[.G¹.]

Chiefs QB Green taken off field on stretcher

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Trent Green was taken from the field on a stretcher after a brutal hit by Cincinnati's Robert Geathers, and while the Chiefs said their quarterback sustained "pretty severe head trauma," he was awake and moving shortly after Sunday's game.

"Actually, when he did wake up, he remembered every play except the one that knocked him out," Kansas City general manager Carl Peterson said. "So we're being very optimistic and hopeful."

Peterson said Green was taken to a hospital where preliminary X-rays of his neck and head were negative.

Green was injured when he went into a feet-first hook-slide at the end of the third quarter. Geathers charged in and appeared to hit Green's head or chest with his shoulder.

Green's neck snapped back hard into the turf and he lay motionless for a few moments. He then was taken off on a stretcher, with an attendant holding his hands under Green's helmet.

There was no penalty on the play.

"His family, including his wife Julie, is with him and we're going to be cautiously optimistic that he's going to be back," Peterson said. "But he's certainly got a headache right now."

The Bengals won 23-10.

[.G¹.]

Newcomer Childress vs. Hall of Famer Gibbs: Guess who looks more nervous

LANDOVER, Md. -- Joe Gibbs, a Hall of Fame coach with three Super Bowl rings, says Monday night's season opener between the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings will be one of the most important games of his career.

Brad Childress, making his debut as an NFL head coach, says it will be just another game.

Hmm. Shouldn't that be the other way around?

"All the preparation is the same for a preseason game," Childress said. "You are worried about other things than your first game as an NFL head coach."

Childress will need his best blinders on to keep that attitude, especially in front of 90,000 people emotionally charged over the expectations the Redskins will follow last year's playoff run with something even better. Not to mention the patriotic spirit that will fill the stadium as the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is remembered during pregame ceremonies.

Given that the Redskins have one of the most experienced and expensive coaching staffs in NFL history, it hardly seems fair to start Childress off this way, even if he was a regular visitor to Washington during his seven years as an assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles.

"At one time all those guys were first-time starters, too," Minnesota quarterback Brad Johnson said. "Sometimes you've got to learn. Experience is only good if you get it done, but obviously they're proven. They're all Hall of Fame people. But we've got some guys that have been in the business a long time and that don't fear the game, that don't fear the opponent."

In fact, it is Gibbs who has the scared, nervous look. He's always wound tight as a drum in the days before the season opener, and this week was no exception.

"I would say it is one of the most important games that I will be a part of," Gibbs said repeatedly. When pressed, however, he gave rambling explanations that neither matched nor justified the very hype he had just created.

Gibbs does have concerns about the team's 0-4 preseason, which tempered the run-up to what was thought could be the 65-year-old coach's best chance to win another Super Bowl in his comeback years. Complicating matters has been the shoulder injury to star running back Clinton Portis, who appeared to play a masterful game of possum this week when he kept downplaying his chances for Monday night.

Portis said he probably wouldn't return until Week 2 at Dallas, so it was a surprise when Gibbs said Saturday he thought Portis would play against the Vikings, although only as a backup to Ladell Betts. It would be Portis' first action since partially dislocating his left shoulder while making a tackle Aug. 13.

Monday's game is also the unveiling of a Redskins offense that is supposed to score gobs of points. Not only has new assistant coach Al Saunders brought with him the game plans that worked so well in Kansas City, he gets to use them with an impressive array of talent -- even if Portis isn't available. Saunders didn't show much of the play book in preseason, so even the players themselves are anxious to see how he maneuvers Santana Moss, Brandon Lloyd, Antwaan Randle El, Chris Cooley and Mark Brunell.

"It'll be mind-boggling for people who watched us in preseason," fullback Mike Sellers said. "There's so much we haven't shown."

The Vikings also have a new offense. And a new defense. And new special teams. Childress has been tinkering with the roster all preseason, adding a new receiver (Todd Pinkston) and backup quarterback (Brooks Bollinger) in the last two weeks.

Maybe all the cramming won't leave time for getting awed by the Monday night experience. That would suit Childress and his team just fine.

"I think the biggest thing is to not get caught up into the hype of Monday night," Johnson said. "I think what is great about this team is we are all in a new system. We're learning new stuff every day. We get caught up in the learning, get caught up into working hard in practice, and then all of a sudden, Monday night is there and you go play the game. It's going to be a great challenge."

