and Deuce McAllister had his fifth straight sub-100-yard game (16 carries, 57 yards) since his streak of nine straight 100-yard games ended last season.

Head coach Jim Haslett was asked at his weekly news conference Monday if the offense's use of more two tight-end formations and fewer with a fullback had anything to do with the running game difficulties. Terrelle Smith, the starting fullback the last four seasons, signed with Cleveland as a free agent in the offseason. The Saints drafted Mike Karney in the fifth round to replace Smith, but the tight end combo of Boo Williams and Ernie Conwell is used more than Karney.

"Terrelle Smith was our fullback last year and in the last four games last year, Deuce did not rush for 100 yards," Haslett said. "So I don't know if that affects it or not. I don't think we ran the ball well enough, and I don't think [Deuce] put his foot into the ground and ran well enough. I didn't think he ran as well as we would have liked.

"He didn't have a lot of yards (Sunday), and he didn't have a fullback, and the last four games of last year, he didn't have 100 yards and he had a fullback, so you all figure it out."

Haslett said it bothers him that McAllister has not been able to get 100 yards in any of his last five regular-season games, even though he had more than 1,600 yards last season.

"It's a concern because that's where everything else starts," Haslett said of the running game. "We went into the game with a little different approach because we were going to try to throw the ball, establish the passing game, run the ball, and gradually get into the things we do in the third an fourth quarters if we kept it close or got ahead, then start running power sets and all that, but we never got to it because we were down 14 points."

Of course, offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy said there'd be growing pains with the one-back offense. And as the New Orleans Times-Picayune suggested, the offensive line's failure to knock the undersized Seahawks line off the ball was also a problem.

Too often, McAllister was left to dodge defenders in the backfield or lower his head into a pile of Seahawks at the line just to avoid losing yardage. ...

Nonetheless, McAllister moved past Ricky Williams into fifth place on the franchise's all-time rushing list with 3,177 yards.

Also of interest. ...

Tight end Ernie Conwell provided the lone touchdown for the Saints last Sunday, when he caught a 6-yard scoring pass from quarterback Aaron Brooks with 2:54 remaining in the first half, trimming the Seahawks' lead to 14-7. ...

Seahawks strong safety Michael Boulware intercepted a pass at the Saints' 26-yard line in the third quarter ending Brooks' streak of 256 consecutive passes thrown without an interception dating to Nov. 16, 2003.

The Saints on Tuesday re-signed running back Ki-Jana Carter, who was waived last Saturday.

And finally. ...

The Saints joined the mass exodus of people fleeing the New Orleans and moved their base of operations Tuesday to San Antonio, far from the reach of approaching Hurricane Ivan.

The team will continue its practice and meeting schedule in San Antonio on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Saints will return to New Orleans Friday afternoon for Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

With 2:37 left in yesterday's 31-17 loss to the Eagles, the rookie took the snap from center and handed the ball to Tiki Barber.

Just 12 seconds and 72 yards later, the NFL's No. 1 draft pick had engineered his first touchdown drive.

But as New York Daily News staffer Ralph Vacchiano noted, that was as good as it got for Manning, who came out for one more drive in relief of Kurt Warner and completed just 3 of 9 passes for 66 yards. He did get the Giants to the Eagles' 14, thanks in large part to a 34-yard screen pass to Barber, but he couldn't get off one last play.

"I was glad to get in there, but under the circumstances not glad to get in there, if you know what I mean," Manning said. "I got a feel for how fast the game is and how quick I had to make decisions."

Manning will get another shot, even though Warner is still the Giants' starter. "Whenever we can, we'll play him," head coach Tom Coughlin said. "Hopefully it'll be in a different situation."

The Giants, in Coughlin's first game as coach, lost their ninth straight game. Warner, who led St. Louis to a Super Bowl victory in 1999, has lost his last nine starts, including to the New England Patriots in the 2001 Super Bowl. ...

Also of interest. ...

The rushing attack looked like a limited version of "Thunder & Lightning." Tiki Barber had a 72-yard touchdown, but other than that run -- which came in garbage time, Barber and Ron Dayne combined for just 98 yards.

The good news? Dayne finally had some short-yardage success, scoring a TD on a powerful three-yard run. ...

As he had hoped, Jeremy Shockey was in the starting lineup for Sunday's game. The mercurial tight end, who missed much of training camp while recovering from foot surgery and a strained hamstring, finished the game with two catches for 39 yards.

And finally. ...

As Newark Star-Ledger staffer Mike Garafolo reported it, Coughlin fielded a series of questions Monday concerning his fining of players who haven't been early enough to suit him for team meetings.

The Star-Ledger reported last week that Coughlin had levied $1,000 fines on three Giants who arrived at 7:12 p.m. for a 7:15 meeting during training camp, and that they had filed a grievance with the NFL Players Association. The players in question are linebackers Carlos Emmons and Barrett Green and nickel back Terry Cousin. A person with knowledge of the fines said that after the players informed Coughlin they had arrived three minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting, the coach scolded them for "not caring enough to be 15 minutes early."

When asked Monday what he constitutes as "late," Coughlin said, "What does that have to do with the Philadelphia Eagles? Can we talk about (Sunday's game)?"

Coughlin was asked again what he expects from his players.

"Be on time. Be on time," he said. "Players ought to be on time, period. You're on time, you're on time."

Coughlin then added that "meetings start five minutes early."

Another report over the weekend said that Coughlin also fined Pro Bowler Michael Strahan last week, even though the defensive end was two minutes early for a meeting.

"That's between me and everybody else," Coughlin said.

"When the fans cleared, he encountered Marvin Lewis, who was standing outside the Bengals' team bus. The Cincinnati coach, a gracious loser, spotted Martin and gave him a congratulatory hug.

