Every Sunday evening throughout the 2011 NFL season I’ll compile quick-hit reactions from the day that was in football. I vow to always overreact, side with sensationalism over rationalism, and draw conclusions based on small sample sizes instead of cold, hard facts. It’s the only way I know how to write…

DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

- According to every NFL analyst in America, there was a better chance of Cam Newton putting his pants on backwards than resembling anything even close to a quarterback. But lo and behold the kid can play a little. He completed 24-of-37 passes for 422 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, setting a record for most passing yards in a NFL debut. He also rushed eight times for 18 yards and scored on the goal line in the Panthers’ 28-21 loss the Cardinals. Thanks to Newton, Steve Smith looked rejuvenated after spending a year in NFL hell last season. Obviously the former Auburn product isn’t going to throw for 400-plus yards every week but even his biggest critics have to be impressed with how he performed in his debut. And hey, the young man even put his pants on straight, too.

- The Steelers, the Falcons and the Chiefs: What are three teams who apparently forgot that the preseason was only four weeks long, Alex? Give credit where credit is due – the Ravens, Bears and Bills were dominate on Sunday. But it’s not like any of those teams used black magic to fool the Steelers, Falcons and Chiefs, who were absolutely shocked that they had to suit up today. Those three teams, who all won their divisions a year ago, mind you, managed to make flying to the moon look easier than playing football.

- Speaking of the Bills, this team isn’t a pushover any more. Forty-one points on the road? Good grief, man. Ryan Fitzpatrick is just good enough to be dangerous and they have some offensive weapons in Steve Johnson, Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Given how bad the offensive line looked in preseason, Chan Gailey has to be thrilled with his team’s performance. And the best part about the Bills today? They acted as if they expected that outcome. I dare say they were fun to watch.

- Not many people had the Bengals beating the Browns in Cleveland today, which is why they wind up in the “DIDN”T SEE THAT COMING” section. But I’m telling you, if Andy Dalton can play mistake free and just mange games in his first year, Cincinnati won’t be as bad as everyone expects.

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It’s pretty unfortunate when a Mike Singletary-coached team can’t tackle, isn’t focused and decides to give up after one half of football.

In the past, I’ve been guilty (and I’m not the only one) of making default statements such as, “You know the 49ers will come to play against so-and-so because of Singletary,” and “You know the 49ers are always going to play hard under Singletary.”

But after watching the Seahawks completely embarrass the Niners in a 31-6 rout on Sunday afternoon, I won’t be making those statements again any time soon.

The 49ers’ performance was reminiscent of their game in San Francisco last year against the Falcons (a 45-10 loss). They didn’t tackle today, they didn’t play hard and when they got down 21-6 early in the third quarter, they should have just got onto the team bus and headed back to San Francisco because they displayed zero fight in the last 27 minutes and change.

Granted, it’s only Week 1 and the Niners are a good football team. But this is a game they have to win if they expect to compete for a division title. Or at the very least, show up for four quarters. Can you imagine what the post-game speech was like in the locker room afterwards? If Singletary didn’t eat someone’s face off I’d be shocked.

On the other side, Pete Carroll’s squad played inspired football. They held the Niners to only 49 yards rushing (granted, San Fran had to throw the ball the entire second half), forced two turnovers and were 3-of-4 in the red zone offensively.

Amazingly, Mike Williams (yes, that Mike Williams) led the team in catches with four. He racked up 64 receiving yards, which included a 35-yard grab that helped set up a touchdown in the first half, and also finished with a 16-yard-per-catch average.

If anyone would have told me back in January that the Seahawks’ first win wound come with Pete Carroll as their head coach and Mike Williams as their leading receiver, I would have totally bought it. I would have said, “Given what they did at USC together, I could see that. I could also see a Mike Singletary-led team not being able to tackle and Arian Foster single-handily beating the Colts. Also, I can totally see LeBron James staying in Cleveland. He loves it there.”