[.G¹.]

Abraham dominates Panthers; Vick, Dunn help Falcons cruise

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Warrick Dunn figured Atlanta's dominating performance over Super Bowl favorite Carolina would come as a surprise.

"Most people didn't think we could that," said Dunn after he rushed for 132 yards in the Falcons' 20-6 win over the Panthers on Sunday. "We've added some guys who have been to the Pro Bowl. There's an emphasis to get to the next level."

One of those newcomers, John Abraham, had two sacks and two forced fumbles, while Michael Vick threw two touchdown passes as the Falcons erased memories of their 44-11 loss to the Panthers.

The Falcons were accused of not giving a complete effort -- a theory Vick affirmed when he said in the offseason he didn't try his hardest in Atlanta's final regular-season game.

"You've barely heard about Atlanta all offseason and I think that's good for us," Abraham said. "We were 8-8 last year and a lot of guys had us in a slump."

In the offseason, the Falcons acquired Abraham from the New York Jets and signed Grady Jackson away from Green Bay. The revamped line dominated the Panthers, who were held to 215 yards as they played without all-Pro receiver Steve Smith, inactive with a right hamstring injury.

"We've got three Pro Bowl pass rushers on this team. If we didn't come here and hit the quarterback a lot, I would have been surprised," said Abraham, who limped off the field late in the game with a groin injury. He said the injury wasn't serious.

Atlanta also rolled on offense, finishing with 252 yards rushing.

Carolina, which had the third-rated defense a year ago, fell flat to begin a season with high expectations after last season's loss in the NFC championship game.

"What did we give up in the running game? That was ridiculous," said defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, playing in his first game after knee surgery. "It wasn't the Super Bowl, but it was a division game and a conference game. They kicked our tails. I'm not proud of it, but I'm being honest."

Vick, trying to silence critics after throwing 13 interceptions last season, threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Alge Crumpler late in the third quarter for a 20-6 lead. Crumpler outmuscled Panthers linebacker Chris Draft, who in training camp called Vick just an average passer who gets hit a lot.

Atlanta took a 13-3 halftime lead, getting the only touchdown of the half late when Vick did what he does best: improvise.

Vick rolled toward the left sideline, drawing the defense to him before dumping a short pass to Michael Jenkins. He broke Ken Lucas' tackle along the sideline and raced 34 yards for a touchdown with 28 seconds left.

"I'm just comfortable with everything that we are doing with our scheme," Vick said. "I spent a lot of time this offseason working with our offense and just trying to put myself in a position where I can be effective with every snap."

The Panthers generated 89 yards offense in the first half -- fitting because they were missing No. 89, quarterback Jake Delhomme's primary target last season. Smith, inactive with a right hamstring injury, was the league's top receiver last season with 103 catches for 1,563 yards and 12 touchdowns.

After missing most of training camp with a strained left hamstring and an ingrown toenail, the 2005 co-Comeback Player of the Year pulled up lame in practice with a right hamstring injury.

"He's a big part of our offense, but still, that's not an excuse for this performance," Delhomme said.

The Panthers went to their newest option, veteran Keyshawn Johnson, for an 8-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. But Johnson had only four catches for 40 yards and Delhomme was 21-of-36 for 186 yards and an interception. The Panthers didn't convert a third down chance until early the fourth quarter.

The Panthers were further hampered when left tackle Travelle Wharton left in the second quarter with a left knee strain. It forced the Panthers to make several moves to the right combination to contain Abraham.

The Panthers also lost middle linebacker Dan Morgan with a concussion early in the second quarter. Adam Seward replaced Morgan, who has a history of concussions.

"We had a similar game plan as we had in the past, but we had some new people out there when Dan Morgan went down and we just didn't execute as well," coach John Fox said.

Notes:@ The Panthers have lost three straight season openers, all at home. ... Drew Carter started in place of Smith and had five catches for 62 yards. ... Falcons linebacker Ed Hartwell, who had arthroscopic surgery on both knees in the preseason, did not play. Keith Brooking moved to middle linebacker and Demorrio Williams started at outside linebacker. ...

[.G¹.]