"It was the only time all day the Bengals wrapped him up. ..."

After spending the better part of nine months trying to figure out ways to break their early-season doldrums, the Jets discovered they had the answer all along. Martin, determined to shake his reputation as a slow starter, carried the Jets to victory Sunday, the first September home win under Herman Edwards.

"I said to him, 'You got something left, don't you?'" Edwards said. "I looked at him, and he had all that black rubber stuff all over his face, smeared up. He looked like a gladiator."

Martin's 196-yard rushing performance (an Jets' opening day record), combined with an opportunistic defense and a near-flawless game by Chad Pennington in his first season opener, gave the team a rare taste of early-season success. Before yesterday's win the Jets were 2-8 in September under Edwards.

With two touchdowns, he equaled his 2003 total. With 196 yards on the ground, he came within one yard of matching last year's total from the first four games. He moved within eight of Freeman McNeil's team record 8,074 career rushing yards.

Apparently Martin's extra work in the preseason paid off.

"He was fresh, he was rolling, he looked 19," Santana Moss said.

But this was more than a one-man show. Pennington (20-for-27, 224 yards) made the important throws, including a 46-yard scoring strike to Carter. Credit the coaches, too. Early in the game, offensive coordinator Paul Hackett, upstairs in the booth, called to the sideline and asked which running plays they preferred.

The answer was unanimous: Let's run outside, attacking the Bengals' perimeter. So Hackett called sweeps and toss plays, enabling Martin to run behind a very effective group of pulling linemen.

The Jets racked up 438 total yards, including 219 on the ground.

Now the seven-game September losing streak is history, letting them imagine the possibilities. "If we can win some games early," Wayne Chrebet said, "we can be a dangerous team. ..."

Other notes of interest. ...

Chrebet played in his first game since Nov. 2, when he suffered a season-ending concussion that led to post-concussion syndrome and uncertainty about his career.

As the third receiver Sunday, Chrebet played out of the slot and converted on two third downs, including a 3rd-and-3 early in the fourth quarter with a difficult 14-yard catch over the middle - one that had Chrebet flexing, yelling and pumping his arms.

"I just felt like a kid out there, running around," said Chrebet, who had 21 yards on two catches. "Pass plays, running plays, I was just happy to be out there. Happy for everyone who was doing well and certainly happy we won the game."

Receiver Justin McCareins made his Jets debut with a team leading five catches for 66 yards but he may have had his best game blocking along the perimeter for Martin. ...

And finally. ...

LaMont Jordan wasn't bitter about not getting the ball at all Sunday while Martin ran roughshod over the Bengals.

As the Sports Xchange noted, Jordan made it a point before the season that he wasn't going to complain about his carries and just hit the ground running when he does get called. It's Jordan's final year with the Jets and he'll undoubtedly be offered a starting role with starting dollars in the offseason by another team.

Twice he made poor throws that resulted in interceptions on plays where there wasn't a friendly receiver in sight. He fumbled three times.

"I pride myself in taking care of the football," Gannon said. "The ball was on the ground way too much."

Oakland had four turnovers to Pittsburgh's one. This, after going through four exhibition games without a turnover. Steelers linebacker James Farrior recorded the second interception of Gannon two plays into the fourth quarter.

"He was trying to throw the ball away to avoid the sack all day," Farrior said of Gannon. "Luckily, I was in the right spot at the right time."

Gannon shouldered much of the blame for the loss, but there was plenty of blame to spread around. ...

Head coach Norv Turner and numerous players said there was far too much miscommunication on offense for a team that thought it had such issues ironed out. That led to wasted timeouts and players not being in synch time and again.

Perhaps most surprising was wide receiver Jerry Rice not figuring much into Oakland's offense during the second half. His two receptions in the first half led the Raiders, and he is the game's all-time leading receiver in just about every category. But he was nowhere to be found on most crucial plays and the Raiders trailing, and did not catch any passes in the second half.

"I played enough," Rice said. "I'm not going to get into how much playing time I'm getting. ... If you would have asked me this in my second or third year, you probably would have gotten some curse words. But I'm a little more mature."

But by most accounts, Rice's attempts to veil his contempt for the way he was used fell short.

"I'm not going to get into how much playing time I'm getting," the veteran superstar said. "All I can try to do is prepare myself during the week. I'm not going to get caught up in that. It's just a waste of time."

Doug Gabriel scored Oakland's first touchdown on a 58-yard reception, and Alvis Whitted scored a 38-yard touchdown and added a two-point conversion that enabled the Raiders to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

"We have the talent here," Whitted said of himself, Jerry Porter and four first- and second-year receivers. "We got some young players who are hungry and just want some opportunities."

Turner said he was trying to pace Rice because of the weather. The NFL summary listed the game-time temperature at a mild 65 degrees but noted the humidity at a punishing 90 percent.

Several Raiders suffered cramps during the game. Ronald Curry had to receive an IV in mid-game.

Whitted was substituting for Curry when he caught a 38-yard TD pass and then the game-tying two-point conversion. But not everybody had problems.

"I was fine. I was ready to go," Rice said. "I'm just going to ride this out, stay positive, continue to work and let everything take care of itself."

Turner tried to set the record straight on Monday, when he told reporters, "We are going to mix all our wide receivers. We have guys who can make plays, as they showed. Jerry is going to get a good percentage of the playing time. The biggest thing we have to do with Jerry is. ... communicate at the point.

"We know we are going to rotate and play [Gabriel] for him some. I think during the game [I] need to make sure ahead of time [and say] 'Hey, Doug's got the next series, Jerry. You've got this series' so that it is communicated well and everybody knows they feel where they are going in and know exactly what we are doing. ..."

