FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/15/15 http://twitter.com/nfl345 AFTER EXCITING KICKOFF WEEKEND, HERE COMES WEEK 2 The NFL got “Back to Football” with a thrilling Kickoff Weekend. There were close games, standout performances and stars rising to the occasion. “It’s a good start for us, but it’s only the first game,” says Tennessee rookie quarterback MARCUS MARIOTA, who threw four touchdown passes in the Titans’ 42-14 win over Tampa Bay. “It means we’re 1-0. For me, it’s taking it one day at a time and just executing to the best of my abilities. We have to continue to get better. We have an opportunity to continue to put our best foot forward and for me, that’s exciting.” Making his NFL debut, Mariota dazzled as he completed 13 of 16 passes (81.3 percent) for 209 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 158.3 passer rating, the highest attainable mark. He is the first rookie in NFL history to post a 158.3 passer rating on Kickoff Weekend. All four of Mariota’s touchdown passes came in the first half and he is the only rookie in NFL history to throw four touchdown passes in one half. Tennessee’s 28-point victory is the largest in a season opener by a team starting a rookie quarterback since 1948, when the Chicago Bears and JOHNNY LUJACK won by 38 points. Mariota (2014, Oregon) and Lujack (1947, Notre Dame) are both former Heisman Trophy winners. “Marcus is so poised and confident,” says Titans tackle TAYLOR LEWAN. “The way he plays football, he is a born leader. I’m excited to have him on this team.” Everybody wants to get off to a good start as history has shown that teams that are victorious in their season openers are more than twice as likely to reach the playoffs than losers of an opening game. But that doesn’t mean an 0-1 start is impossible to overcome as nearly 25 percent of teams that lost the opener went to the playoffs. Since 1978 when the NFL went to the 16-game schedule (and excluding the abbreviated season of 1982): Of the 538 teams which won openers… 281 went to the playoffs (168 won division titles) Of the 539 teams which lost openers… 129 went to the playoffs (74 won division titles) (Note: There are a different number of winning and losing teams in season opening games due to the fact that the NFL had 31 teams in each season from 1999 to 2001, which creates an odd number for the total number of results.) Week 2 kicks off with Thursday Night Football as the Denver Broncos visit the Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC West showdown (CBS/NFLN, 8:25 PM ET). There will be 14 games on Sunday, capped by a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game as the Green Bay Packers host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football (NBC, 8:30 PM ET). Week 2 concludes on Monday night when the New York Jets travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts on Monday Night Football (ESPN, 8:30 PM ET). What’s in store for us this week? Here’s a look at a few interesting storylines entering Week 2: DENVER BRONCOS (1-0) at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-0) (Thursday, CBS/NFLN, 8:25 PM ET) The AFC West matchup on Thursday night will feature two teams coming off Week 1 victories. The Broncos won their opener by a 19-13 score over Baltimore. Denver’s defense limited the Ravens to 173 total net yards and had two key interceptions: a 51-yard interception-return touchdown by AQIB TALIB and a game-sealing interception in the end zone with 28 seconds remaining by DARIAN STEWART. “It was awesome,” says Broncos linebacker BRANDON MARSHALL. “It was one of the first games we’ve won like that since I’ve been here. It felt great to say the defense won the game for us. We put our offense in great positions and we put ourselves in great positions. It was a great day.” Kansas City quarterback ALEX SMITH threw three touchdown passes – including two in the first quarter to tight end TRAVIS KELCE – as the Chiefs opened their 2015 campaign with a 27-20 win at Houston. “Alex was on the money all day,” says Kelce, who finished the game with six catches for 106 yards. “Everything was in range.” NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (1-0) at BUFFALO BILLS (1-0) (Sunday, CBS, 1:00 PM ET) The defending Super Bowl champions kicked off the season with a 28-21 home victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY threw four touchdown passes – including three to tight end ROB GRONKOWSKI – as he notched his 161st victory as New England’s starting quarterback, the most ever by a player with one franchise. “I thought it was a good win for us,” says Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK. “I thought our players competed really well. We made enough plays that we needed to make. We’re heading into division play now but it’s good to be 1-0.” The first division test for the defending division champions will be REX RYAN and the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo’s defense clamped down on Indianapolis’ potent offense in a 27-14 victory. Bills quarterback TYROD TAYLOR connected with PERCY HARVIN on a 51-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring and running backs