Green hurt; Palmer, Bengals spoil Edwards' Chiefs debut

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Now it's Carson Palmer's turn to return the kindness and reach out to Trent Green.

When Palmer went down last January with a devastating knee injury, Green was one of the first to call the Cincinnati quarterback. Although the two barely knew each other, Green offered words of encouragement, advice drawn upon his own experience with career-threatening knee problems.

Now, on the day Palmer made a triumphant comeback by leading the Bengals to a 23-10 victory over Kansas City, Green was the one rushed to a hospital.

A brutal hit by Cincinnati's Robert Geathers -- which the Chiefs expect to be reviewed by the league office -- left the Kansas City quarterback unconscious on the turf. The game was delayed 11 minutes while he was carefully carted away on a stretcher.

The Chiefs reported later the injury was not as bad as it seemed. Green had "pretty severe head trauma," said Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson, but X-rays were negative.

No doubt, Palmer was just about as happy at that news as the nearly 80,000 fans who sat hushed while attendants carted their popular quarterback away. The attendants held their hands under Green's helmet to gently steady his head.

"It's tough in this kind of small fraternity of quarterbacks in this league, when you see a quarterback go down like that," said Palmer. "You just start praying for him and that's all you can do and hope for the best."

Palmer has said often how much he appreciated hearing from Green.

"He was very helpful when he called, and he gave me good advice," he said.

Palmer, exactly eight months after surgeons repaired his mangled left knee, was not sharp at the beginning. But then the Bengals went to their no-huddle offense and he hit nine passes in a row in an impressive stretch that seemed to announce he's ready to return to the league's elite.

Once Palmer found his touch, Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson scored touchdowns in a 17-point second-quarter. Palmer, who was injured in the opening minutes of Cincinnati's playoff loss to Pittsburgh last January, was 13-for-19 for 127 yards.

The Bengals had seven sacks of Green and backup Damon Huard, running through a revamped Chiefs line which includes two new tackles.

"We had some things early on, a couple of things on offense that kind of slowed us up a little bit," said Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis. "But once we got those corrected, we played good football."

Palmer was 5-for-5 for 51 yards in Cincinnati's first touchdown drive, capped by Rudi Johnson's 22-yard scamper through a gaping hole on the right side. Then Kenny Watson made it 17-3 with an 8-yard TD run.

Shayne Graham kicked three field goals for the Bengals, the defending AFC North champs. Huard hit Tony Gonzalez with a 9-yard TD pass for Kansas City's lone touchdown in the fourth period.

"They're a good football team," said Herm Edwards, who had an unhappy debut as Kansas City's head coach. "You can't give them a lead. You can't turn the ball over and give them field position."

Edwards said Huard would start next week if Green can't. But he refused to discuss Geathers' hit. As the quarterback went into a feet-first hook slide, the Bengals' defensive end came flying in and appeared to slam his right shoulder into the quarterback's chest or helmet, snapping Green's head into the turf.

"The officials have to look at it on tape," Edwards said. "We've been advised that we don't comment on officials' calls. I'm not going to get into it. Obviously, it will get looked at by the guys up in New York. I'll leave it at that."

Geathers said he thought Chiefs wide receiver Eddie Kennison pushed him into Green, and that it was not a particularly hard hit.

"I didn't think it was. I know I didn't hit him head-to-head," he said. "I think it was my shoulder pad that hit him in his chest.

"It's hard watching him down there on the ground and knowing that he has a family and everything."

Game notes
From 2001-2005, Green passed for more yards (16,334) than any quarterback in the NFL but Peyton Manning. With 4,014 yards last year, he became just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to post three straight 4,000-yard seasons. He had made 80 straight starts going into the season. ... Larry Johnson rushed for 68 yards on 17 carries, the first time in 10 games he did not have at least 100 yards.

[.G¹.]

Late safety completes second-half Pats rally vs. Bills


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The scoreboard looming over J. P Losman as he scrambled behind the Bills' own goal line showed a tie game. Ty Warren was determined to change that.

"My priority was to get him in the end zone," the Patriots defensive end said. "We're tied up, so I'm thinking, 'Let me get this dude.' "

Losman went down, the official's arms went up and New England beat the Buffalo Bills 19-17 with poise under pressure and increasing pressure by a defensive line.