Rice wasn't the only player being run on and off the field.

Turner, coaching his first game for the Raiders, seemed to be mixing and matching in an attempt to test the effectiveness of various combinations.

Running back Tyrone Wheatley was another regular who began the game on the field only to finish on the bench. Wheatley carried seven times for 9 yards, and caught one pass for 20 yards in the first half. He carried just four times in the second.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Bee suggested on Monday that Justin Fargas again showed why Raiders coaches love him. The second-year running back entered in the second quarter and immediately sparked the sputtering Raiders offense with an 11-yard gain on his first play -- or two more yards than starter Wheatley gained on his first seven carries.

Fargas is listed as day-to-day after suffering a turf toe injury on his left foot. His status and availability will be updated later this week. ...

Amos Zereoue was also caught off guard Sunday.

The former Steeler found out in the locker room before the game that he would not be one of Oakland's 45 active players Sunday, leaving J.R. Redmond as the Raiders' third-down back.

Also of interest. ...

Teyo Johnson's summer of discontent continued. The 2003 second-round draft choice and now fourth Raiders tight end was inactive for the first time in his NFL career. He watched rookie Courtney Anderson enter as the second tight end on the game's second play. ...

And finally. ...

Sebastian Janikowski kicked his 33rd and 34th straight field goals from inside 45 yards.

But it's the attention he gets from cornerbacks and the rest of the defense that could really help Philadelphia.

Owens can handle the double-teams and the complicated schemes, leaving the remainder of the field open for the rest of the receivers. While Owens had eight catches and three touchdowns in his Eagles debut, six other receivers caught passes against the New York Giants and four of them had gains of over 20 yards.

"I know my presence here and what it is going to bring to the table," Owens said. "There are going to be some opportunities for those guys."

The list "guys" taking advantage of those opportunities included tight end Chad Lewis, who had six receptions, the most since the fifth game of the 2002 season.

Todd Pinkston had 78 yards receiving, including a 53-yard gain, a total he topped only twice last year.

Tight end L.J. Smith had three catches for 50 yards. Last year, he had more than 39 yards in a game only once.

Brian Westbrook had a career-high 119 yards rushing, including a 50-yard burst.

"The ball got spread around and it is going to get spread around. That is the beautiful thing about this offense," Smith said. "T.O. is going to get his passes and I am going to get a piece of the pie as well. He's going to get his pieces, and guys like me and Lewis and [Freddie] Mitchell are going to come in and contribute."

It makes it that much easier for Donovan McNabb, who had one of the most productive passing games of his career with 330 yards and four TDs.

"He was seeing things, he was relaxed," coach Andy Reid said.

Owens' three TDs were all against man coverage. He was the first Eagle to have three touchdowns in a game since Irving Fryar in 1997.

And consider this: Last year, all of Philadelphia's wide receivers combined for five TD receptions.

Reid said even though Owens had eight receptions, he was still sticking with his West Coast offense philosophy of spreading the ball around. Two of Pinkston's receptions set up touchdowns, making it a nice first game for the lanky receiver whose inability to carry the load in the NFC title game as the No. 1 receiver last year necessitated the move for Owens.

"It was good to see Todd bounce back from what people considered an off game against Carolina," Reid said. "He showed his character there."

Still, it was Owens' show and he demonstrated that when healthy, happy and motivated, he can be the long-ball threat the Eagles have sorely lacked.

"He's proven what he can do over and over," Reid said. "It's just a matter of he and the quarterback being on the same page and it was good to see they were. I'm very realistic about this, that it's only the first game out of 16."

Also of interest. ...

Dorsey Levens re-signed with the team, agreeing to a one-year contract on Tuesday -- just more than a week after being released by the team. The veteran running back will serve as a backup to Westbrook, along with Reno Mahe and Thomas Tapeh.

With just seven seconds left, place-kicker Jeff Reed kicked the game-winning field goal, a 42-yarder that sent a crowd of 60,147 home happy.

"We were good at times and a little shaky at times," said quarterback Tommy Maddox, who put Reed in position to settle matters by engineering a 10-play, 54-yard drive that didn't give the Raiders any time to respond. "But a win is a win. ... Especially on opening day."

"We've got a lot of things to clean up," said Duce Staley, who rushed for a game-high 91 yards on a game-high 24 carries. "But the foundation is set. Now we have to continue to build the house."

The foundation Staley talked about was a return to old-fashioned football the Steelers have played for most of the past 30 years or so -- to establish a running game offensively and disrupt opponents defensively. For much of Sunday's game against Oakland, the Steelers did just that.

With Staley leading the way, the Steelers out-rushed the Raiders, 107-61. All three Steeler touchdowns came on running plays, with Jerome Bettis, Staley's backup, scoring all three.

Pro Football Weekly, demonstrating a tremendous grasp of the obvious, advised readers on Monday that Bettis' primary role for the 2004 campaign might have been defined against the Raiders.

Bettis finished the contest with five carries for one yard -- and of course, his three touchdowns.

"Anything to help the team win," said Bettis, the sixth-leading rusher in NFL history who scored three TDs for only the second time in his career. "That's the bottom line. We want to win football games. The glory is in winning. Everybody gets glory when you winning. When you lose, it doesn't matter who got touchdowns. So as long as we win, everyone succeeds. ..."

Well. ... I know at least one Fantasy owner with Staley on his roster who might be willing to argue that point. ...

Meanwhile, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette put it, "Hines Ward turned in a typical Hines Ward game: seven catches, 99 yards."

One, for 39 yards, set up a touchdown. Another, of 15, put the Steelers in position to win the game at the end.

