American football: Morton's overtime kick-off return thrills Jets

On the evidence of a dramatic first week of play, the new American football season promises to be one of the most unpredictable and open of recent years. In all, three games went into overtime, while another two were decided in the final few seconds. There were also surprise defeats for the Super Bowl candidates, St Louis and Philadelphia, while unfancied San Diego showed they may be worth watching by overwhelming the Cincinnati Bengals 34-6.

The most explosive finish of the night came in Buffalo, where the Bills tied the scores against the New York Jets with 26 seconds remaining when Drew Bledsoe threw a 29-yard touchdown to the receiver Eric Moulds. Earlier, the Jets had opened their account when the diminutive Chad Morton returned a kick-off 98 yards.

The Bills had been warned, but failed to heed the lessons of history. Morton fielded the overtime kick-off, returning it 96 yards for the game-winning score. In doing so, he became only the second player ever to win an overtime game with a kick-off return.

"I knew it was going to be a foot race, and I didn't know if I had enough gas to make it to the end zone," he said. "I was thinking to myself, please don't get caught, but I made it. Game over."

An extra period of play was also needed in Green Bay, where the Packers and the Atlanta Falcons toiled in unseasonably high temperatures in normally chilly Northern Wisconsin. Both sides had chances: the Falcons, led by their impressive quarterback Michael Vick, had an early 11-point lead, but the Packers seemed to have things wrapped up when William Henderson scored on a one-yard run with 70 seconds left.

Vick, who had seen two of his receivers drop certain touchdowns, calmly moved the ball down the field, enabling A J Feely to level the scores with a 52-yard field goal with five seconds left. Vick, a future star, had performed impressively in his personal duel with his Green Bay counterpart, Brett Favre, but the Packers had the last word, Ryan Longwell converting a 34-yard field goal to win it for the home side.

Similar drama, but no happy ending for the home side in Tampa, where the Buccaneers were unexpectedly confounded by the unheralded New Orleans Saints. Tampa's new coach, Jon Gruden, has established a reputation as an offensive mastermind, but his team struggled against the determined Saints. Even so, Martin Gramatica converted a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give them hope.

Hopes were dashed in overtime, however, when the punter, Tom Tupa, threw the ball in the air in desperation, only to be intercepted by a grateful James Allen to seal New Orleans' triumph. "I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to be one to let this fester," said Gruden. "We have a good football team and we're going to bounce back from this."

The Kansas City Chiefs left it late against the Cleveland Browns. The Chiefs running back Priest Holmes gained 122 yards and four touchdowns, but despite his efforts, the Browns were still in front. However, Morten Andersen calmly kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to give Kansas City an unlikely 40-39 victory.

Chicago also left it late, Jim Miller throwing a nine-yard touchdown to David Terrell with 28 seconds left to help the Bears overcome the Minnesota Vikings 27-23.

The biggest winners of the new season, however, were the Houston Texans, who celebrated the first game in franchise history by upsetting the Dallas Cowboys 19-10. Houston had not had a franchise since 1996, when the Oilers abandoned the city to relocate to Tennessee. The new Texans owed much to their rookie quarterback, David Carr, who threw a touchdown with his first-ever completion, a 19-yarder to Billy Miller, then made sure with a 65-yard scoring pass to Corey Bradford to extinguish a late Dallas revival.

NFL: Washington 31 Arizona 23; Green Bay 37 Atlanta 34; Carolina 10 Baltimore 7; Miami 49 Detroit 21; Jacksonville 25 Indianapolis 28; Cleveland 39 Kansas City 40; Chicago 27 Minnesota 23; Buffalo 31 NY Jets 37; Tennessee 27 Philadelphia 24; Cincinnati 6 San Diego 34; Tampa Bay 20 New Orleans 26; Oakland 31 Seattle 17; Denver 23 St Louis 16; Houston 19 Dallas 10.