The best time of the year has arrived, football season. The opening game was on Thursday night in Denver. The Broncos hosted the reigning Super Bowl Champion Ravens. It was the first time since 2003 that the Super Bowl Champions had to go on the road to begin a season. This was a rematch game of last years AFC Divisional game, where the Ravens needed a miracle Hail Mary to go into overtime. It was in overtime where Peyton Manning threw an interception that shocked the world. Manning typically thrived in late game situations, and to see him make a mistake then was stunning.
Manning and the Broncos wanted revenge and got exactly what they needed to start off the season in a 49-27 game. Let’s just say Manning made up for that interception. Manning tied the NFL record for most touchdowns in one game with seven. Manning tore apart the Ravens defense by threading balls into tight spaces. Joe Flacco had a decent day, but both teams running games were shutdown. The Ravens defense did not feel the same without Ray Lewis’ energy, and defiantly lacked against the pass without Ed Reed.
The Steelers hosted the Titans in an offensive struggle. The Steelers opened the game with a saftey, but then the Titans scored 16 straight points. The Steerlers tried to fight back in it, but ended up losing the game 16-9. The Steelers seem to be injury prone and age is defiantly going against their players. The Browns hosted the Dolphins in a matchup between two of the leagues younger quarterbacks, Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill. Weeden started off terribly throwing three early interceptions, but the Dolphins couldn’t capitalize and only scored six points on those turnovers. The Browns fought back, but the Dolphins pulled away in the end with a 23-10 win.
The Bengals played the Chicago Bears in a tough battle. This game seemed to go back and forth. Once one team scored the other would respond right away. In the end, the Bears prevailed with a 24-21 win. With the Bengals loss, it leaves all four teams in the AFC North 0-1 to start the season. This division is up for grabs this year. The Ravens are probably the favorites, but the Bengals are a good pick as well. The Steelers always end up in the picture for the Division title in December so don’t count them out. If the Browns were to win the division, I think it would be a shock to most. I like the Bengals because they added some good young players in this years draft, but I would not count out the Steelers or Ravens anytime soon.