In the process, Ward moved into fourth place past Elbie Nickel on the all-time Steelers list with 5,160 yards. He also accounted for 70 percent of the Steelers' receiving yards on a day in which their passing game had little going for it other than him.

"It's tough because we're so used to passing the ball all the time," Ward said of the Steelers' rusty passing offense.

"Now, it's like we cut back on our passing. We tried to re-establish our running game. We kind of got out of our rhythm."

But Ward had that 39-yard catch, and he also came up big on the final drive. It was first down at the 39 -- still too far to kick a field goal -- and he streaked open on the right. Maddox threw a high ball, Ward stretched as far as he could and came down with it at the 24.

Two plays later, Reed kicked the winning 42-yard field goal.

Faulk blew through the line on the first play from scrimmage and danced his way to a 15-yard gain. He added a 9-yard gain on the next play as Rams fans roared their approval.

Faulk, who has missed 11 games over the past two seasons because of injuries, finished with 128 yards on 22 carries in a 17-10 victory over Arizona.

"Questions, that's all they were were questions," said the 31-year-old Faulk, who underwent two knee surgeries in the past year. "It's early. I've got a whole season to go for this knee and this body to hold up -- and hopefully many more seasons."

Rookie backup Steven Jackson, who ran for 50 yards on seven carries in his NFL debut, was brimming with praise for the future Hall of Famer.

"Oh man, it was amazing," Jackson said. "Especially up close. That guy's back. His knee looks good, he looks good, and he's quick on his feet right now."

Jackson would get no argument from an Arizona defense that had trouble corralling Faulk all day, including five carries for 10 yards or more.

A return to form by Faulk can only be enhanced by the presence of Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 231-pounder who led the NFL with 323 preseason rushing yards.

The combination could scare NFL teams as much as the Rams' vaunted passing attack, especially since the Rams ranked 30th among the league's 32 teams in rushing last season.

The Rams' 176-yard rushing total Sunday easily surpassed the 2003 best of 143 yards against Cincinnati.

"I don't have to play the whole game now and all the pressure of the running game isn't on me," Faulk said. "It's kind of a nice change-up when I come out of there, to have him going in. He's not my type, he's a bigger guy and he's fast, and he can run over people.

"He can do a little bit of everything."

Jackson's first NFL carry was a 14-yard ramble that ended when Cardinals safety Quentin Harris forced a fumble with a helmet-first hit on Jackson's hand.

"It was a pretty good run, the offensive line did a great job of blocking," Jackson said. "Their safety got underneath me and got a helmet on the ball to pop it loose.

"I got a little excited and forgot about the simple things, and that's taking care of the ball."

Jackson also could help spare wear and tear on Faulk, who has taken his share of pounding in 11 NFL seasons.

But as Faulk demonstrated Sunday, he is not ready to begin finalizing his retirement plans.

"Whenever that thing came out this summer -- that he was quitting and can't run -- wherever that got started, it doesn't look like it to me," head coach Mike Martz said. "What we've been saying is this is the best he's looked in three years."

Faulk went out of his way to heap praise on his offensive line.

"You guys aren't used to seeing these guys run block the way that they have," Faulk said. "We really emphasized that this camp and this preseason, and it carried over."

As St. Louis Post-Dispatch beat man Jim Thomas noted, Faulk's teammates call him "Rush," and on Sunday, he rushed past two of the league's greatest runners.

With 128 yards rushing, Faulk moved past O.J. Simpson into 12th place on the NFL career rushing list with 11,341 yards. With his 145 total yards Sunday, he moved past Marcus Allen on the career total yards list with 17,668.

"Pretty cool," Faulk said. "Those are guys that I looked up to growing up."

Meanwhile, place-kicker Jeff Wilkins became the Rams' all-time scoring leader with the first of his three field goals Sunday. He entered the game tied with former Rams kicker Mike Lansford with 789 points.

Wilkins received a game ball from Martz.

Also of interest. ...

Marc Bulger started his first season opener and ended up with an 89.3 passer rating and the winning touchdown pass. There was some frustration that the Rams' first three possessions all ended with turnovers that occurred in Arizona territory.

"I think it'd be more frustrating, though, if we couldn't get outside of our 30-yard line or something and we're just not moving the ball," Bulger said. "We knew if we just kept going at it, the ball is going down the field and eventually we're going to get in the end zone and score some points."

As for his own play, Bulger said, "I played good at times, bad at times. But winning is the only thing that matters. I'm not going to ever sit here and say I don't have room for improvement. As long as we win, that's all I care about."

According to the Sports Xchange, Bulger, who threw one bad interception, needs to find Faulk more on checkdowns. But overall, the passing game was good enough for Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt to combine for 16 receptions and 208 yards.

"Maybe there's a little guy on your shoulder saying, 'Remember, Drew this is the situation, be careful,'" Brees said.

Brees handled the ball with care against Houston, and that was among the reasons the Chargers prevailed 27-20 on Sunday. While the Chargers collected four turnovers, Brees and the Chargers had none.

"You just can't turn the ball over," Schottenheimer has said repeatedly.

Last year, that was among Brees' most glaring weaknesses. While he tossed 11 touchdown passes, he also had 15 interceptions and five fumbles. That shortcoming helped point him to the bench for five games, and be pulled from two others.

"My feeling is he was trying to do really more than he needed to do," Schottenheimer said. "He might not share that feeling, but he is such a competitive guy that he was trying to do more than he really had to do."

But Brees has learned -- the hard way -- that less can mean more. That a sack can be a blessing. That a ball thrown away is one that can't be intercepted.

