| Redskins edge past Cowboys in opener • Mike Shanahan era begins with controversial victory• Texans upset Colts, while Titans hammer hapless RaidersThe Washington Redskins opened the highly anticipated Mike Shanahan era in style on last night by slipping past the Dallas Cowboys 13-7 in the season opener for both teams.With Shanahan, who took the Denver Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in the late 1990, barking orders from the sidelines, the Redskins ended a three-game losing streak against their bitter rivals in the NFC East largely courtesy of a controversial late holding call."You've got to find a way to win in this business," said Shanahan. "A lot of teams are very close. You've got to find a way to get it done. And that's what our football team did today."The Redskins looked like losers when the Dallas quarterback Tony Romo found Roy Williams in the corner of the end zone for an apparent 13-yard scoring strike as time expired. But the Cowboys right tackle Alex Barron was cited for holding the Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo and that nullified the potentially game-winning touchdown and ended the game."I've never seen that happen," said the Cowboys coach, Wade Phillips. "We score a touchdown and then get a penalty and the game is over. I thought they grabbed our guys several times trying to get to our quarterback but I guess they didn't."Romo, who completed 31 of 47 passes for 282 yards and one touchdown, said the finish was hard to take. "I thought we won and then 10 or 15 yards after running away I noticed people weren't coming out on to the field," he said. "It's hard to swallow."The quarterback Donovan McNabb, a six-time Pro Bowler playing his first game with the Redskins after 11 seasons in Philadelphia, hit 15 of 32 passes for 171 yards.Wes Welker marked his return from a serious knee injury with two touchdown catches as the New England Patriots began the season with a 38-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes just two days after escaping unhurt from a car crash and then signing a new contract that makes him the NFL's highest-paid player.Arian Foster made a huge statement as he ran for a team record 231 yards to lead the Houston Texans to a 34-24 upset of the Indianapolis Colts. Foster, an undrafted rookie who spent all of last season with the practice squad, ripped apart the Colts defence to score three touchdowns. Peyton Manning completed 40 of 57 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns but it was not enough for Indianapolis.The New York Giants opened the New Meadowlands stadium with a 31-18 win over the Carolina Panthers. A big second half saw the Giants recover from a 16-14 half-time deficit as Eli Manning found Hakeem Nicks in the endzone and Ahmad Bradshaw put first-half struggles behind him to run in a touchdown.Rashard Mendenhall's 50-yard touchdown run in overtime gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a 15-9 win over the Atlanta Falcons.The Tennessee Titans made a big opening statement with a 38-13 rout of the Oakland Raiders. Vince Young threw for two touchdowns, including an early 56-yard pass to Nate Washington, while Chris Johnson scored two on the ground as he ran for 142 yards.The Miami Dolphins won their opening game of the season for the first time in five years but it was not pretty as they edged out the Buffalo Bills 15-10. In a scrappy game, it was the new look Dolphins defence that dominated, while Ronnie Brown scored their only touchdown from a yard out.The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 19-14 in controversial circumstances as Calvin Johnson's apparent touchdown catch was ruled incomplete with 25 seconds left. Replays proved inconclusive and the ruling stood.David Garrard's three touchdown passes led the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 24-17 win over the Denver Broncos.Josh Freeman threw two touchdown passes as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Cleveland Browns 17-14.The new Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll enjoyed a winning start to his new job as Matt Hasselbeck threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in a 31-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.The Green Bay Packers repelled a Michael Vick-inspired Philadelphia Eagles 27-20, with Aaron Rodgers making two touchdown passes and Mason Crosby slotting a 56-yard field goal. Vick, whose last NFL start was on 31 December 2006, rolled back the years to make 175 yards passing and ran for 103.The No1 draft pick Sam Radford had a losing debut as the Arizona Cardinals defeated the St Louis Rams 17-13. Larry Fitzgerald snatched a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to put the Cardinals in front, while Derek Anderson also contributed going 22 for 41 for 297 yards.NFLUS sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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