"I should have gotten rid of the ball, but the game was on the line," Losman said. "I dipped under one defender, but then there was another guy."

Warren's game-winning safety with 8:33 left completed a comeback from a very poor start that had the Patriots trailing 17-7 at halftime. Even the pre-game activities were missing something.

For the first time in three years, the Patriots' season opener was not preceded by the unveiling of a championship banner. Kicker Adam Vinatieri, wide receiver David Givens and linebacker Willie McGinest were elsewhere after leaving as free agents.

The Patriots didn't have holdout wide receiver Deion Branch or injured linebacker Tedy Bruschi either.

And on the game's first play from scrimmage, Tom Brady fumbled as he was belted by Takeo Spikes, and London Fletcher ran the recovery in for a 5-yard touchdown.

"It's no way to start the season, but we recovered and came back and put together a nice drive after that," said Brady, who was disappointed with his performance, 11-for-23 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Bill Belichick became the 31st coach in NFL history with 100 regular-season wins, improving his record to 100-77.

New England cut the lead to 17-14 with 2:52 left in the third quarter on Brady's 17-yard pass to Kevin Faulk after Buffalo went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Patriots 7-yard line and the line stopped Willis McGahee for no gain.

"That felt great," Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. "The fans got into it and we got into it."

McGahee wasn't sure what was happening.

"I wasn't worried. I thought it was third down," he said. "It was the play to run."

The pressure was on again when Stephen Gostkowski, the rookie replacing Vinatieri, connected on a 32-yard field goal that tied the game at 17 with 9:33 remaining.

Exactly one minute later, the Patriots took the lead for good on the third play of Buffalo's possession, sending the Bills to their sixth straight loss against New England.

On the first two plays, Losman threw the ball away under a heavy rush and McGahee was thrown for a 1-yard loss.

Then Losman dropped about 4 yards into the end zone as linebacker Tully Banta-Cain rushed from Losman's left and got a hand on the quarterback. Warren, charging in from the other side, tackled Losman for the safety.

"We handled it early, but their pressure mounted as the game went on," Buffalo coach Dick Jauron said.

On the third play of the Bills' next possession, Richard Seymour sacked Losman for a 6-yard loss, Brian Moorman punted and the Patriots held the ball for the remaining 6:15. Losman finished 15-for-23 for 164 yards.

"You can tell why they have won three of the last five Super Bowls," defensive end Aaron Schobel said. "They know how to finish games."

Buffalo, with a new coaching staff, dominated early, starting with the sack by Spikes, who missed the last 13 games last season with a torn Achilles' tendon and left Sunday's game on the Patriots second series with a mild hamstring injury that he doesn't expect to hold him out of next Sunday's game at Miami.

The Patriots tied it 7-7 on their next possession on Brady's 9-yard scoring pass to Troy Brown. Buffalo regained the lead on Rian Lindell's 53-yard field goal then made it 17-7 on an 18-yard run by Anthony Thomas.

The Patriots put together a 183-yard running attack with rookie first-round draft pick Laurence Maroney gaining 86 yards and Corey Dillon adding 73.

"He runs one way, I run another and we keep fresh legs in the game," Maroney said.

On defense, they were fresh enough to send Losman and the Bills to defeat.

"We're as good as we want to be," Warren said, but " it's too early in the season to be putting crowns on anyone's head."

Game notes
The Patriots improved their winning percentage to .500 over their 47-year history at 356-356-9. ... Neither team had a receiver with more than three catches -- Josh Reed and Peerless Price for Buffalo and Benjamin Watson for New England. ... Buffalo had 21 players who weren't on last year's team. ... The Patriots converted both of their fourth-down opportunities. The Bills failed on their only one.

[.G¹.]

McNair rolls as D blanks Bus; Ravens snap road skid


TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- New quarterback, same old winning formula for the Baltimore Ravens.

Only this time, they finally did it on the road.

Chris McAlister returned one of the Ravens' three interceptions 61 yards for a touchdown and 340-pound rookie Haloti Ngata lumbered 60 yards with a tipped pass to set up a field goal to key a 27-0 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Christening the Steve McNair era that's expected to provide enough offense to relieve the pressure from a perennially stout and overworked defense, Baltimore drove 80 yards for a touchdown after the opening kickoff and finished the rout with McNair's 4-yard TD pass to Daniel Wilcox.