"You get in those competitive situations and from a quarterback's standpoint you feel like you can complete every pass and sometimes you don't want to complete every pass," said Brees, who was 17 of 24 for 209 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. "Sometimes it's better to throw that ball away, or throw it at their feet, or throw it to a safe spot.

"You don't have to be perfect out there. You don't have to make every play and that is something you have to realize, and that's part of trusting the guys next to you to do their job. Like, 'OK, you can punt it away, but defense is going to get it back.'"

The Texans nearly got back in the game when Brees was rocked for a sack with five minutes remaining. But instead of coughing up the ball, he tucked it for safe keeping.

Schottenheimer talked more about Brees taking that sack, than his two touchdown passes.

"The guy came in and Drew never saw him, but as he took the hit he protected the ball," Schottenheimer said. "If that ball comes out, they get it somewhere inside the 25-, 20-yard line, if they don't pick it up and run with it. You say how can a sack be the most important play of the game? Well, put that one on the ground and give them that field position and there is no telling what might happen."

What's happened with Brees is all about his NFL education, said LaDainian Tomlinson.

"He's been in this offense for three years now and he's comfortable," he said. "He knows exactly where he's suppose to go with the ball, he knows the coverages."

Brees admits it's not easy making the right choices, especially with the commotion every play brings.

"There is a lot of stuff going on in front of you," he said. "But it's one of those things where you can't beat it like a dead horse because you have to go out there and relax, throw the ball and be loose."

The bottom line is to keep possession.

"The point is to make sure at the end of the play the ball is still in our hands and not in there hands," Brees said.

Also of interest this week. ...

As the Sports Xchange noted Tuesday, Tomlinson delivered his usual 100-yard game and added a scoring run.

The run-blocking was pretty good, and when it wasn't, Tomlinson gobbled up the yardage on his own. The most critical rush came with two minutes to play when Tomlinson needed 4 yards for a game-clinching first down. He got it, and the Chargers got their win. ...

As San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Jim Trotter reported it, tight end Antonio Gates set career highs for catches (eight) and yards receiving (123), and wide receiver Reche Caldwell matched half his season total for catches from a year ago with four for 65 yards. His 36-yard touchdown was the longest catch of his career.

Caldwell had one drop.

"What we saw out of Antonio Gates today is what he is capable of providing for our football team," Schottenheimer said. "When you have a weapon like that, along with LaDainian Tomlinson, it really gives you an opportunity to do a lot of different things.

"I think for all of us that know him and know his history, what he has been able to do is absolutely remarkable."

According to Caldwell, who quickly topped his 2003 scoring total with a touchdown catch against the Texans, "You always want to go out the first week and play well. I know I didn't play near as well as I could have; I should have had that one on the slant. But I think overall we played pretty well as a team. ..."

And finally. ...

After missing most of training camp and last week's game, Tim Dwight plans to practice with the Chargers this week and be ready for this weekend's game versus the New York Jets.

If healthy, the veteran receiver, who had been sidelined with a nagging hamstring injury, could move back into the starting lineup ahead of Caldwell.

With Rattay unable to practice until late in the week, at best, Erickson and his staff concluded that the smartest course was to prepare the game plan for Dorsey and hope that Rattay would be healthy enough to serve as the backup.

"It has everything to do with Tim's health," Erickson said. "We feel comfortable with Ken Dorsey playing, because he's played well when given the chance."

As San Jose Mercury News staffer Dennis Brown noted, Dorsey came off the bench to make his NFL debut Sunday in the 49ers' season-opening 21-19 loss to the Falcons. He entered for Rattay midway through the second quarter and completed 9 of 15 passes for 111 yards before he, too, headed for the sideline because of an injury.

Dorsey suffered a stinger -- a brachial plexus trauma in the neck -- but said Monday that he was fine. "I feel great," he said.

Sunday would mark his first start since his University of Miami team lost 31-24 in double overtime to Ohio State in the 2003 national championship game.

Is he ready?

"Our quarterbacks are in the NFL for a reason," receiver Cedrick Wilson said. "You never know when your number is going to be called."

Of course, Dorsey played significantly during training camp and the exhibition season because of Rattay's troublesome health.

Rattay, the incumbent starter, overcame groin surgery and a sore right forearm. But an MRI exam Monday confirmed the original diagnosis of a sprained acromioclavicular (AC) joint, an injury Rattay said he feels mostly at the top of his throwing shoulder.

"I'm keeping the trainers busy this year," he said glumly.

Rattay said he aimed to return to practice by the end of the week and said his shoulder might hold up Sunday if they "shoot it up for the game" -- meaning a pain-killing injection.

Such an injection helped him return to the Falcons game, and he nearly led a fourth-quarter comeback. But the pain returned later, and Rattay said he managed only a few hours' sleep. He said he talked with others who have had the injury and was told the pain takes a couple of weeks to subside.

Erickson has no idea how long Rattay could be sidelined, since it all depends on the quarterback's considerable tolerance for pain.

"It may be a couple of weeks before he can practice every day," Erickson said. "We'll find out as time goes on."

Also of interest. ...

Kevan Barlow -- who spent his first three NFL seasons sharing his job with the now-departed Garrison Hearst -- ripped off two 20-yard runs Sunday, but on his other 17 carries, he ran for only 36 yards.

And on his first carry, after the 49ers had gotten the ball at Atlanta's 20-yard line after a blocked punt by rookie Keith Lewis, Barlow ran for 5 yards before fumbling the ball away.

Last year, Barlow fumbled five times, losing four of them. He refuted the suggestion that he became tentative after the early fumble.

"No, it didn't make me tentative," Barlow said. "It made me aware to hold onto the ball extra tight. There ain't no excuses. I shouldn't have fumbled. It was just a wakeup call."

