Peterson powers Vikings

Peterson: Racing through the defence

Also see

• Schedule
• On Sky TV
• Messageboards

Brett Favre enjoyed a winning start to his Minnesota career but Jay Cutler was not so happy on his Chicago debut in week one of the new NFL season.

Elsewhere, Philadelphia and Dallas recorded excellent away wins but the Arizona Cardinals couldn't pick up where they left off, the Super Bowl losers being stunned at home by the San Francisco 49ers.

Minnesota Vikings 34-20 Cleveland Browns

Brett Favre started his Minnesota career by leading the Vikings to a 34-20 victory in Cleveland, but it was Adrian Peterson who was the star of the show.

The brilliant running back stole Favre's thunder by rushing for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. That tally included a 64-yarder for a score early in the final quarter.

Favre had a quiet afternoon by comparison, completing 14 of 21 passes for 110 yards, including his first TD as a Viking - a six-yarder to rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin.

The Browns had led 13-10 at half time after Joshua Cribbs' punt return for a touchdown. However they didn't score again until the final minute, Brady Quinn completing a 26-yarder to tight end Robert Royal.

Dallas Cowboys 34-21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tony Romo threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns as Dallas opened their season with a 34-21 success away at Tampa Bay.

The Cowboys trailed 7-6 late in the second period when Romo took control of the game.

He hit Miles Austin for a 42-yard score down the sideline to give the 'Boys a 13-6 intermission lead, and then connected with a 66-yarder to Roy Williams in the third period to extend it to 20-6.

A Tampa score kept it close before Romo hit Patrick Crayton for an 80-yard score and Marion Barber added a six-yard run to cap the win for the Cowboys, who missed the play-offs last year after a 9-7 season.

Philadelphia Eagles 38-10 Carolina Panthers

Philadelphia - beaten by Arizona in last year's NFC Championship game - showed they will once again be major contenders with an impressive 38-10 victory in Carolina.

Donovan McNabb threw for two touchdowns and ran for another while DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards to the end zone.

Meanwhile the fearsome Eagles defence produced five sacks, five interceptions and forced two fumbles. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme was pulled from the game after being picked off four times.

One unwanted post-script for the Eagles came with the news that McNabb had suffered a broken rib during the win, the injury coming when the quarterback scored on a three-yard sneak at the start of the third quarter.

Detroit Lions 27-45 New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees put number one draft pick Matthew Stafford firmly in the shade as New Orleans opened up with a 45-27 defeat of Detroit.

Brees fired six touchdown passes in throwing for 358 yards. Two of those scores went to tight end Jeremy Shockey.

Meanwhile Stafford, starting the first game of his pro career, threw three costly interceptions as he hit on 16 of 37 passes for 205 yards.

Although the rookie did manage to run for a touchdown, his score couldn't help the Lions, who finished 0-16 last year, get a positive result on their travels.

NY Jets 24-7 Houston Texans

Mark Sanchez, another rookie quarterback, led the New York Jets to a 24-7 victory in his regular-season debut in Houston.

Sanchez threw for 272 yards and tossed a 30-yard pass to Chansi Stuckey in the end zone, while Thomas Jones rushed for 107 yards and a pair of scores on 20 carries.

The Texans - who have now lost all four meetings between the two teams - failed to muster a single point on offence, their only touchdown coming courtesy of Dominique Barber's 48-yard fumble return.

Miami Dolphins 7-19 Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan threw for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Atlanta to a 19-7 win over Miami in their opening game.

Ryan hit Ovie Mughelli from a yard out and then teamed up with new tight end Tony Gonzalez from 20 as last season's surprise packages started out with a victory.

The Dolphins, who reached the play-offs last year, were never really in it and their hopes were dashed by four turnovers.

Chad Pennington did hook up with Ricky Williams for a nine-yard touchdown pass but the fourth-quarter score was no more than a late consolation for Miami.