The Ravens (1-0) won on the road for the first time since beating the New York Jets 20-17 in overtime on Nov. 14, 2004, ending an 11-game skid that was the longest in the NFL. The Bucs (0-1) were shut out at home for the first time since 1996.

McNair completed 17 of 27 passes for 181 yards and no interceptions against the league's No. 1 defense from last season. The only time he was sacked, the 2003 NFL co-MVP lost the grip on the ball attempting to pass and fell on the fumble.

The Ravens sacked Chris Simms twice, held Carnell "Cadillac" Williams to 22 yards rushing on eight carries and limited the Bucs to 142 yards total offense.

Jamal Lewis scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter and McAlister returned his interception for a 14-0 lead on the first play of the second. Ngata's first career pick led to Matt Stover's field goal, and Ed Reed finished the raid on Chris Simms' errant passes with a fourth-quarter interception that led to the Ravens' last TD.

Simms was 17-of-29 for 133 yards and was benched midway through the fourth quarter. Rookie Bruce Gradkowski replaced him to cheers from what was left of a crowd of 65,087. The sixth-round draft pick wasn't much better.

Baltimore struggled to move the ball after McNair directed a 14-play, 80-yard drive on the game's first possession. But with the Ravens defense re-energized with Ray Lewis back in the lineup, the outcome was never in doubt.

McAlister picked off an underthrown ball intended for Anthony Becht and returned the interception up the sideline, racing into the end zone with help from a convoy of blocker that prevented Cadillac Williams -- the last player with a chance to stop him -- from making the tackle.

Lewis missed the last 10 games of 2005 with a hamstring injury that required surgery, and Baltimores stumbled to a 6-10 record and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. His return, coupled with McNair's arrival are the main reasons the Ravens think they have a chance to contend for a championship this season.

[.G¹.]

T.O. who? Stallworth, McNabb power Eagles past Texans

HOUSTON (AP) -- For all the changes the Houston Texans made this offseason, they sure looked the same on Sunday.

They were sharp early but soon devolved into their old selves in a 24-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Donovan McNabb threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Donte' Stallworth in the start of their first post-Terrell Owens season. It was Stallworth's debut with the Eagles after a trade from the Saints. It was also McNabb's regular-season return after missing the final seven games of last season after surgery to repair a sports hernia.

No. 1 pick Mario Williams had three tackles but failed to make much of an impact while being shifted up and down the line in his and coach Gary Kubiak's first game as Texans.

"I'm very disappointed," Kubiak said. "I don't think any of us saw this coming."

Houston finished with just 70 yards rushing. That combined with a quiet game from Williams will continue to fuel talk Houston made a mistake by passing on running back Reggie Bush to get him.

Williams, who was outdone by fellow rookie DeMeco Ryans, wasn't happy with his performance. Ryans led the team with 13 tackles.

"It wasn't good enough," Williams said. "I got doubled here and there but I have to get past that and I have to break through and keep putting pressure on the quarterback."

The Texans got out to a quick start, with Carr going 4-of-4 and Houston marching down the field. Eric Moulds caught an over-the-shoulder pass and spun to evade a defender before dashing into the end zone untouched for the 25-yard touchdown. Things went downhill from there.

Houston's supposedly improved offensive line gave up five sacks -- the same as in the 2005 opener -- and the Texans didn't score in the second half.

"The sacks he's taking weren't his fault," center Mike Flanagan said of Carr. "He was making the right calls, he made the right throws, but we as an offense particularly the offensive line weren't good enough to give him a chance to let us win."

Trent Cole had two sacks as the Eagles took advantage of rookie left tackle Charles Spencer.

"They didn't do anything we didn't expect," Spencer said. The defensive ends were just a lot faster than I expected them to be."

The Eagles sputtered in the first quarter, with a punt ending their first possession and an interception by McNabb stopping the second.

They got things going in the second quarter when Stallworth flew past a seemingly unaware C.C. Brown and caught a 42-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 7. It was the first of several times the Eagles would exploit Houston's inexperienced secondary.