So why did Barlow -- who rushed for 1,024 yards last season despite starting only four games -- struggle to grind out yardage most of the day Sunday?

One strong possibility was the absence of Pro Bowl fullback Fred Beasley, sidelined since suffering a left high ankle sprain a month ago.

Beasley's place in the lineup was taken by Jasen Isom, who played something other than special teams for the first time in his two-year career. The 49ers are hoping Beasley will return Sunday in New Orleans.

Asked if Beasley's absence affected Barlow, Erickson said, "It looked like it had an effect on him, but we won't know until we look at the film."

Barlow added, "It's a big difference. It's obvious. (Beasley is) the best fullback in the NFL. ... He changes the pace of the game."

And finally. ...

General manager Terry Donahue signed a four-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday. The new deal will keep him with the club through 2009, owner John York said.

Here's the unscientific version:

"All I know is that the leg bone and the knee bone smacked into each other, and that's not normal," Alexander said Monday, his right leg wrapped in a bandage. "Everybody said I'm really blessed. Normally you do tear an MCL or an ACL. The bones are bruised, but the ligaments are all straight."

As in not damaged.

All of which was good news for the Seahawks yesterday, after doctors performed an MRI on that very valuable right knee, an MRI that showed a bone bruise and not the ligament damage first feared by everyone, including Alexander.

That doesn't mean Alexander is a lock to play against Tampa Bay on Sunday, though. Head coach Mike Holmgren said his Pro Bowl running back will be day-to-day this week, that he might miss a week or two, or he might play Sunday.

But as Bishop suggest, any news that didn't involve the words "tear" or "sprain" or either of the two ligaments was good news, as far as the Seahawks are concerned.

"Thank goodness," Holmgren said. "It could have been a lot worse."

Alexander does profess to be a fast healer, and his theory will be tested this week and possibly next. If he can't go, the Seahawks will turn to their running-back-in-waiting, Maurice Morris, a man teammates call "Crazy Legs."

Holmgren said the game plan won't change. Third-string running back Kerry Carter would play more, essentially taking over Morris' backup role. And Morris would essentially become Alexander.

"Shaun Alexander would be the first to tell you, if he wasn't here, Maurice Morris would be a star," Matt Hasselbeck said. "This kid can play. It just so happens he is backing up one of the great running backs in the NFL right now."

Alexander has scored at least one touchdown in 18 of the Seahawks' past 21 games. He has scored at least one rushing touchdown in their past six contests.

"He really does have a knack for [scoring] down there," Holmgren said. "I would just call it a gift that not everyone has. He has very good vision. He's as good as any back I've ever been around in that part of the field."

But, like Holmgren said, the Seahawks aren't going to forfeit on Sunday if Alexander doesn't play.

Of his preparation for this game, a typically understated Morris said: "This is a normal week to me."

But not for the Seahawks if Alexander doesn't play. He has never missed a game -- 65 in a row and counting -- since the team took him in the first round of the 2000 draft. That's more than 1,000 carries, more than 4,000 yards rushing, more than 50 touchdowns. ...

For the record, ESPNews was reporting Wednesday morning that Alexander has to practice by Friday in order to play Sunday.

Other notes of interest. ...

According to the Sports Xchange, Hasselbeck impressed coaches with his decision making in the opener. He avoided sacks and didn't make any egregious throws, although one pass found its way into the Saints' hands.

Hasselbeck should be able to better preserve his body if he continues to avoid the hits that wore on him in 2003. Hasselbeck was sacked 42 times. ...

In an article published Monday, Seattle Post-Intelligencer staff writer Claire Farnsworth advised readers the Seahawks usually work on their two-minute offense in practice each week, to prepare the players in case they have to rally late in a half or game.

Last week, Holmgren surprised them with a four-minute drill, where Hasselbeck works on completing high-percentage passes and Alexander runs up the gut to burn time in a game where they have the lead.

The offense put the practice twist to good use Sunday, running the final 3 minutes, 53 seconds off the clock by driving from their 40-yard line to the New Orleans 29 with seven running plays -- despite the Saints using each of their three second-half timeouts.

The Seahawks actually shifted into that mode on their previous possession, as well, with 9 1/2 minutes to play -- going from their 19 to the Saints 49 before punting.

"It's fun to be in those games," Hasselbeck said. "Our offensive line takes over, and Shaun takes over and Mack [Strong] runs the ball real well. It's a fun place to be."

Head coach Jon Gruden said the oft-injured 10th-year pro, obtained in an offseason trade from the Dallas Cowboys, has a tear in his left groin that is more serious than the Bucs originally anticipated.

Galloway missed most of the preseason with a sore groin and aggravated the injury in the first half of Sunday's 16-10 loss to the Washington Redskins. He came up limping turning to try catch a pass that glanced off his hands in the end zone, costing the Bucs a touchdown.

"It's just unfortunate. We're going to miss him," Gruden said.

The loss is especially damaging because the Bucs also are without last year's leading receiver, Keenan McCardell, who is holding out for a new contract after catching 84 passes for 1,174 yards and eight TDs last season.

The team is also missing Joe Jurevicius, recovering from back surgery after missing most of last season with a knee injury. Charles Lee, who got a chance to play last year when Keyshawn Johnson was shelved because of differences with Gruden, has been slowed by a sore hamstring and did not play against the Redskins.

Galloway was obtained in the trade that sent Johnson to Dallas during the offseason. Still considered one of the fastest players in the NFL, Gruden was counting on his addition to add another dimension to the offense. ...

And make no mistake about it: We're talking about a unit that could use another dimension.

