Looking at Week 1: One down, sixteen to go.

Several teams, including the Cowboys, made early statements, and a few teams fell flat on their faces in the first week of the regular season.

On Thursday, the Indianapolis Colts started off their run to a repeat wth a 41-10 thrashing of the New Orleans Saints. It was a 10-10 game at halftime, but the Colts were just plain dominant in the second half, scoring 31 points. Peyton Manning threw for 288 yards and three scores, two to Reggie Wayne, and one to his favorite target, Marvin Harrison. Joseph Addai ran for 118 yards and a score, and Wayne caught seven passes for 118 yards. The game was expected to be an offensive shootout, and it was, but it was one of the one-sided variety. The impressive thing about the win was not the Colts’ offensive output, because we’re accustomed to it, but the fact that the defense, which was expected to, well, stink, held down Drew Brees (28 of 41, 192 yards, 2 INT) and the duo of Reggie Busch (12 carries, 38 yards) and Deuce McAllister (10 carries, 38 yards).

Randy Moss showed Packers’ GM Ted Thompson why he should’ve signed him, catching nine passes for 183 yards and a score in his Patriots’ debut, as New England made a statement of their own in a 38-14 win at the Meadowlands against the Jets. Tom Brady was 22 of 28 for 297 yards and three scores, and Chad Pennington got hurt again. The highlight of the game was Ellis Hobbs’ NFL record 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half.

San Diego wasn’t an offensive machine against the Bears, but in the end, L.T. and the Chargers picked up a 14-3 win over Chicago in Norv Turner’s debut. Tomlinson was held to 25 yards on 17 carries, but threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates in the third to put the Chargers up 7-3, and scored on a 7-yard run to seal the game in the 4th. Rex Grossman was only 12 of 23 for 145 yards and an interception, and if he struggles regularly this season, the Bears will be shopping for a QB in the offseason (because as nice as Brian Griese and Kyle Orton may be, the draft will offer about 39 better possibilities).

Ben Roethlisberger threw for four touchdowns, and Willie Parker ran for 109 yards, as the Steelers handed the Browns their first of what Cowboys fans hope will be many, many losses this season, in a 34-7 rout. It looks like Sunday’s game was the last in the Charlie Frye experiment, as he’s headed to the Seahawks to become Matt Hasselbeck’s backup.

Three games were won on last-second field goals. The Packers capitalized on two punt return mistakes by the Eagles, the last giving them a chance for a game-winning, 43-yard field goal by rookie kicker Mason Crosby with two seconds left to give Green Bay a 16-13 win. Greg Lewis and J.R. Reed both muffed punts in the game, with Lewis’ being recovered in the end zone for the Packers’ only touchdown, and Reed’s giving the Packers the field position they needed in the final minute. Here’s a suggestion for the Eagles: Lito Sheppard.

Shaun Suisham kicked three field goals for the Redskins, including a 39-yarder in OT to give the Redskins a 16-13 win over Miami. Washington was the better team offensively, racking up 400 yards to Miami’s 273, but

Denver dominated Buffalo all game long, but needed a 42-yard field goal from Jason Elam as time expired to leave Buffalo with a 15-14 win. Elam had missed two field goals prior to his game-winning kick, which came after Jay Cutler conjured up memories of John Elway, leading the Broncos down the field and converting two 4th downs. Denver outgained Buffalo 470-184, with Cutler throwing for 304 yards and Travis Henry running for 159. The game’s most notable moment, however, was an injury to Bills’ tight end Kevin Everett, who suffered a serious spinal injury making a tackle in the third quarter, and may be permanently paralyzed.

Detroit and Houston gave definite signs of improvement in impressive wins on Sunday. The Texans recorded a 20-3 win over the Chiefs at Reliant Stadium. Matt Schaub threw for 225 yards and a score, and Ahman Green ran for 73 yards in their debuts. Andre Johnson caught seven passes for 142 yards a 77-yard score. The Chiefs, meanwhile, stank, as Damon Huard was picked off twice, and Larry Johnson ran for only 43 yards.

The Lions scored 16 points in the last 4:15 to pick up a 36-21 win over Oakland. Jon Kitna threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns, including a 32-yarder to Shaun McDonald to give the Lions a 26-21 lead. Tatum Bell ran for 87 yards and the game-sealing score with 1:16 to go. Calvin Johnson caught four passes for 70 yards and a score in his Lions debut.

The Ravens are supposed to be the favorite in the AFC North, but got off to a bad start with a 27-20 loss at Cincinnati. Carson Palmer threw for two touchdowns, and the Bengals were the ones who came up with the big defense when it mattered, picking off Kyle Boller in the end zone with less than a minute and a half left to seal the win. Boller was in the game because Steve McNair suffered a groin injury in the first, and even though he stayed in until the fourth, couldn’t go on the last drive. Hopefully for the Ravens’ sake, it’s not going to bite them, because I don’t think Brian Billick wants to go back up the Boller tree again, unless he really, really has to, or unless Boller is better than he was previously as a starter.

The Other Games

Adrian Peterson ran for 103 yards and had a 60-yard touchdown reception in his Vikings debut as Minnesota scored a 24-3 win over Atlanta. The Falcons played very poorly, and better improve very, very quickly, otherwise it’s going to be a long, long year. But, hey, there’s a Brian Brohm at the end of the rainbow! If Bobby Petrino calls nothing but runs up the middle, screen passes, and long bombs for the rest of the season, we might have to wonder if there’s a little something going on.

Chris Brown ran for 175 yards and then jetted to Las Vegas for a standout performance at the VMAs, and the Titans beat the Jaguars 13-10 in a game that shouldn’t have been anywhere near that close.

Alex Smith conjured up some Montana-like memories, leading the 49ers on a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes to lead San Francisco to a 20-17 win over Arizona. Smith played horribly all game long, until the final drive, when he completed six passes, and had a 25-yard run on a 4th and 1 that got the 49ers to the Cardinals’ 20. The final drive was affected by the rulebrook. Arnaz Battle caught a ball over the middle and got to the 1 before the ball was jarred loose and knocked into the end zone. The Cardinals’ Eric Green missed on the recovery, and it was recovered by a 49ers player. Under two minutes, if there’s a fumble, the player who fumbled it must recover it, otherwise it goes back to the fumbled spot. On the next play, Battle atoned for his fumble by going into the end zone on an end around to give the 49ers the winning score.

And, Seattle picked up a 20-6 win over the Bucs. If Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander stay healthy, the Seahawks are certainly a contender in the NFC. If not, it could be a repeat of last year, when they fell on their faces after their run to the Super Bowl in 2005.

We’ve got week one behind us. What will the next sixteen weeks bring?