Opening week is always special, but this one felt like the best ever. Plenty of drama, plenty of good stuff from "old" guys Rich Gannon, Brett Favre, Drew Bledsoe and Vinny Testaverde and from young guys Tom Brady, Michael Vick, Drew Brees and David Carr. Plenty of scoring and plenty of boneheadedness.

	Drew Bledsoe's Buffalo debut tops Mort's list of Week 1 QB performances.

Agony and ecstasy, all over the place.

Can I change my Super Bowl and divisional picks? Nah, it's early. The first week is often unpredictable and a shaky barometer for what's to come. Teams see their schedules in spring and get about five months to prepare for one game. Now they get about five days. Week 2 might tell us even more.

Let's review Week 1 first with some top-five lists ...

Most Impressive in Victory
1. Patriots 30, Steelers 14 -- Do you really need more proof that the defending Super Bowl champs are legit? Funny, Bill Belichick called 25 consecutive pass plays (QB Tom Brady went 17-of-23 and was sacked twice in that span). If Mike Martz does this in St. Louis, he gets second-guessed.

2. Chargers 34, Bengals 6 -- You had to watch this one to appreciate it. No team on Sunday looked better prepared or better coached. In his San Diego coaching debut, Marty Schottenheimer watched his team play dominating, mistake-free football on the road. The Chargers rushed for 241 yards and a 5.5-yard average against a playoff-hopeful Bengals team that was at least supposed to be fairly stout on defense.

3. Broncos 23, Rams 16 -- Coach Mike Shanahan played this game like it was supposed to be, and he brought an urgency to the Broncos when he was on the verge of benching QB Brian Griese, who responded with a game-clinching drive. But how about coordinator Ray Rhodes' defense? Marshall Faulk shut down and Kurt Warner shut out of the end zone.

4. Texans 19, Cowboys 10 -- Until (and if) the Texans win a Super Bowl, few victories will ever feel better than this one. In a way, no surprise from coach Dom Capers. Defense and special teams made the night, and No. 1 draft pick David Carr might be much, much better than anyone understood on draft day.

5 (tie). Raiders 31, Seahawks 17 -- It wasn't this close. QB Rich Gannon won't allow his team to miss Jon Gruden's grinding intensity. This was also an indication that the free-agent additions of DTs John Parrella and Sam Adams were exactly what the doctor ordered.

5 (tie). Chiefs 40, Browns 39 -- Forget all the controversy. I can't get over the fact that the Chiefs scored 40 (or even 37) points on the Browns defense.

5 (tie). Dolphins 49, Lions 21 -- Sure, it was the Lions, but anytime you post almost half a hundred on any NFL team, you get plaudits.

Most Impressive in Defeat
1. Falcons 34, Packers 37 -- Here's what jumped out: The Falcons deserved to win. Michael Vick's debut as a starter couldn't have been much more impressive, and he had two TD passes dropped in the second half that would have delivered a win over Brett Favre and Co.

2. Bills 31, Jets 37 -- Set aside the disastrous kick coverages and the Bills served notice that all the "hype" about their offseason upgrades was well-deserved. Not only did Drew Bledsoe play phenomenal football, but there wasn't a more impressive running back in Week 1 than Travis Henry.

3. Eagles 24, Titans 27 -- OK, I know, the Eagles blew a 24-10 lead. They let the game get away from them. But the Eagles who built that 24-10 lead in the first half looked like a Super Bowl team, and Donovan McNabb never threw the ball better from the pocket.

4. Vikings 23, Bears 27 -- One poorly advised pass from Daunte Culpepper skewed what would have been an alarming upset against the defending division champion.

5. Cardinals 23, Redskins 31 -- The Cardinals made this a very anxious day in Steve Spurrier's debut as Redskins coach, further confirming what I suspect: Dave McGinnis and staff do pretty darn good work with limited resources.

Best Games
1. Chiefs 40, Browns 39 -- Just when you thought you'd seen it all.
2. Jets 37, Bills 31 (OT) -- A divisional knock-down, drag-out with plenty of drama.
3. Packers 37, Falcons 34 (OT) -- Brett Favre meets the future in Mike Vick.
4. Titans 27, Eagles 24 -- Battle of the Big Macs sees McNair a winner over McNabb.
5. Saints 26, Bucs 20 (OT) -- But still impressed how Bucs got FG unit on the field.

Best Plays
1. Chad Morton's 96-yard kickoff return to start and end the fastest overtime game ever for Jets.
2. Drew Bledsoe's 29-yard TD pass to Eric Moulds on fourth down to send the Bills into OT.
3. Ricky Williams' 37-yard sideline run with Miami 330-pounder Jamie Nails clearing the path.
4. Julius Peppers batting pass to Dan Morgan for Carolina's first win in 364 days.
5. Fred McAfee forcing Bucs punter Tom Tupa to cough up ball for winning Saints score.