As St. Petersburg Times staff writer Rick Stroud put it: "The collection of over 30-year-olds who made up the Bucs offense had trouble recapturing their glory days," resulting in the worst offensive showing under Gruden."

Tampa Bay was held without a first down until the second quarter, rushed for 30 yards, its fewest since 24 on Oct. 14, 2001, against the Titans, and committed two turnovers against a relentless array of Redskins blitzes.

Free-agent running back Charlie Garner, 32, (11 carries, 25 yards) was ineffective behind a rebuilt offensive line, and Galloway dropped a potential touchdown in the end zone on the play he was injured.

And for the first time, a team quarterbacked by Brad Johnson, who turned 36 on Monday, and coached by Gruden failed to score an offensive touchdown while being held to 169 net yards, the fewest in the Gruden era.

In fact, the Bucs' only touchdown came when cornerback Ronde Barber scooped up a botched handoff from quarterback Mark Brunell to Portis and returned the fumble 9 yards for a tying touchdown with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter.

"Is that any different from any other season?" Barber said of the disparity of the offensive and defensive performances. "We pride ourselves on being a defensive football team. Bring in all the free agents, all the coaches or whatever you want. This team has been built on defense. ..."

Also of interest. ...

ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli quoted an unnamed NFL personnel executive as saying Sunday, "Garner looked all used up. He's got no burst, no wiggle, no nothing. He's most effective out in space, but they never really got him the ball out where he could make something happen. Then again, even if they had, I'm still not sure he could have done anything with it. ..."

Galloway's injury means rookie Michael Clayton will step into the starting lineup opposite veteran Tim Brown. Lee will move up a spot on the depth chart as well.

The Bucs were delighted Clayton's effort against the Redskins. The youngster led the Bucs with seven catches for 53 yards.

"I was very pleased," Gruden said. "He had a couple of mistakes. Obviously, we got more into a passing-style game with the down and distance, but I thought all in all there were some things we can build on. I thought he caught the ball inside and looked like a physical runner after the catch. ..."

"I'm working my way up the ladder, taking some steps," said Clayton, the Bucs first- round and 15th overall draft pick. "And with Galloway going down, I'm going to have to turn it up a notch. ..."

According to Pasquarelli, Galloway's injury and a dismal offensive effort notwithstanding, the Bucs have no intention of giving into McCardell's contract demands.

Not that he'd answer if they call. ...

McCardell stopped by the outdoor set of CBS' "The NFL Today" to once again state his claim that the Bucs, and Gruden, lied to him about a contract extension and he just wants out of Tampa.

"The status is the same as it always has been," McCardell said. "It's not going anywhere. I'm prepared to write [the Bucs] a check. That's how bad I want out of Tampa Bay."

Host Greg Gumbel asked McCardell what teams interest him, should he get his wish and be released by the Bucs.

"Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City. I think I would fit great into systems like that," McCardell said.

Gumbel asked, "So you're saying if you would get your release from the Bucs, you would sign for less than you're holding out for in Tampa?"

"I just want to get out any way possible," McCardell said. "I don't have my checkbook with me today or I'd write it right now."

Analyst Boomer Esiason asked, "I know Keyshawn Johnson had trouble down in Tampa. [The Bucs] paid him $1 million not to play. What's so bad about Tampa Bay? What's happening down there?"

"Right now, things aren't going the way people think they are," McCardell said. "There are smoke and mirrors right now. People just don't realize what's going on behind the scenes."

"Is it Jon Gruden? Is that who you have a personal problem with?" Gumbel asked.

"You look for stability with the head coach and when he says things, you don't expect him to go back on them," McCardell said. "When somebody does that, it's kind of hard to go out and play for them. ..."

And finally. ...

Martin Gramatica scored the Bucs' first points Sunday with a 47-yard field goal. It was the first step back from a mini-slump in which he missed four field goals in the preseason.

"I'm taking it one game at a time," Gramatica said. "It was just one kick, so I don't want to get too excited. I just want to get back into a rhythm. I'm handling the ball decently in practice, so hopefully I can keep building from that."

Gruden was encouraged by Gramatica's kick, especially since it came in the range that had troubled the kicker throughout the preseason.

"I think he's going to be fine. He's got to put a period of games together, and [Sunday] was a good start for him," Gruden said.

But as Nashville Tennessean staff writer Jim Wyatt noted Sunday, instead of celebrating the success of his first NFL start and a 17-7 victory for the Titans, the running back spent extended time in the training room on his back with an ice pack on his left ankle.

"I was really disappointed I couldn't finish the game," Brown said. "But I should be all right. I'm just glad it all turned out good for the team. Other guys stepped in and did great."

The Dolphins hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher since Dec. 1, 2002 when Buffalo's Travis Henry ran for 151. But Brown ended the 20-game streak in a flash, with a 52-yard run in the second quarter that put him at 100.

It was Brown's last play of the game. He said he injured the ankle earlier, but the touchdown-saving tackle by Miami's Antuan Edwards at the 2 did him in.

It was the longest run by an Oiler/Titan running back since Eddie George had a 76-yard gain during his rookie season in 1996. Brown also became the first Oiler/Titan to rush for 100 yards or more in his first start since Gary Brown in 1993.

"I don't know if he's the next Eddie George or not, but he's a good back," Dolphins defensive tackle Larry Chester said. "Even on the short runs he was in there fighting for every yard. He ran hard."

The 52-yard run, on a first-and-10 from the Tennessee 46, set up the Titans' first TD, a 1-yard toss from Steve McNair to tight end Erron Kinney.

"We were controlling the game pretty good and then he broke that long run," Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain said. "He just kind of glides. He fools you because he doesn't look like he's moving that fast and then he's gone."

