ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 11: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolls out of the pocket agains the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on September 11, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Football’s back, and it could hardly have been more glorious. There was an instant classic in progress during every block of games, a host of amazing plays and even better finishes. It started on Thursday night, of course, with a twisting, turning, back-and-forth between two title contenders. It would end that way, too, with the agony of a makeable field goal drifting wide.

In between, there was more action than we knew what to do with.

In Atlanta, Jameis Winston overcame an early interception to throw four touchdown passes, including a gorgeous strike to tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins (remember those preseason whispers about him not making the team?). Gerald McCoy had a day, with two batted passes, three tackles and a sack. Matt Ryan, for his part, kept it clean and hooked up with Julio Jones for a touchdown pass, but the Bucs outclassed the Falcons 31-24.

In Baltimore, Rex Ryan lost to the ghost of Rex Ryan as Ryan’s current Bills lost a slugfest to his old Ravens. Big plays from Mike Wallace (!) and Breshad Perriman (!!!?!) led to a 13-7 win. Osweiler outdueled Jay Cutler, throwing scores to DeAndre Hopkins and first-round rookie Will Fuller. Texans tailback Lamar Miller ground out 106 yards, and J.J. Watt played the whole game (but didn’t do much).

The Browns Browned, with RGIII looking tentative and ineffective between long gainers to Terrelle Pryor and Corey Coleman. Carson Wentz shredded the talent-starved Browns defense, 29-10. In Tennessee, the Shaun Hill era began with a whimper — two defensive touchdowns covered up a miserable 12-point outing by the offense. Even worse, Blair Walsh missed two field goals and an extra point.

About Ty Schalter

Ty Schalter is thrilled to be part of The Comeback. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, Ty also works as an NFL columnist for Bleacher Report and VICE Sports, and regular host for Sirius XM’s Bleacher Report Radio. In another life, he was an IT cubicle drone with a pretentious Detroit Lions blog.