Stallworth struck again just before halftime when McNabb found him for a 37-yard reception to the 5. Reggie Brown scored on the next play to give the Eagles a 14-10 halftime lead.

"We had an idea of the caliber of athlete he was," McNabb said of Stallworth. "We just kind of visualized what he could do in this offense. This is just a start. What he was able to display today, we have big-play capability."

Stallworth had four receptions for 124 yards by halftime and finished with a career-high tying six for 141 yards for his 10th career 100-yard game.

"They brought me here to do a job and it feels good to get a win," Stallworth said. "I know I can get better every day, every week and make sure I'm really working with Donovan to make sure we're in sync."

The Eagles opened the second half with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 31-yard pass from McNabb to Brian Westbrook that pushed Philadelphia's lead to 21-10. Westbrook also had a 17-yard run and caught a 17-yard pass on that drive.

He finished with 17 carries for 71 yards and had four receptions for 61 yards.

Philadelphia added a 42-yard field goal by David Akers in the fourth quarter.

Andre Johnson got in front of Sheldon Brown for a 44-yard catch that got Houston to the 5 late in the second quarter. But Carr was sacked on second down and the Texans settled for a field goal and a 10-7 lead.

Johnson had six receptions for 101 yards and Moulds had six catches for 68 yards.

The boos that rained down beginning in the first quarter of most games last season didn't return until late in the third quarter this time. They were prompted by Carr tripping to the turf and following that play with a poorly thrown incompletion.

His frustration boiled over when he was sacked for the fourth time on Houston's first drive of the second half and he ripped off his chin strap angrily and screamed in the direction of his teammates.

"These fans want to win and I'm getting a little frustrated with losing too," he said. "It's not something we want to get going with. I think the guys...understand we're very capable of winning football games."

He wound up 18-of-27 for 208 yards and a touchdown. ^Notes:@ Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard injured his ankle in the first quarter and did not return, however, X-rays were negative. ... Carr's touchdown pass to Moulds was the 49th of both of their careers. ... The Texans wore white jerseys with white pants for the first time in team history.

[.G¹.]

Perceived lack of respect unifying Jags

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Not a lot of people, at least outside northern Florida, seem to talk much about the Jaguars as serious Super Bowl contenders. It probably has a lot to do with their soft schedule down the stretch of last season -- in going 8-2 over their last 10, the Jags played one game against a team that ended the season with a winning record -- leading many to believe they were a fluke 12-4 team. Maybe it's the market.

"Maybe it's because we don't have that one person that talks a lot or gets into trouble that brings attention," quarterback Byron Leftwich said.

Whatever the reason, I haven't heard a lot of TV/radio types put Jacksonville on blast this preseason, and frankly the majority of the ink the Jags have received in 2006 has come courtesy of their public relations department, and is now bound in their media guide.

A lot of teams try to play the "no respect" card but with Jacksonville it's a legit complaint. The Jags weren't even favored in their home opener, and even after their 24-17 win over Dallas (conversely a team many pundits believe will play in Super Bowl XLI), people are going to spend more time talking about T.O. and what's wrong with the Cowboys than a Jacksonville club that at the end of the day, better yet at the end of the regular season, will more than likely be one of the only 12 teams worth talking about.

Matter of fact, forget the Super Bowl. Not many seem to be giving Jacksonville a chance to win its division. You've got people picking Miami over New England, maybe K.C. or even San Diego over Denver, Pittsburgh or Baltimore over Cincinnati, and any one of three teams in the NFC East, North and South divisions. Find me one national pundit picking the Jags to overtake Indianapolis. Didn't think you could. They're the least-talked-about good team in pro football, though they're one of just seven franchises to win at least 20 games the past two seasons.
That all figures to change quickly with more wins like Sunday's. "They will [talk about the Jags] in a minute," Leftwich promised.

They don't win popularity contests, these Jaguars, just a lot of games. Leftwich again pointed out after the victory over one of the popular picks for Super Bowl XLI that the 2005 Jaguars beat both Super Bowl XL participants. For all the talk about how the Jags feasted on the weak at the end of last season, they had it rough to begin the year, when they beat the Seahawks, Bengals, and Steelers (on the road) and lost to the Broncos and Colts among their first six.