The Kevin Kolb era got off to a less than auspicious start in Philadelphia on Sunday. Not only did the 26-year-old quarterback have to leave the game due to a concussion, but when he was in there he was brutal, finishing just 5-of-10 for 24 yards with no touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Luckily for the Eagles, Michael Vick blacked out at halftime and when he woke up, he thought it was 2002. He wound up throwing for 175 yards on 16-of-24 passing and one touchdown, while also rushing for 103 yards on 11 carries. Outside of being stopped on a 4th and 1 to seal a 27-20 win for the Packers, he was nearly flawless in relief duty.

But Eagle fans hoping to see more of that shouldn’t get too excited because Andy Reid already said following the game that Kolb will start against the Lions in Week 2 if he’s medically cleared to play. Of course, with the new conclusion rules for players, Kolb maybe forced to miss the game and Philly fans could wind up seeing Vick after all.

I’m sure this will be a topic of discussion all week, but it’ll be interesting to see if a) Kolb plays next Sunday and b) if he plays well. If he does play and once again fails to impress (especially against an awful Detroit secondary), then I can’t wait to read the headlines in Philadelphia the next morning. You know some overzealous writer has the words “quarterback controversy” saved in a Word doc right now.

Super Bowl caliber teams can win on the road, no matter what type of environment they play in.

Super Bowl caliber teams play defense, especially late in the fourth quarter.

Super Bowl caliber teams can run the ball.

Super Bowl caliber teams have quarterbacks that make plays when opportunities present themselves.

If you can’t see where I’m going with this, then you’ve probably been drunk since about 3:00 in the afternoon and if that’s the case then I applaud you, my friend. Because everyone should crack open a cold one on the first NFL Sunday of the year. (Thank God football is back.)

The Packers are a Super Bowl caliber team and they proved it today. Philadelphia is not an easy place to win on the road, yet Green Bay went into the “City of Brotherly Love,” built a 20-3 lead and then made plays late in the fourth quarter to earn a hard-fought win. The biggest play they made came on a 4th and 1 when they stoned Michael Vick on a rush attempt to seal the win.

Aaron Rodgers wasn’t particularly sharp (he only threw for 188 yards and tossed two interceptions), but his touchdown throws to Donald Driver (1:48 left before halftime) and Greg Jennings (1:56 remaining in the third quarter) were a thing of beauty and like he proved so many times before, he was resilient under pressure. He was also aided by a running game that churned out 132 yards, including 63 from Brandon Jackson (3.5 YPC) and 45 from Ryan Grant (5.6 YPC).

Defensively, Clay Matthews was practically a one-man wrecking crew. He lead the team in solo tackles (7), sacks (2), tackles for loss (2) and hits on the quarterback (2). For as good as Michael Vick looked at times running the ball, he’s going to have nightmares of Matthews chasing him out of the pocket when he goes to sleep tonight.

Had the Packers played well and lost a tight game, the people that picked them to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl wouldn’t have wanted to change their pick. Again, Philly is a tough environment to play in – especially on opening day.

But the fact that they won only cemented the belief that this team has what it takes to play for a championship this season. They have a long way to go, but they’re off to a perfect start.

I know Tom Brady and the Patriots looked great Sunday in their 38-24 victory over the Bengals, but let’s hold off on the 2007 comparisons for right now. I did one “#Patriots” search on Twitter following the game and I would have had to use a calculator to count the number of times I saw a reference to New England’s ’07 season.

Uh, the regular season that is. No fan wants to bring up how that season ended for the Pats.

Before we crown the Patriots 2010 AFC Super Bowl representatives, let’s be realistic. The Cincinnati defense they faced today was downright atrocious.

As expected, the Bengals had zero pass rush and that’s an area that will be a problem for them all season unless someone steps up. Their front four was swallowed whole by New England’s offensive line and didn’t impact the game whatsoever.

Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s playcalling was also uninspiring. He was way too predictable when drumming up blitzes, which allowed Tom Brady to recognize where the pressure was coming from and either check off to another player or complete crossing patterns over the middle.

