The Comeback Kids

I don't know if I've ever seen a regular-season NFL Sunday that had as many comebacks as we saw yesterday.

Was it because it was only the second week of the season and many players haven't gotten into mid-season form?

Or was it a sign of things to come?

We shall see, we shall see.

• The San Diego-Denver game may have been the most dramatic game on the schedule.
  
  Denver led, 31-17, at halftime, then gave up 21 points in the second half before scoring the winning touchdown with just under four minutes to play. The Chargers still had a chance to pull it out on the final play of the game, but the Broncos prevailed, 39-38.
  
  The teams combined for an astonishing 942 yards in total offense. The two starting quarterbacks combined for more than 700 yards on 57-of-83 passing — with seven TD passes and only two interceptions — between them.
  
  Kind of like a throwback to the salad days of the old AFL, isn't it?


• Speaking of starting quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers may have made Green Bay's fans forget (albeit temporarily) about Brett Favre's departure.
  
  OK, Packer fans won't forget about Favre any time soon. But Rodgers completed three first-half touchdown passes as the Packers ran up a 21-3 halftime lead on Detroit.
  
  Thanks to a couple of field goals and a couple of Calvin Johnson TD receptions, the Lions rallied to take a 25-24 lead on Green Bay in the fourth quarter, but the Packers scored the last 24 points of the game on a couple of interception returns for touchdowns and a TD run by Brandon Jackson.
  
  Rodgers is now 2-0 as the starting QB for the Packers. The last Green Bay QB who started his tenure in Titletown 2-0 was Scott Hunter, who also replaced a Super Bowl-winning legend — Bart Starr — in 1971.


• Peyton Manning led the Indianapolis Colts to a come-from-behind victory over the Minnesota Vikings on the road.
  
  The Colts trailed, 15-0, before Manning threw for a couple of TDs (one of which included a two-point conversion that tied the score), then maneuvered the team into position for kicker Adam Vinatieri to nail the game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining.
  
  Manning was another member of the 300-yard club, passing for 311 yards against the Vikings.


• The Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars have met nine times. In seven of those games, the winner has outscored the loser by six points or less.
  
  Sunday's game was no exception, as Buffalo improved to 2-0 with a 20-16 victory over the Jaguars.
  
  The Bills led, 10-3, at intermission, then relinquished the lead in the third quarter, trailing 13-10 going into the fourth quarter. But the Bills scored 10 points in the final four minutes to win the game.


• The Washington Redskins jumped out to a 3-0 lead over New Orleans in the first quarter, then fell behind at halftime, 10-9.
  
  The Saints built a two-score advantage by the end of the third quarter, 24-15, but Washington scored 15 unanswered points in the final period to win the game, 29-24.


• The Carolina Panthers remained unbeaten with a 20-17 come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Bears.
  
  The Bears led, 10-3, at halftime, and they maintained their lead by a slimmer margin, 17-13, going into the fourth quarter.
  
  But the Panthers won the game on Jonathan Stewart's 1-yard TD run with 3:52 to play.


• San Francisco and Seattle needed overtime to settle things between them.
  
  The 49ers fell behind, 14-3, in the first quarter, and trailed, 20-13, at halftime. They rallied to take the lead in the third quarter, 27-20, but Seattle took the lead, 30-27, in the fourth quarter before the 49ers tied the game on a 28-yard Joe Nedney field goal with less than 2:30 to play in regulation.
  
  Nedney won the game in the overtime period with a 40-yard field goal.

The week wraps up tonight when the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Dallas Cowboys for ESPN's Monday night football game at 7:30 p.m. (Central).