Texans at Steelers Noon 1 LINE — Steelers by 6 / 2 LAST MEETING Pittsburgh won 27-7 on Sept. 18, 2005. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Texans: offense (14 ), defense (24 ); Steelers: offense (17 ), defense (1 ) NOTES Houston DE Mario Williams (14 sacks ) goes against Steelers OL that allowed 47 sacks in 2007, second-highest total in team history.... WR-KR Andre Davis had three kick return touchdowns last year.... Houston QB Matt Schaub, in second season as starter, is 91 of 124 (73. 4 percent ) for 1, 005 yards, 5 touchdowns, 3 interceptions and 100. 4 passer rating in September.... Houston K Kris Brown played for Steelers from 1999-2001.... Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger has 6 touchdown passes in 2 career opening games. Steelers are 23-2 when Roethlisberger has 100-plus passer rating.... Roethlisberger has 39-16 regular-season record. He threw for club-record 32 touchdowns last year.... Steelers TE Heath Miller has touchdown catch in last three season openers.... Steelers are 4-0 in season openers in Heinz Field (opened 2001 ). Texans are 1-1 in road season openers. Rams at Eagles Noon 1 LINE — Eagles by 8 / 2 LAST MEETING Philadelphia won 17-16 on Dec. 18, 2005. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Rams: offense (24 ), defense (21 ); Eagles: offense (6 ), defense (10 ) NOTES St. Louis hasn’t had winning record since going 12-4 in 2003.... Rams RB Steven Jackson has had three consecutive 1, 000-yard seasons, but will play his first game since Week 17 last year after holding out of camp 27 days until signing a new contract.... DE Chris Long, second pick in NFL Draft, makes his Rams debut. He’s adjusting to playing in a 4-3 defense after being in 3-4 defense at Virginia.... Rams QB Marc Bulger was limited to 12 games last year because of various injuries.... Philadelphia QB Donovan McNabb enters a season healthier than he’s been in years. He hasn’t played an injury-free season since guiding Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004.... Eagles have won two of past three meetings. Bengals at Ravens Noon 1 LINE — Bengals by 1 / 2 LAST MEETING Cincinnati won 21-7 on Nov. 11, 2007. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Bengals: offense (10 ), defense (27 ); Ravens: offense (22 ), defense (6 ) NOTES Game marks debut of Ravens Coach John Harbaugh and top draft pick Joe Flacco, who starts at QB. It’s first time Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis will face Ravens without seeing former boss Brian Billick on other sideline.... Ravens are 4-8 in openers, 2-3 at home.... Bengals have won six of passt seven in series, including sweep in 2007.... Bengals seek to tie franchise record with fourth consecutive season-opening victory, but Cincinnati is 6-11 when opening on road.... Cincinnati kicker Shayne Graham and Baltimore’s Matt Stover rank second and third on career list for FG accuracy, behind retired Mike Vanderjagt.... Bengals were 2-2 in preseason, Baltimore 1-3. Seahawks at Bills Noon LINE — Bills by 1 LAST MEETING Buffalo won 38-9 on Nov. 28, 2004. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Seahawks: offense (9 ), defense (15 ); Bills: offense (30 ), defense (31 ) NOTES Seahawks’ Mike Holmgren opens 17 th season as head coach and 10 th in Seattle. This will be Holmgren’s last season with team after choosing to fulfill final year of his contract. DB coach Jim Mora is signed to take over next season.... Seahawks seeking sixth consecutive playoff berth and to win NFC West for fifth consecutive season.... RB tandem of Maurice Morris and Julius Jones, who makes his debut since signing with Seahawks, takes over following 1 Shaun Alexander’s release.... DE Patrick Kerney led NFC with 14 / 2 sacks last season.... Buffalo seeking to end eight-season playoff drought, longest in franchise history.... Bills have had one winning season since 1999, 9-7 in 2004.... QB Trent Edwards opens first season as starter after 2007 third-round pick went 5-5 while winning No. 1 job ahead of J. P. Losman last year. Chiefs at Patriots Noon LINE — Patriots by 16 LAST MEETING Kansas City won 26-16 on Nov. 27, 2005. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Chiefs: offense (31 ), defense (13 ); Patriots: offense (1 ), defense (4 ) NOTES Kansas City has 11 rookies on roster and at least five should play a lot, including first-round pick DT Glenn Dorsey.... Kansas City QB Brodie Croyle is 0-6 as starter.... Ninetime Pro Bowler Tony Gonzalez needs 179 yards receiving to set career record for tight ends.... Chiefs ended last season with nine-game losing streak. Coach Herm Edwards started both his seasons in Kansas City 0-2.... WR Dwayne Bowe led all NFL rookie receivers last year with 70 catches and 995 yards receiving.... New England QB and reigning NFL MVP Tom Brady’s right foot has improved and he’s expected to start for Patriots after missing all four exhibition games.... Patriots still seeking stability in secondary after losing CB Asante Samuel to free agency and signing two-time Pro Bowler Deltha O’Neal.... Patriots have won 19 consecutive regular-season games. Jaguars at Titans Noon LINE — Jaguars by 3 LAST MEETING Jacksonville won 28-13 on Nov. 11, 2007. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Jaguars: offense (7 ), defense (12 ); Titans: offense (21 ), defense (5 ) NOTES Jacksonville has won four of past six in this series, but teams split in 2007 by winning on road.... Jaguars lead NFL on opening weekend with. 692 winning percentage and 9-4 record.... Jaguars are 13-4 when rushing for 150 yards or more since 2006.... David Garrard can stretch his streak to 11 consecutive games with a touchdown pass on road.... Fred Taylor is looking for sixth consecutive regular-season game with 100 yards rushing going back to Nov. 18.... Tennessee ran for 282 yards in opening against Jacksonville last year, second-best in franchise history.... Jeff Fisher is 8-5 on opening weekend.... Titans are 6-1 when Vince Young has passer rating of 90 or better.... Young leads NFL quarterbacks with 947 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns rushing since 2006.... LenDale White is looking for third consecutive home game with 100 yards rushing or better. Lions at Falcons Noon LINE — Lions by 3 LAST MEETING Detroit won 30-14 on Nov. 5, 2006. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Lions: offense (19 ), defense (29 ); Falcons: offense (23 ), defense (29 ) NOTES Detroit QB Jon Kitna passed for 4, 068 yards last season, becoming first quarterback in Lions history with consecutive 4, 000-yard seasons.... Kitna will be reunited with former Bengals teammate Rudi Johnson, who signed earlier in week. Johnson has rushed for 4, 718 yards since start of 2004 season, fifth-highest total in NFL in that span.... WR Calvin Johnson led NFC rookies with 48 catches and 756 yards last season.... Atlanta’s Mike Smith makes his NFL head coaching debut for Falcons.... QB Matt Ryan, the No. 3 pick in draft from Boston College, will make his first start.... WR Roddy White had career-high 83 catches and 1, 202 yards last season. He was first Falcons receiver to break 1, 000 yards in a season since 1999. Cardinals at 49 ers 3: 15 p.m.
1 LINE — Cardinals by 2 / 2 LAST MEETING San Francisco won 37-31 in overtime Nov. 25, 2007. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Cardinals: offense (12 ), defense (17 ); 49 ers: offense (32 ), defense (25 ) NOTES Teams meet in opener for third consecutive season.... San Francisco got two of its five victories last season against Arizona after Niners had lost four consecutive to division rivals.... Niners QB J. T. O’Sullivan makes first NFL start after winning job in training camp over Alex Smith.... WR Bryant Johnson makes 49 ers debut after five seasons with Cards.... Niners Coach Mike Nolan is 3-0 in home openers despite 16-32 overall record.... Arizona hasn’t chosen replacement for Johnson as No. 3 WR. They’ll use Steve Breaston, Early Doucet and Jehreme Urban.... Kurt Warner won Arizona’s starting QB job over Matt Leinart.... Cards RB Edgerrin James leads all active running backs with 11, 607 yards rushing.... Arizona led NFL with 137 penalties last season. Panthers at Chargers 3: 15 p.m. LINE — Chargers by 9 LAST MEETING San Diego won 17-6 on Oct. 24, 2004. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Panthers: offense (29 ), defense (16 ); Chargers: offense (20 ), defense (14 ) NOTES Carolina QB Jake Delhomme returns after injuring passing elbow in third game last year, requiring reconstructive surgery.... Panthers’ leading receiver, Steve Smith, begins two-game team suspension without pay for breaking CB Ken Lucas’ nose with sucker punch during training camp.... San Diego RB LaDainian Tomlinson begins pursuit of his third consecutive NFL rushing title.... Chargers are trying for third consecutive season with 11 or more victories and third consecutive AFC West title.... San Diego QB Philip Rivers is 15-1 at home as starter.... Rivers is 4-0 against NFC teams as starter at home... San Diego is 8-1 when Tomlinson gains 100 or more yards against NFC teams.
