Some thoughts and some numbers regarding Week 1 of the 2014 season and entering Monday night’s games…
–The Seattle Seahawks kicked off the NFL’s 95th season with a resounding 36-16 victory over the Green Bay Packers. It raised the record of defending Super Bowl champions to 32-15-1 in their first game the following season after winning the title.
Here’s some math for you. Dating back to 2012 and including postseason action, Pete Carroll’s club is a combined 29-9. And that’s after the Seahawks opened ’12 with a 6-5 mark. Those 29 victories are by a combined 471points, a gaudy 16.1 points per contest. Meanwhile, Seattle’s nine losses are by a total of 41 points and each of those setbacks has been by seven points or less…
–After the cat toyed with the canary for most of the first half, it proved to be a game for the birds after all.
The Philadelphia Eagles came all the way back to hand the Jacksonville Jaguars a frustrating 34-17 loss on Sunday. Keep in mind that Gus Bradley’s team owned a 17-0 halftime lead in the contest before the Birds scored the final 34 points of the afternoon. How stunning was Jacksonville’s advantage after 30 minutes?
This is a team that had scored 17 points or less 10 times in 16 games last season and in 48 contests from 2011-13, were held to 17 or fewer in 32 games. Now make that 33 times in 49 outings since ’11, a span in which the Jaguars own a dismal 11-38 mark…

–We saw one long streak end and another extended when the Miami Dolphins rallied to beat the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers won at the gun against the Cleveland Browns.
The Patriots’ 33-20 setback snapped a 10-game winning streak in season openers as Bill Belichick’s club was outscored 23-0 in the second half. Meanwhile, the Browns fell behind 27-3, came all the way back to tie the game and then proceeded to drop their 10th consecutive season opener, 30-27. Of course, we shouldn’t be shocked by the loss at Heinz Field. The Browns have not won in Pittsburgh since 2003 and in their last 29 overall meetings with the Steelers (including playoffs) Cleveland has been rocked, going 3-26 in those encounters.
By the way, the NFL team with the longest current winning streak on opening weekend? That would be the Houston Texans, whose 17-6 victory over the Washington Redskins marked their fifth straight win to kick off the season…

–A long time ago in a season not so far away, the Kansas City Chiefs owned a 9-0 record and were the talking point of the 2013 season. They’re still talking about the club but some of the words are now of the four letter variety.
Since their undefeated start and including last season’s playoff disaster against the Indianapolis Colts, Andy Reid’s club owns a 2-7 mark, their latest setback a 26-10 home loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Kansas City’s once-heralded defensive unit has completely disappeared. During the aforementioned 9-0 start, the Chiefs allowed a total of 111 points and held each opponent to 17 points or less. In their last nine contests, Reid and company have surrendered a total of 265 points per game, an average of 29.4 points per game…
–As you may or may not remember, the Chicago Bears finished dead last in the NFL in rushing defense in 2013. But it was even worse than that if you take a closer look at the numbers, which saw Mel Tucker’s defensive unit surrender a stunning 197.1 yards per game on the ground in their final 10 outings. So it is obviously worth noting that in Sunday’s 23-20 overtime loss to the visiting Buffalo Bills, the Bears’ defense was slightly improved. Marc Trestman’s club gave up 193 yards rushing in the three-point setback…
–Back to the Patriots, who squandered a 20-10 halftime lead in that 33-20 loss to the Dolphins. The New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars felt New England’s pain as well. Sean Payton’s club blew a 20-7 second-quarter lead in their 37-34 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Gus Bradley’s Jaguars stunned the host Philadelphia Eagles by vaulting to 17-0 second
–The Minnesota Vikings’ 34-6 victory over the St. Louis Rams featured 186 yards rushing by Mike Zimmer’s team, the majority of that by Patterson.
Not Peterson. Patterson. Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson ran 67 yards for a touchdown and wound up with 102 yards on the ground on three carries. While it’s far from typical, it’s been the first-round pick’s calling card of sorts in his brief career.
A year ago during his rookie season, Patterson scored a total of nine touchdowns: three rushing, four receiving and a pair on kickoff returns. He finished with 158 yards rushing on 12 attempts in 2013 and could get even more opportunities on the ground this season. Stay tuned.

–The Denver Broncos kicked off their quest for a record-tying eighth trip to the Super Bowl by holding off the Indianapolis Colts, 31-24. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had his usual terrific outing, throwing three touchdown passes to tight end Julius Thomas. That raised his total in 33 regular-season games with Denver to 95 touchdown passes, second in franchise history to Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway (300).
How consistent has Manning been since joining the team in 2012? He’s thrown for two or more scores in 28 of those 33 games and totaled three or more touchdown passes in 21 contests.
–One season ago, NFL 2013 got off to a very competitive start with plenty of close games and nail-biters. All told, 12 of the 16 games were decided by seven points or less—five of those contests by three points or less. But what a difference a year makes. All told, seven of the 14 games on Thursday night and Sunday were decided by double digits.
–Here’s a sobering thought when it comes to Monday night’s tilt between the New York Giants and Detroit Lions. A year ago, Tom Coughlin’s club led the league with 44 turnovers, the second time in four seasons that the Giants managed to top the NFL in that dubious category.
But right behind New York were the Lions, whose 34 turnovers were tied for the second-most in the league in 2013. Over the last two seasons, Detroit has been consistently poor holding onto the football, committing a combined 67 turnovers in the last 32 games. Last season, the Lions coughed up the pigskin an astounding 21 times during the team’s 1-6 finish.
Ouch, babe.