The end result was the Bengals getting gashed for 376 total yards, including 258 passing and 118 rushing. Believe it or not, Cincinnati’s offense bettered those numbers (428 total, 341 passing, 87 rushing), but it didn’t matter once the Pats took a 31-3 lead early in the third quarter and was on cruise control from there on out.

For a team that is expected to compete for a division crown this year, this was a highly unimpressive start for the Bengals.

Even by definition of the rule, I’m still not sure Calvin Johnson’s touchdown should have been overturned.

One foot down.

Two feet down.

His backside was down.

Ball was in his hand the entire time.

Ball gets placed on the ground.

No touchdown.

Johnson did everything right on that fatal play outside of holding onto the ball long enough to have it constituted as “complete.” The official ruling was that Megatron didn’t maintain position throughout the entirety of the play, which resulted in a touchdown being wiped off the board and an eventual 19-14 win for the Bears. Again, even by definition of the rule I’m not sure Johnson’s TD shouldn’t have counted.

Furthermore, how does a touchdown count when the tip of the ball goes across the goal line when a back or QB is carrying it but not when Johnson makes a play like this? It doesn’t make any sense. Ball goes across the line when a back is carrying it into the end zone and it’s a done deal – TOUCHDOWN. Johnson gets two feet down, his ass down, his back down, both ears on the ground plus a tongue and it’s an incomplete pass.

But there’s nothing the Lions can do about it now. Game over, sorry about your luck.

The real story here is how the Bears, a team that many consider to be a sleeper in the NFC after all the moves they made this offseason, managed to beat a proverbial last place team by only five points when their starting quarterback didn’t even play the second half. The real story is how the Bears now-explosive Mike Martz-led offense could only muster 19 measly points at home against a defense that has the worst starting cornerback duo in the league.

Granted, the Bears did compile 463 yards of total offense, including 362 through the air and 101 on the ground. You can’t ask for much more out of Martz’s first real trial run, but the Lions should have never been in this game. Chicago turned the ball over four times, committed nine penalties for 100 yards and couldn’t score on four straight attempts from the Detroit 1-yard line with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game when trailing, 14-13.

Considering Lovie Smith was on the hot seat coming into the season, it’s shocking that his team could look so undisciplined, unfocused and so careless.

The only thing that saved he and the Bears today was a technicality.

Arian Foster probably got to the Texans’ locker room after Houston’s 34-24 win on Sunday and said, “No seriously, that was the team you guys have been scared of all these years?”

Entering today’s game, the Texans were just 1-15 against the Colts lifetime. But thanks to Foster’s 231-yard rushing performance (which is the most by a running back in an opening weekend game since O.J. Simpson ran for 250 yards in 1973), Houston finally got the Indianapolis monkey of its back.

Perhaps what was most impressive about Foster is that he grinded it out for a full four quarters. Don’t forget that this is a highly inexperienced player, one that spent most of 2009 on the practice squad. So with his team up 20-10 midway through the fourth quarter and looking to punch another hole in the Colts’ jugular, Foster rushed for 78 yards on just three carries and scored his second touchdown of the day. He showed his mettle all day, but especially on that drive.

The win was big for the Texans for two reasons: 1) they proved that they could finally beat a team that has dominated them over the years and 2) they also showed that they could beat a team in the AFC South after going 1-5 a year ago. It’s only Week 1, but this is the type of win that could give a budding postseason contender confidence for the rest of the season.

Perhaps what was most impressive was that the Texans didn’t beat the Colts through the air, but on the ground. Matt Schaub only completed 9 of 17 passes for 107 yards, so clearly he didn’t have his best day. Thus, for Houston to attack Indy’s greatest weakness (defensive tackle) and execute to perfection will have Gary Kubiak sleeping well tonight.

The same goes for Arian Foster.

For 58 minutes of Monday night’s game between the Bills and Patriots, it appeared that New England was headed for a 0-1 start to the 2009 season. The Pats were dominating the Bills in every category except where it mattered most: The scoreboard.

