Week 1 of the NFL season provided plenty of ups and downs. Seven playoff teams from a year ago, Colts, Cowboys, Chargers, Vikings, Bengals, Jets, and Eagles, lost games.

There were some big time divisional upsets as the Redskins dropped the Cowboys, the Texans finally beat the Colts, their longtime nemesis, and the Chiefs open Monday Night Football by defeating the Chargers.

Of course, the first week saw a controversial call in a crucial point in a game and it had nothing to do with the alignment of the umpire behind the offensive line of scrimmage. The Bears eked out a win over the Lions when an apparent Calvin Johnson TD catch was reversed because he did not maintain possession after going to the ground.

Finally, I had the pleasure of covering both the Giants and Jets home openers as they opened the New Meadowlands Stadium. The Giants got the win, while the Jets suffered a tough one point loss on Monday night.

Here are the heroes and goats of Week 1.

The Good:
Texans RB Arian Foster – A superstar is born in the NFL. Foster torched the Colts for 231 yards on 33 carries and a whopping 3 TDs. In years past, the Texans could not hold on to a lead late in games, but Foster kept the Texans running game going and more importantly, kept the Colts offense off the field.

 

The Good, Part II:
Giants WR Hakeem Nicks – Nicks’ season started off horribly wrong as he dropped the first pass thrown his way causing an interception. Nicks quickly turned it around, regained QB Eli Manning’s trust and caught four passes, three of them for touchdowns.

 

The Bad:
Broncos QB Tim Tebow – Has there been a worse debut in the NFL by a player so hyped by the media? The Broncos want to find out what they got in Tebow, but it was an inauspicious start. Tebow was on the field for three plays, twice at QB and once at WR. He lined up in shotgun formation both times he was in at QB and he carried the ball twice for a whole 2 yards.

 

The Bad, Part II:
Injuries – Before the NFL contemplates extending the season to 18 games, they should take a look at the injury report for Week 1. Fifteen players were placed on the season ending IR list including a few high profile players like the Jets DT Kris Jenkins, Packers RB Ryan Grant and Eagles FB Leonard Weaver.

The Eagles also had other significant injuries as both QB Kevin Kolb and LB Stewart Bradley suffered concussions that will keep them out of the lineup for Week 2.

Every team except the Bears list six or more players on the injury report for Week 2. And the Bears have four players on their injury list.

If two more regular season games are added to the season, future injury reports are going to resemble phone books in size.

 

The Ugly:
Cowboys T Alex Barron – It’s hard to pin a loss on a single player, but if the Cowboys want to point the finger at someone, they need to look no further than backup tackle Alex Barron. Barron was consistently beat around the corner and he was responsible for three offensive holding penalties, none bigger than on the final play of the game when Barron held Redskins LB Brian Orakpo nullifying the game-tying and potential game-winning touchdown pass from QB Tony Romo to WR Roy Williams. It’s hard to justify why the Cowboys traded with the Rams to acquire Barron.