Jacksonville gets a rematch with Pittsburgh next Monday night in what could be Ben Roethlisberger's '06 debut, so they get an opportunity to once again shine in the spotlight. Then the Jags go to rival Indianapolis, which they always play tough. Then they're at the Redskins, who were more of a pre-preseason chic pick. So the nation will get to know these Jags and find out what they're about and what they're made of over the next month. If Jacksonville comes out of the first month 3-1 or 4-0 there shouldn't be much doubt about whether the Jags deserve mention among the league's elite.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves, which is exactly what Jack Del Rio doesn't want his players to do. To help keep them focused on just the next opponent and not any stretch of games, Del Rio came up with the idea to have the other team's logo painted on the front wall of the team's meeting room. So all week there was a huge Dallas Cowboys star staring at the Jags players. This week it's the Steelers' emblem. And so on. For training camp it was the Jags' logo, with the message being to focus on themselves.

"We love it," Leftwich said. "If you forget who you're playing during the week we can always look up."

Not even 10 minutes into this one the Jags looked up and found themselves down 10-0, and it would have been 17-0 had Terrell Owens and Jason Witten not collided on an early second-quarter play, knocking Owens off his route. Drew Bledsoe subsequently overshot Owens deep down the middle near the goal line. But the Jags heeded Del Rio's last words to them before the game.

"When we left the locker room," Del Rio said, "I talked about our need in a game like this to stick together. And that the team that stuck together and fought for 60 minutes would be the team to win this game, and I thought they did that and that's what I'm most proud of."

Added veteran defensive end Marcellus Wiley, who will be asked to replace Reggie Hayward (ruptured left Achilles, lost for the season) in the starting lineup: "We always talk about family, and I've been on more than a few teams, and I can tell you it's more than words. It doesn't mean wins and losses but it sure makes for a good setup.

"We don't ride the waves as much as other teams I've been on."

Jacksonville stuck together, got it together, and proceeded to string together 24 unanswered points. After a shaky start, Leftwich finished 23-of-34. Although the running game wasn't spectacular (Dallas has a pretty good front seven, you know) the Jags ran it 32 times, with Fred Taylor gaining "a hard 74 yards," Del Rio said, to go with a team-high six catches and a key block on Leftwich's go-ahead, 3-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal early in the fourth quarter. Taylor later completed the Jags' scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Leftwich, often criticized locally and within the organization for his immobility, had a great line regarding his touchdown run, which came on a called QB draw:

"I'm not a slow quarterback. I'm just the slowest black quarterback. I'm in the middle of the pack with everyone else."

With Jimmy Smith retired, the passing game is going to need some time to find itself, but in the second half Leftwich, with the benefit of better protection, really started finding Matt Jones, the two connecting on back-to-back plays of 25 and 22 yards, both times Leftwich threading the needle and trusting Jones to make the play at the other end. Jones finished with five catches, Ernest Wilford with three, and to-this-point-first-round-disappointment Reggie Williams with six and the tying touchdown catch with 12 seconds left in the first half.

Del Rio said of Leftwich, the fourth-year pro, "He was very efficient. He looked like a veteran quarterback."

It's only one victory over a team we only think is going to be good in Dallas, but the Jags look like a team that's not only going to give its more high-profile opponents problems but put itself on the map in the coming weeks. More often than not it's going to be ugly, and that's fine when you play the kind of tough, physical style of ball Jacksonville plays. The Jags are going to ride their defense, which got a huge lift from Marcus Stroud and Mike Peterson playing Sunday despite injuries. Dallas' offense looked like what everyone expects early but the Jags clamped down and kept the Cowboys out of the end zone until it really didn't matter much. The Jags picked Bledsoe three times.

Jacksonville has the look of a team that's going to win quite a few more than it loses, even if very few experts and fans take notice or give it much props along the way.

"In order to beat us you're going to have to be ready to play four quarters," Leftwich said. "I think the teams we play know that. We just don't give up."

[.G¹.]

Inaugural Manning Bowl goes to Peyton

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Peyton Manning completed more pregame passes than Eli Manning. He completed more regular game passes. And if you don't count the fact that he arrived at the podium barefoot ("I know y'all are on deadline, so I didn't put my shoes on," he told appreciative reporters.) his postgame pinstripe suit was superior to that of his baby brother's.