Best Performances: Quarterback
1. Drew Bledsoe, Bills -- Model courage, poise and arm in his Buffalo debut.
2. Michael Vick, Falcons -- As Packers coach Mike Sherman said, "He gets my Pro Bowl vote."
3. Tom Brady, Patriots -- What sophomore jinx? What Steelers defense?
4. Kelly Holcomb, Browns -- Tim Couch's arm felt a lot better Monday.
5. Peyton Manning, Colts -- This guy's got a future, in Indy or L.A.

Worst Performances: Quarterback
1. Quincy Carter, Cowboys -- The ball just gets away from him, and so did the game.
2. Gus Frerotte, Bengals -- Evidence that 18-of-31 are just numbers.
3. Jake Plummer, Cardinals -- You've got David Boston and 22 incompletions?
4. Daunte Culpepper, Vikings -- Actually an "A" game until last pick set up Bears win.
5. Donovan McNabb, Eagles -- Same as Culpepper, but two picks inspired Titans' comeback.

Best Performances: Running Back
1. Travis Henry, Bills -- You had to see how hard this guy ran for his 149 yards and three TDs.
2. Charlie Garner, Raiders -- Only 15 carries but 127 yards; Seabags still haven't tackled him.
3. Priest Holmes, Chiefs -- Four TDs and 5.5 average, but they almost came too easy.
4. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers -- Wait until he gets a real offensive line.
5 (tie). Ahman Green, Packers -- Only a couple of fumbles and cramps cost him the top spot.
5 (tie). Ricky Williams, Dolphins -- Yes, the Lions count and so do Ricky's 111 yards and 5.6 average.

Best Performances: Receivers
1. Marty Booker, Bears -- Sooner or later, he'll get his props after a 198-yard day.
2. David Boston, Cardinals -- So, tell me, how do you cover a 240-pound wideout?
3. Eric Moulds, Bills -- Got open in the end zone when Jets knew he was the man.
4. Quincy Morgan, Browns -- A buck-fifty, two TDs and worth watching.
5. Rod Gardner, Redskins -- Just a feeling that this is the start of something big.

Best Kicks
1. Jay Feely, Falcons -- Hit a 52-yarder to send Falcons-Packers into overtime.
2. Martin Gramatica, Bucs -- Excitable guy keeps poise on 40-yard FG with clock ticking.
3. Morten Andersen, Chiefs -- Sure, it was a 30-yard chip-shot, but no time was left.
4. Jose Cortez, 49ers -- Well, it's easy to choke in Giants Stadium on national TV opener.
5. Olindo Mare, Dolphins -- His leg never tired on seven extra-pointers.

Best Coaching Debuts
1. Dom Capers, Texans -- How 'bout them Texans? Bad move to play these guys, Mr. Jones.
2. Marty Schottenheimer, Chargers -- Marty Ball at its finest ruins Bengals' season (already).
3. John Fox, Panthers -- You start Rodney Peete, and see what happens if you lose.
4. Bill Callahan, Raiders -- Looked like same old Raiders. Hoping they don't look old.
5 (tie). Steve Spurrier, Redskins -- Ball coach lets Stephen Davis touch it 33 times.
5 (tie). Tony Dungy, Colts -- Jags' defense held Fred Taylor to 3.5 yards per carry.

Worst Coaching Debut
1. Jon Gruden, Bucs -- Chucky watches the horrors of a bad offensive line.

Worst of Everything
1. Dwayne Rudd's helmet toss -- It might be the play of the year ... and might cost Browns a wild card.
2. Detroit Lions -- Matt Millen and Marty Mornhinweg watch may be on.
3. Cincinnati Bengals -- Now 65-year-old Dick LeBeau knows what it feels like to be 100.
4. Dallas Cowboys -- Hard knocks, all right. Where's Barry Switzer when you need a laugh?
5. Steelers' fizzled revenge -- Looks like Belichick landed hard right to Cowher's chin.

Best Quotes
1. Marcus Coleman, Texans: "Tell (Cowboys safety) Roy Williams he just lost to Baylor" -- in response to ex-Sooner Williams' pregame analogy that losing to Houston would be like Oklahoma dropping one to Baylor.

2. Mark Dixon, Dolphins: "I knew after the first four or five plays, the Lions were in trouble" (and so did I).

3. Steve Spurrier, Redskins coach: "They had that sponge for padding, but I guess my finger went through it" -- on cutting his finger on the headset in a precious sideline moment, the first of many.

4. Shane Matthews, Redskins: "Danny can kick" (or something like that) -- when the Redskins needed a kicker for injured Brett Conway, Matthews volunteered backup quarterback Danny Wuerffel, his ex-Gator pal, and put his competition at risk, causing yet another Spurrier moment.

5. Dwayne Rudd, Browns LB: "I never should have taken it off" -- on his helmet-tossing, game-costing penalty. Uh, really?