According to Wyatt, the Titans expect to see more of that from Brown, though his injury will perhaps raise more questions about his durability. Brown missed five games as a rookie last season due to hamstring problems.

What Brown showed again yesterday, however, is that the Titans now have a big-play threat in the backfield. He's going to get stuffed on occasion, but he's also capable of breaking long runs.

The Titans also had to be encouraged that when Brown went out, backups Antowain Smith and Robert Holcombe stepped in and combined for 71 yards. The Titans rushed for 182 yards overall.

"The sky is the limit for Chris and today he came out and showed what he can do," McNair said. "If we can keep Chris healthy he is going to open up a lot of things for us offensively. Chris would have had a magnificent day and probably close to 200 (yards) if he would have stayed in the game. ..."

While the Titans had a short week to prepare for the Dolphins when the game was moved up a day, they now get an extra day to heal and prepare for the Colts. "We will definitely take advantage of the extra day," head coach Jeff Fisher said.

Brown said Monday he was still a little sore but that he will be ready for Sunday's game.

The biggest question for the Titans on offense will be the health of receiver Tyrone Calico's knees. He sprained ligaments in both in the final exhibition, and had torn cartilage repaired in his left knee on Sept. 1.

The Titans predicted he could be out two or three weeks, and he didn't travel to Miami. But he jogged on a treadmill Sunday, and Calico said Monday he felt fine.

"I want to play just like it was my first year of football. I had to cry to get my first year. That was up to my mom. Now it's up to coach Fisher and the trainers," Calico said.

Calico will be evaluated on a daily basis to determine his status and availability.

Of course, I'll have more on the status of both Brown and Calico as the week progresses.

Other notes of interest. ...

Smith didn't arrive in Tennessee with a reputation for fumbling. "But after this game I will be," Smith said, shaking his head.

The veteran fumbled twice yesterday. One was recovered by the Dolphins at the Tennessee 40. Smith pounced on the other at the Miami 4.

"Today it didn't cost us, but we can't get away with that every week fumbling the ball," Smith said. "I have to take care of the ball better. ..."

And finally. ...

Signed last Friday to bridge the week between Joe Nedney's season-ending injury and Gary Anderson's return to the roster, Aaron Elling wound up punting as well as kicking, and played a crucial role in Tennessee's win over Miami.

Pro Bowl punter Craig Hentrich was suffering from a new round of back problems, and while he was able to work as the holder on extra points, he was otherwise unavailable.

That forced Fisher and special teams coach Alan Lowry to hold a punt-off not long before the opening kickoff. They watched Elling, wide receiver Drew Bennett and reserve quarterback Billy Volek.

Elling's previous punting experience? Four punts in one game for the University of Wyoming.

"The punter got benched, he got in trouble, and they threw me in," he said. "So it was kind of crazy."

But Elling's efforts against the Dolphins weren't sufficient to earn him a permanent role.

In fact, when Anderson was officially signed on Tuesday, team officials made room for the NFL's all-time leading scorer by releasing Elling.

Anderson, a 23-year veteran, rejoins the Titans after the start of the season for the second straight year. Anderson had 123 points in 2003 for the Titans, and made 27 of 31 field goals.

He holds league records with 2,346 career points, 521 career field goals and 650 field goal attempts.

Turns out he was off by 35 yards.

Portis' first touch as the Redskins' new feature back did indeed result in a touchdown, a 64-yard scamper to the end zone that is sure to go down as one of the greatest debuts in franchise history.

"I once heard if you dream big, big things will happen," said Portis, whose 148 yards on 29 carries led Washington to a season-opening 16-10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "That's the way I think."

The Redskins were thinking big when they traded perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round pick to Denver for Portis. But even they have been pleasantly surprised by the immediate impact the 23-year-old tailback made.

"I've got to tell you, I think he's a tough guy, and he really has the team's interests at heart," head coach Joe Gibbs said. "I think he's going to be a heck of a Redskin."

Fans didn't get much of a glimpse of Portis during the preseason: He carried the ball only 20 times for 77 yards in five games.

But his first official rushing attempt in Washington showcased exactly what made Portis one of the league's most explosive runners during his two seasons in Denver.

The play, which came on first-and-15 at the Washington 36, was designed to go to the left. Portis, though, saw that side of the field was clogged, cut back to the right, burst through a huge hole and never looked back.

"It was actually supposed to go to the other side," Portis said. "[The Bucs] over-pursued, so I just stayed 'play-side.' ... There was only a safety there, so it was off to the races. ..."

Other notes of interest. ...

The Redskins allowed a galling 81 sacks and shortened the life expectancy of quarterback Patrick Ramsey during the two years of the questionable pass protection schemes of former coach Steve Spurrier.

Six of those sacks came in a 35-13 whipping at the hands of the Buccaneers last October.

With Gibbs running the offense for the first time in 12 years -- and operating, if anything, with a line inferior to that of Spurrier last season -- the Bucs didn't get to quarterback Mark Brunell at all. ...

Meanwhile, Laveranues Coles caught just three passes for 27 yards and might have difficulty posting big numbers in this offense. As the Sports Xchange suggested Tuesday, Brunell, who doesn't have a great arm and can't thread the needle, showed an inability to get the ball deep and a preference for the bigger target offered by Rod Gardner. ...

And finally. ...

Gibbs declined an interview request with Fox, which broadcast the game, as he was leaving the field at halftime. Although such interviews are common, he later said he didn't see any point in answering a few meaningless questions with so little time for intermission adjustments.

"What am I going to say?" Gibbs said. "I have 12 minutes. I'm trying to construct something at halftime to help our football team. I want to do the right things, but if I have an option, I want to get in [the locker room]."