KARLOS WILLIAMS (26 yards) and BOOBIE DIXON (one yard) added touchdown runs. “It was great to get the win,” says Ryan. “Our fans were awesome. It was unbelievable. This game was all about our fans and all about the preparation of our players. I can’t wait to see what our fans are going to be like when you have the hated Patriots coming into our stadium.” DALLAS COWBOYS (1-0) at PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (0-1) (Sunday, FOX, 4:25 PM ET) The Cowboys and Eagles will renew their rivalry on Sunday afternoon in the City of Brotherly Love. This time, star running back DE MARCO MURRAY, who was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year last season with Dallas, will line up for Philadelphia against his former team. On Kickoff Weekend, quarterback TONY ROMO led the Cowboys back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull out a dramatic 27-26 win over the New York Giants. Romo threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tight end JASON WITTEN in the final 5:08, including the game-clinching TD with seven seconds remaining in the game. “Tony has great poise,” says Cowboys head coach JASON GARRETT. “He has great understanding about what he wants to do. He’s got a tremendous amount of confidence in the huddle.” Philadelphia dropped a close 26-24 decision on Monday night in Atlanta to open the season. Murray scored two touchdowns – one rushing and one receiving – in his first game with his new team. He has now rushed for a touchdown in eight consecutive games, including the postseason. “The good news is it’s only Week 1,” says Eagles quarterback SAM BRADFORD, who passed for 336 yards and a touchdown in his first game with the club. “We have a lot of games ahead of us. We’ll move on from this.” SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (0-1) at GREEN BAY PACKERS (1-0) (Sunday, NBC, 8:30 PM ET) The Packers and Seahawks will meet on Sunday night in a rematch of last season’s exciting NFC Championship Game which Seattle won 28-22 in overtime. The Seahawks, who have represented the NFC in each of the past two Super Bowls, look to rebound from last week’s 34-31 overtime loss at St. Louis. Seattle got contributions from two of its new offensive weapons as tight end JIMMY GRAHAM had a touchdown catch and rookie TYLER LOCKETT returned a punt 57 yards for a score. “We have to get right back at it,” says Seahawks head coach PETE CARROLL. “There were a lot of good things and a lot of stuff we have to correct. We’ll see if we can get it done for next week.” Green Bay notched a victory over the division-rival Chicago Bears in the season opener. Quarterback AARON RODGERS threw three touchdowns passes – two to JAMES JONES and one to RANDALL COBB – and running back EDDIE LACY rushed for one score as the Packers won 31-23 at Solider Field. In the past three games against the Bears, Rodgers has 13 touchdown passes with no interceptions. He is the only player in NFL history to throw for at least 13 touchdowns without an interception in a three-game span against one opponent. “This is our starting point,” says Packers head coach MIKE MC CARTHY. “This is who we are as a team today. A lot of good things to go off of and a lot of things we can learn from.” 2015 NFL STANDINGS American Football Conference East Division Team W L T Pct PF PA Home Away Conf Div Streak New York Jets 1 0 0 1.000 31 10 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 Buffalo Bills 1 0 0 1.000 27 14 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 New England Patriots 1 0 0 1.000 28 21 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 Miami Dolphins 1 0 0 1.000 17 10 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 North Division Team W L T Pct PF PA Home Away Conf Div Streak Cincinnati Bengals 1 0 0 1.000 33 13 0-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 Baltimore Ravens 0 1 0 .000 13 19 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 Lost 1 Pittsburgh Steelers 0 1 0 .000 21 28 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 Lost 1 Cleveland Browns 0 1 0 .000 10 31 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 Lost 1 South Division Team W L T Pct PF PA Home Away Conf Div Streak Tennessee Titans 1 0 0 1.000 42 14 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 Jacksonville Jaguars 0 1 0 .000 9 20 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 Lost 1 Houston Texans 0 1 0 .000 20 27 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 Lost 1 Indianapolis Colts 0 1 0 .000 14 27 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 Lost 1 West Division Team W L T Pct PF PA Home Away Conf Div Streak Denver Broncos 1 0 0 1.000 19 13 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 Kansas City Chiefs 1 0 0 1.000 27 20 0-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 San Diego Chargers 1 0 0 1.000 33 28 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 Won 1 Oakland Raiders 0 1 0 .000 13 33 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 Lost 1 National Football Conference East Division Team W L T Pct PF PA Home Away Conf Div Streak Dallas Cowboys 1 0 0 1.000 27 26 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0