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The NFL never fails.
It took one game and about three-and-a-half hours for football to remind America why it's the king, courtesy a so-good-you-couldn't-have-written-the-script Super Bowl rematch between the new-look Denver Broncos and reigning MVP Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. In a game that had more swings than an old-school heavyweight bout, Denver backed up its Super Bowl win with a one-point victory after Carolina's Graham Gano missed a go-ahead 50-yard field goal in the final seconds. How great was it? Let us count the ways.
1. Prior to kickoff, Cam Newton put even higher stakes on a game that had just about as high of stakes as any Week 1 game could have. "This is the type of game that you pretty much set your legacy," he said. Good thing he's wrong. Though Newton played well, he was still felled by Denver's defense, much like he was in Super Bowl 50. No matter. Newton's legacy is defined by what happens in those types of games -- in January and February -- not on a September evening that was too warm for football. If the playoffs should be his unraveling, like they were to Dan Marino, Newton's body of work over his career will shape him. On Thursday, he broke the post-merger record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, doing so in half the games of the previous record-holder, Steve Young. That's legacy, not an opening-week game in 2016.
But you have to love Newton for saying that. He put it on the line. He's desperate to win. It's refreshing. Why did he pout after that Super Bowl loss? Because losing hurts. That's the way it should be. This one should sting for the entire flight back to Charlotte and for a day or two after. Then it's time for the 49ers. There's no time to mourn in the NFL.
2. In addition to the slings and arrows of outrageous football we saw on the final drive, the Broncos and Panthers sent a virtual memo to the NFL about two must-have rule changes. On a 4th-and-21 from inside Carolina territory, Newton missed Kelvin Benjamin and the game, for all intents and purposes, was over. But Denver's Chris Harris was called for the tickiest of ticky-tack hands-to-the-face penalties while he was six yards off the line of scrimmage, lined up on a receiver who wasn't involved in the play and arguably was in Harris's face just as much. The resulting automatic first down is a joke. On a play away from the ball, give the offense the yardage and a replay. Fourth-and-21 to a first down? Come on.
But you needn't have cried for the Broncos. Later in the drive, Newton was pressured, rolled around in the pocket and threw the ball away immediately before taking a shot to the head -- the fifth of the day but the first to be flagged. (Anybody watching had to have the same thought: Concussion? The hits to Newton's head were egregious, irresponsible and dangerous. He's lucky the concussion protocol didn't force him from the game and hopefully that was the proper decision.) So, it should have been an automatic first down for Carolina. But because Newton's pass didn't make the line of scrimmage, an intentional-grounding flag was properly thrown. The fouls offset and the down was replayed. It was all by the book. But how is a blow to the helmet from a spearing defender and a fluttering football that lands short of the line of scrimmage deemed equal in the eyes of the rule book? They shouldn't be. The NFL is always tinkering with its rules. These are two that should get consideration next March.
3. Every year we're reminded not to treat Week 1 results as future gospel. Every year we forget. Don't fall into that trap. Revel in the great fun of what we just saw, then throw out everything you think you know about the Broncos and Panthers. Trevor Siemian looked adequate but not great. What does it mean for the next 16 weeks? Who knows? Cam Newton was spectacular at times and ordinary at others. Will he repeated as MVP? See the answer above. The Panthers secondary looked like it will survive, and perhaps thrive, without Josh Norman. Denver's rushing attack (120 yards) was encouraging. And in nine days, none of it will matter. This was just one of 16 and the fact that it came first is irrelevant. We know nothing more or less about the Broncos and Panthers at midnight than we did at kickoff.
Only one Super Bowl winner in the past five years has looked remotely like a title team in Week 1 of its championship season. Last year's Broncos needed an end-zone strip to win an ugly 19-13 game over the Ravens. The year before, New England's opening game resulted in a loss to Miami. Seattle scored 12 points to kick off its title run in 2013. And the New York Giants were doubled-up by the Mike Shanahan-coached Redskins in 2011. Only Baltimore, with a 44-13 blowout win over division rival Cincinnati to open 2012, had a Super Bowl feel on the second weekend of September.
4. To those (including me) who said a Super Bowl rematch was a better fit for midseason rather than Week 1, being wrong never felt so good. The NFL is back. One down, 266 to go.