TV GAMES Jets at Dolphins Noon, CBS LINE — Jets by 3 LAST MEETING New York won 40-13 on Dec. 2, 2007. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Jets: offense (26 ), defense (18 ); Dolphins: offense (28 ), defense (23 ) NOTES New York has won past four games in series, and seven of past eight.... Brett Favre has 3-2 record against Dolphins.... In two exhibition games, Favre went 14 of 18 for 144 yards overall with 1 touchdown and no interceptions.... Miami has only 26 holdovers from 2007 on 53-man roster under new regime led by Bill Parcells. Only one Dolphins player on offensive line and two players in defensive front seven return at same position as last season.... Tony Sparano, who makes his NFL head coaching debut, is Miami’s fifth coach since 2004.... Two of Dolphins’ captains are former Jets draft picks: QB Chad Pennington and DT Jason Ferguson. Buccaneers at Saints Noon, Fox LINE — Saints by 3 LAST MEETING Tampa Bay won 27-23 on Dec. 2, 2007. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Buccaneers: offense (18 ), defense (2 ); Saints: offense (4 ), defense (26 ) NOTES Tampa Bay opens defense of NFC South title; the Buccaneers swept both games against New Orleans in 2007.... RB Warrick Dunn returns to Buccaneers, his first NFL team, after six seasons with Atlanta. Dunn is Buccaneers’ third all-time rusher with 4, 200 yards.... Saints RB Deuce McAllister, franchise’s all-time rusher with 5, 678 yards, set to see first regular-season action since knee injury in Week 3 of 2007.... Saints TE Jeremy Shockey slated to make his debut after sitting out preseason. Cowboys at Browns 3: 15 p. m., Fox LINE — Cowboys by 6 LAST MEETING Dallas won 19-12 on Sept. 19, 2004. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Cowboys: offense (3 ), defense (9 ); Browns: offense (8 ), defense (30 ) NOTES Dallas beat Super Bowl champion New York Giants 45-35 in last year’s opener and could be in for similar shootout with Browns.... QB Tony Romo begins his second season as Cowboys starter. He set club records for completions (335 ), yards passing (4, 211 ) and touchdowns (36 ) in 2007.... Romo was one of 13 Cowboys selected to Pro Bowl.... Cowboys WR Terrell Owens, 35, entered with NFL-best 99 touchdown catches since 1999. He has caught a pass in 167 consecutive games.... Cleveland went 0-4 in exhibitions, the Browns’ first winless preseason since 1972. They made playoffs that year.... QB Derek Anderson threw 19 interceptions last season, but only one in fourth quarter or overtime.... DLs Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams (Camden Harmony Grove, Arkansas State ) and WR Donte’ Stallworth will make debuts for Cleveland. Bears at Colts 7: 15 p. m., NBC 1 LINE — Colts by 9 / 2 LAST MEETING Indianapolis won 29-17 in Super Bowl on Feb. 4, 2007. LAST YEAR’S RANKINGS Bears: offense (27 ), defense (28 ); Colts: offense (5 ), defense (3 ) NOTES Chicago will play first regular-season game in new Lucas Oil Stadium. It’s first time Bears have helped open a stadium since Sept. 20, 1998 when they lost 27-15 at Tampa Bay.... This is fourth consecutive year Chicago has opened on road.... A victory would make Chicago first team in league history with 50 opening-game victories.... Indianapolis has won 21 consecutive games in September and October, longest streak since Green Bay won 23 in a row from 1928-1932. Colts’ last September loss was Sept. 9, 2004, at New England.... It’s fifth consecutive year Colts have played an opener on national television.... Indy’s defense allowed fewest points (262 ) in NFL last season, but key players DE Dwight Freeney and S Bob Sanders coming off injuries.
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