But with just over two minutes remaining in the game, New England cut Buffalo’s lead to 24-19 after Tom Brady threw a bullet to tight end Ben Watson for an 18-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Buffalo cornerback Leodis McKelvin (who played well defensively all night) foolishly decided to return the ball out of his end zone instead of taking a knee. He wound up fumbling and the Patriots recovered. Three plays later Brady again found Watson, this time on a 16-yard touchdown to give New England a 25-24 lead. (They would eventually win by that score.)

New England racked up 441 total yards of offense, including 368 passing yards. But this wasn’t your typical Patriot win in which they took control from the start and stepped on their opponent’s throat. Several times throughout the game, Brady looked uncomfortable on his newly repaired knee and New England’s defense looked befuddled by Buffalo’s no-huddle offense. If it weren’t for McKelvin’s fumble, the Patriots probably wouldn’t have walked out of Foxboro tonight with a win.

This loss doesn’t fall solely on McKelvin’s shoulders though. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell made several mistakes tonight, none bigger than switching to the prevent defense with under five minutes remaining. Instead of staying aggressive like he had been all night, Fewell went to a shell coverage and Brady picked the Bills apart.

And where was T.O. tonight? While Randy Moss was busy racking up 141 yards on 12 receptions, Owens totaled just 46 yards on two catches. He did make another grab, although he had to throw the defender down in order to make the catch and was called for pass interference. Granted, New England did a great job blanketing him all game, but he was non-existent. One would think that for as much as quarterback Trent Edwards scrambled out of the pocket that T.O. could have shaken loose from the defenders once or twice to make more catches.

The Bills let one get away tonight.

“We’ve got to go back and look at it. I think we’re still going to be a good football team, there’s no need to panic.” – Bears QB Jay Cutler following Chicago’s 21-15 loss to the Packers on Sunday night.

Cutler’s right – there is no need to panic. For all we know, Chicago will run the table to finish 15-1 and win the Super Bowl this season.

But even still, Cutler needed to show more than he did on Sunday night in Green Bay. Bad games are going to happen, but his four-interception night was trumped by only his poor attitude during and after the game. His receivers and his pass protection certainly didn’t provide him any help (a fact I’m sure isn’t lost on Cutler, who doesn’t mind dishing out blame), but Chicago’s defense gift-wrapped a win for this team and he did everything in his power to ensure that Green Bay would walk away with a victory.

Cutler played like a rookie tonight. On multiple occasions, he threw against his body and into coverage. He had a screen pass intercepted by Johnny Jolly because he didn’t show enough awareness to see that the 325-pound defensive tackle had stayed home on the play. On Tramon Williams’ 62-yard interception, Cutler flat out threw the ball in the direction of a receiver, but clearly had no idea where the pass was going.

If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that Cutler had money on Green Bay tonight. And yet after the game what does he say?

“There’s no need to panic.”

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The Cardinals raised their 2008 NFC Championship banner on Sunday before their game against the 49ers, and then promptly saw their potent offense neutralized in a disappointing 20-16 loss.

Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner threw for 288 yards and a touchdown, but he also finished with two interceptions and failed to get receiver Anquan Boldin (who had just two receptions for 19 yards) involved in the passing game. Warner did hook up with Larry Fitzgerald six times for 71 yards and a touchdown, but San Fran did an outstanding job mostly limiting the veteran signal caller to underneath passes and dump offs (which is why running back Tim Hightower racked up 121 yards on 12 receptions). Cornerbacks Nate Clements and Dre’ Bly did an outstanding job blanketing Fitzgerald and Boldin all game.

The 49ers’ offense struggled to get into a rhythm for most of the day. But quarterback Shaun Hill delivered when it mattered most by leading San Fran on a 15-play, 80-yard drive, which was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown reception by Frank Gore.

While it certainly isn’t panic time for Arizona considering this is only the first week, it must be worrisome for head coach Ken Whisenhunt that he lost playcaller Todd Haley this offseason and the Cardinals only mustered 16 points. Arizona’s offense wasn’t anemic by any means, but it’s interesting that when they absolutely needed to march down the field and score in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t muster more than one first down in each of their final three drives.