Jacksonville Jaguars 12-14 Indianapolis Colts

Peyton Manning threw for 301 yards and a touchdown as Indianapolis held on for a hard-fought 14-12 win over Jacksonville.

Manning hit Reggie Wayne for a 35-yard score in the third quarter to give the Colts a 14-6 lead, and though Maurice Jones-Drew scored in the fourth to bring the Jags close they could not pull out the win.

Manning's day was soured by an injury to one of his key weapons - wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez going down with a serious knee problem.

Kansas City Chiefs 24-38 Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns as Baltimore finally knocked off Kansas City 38-24 after a hard-fought battle.

Flacco hit Mark Clayton for a 31-yard scoring pass to break a 24-24 fourth-quarter tie, and Willis McGahee's one-yard touchdown run made the victory safe.

The Chiefs, under the leadership of new head coach Todd Haley, had stayed in contention up until then thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from Brodie Croyle and Jon McGraw's recovery of a blocked punt in the end zone.

Denver Broncos 12-7 Cincinnati Bengals

Kyle Orton made sure his Denver debut was a winning one as the Broncos left it late to secure a 12-7 triumph in Cincinnati.

Orton, who will spend the season trying to silence the critics who do not believe he is good enough to replace the traded Jay Cutler, came up big with his new team trailing 7-6 in the final minute of the game.

He hit wide receiver Brandon Stokley for an 87-yard TD pass with 27 seconds remaining to break Cincy's hearts. In all Orton threw for 243 yards and a touchdown.

Washington Redskins 17-23 New York Giants

The Giants held off Washington to get the better of their divisional rivals in a hard-fought NFC East battle in the Meadowlands.

Quarterback Eli Manning threw for one touchdown, connecting with Mario Manningham, while Lawrence Tynes kicked three field goals for New York.

However it was the defence that provided the crucial score, Osi Umenyiora's fumble return making it 17-0 at one stage in the second quarter.

To their credit the 'Skins fought hard to stay in the contest, punter Hunter Smith finding the end zone after faking a field goal attempt.

But, while Jason Campbell did manage to hit tight end Chris Cooley for a late touchdown, Washington were unable to ever get level with their opponents.

San Francisco 49ers 20-16 Arizona Cardinals

The San Francisco 49ers caused an almighty upset in Arizona, knocking off the reigning NFC champions 20-16.

Running back Frank Gore rushed for a touchdown, despite only managing 30 yards on 22 carries, after Joe Nedney had booted over a pair of first-quarter field goals for San Francisco, who led 13-6 at half time.

Kurt Warner hooked up with Larry Fitzgerald from five yards out to level matters and the Cards, who came so close to beating Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl last year, moved ahead on Neil Rackers' second field goal.

However Gore's second score of the day, this one coming courtesy of Shaun Hill's three-yard pass, gave the 49ers a winning start to the new campaign.

St Louis Rams 0-28 Seattle Seahawks

St Louis Rams and new head coach Steve Spagnulo endured a day to forget at Qwest Field as they were shut out by Seattle.

Despite managing 247 yards of offence against their divisional rivals, the Rams failed to muster a single point on opening weekend.

The Seahawks had no such problems, Matt Hasselbeck throwing for three touchdowns, two of them to tight end John Carlson. The quarterback finished up finished 25 of 36 for 279 yards, though he did also have two interceptions.

Julius Jones also scored on the ground for the home team, helping new boss Jim Mora get off the mark with a landslide victory.

Chicago Bears 15-21 Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers' 50-yard pass to Greg Jennings was good enough to give Green Bay a come-from-behind victory over Chicago in Sunday's late game.

The quarterback engineered a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to help the Packers beat the Bears at home for just the second time in six meetings.

Jay Cutler did not enjoy such a good day for Chicago, the quarterback marking his first regular-season appearance for the Bears since arriving via a trade with Denver by throwing four interceptions.

He did, though, manage one TD - Devin Hester reeling in a 36-yard pass. The rest of the Bears' points came from two Robbie Gould field goals and a safety after Rodgers was tackled in the end zone by Danieal Manning.