Oh, in other news, the Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Giants 26-21 Sunday evening at Giants Stadium. Not that anybody noticed -- at least, not at first.

This was billed as the Manning Bowl, but it actually had as much to do with the Giants' tailback tag team of Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs, the Colts debut of the anti-idiot kicker -- Adam Vinatieri, and the absence of the late, great Edgerrin James as it did with Peyton and Eli. The Mannings had their moments, lots of them, but in the end, this was an Indianapolis-New York game.

"The main thing is the Colts beat the Giants," Peyton said. "The bowl game ... the bowl game's supposed to get you gear. You get some gear. You get the sweatsuits and some watches. We didn't get any bowl gear. I never saw it as [the Manning Bowl]. I don't even use the term, 'a bowl.' I thought it was the Colts vs. the Giants."



"It's pretty awesome when you think about it. If it happens again, I want to see the two brothers. I want to meet them. I don't think it will happen again."
Peyton Manning, Colts QB
It was. But Peyton admitted there were emotions involved. There had to be.

Peyton had never seen Eli play an NFL game in person. Even during warmups, Peyton found himself glancing at his younger brother. The same thing happened during the singing of the National Anthem.

And afterward, when they met on the field, Peyton patted Eli on the back of the shoulder pads.

"I love you," he told Eli. "I'm proud of the way you competed."

"Good win," said Eli. "Good win. Keep it up."

For the record, this was the first time in NFL history that two brothers started at quarterback on opposing teams. No. 18 vs. No. 10. Two-time league MVP vs. zero-time MVP. Southern drawl vs. Southern drawl.

The Manning brothers had tried to downplay the matchup, but fat chance that was going to work. Part of it was their own fault. There was the big NBC interview where they did spot-on imitations of each other. And there was the Chappelle-funny ESPN SportsCenter commercial where they flicked ear lobes and administered wet willies to each other. Kids.

But the media did its part too. NBC took out a full-page newspaper ad playing up the brother-vs.-brother thing. It also had a camera trained on the Manning family, which had a private box at Giants Stadum. And is there anybody left in America who doesn't know Peyton last lost to Eli in a pickup hoops game when Eli was still in high school? Or that their old man, Archie, removed the backyard goal shortly after the one-on-one game?

It was an easy story hook, this Peyton-Eli thing, but at least it's a trivia question with some meat on its bones. These weren't two mopes going at it. These were franchise quarterbacks. Peyton is a nine-year veteran destined for the Hall of Fame. Eli, beginning his third season, is destined for more growing pains, but he's tracking upward.

"Those two are going to be running this league for a very, very long time," said Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.

"It's pretty awesome when you think about it," said Peyton of the dueling QBs. "If it happens again, I want to see the two brothers. I want to meet them. I don't think it will happen again."

Peyton finished 25-of-41 for 276 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The truth is, he could have had as many as three interceptions had the Giants linebackers and defensive backs known how to catch a football. But Peyton was money on third-down pass plays (9 of 13), made his usual million adjustments at the line of scrimmage, and helped defeat a team he says is good enough to reach the Super Bowl. And he did it in front of what he called "a rockin"' Giants Stadium home crowd.

Eli's numbers were more than respectable. He completed 20-of-34 pass attempts for 247 yards, two TDs, and his quarterback rating was higher than Peyton's. But he also threw one very costly interception with 3:51 remaining in the game. The interception later resulted in Vinatieri's fourth field goal of the night (thank you, New England Patriots) and turned a two-point Colts lead into five.

The Giants could have very easily won this game. They outrushed the Colts, 186-55. They had more first downs and more net total yards. They didn't give up a sack.

But there was a key third-quarter fumble on a handoff exchange between Barber and Manning that resulted in a Colts recovery and later, a touchdown. There were also 10 New York penalties, including a crucial (and questionable) offensive pass interference call late in the fourth quarter.

Peyton was gracious after the game. He could afford to be. But you get the feeling he would have said the same thing about his brother had the Colts lost.

"I'm proud to be related to the guy," Peyton said. "I'm proud to be his brother."

Most of all, he's glad the inaugural Manning Bowl is finished. And no, he doesn't want a rematch.

I watched the Manning Bowl at the bar last night. Great fucking game.