Best:
Payton Manning Quarterback Denver Broncos
Manning had an opening night for the ages. He lit up an already shaky Baltimore Ravens defense for a record seven touchdowns en route to a 49-27 win at home. He also threw for 462 yards in the win. I'd say Payton had a pretty good week.
Worst:
Lavonte David Linebacker Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You wanna talk about one of the all time boneheaded plays. David's late hit on Jets quarterback Geno Smith put the Jets into field goal range, of course to which Nick Folk hit the winner to give the Jets the 18-17 win. This had to be one of the dumbest penalties taken on opening weekend.
Best:
Anquan Bouldin Wide Receiver San Fransisco 49ers
The veteran had a spectacular day, catching 13 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. The Packers' secondary had no answers for Boldin, as he routinely found seams and opened himself up for Kaepernick to throw to. He and Kaepernick could become one of the best pass-catch combos in the league.
Worst:
Mike Wallace Wide Reciecer Miami Dolphins
Wallace had a bad day in week one. He was signed to that big contract in the offseason to play in Miami, yet in his first game he was thrown to five times and only made one catch. When asked by reporters about his day, Wallace responded by telling them to go ask the coach about the game plan. Well that might be so, but um you were thrown to five times and had only one catch. It's not the coaches fault you caught one out of five passes.
Best:
Reggie Bush (Running Back Detroit Lions) and Adrian Peterson (Running Back Minnesota Vikings)
Bush had a good day in his first game in a Lions uniform. Bush had 90 yards rushing and 101 yards receiving, a good chunk of the receiving yards coming on a 77 yard touchdown catch from Matthew Stafford. So I think Bush might be comfortable in his new surroundings in Detroit. As for Adrian Peterson, what stood out was the BIG first play from scrimmage, a 78 yard touchdown run. He was out to prove from the first play that last year was no fluke. Peterson finished the day with 93 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns. Not bad for a first game.
Worst:
Doug Martin Running Back Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Now this is an interesting case. It's not that Martin had an horrible week, because he didn't. He had 65 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. But I put him here on the list because he was coming off a good year last year, and was, much like Mike Wallace of the Dolphins, expecting to have a great week. But he wasn't too much of a force in the running game for the Bucs, and that really hurt them over the course of the football game against the Jets.
Best:
Denver Broncos
The Broncos were an easy choice for this one. They dominated the defending champions from start to finish. It really was an all out team effort and the Broncos rolled to the win on opening night. It really was a great thing to watch.
Worst:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers & New York Giants (Honorable Mention Baltimore Ravens)
Honorable mention to the Ravens just because of how flat they were in the first game of their title defense. But the Bucs and Giants get the nod this week and its basically for the exact reasons. With Tampa, they had a chance to beat the Jets, even had a few chances to put the game away, but undisciplined football is what cost them this game. Simple as that. With the Giants they almost had a chance to win the game, but too many turnovers are what did them in against Dallas. There is no way possible you can come away from a game with six turnovers and win, doesn't matter how good a team you are. Six turnovers in one game just can't happen.
So there you have some of the best and worst from week one of the NFL season.
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