NFL Recap: Week 1

ARIZONA AT NEW YORK GIANTS

Tiki Barber had a career day against the Arizona Cardinals rushing for 144 yards and two touchdowns, including a 78 yard scamper that put the Giants up 14-0. Rookie Ron Dayne pitched in with 78 yards himself. The Giants held on through a thunderstorm delay to defeat the Cardinals 21-6. Arizona quarterback Jake Plummer was picked off three times by the Giant's defense.

BALTIMORE AT PITTSBURGH

The Ravens' defense held Pittsburgh's offense scoreless Sunday with a combination of a great defensive performance by the Ravens and a poor offensive performance by the Steelers. The Steelers had an anemic 30 yards rushing, with Jerome Bettis picking up just eight yards on nine carries. Tony Banks hit Qadry Ismail for 54 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter for all the points the Ravens would need. The final score: 16-0.

SAN FRANCISCO AT ATLANTA

Free agent Shawn Jefferson paid dividends in his first game in a Falcons' uniform as he hauled in seven passes for a career-high 148 yards. Ashley Ambrose, another offseason acquisition, returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown. Kicker Morten Anderson kicked five field goals in the first half to help the Falcons to a 36-28 victory.

CAROLINA AT WASHINGTON

The Washington Redskins had a little more trouble holding off the Carolina Panthers than they would have liked, but they had just enough to defeat the Panthers, 20-17. Stephen Davis carried the ball 23 times for 133 yards and one touchdown. The signing of Bruce Smith payed dividends already, as he recorded two sacks, including one that forced a Steve Beuerlein fumble in the third quarter.

CHICAGO AT MINNESOTA

Daunte Culpepper, starting in his first NFL game, ran for three touchdowns to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-27 victory over the Bears on Sunday. Culpepper burned the Bear's run defense for 73 yards on 13 carries and threw for 190 yards on 13-for-23 passing. Running back Robert Smith's 59 yard run and a four-yard touchdown run by Cullpepper put the game away with 4:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.

DETROIT AT NEW ORLEANS

Desmond Howard's 95-yard yard kickoff return put the Lions ahead, 12-7. Moments later, a two-point conversion by running back James Stewert extended the Lions' lead to 14-7. A Doug Brien field goal pulled the Saints to within 14-10, but that was as close as they would get.

TAMPA BAY AT NEW ENGLAND

Mike Alstott's two touchdown runs led the Buccaneers to a 21-16 victory over the New England Patriots. The Bucs scored right before halftime when quarterback Shaun King faked a clock-killing spike; then threw a fade touchdown pass to Reidel Anthony. The defense did its part by sacking Drew Bledsoe six times.

INDIANAPOLIS AT KANSAS CITY

The Indianapolis Colts survived an emotion-filled day at Arrowhead Stadium to knock off the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-14. Cornerback Jeff Burris made the play of the game when he returned an interception 27 yards in the fourth quarter that put the Colts ahead for good. Edgerrin James rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns during the contest.

JACKSONVILLE AT CLEVELAND

Mark Brunnel carried the Jaguars to a 27-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns with 301 yards passing. Brunnel was 11-for-13 in the second half for 148 yards, while Keenan McCardell had nine receptions for 115 yards.

PHILADELPHIA AT DALLAS

The Eagles totally dominated the Cowboys behind the great performance of Duce Staley and Donovan McNabb. Staley racked up 201 yards on the ground, as the Eagles put the Cowboys away, 41-14. Troy Aikman was also knocked out of the game when he suffered the ninth concussion of his career.

NEW YORK JETS AT GREEN BAY

Curtis Martin led the New York Jets over the Green Bay Packers with 110 yards on 30 carries and also caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Vinny Testeverde with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter. Brett Favre attempted to bring the Packers back, but was picked off by Victor Green with 1:08 left in the game. Jets win, 20-16.

SAN DIEGO AT OAKLAND

Andre Rison caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter, as the Oakland Raiders outlasted the San Diego Chargers, 9-6. San Diego quarterback Ryan Leaf's comeback suffered a setback as he was intercepted three times and fumbled twice.

SEATTLE AT MIAMI

No one confused Jay Fiedler with Dan Marino Sunday, but the controversial starting quarterback avoided any costly mistakes in Miami's stunning 23-0 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Lamar Smith gave Miami a strong performance at running back with 145 yards on the ground. Seattle quarterback John Kitna turned the ball over five times before being replaced by Brock Huard.

TENNESSEE AT BUFFALO

The Buffalo Bills got a little bit of revenge on the Tennessee Titans Sunday night when they held off the Titans in a rematch of last year's AFC wildcard playoff. Eddie George was held to 37 yards on 17 carries by a smothering Bill's defense, and Craig Hentrich's 60 yard field goal attempt, that would have tied the game, was wide left as the clock ran out. Final score: 16-13.

DENVER AT ST.LOUIS

Kurt Warner threw for a career-high 441 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-36 shootout with the Denver Broncos on Monday night. The Rams held off Denver despite Bronco quarterback Brian Griese's 19-29 performance for 307 yards. The Rams had three receivers that racked up over 100 yards each in what resembled an Arena Football League game instead of an NFL game.