The NFL season kicked off Thursday, Sept. 10, as the Pittsburgh Steelers lost by one touchdown to the New England Patriots, 28-21. The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots were led by Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski who connected on three touchdown passes in the victory. 
Sunday’s games included an upset when the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills 27-14. The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Carolina Panthers 20-9. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans by one touchdown, 27-20. The defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks came up short in overtime, losing to the St. Louis Rams 34-31. Their fellow NFC West member Arizona Cardinals defeated the New Orleans Saints 31-19. The Cincinnati Bengals completely blew out the Oakland Raiders 33-13. The Cleveland Browns lost 31-10 against the New York Jets. The Green Bay Packers took the win over the Chicago Bears 31-23. The Washington Redskins lost by one touchdown to the Miami Dolphins, 17-10. The San Diego Chargers came up clutch in a comeback win over the Detroit Lions, 33-28. The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Denver Broncos 19-13 despite a less than expected performance from Peyton Manning. The biggest blowout of Week 1 was the Tennessee Titans demolishing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 42-14.
Week 1 also featured two Monday Night Football games in a back-to-back doubleheader. In the first game, the Philadelphia Eagles fell short to the Atlanta Falcons when throwing an interception at the final moments of the game, and the Eagles lost 26-24. Finally, to end Week 1, the San Francisco 49ers limited the Minnesota Vikings offense and won  20-3.