as he watched DeSean Jackson come down with a 36-yard touchdown pass over the middle. The journeyman quarterback then turned toward the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sideline and triumphantly thrust his arm in an upward arc.Time will tell if the Bucs are on a similar trajectory this season New Orleans Saints T-Shirt , but there's no denying they're off to an encouraging start.Fitzpatrick highlighted a 417-yard, four-touchdown performance with two scoring strikes of more than 50 yards, and the Buccaneers stunned the Saints 48-40 on Sunday."I'm happy to announce: FitzMagic is alive and well," Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said of his 35-year-old reserve quarterback, who was starting for suspended 2015 first-overall draft choice Jameis Winston. "Quite a start, huh?"Fitzpatrick completed 21 of 28 passes without an interception and also ran for a short touchdown, bowling over free safety Marcus Williams on his way into the end zone."I hope somebody had him in fantasy because he went crazy today," Bucs receiver Mike Evans said of Fitzpatrick. "And he was running the ball — phenomenal game. One of the most complete games I've seen."Coming off a playoff appearance and hosting a team that won only five games last season, the Saints were among the more heavily favored teams in Week 1. But some of the Saints' defensive players who were instrumental in New Orleans' success a season earlier had a miserable start to 2018.Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, the 2017 defensive rookie of the year, had trouble covering Evans New Orleans Saints Hats , who caught seven passes for 147 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown that put the Bucs up 41-24 late in the third quarter."It isn't going to get me down. Everybody gets beat," Lattimore said. "We needed to get slapped in our face one good time to see we're not on a level we think we're on."A season ago, Evans was so frustrated with coverage by Lattimore that he hit him after the whistle and wound up being suspended a game for it. After this latest meeting, Evans said, "I like my odds against anybody, not just him."Jackson caught scoring passes of 58 and 36 yards to highlight his five-catch, 146-yard day before leaving with a concussion.Fitzpatrick also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin."The talent level in that huddle, with guys that can go up and make plays, it's a pretty special group," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm glad we showed it today New Orleans Saints Hoodie , but now it's about consistency."COMEBACK BIDThe Saints put together a frantic offensive flurry in the fourth quarter, scoring twice on touchdowns by Alvin Kamara — the first a 1-yard run and the second a 7-yard catch, both followed by 2-point conversions. That cut the Saints' deficit to eight points with 3:31 to go.On third-and-11, Fitzpatrick needed to make one more play — and did. He scrambled to his left for 12 yards at the two-minute warning. With New Orleans out of timeouts, Fitzpatrick was able to run out the clock."That's the type of game we've played in year's past as a .500 team," Saints coach Sean Payton said, alluding to three straight 7-9 seasons from 2014-16 before the Saints returned to the playoffs with 11 wins in 2017. "Nothing carries over from last year. I've said it a millions times."STATS AND TRENDSThe combined 88 points set an NFL record for a regular-season opener, narrowly eclipsing Philadelphia's 45-42 victory over Washington in September of 1947.New Orleans' Drew Brees was 37 of 45 for 439 yards and three TDs. Kamara, the 2017 offensive rookie of the year, caught nine passes for 112 yards and one touchdown to go with two touchdown runs. Receiver Michael Thomas set a single-game franchise record by catching 16 passes for 180 yards and a TD, but turned the ball over on a fumble across midfield in the third quarter.Tampa Bay scored on six of its first seven possessions. The only Bucs drive of the first half that did not produce points was when they ran out the final 55 seconds before halftime. Tampa Bay did not punt until their eighth drive about halfway through the third quarter. The Bucs finished with eight passing plays of 20 or more yards.The Saints punted only once in the first half and trailed 31-24 at halftime after Thomas' 6-yard touchdown catch.FUMBLED OPPORTUNITYWith Mark Ingram serving a four-game suspension for use of a banned substance Youth Customized New Orleans Saints Jerseys , the Saints brought in running back Mike Gillislee after he was cut by New England. In his Saints debut, Gillislee fumbled in the second quarter on a hit by Vernon Hargreaves. Cornerback Justin Evans scooped up the loose ball and ran it back for a 34-yard TD.INJURIESBuccaneers: Hargreaves was helped to the locker room with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.Saints: New Orleans did not announce any injuries.UP NEXTBuccaneers: Host Philadelphia on Sunday.Saints: Host Cleveland on Sunday. Maybe Panthers coach Ron Rivera should allow his special teams to run out of the tunnel more often for pre-game introductions.Graham Gano connected on all four field goal attempts, including a career-long 63-yarder with 1 second remaining, and Carolina recovered a muffed punt in the end zone for a touchdown to beat the New York Giants 33-31 in a wild game Sunday."Piece of cake," Rivera joked after Gano's winning field goal, which tied for the second longest in NFL history.Gano's winning kick came after the Giants erased an 11-point fourth quarter deficit. Eli Manning hooked up with Saquon Barkley on a 15-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline — the rookie made a long dive into the end zone — to put the Giants in front 31-30 with 1:08 remaining.Gano's previous career long was 59 yards. He's now made 35 in a row at home dating back to 2016.He said running out of the smoky tunnel before the game for the first time in his career was "pretty special" and made him feel like Cam Newton. But the winning kick was even better.After he converted the kick he said his main goal was seeking safety from the rest of his teammates running after him."I just tried to hit a good ball and the rest was craziness and madness," Gano said. "I'm so excited for our guys."It's the second year in a row the Giants (1-4) have been beaten by a monster field goal at the end. In the third game last season, Jake Elliott of the Eagles kicked a 61-yarder for a 27-24 win.Newton threw for 237 yards and had two touchdowns and two interceptions and helped get the Panthers (3-1) into field goal range with a 20-yard completion to D.J. Moore and a 9-yarder to Christian McCaffrey on the final drive.Newton called it a "subpar" game on his part, but was thrilled Gano helped bail him out."A wise man told me once that a great quarterback is only as good as his kicker," Newton said. "Graham put the whole team on his back today. ... well, on his toe today."Manning finished 22 of 36 for 326 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions www.thesaintsfootballauthentic.com , both by Panthers 37-year-old safety Mike Adams.Odell Beckham Jr., had a big game as a receiver and passer. Beckham had eight catches for 131 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 57-yarder to Barkley for New York's first touchdown."I'm proud of everything we showed today," said Beckham. "We just came up short."Beckham had one big mistake in the first half that cost his team.Instead of fielding Michael Palardy's punt at his 5, Beckham went to block a Carolina player. The ball hit off his leg and two other Giants had a chance to recover the loose ball before eight-year veteran special teams player Colin Jones recovered in the end zone for his first career score and a 14-3 Carolina lead.BECKHAM'S COMMENTSBeckham said he addressed his Giants teammates before the game about comments he made about Manning and the offense this past week. He said things had built up inside of him for several weeks and that his comments "came out the wrong way."SAMUEL'S RETURNThe Panthers got another weapon back on the field and he made an immediate impact. Curtis Samuel, a second-round pick in 2017, turned a wide receiver screen into a 25-yard touchdown in the first quarter in his first game since undergoing a minor heart procedure. The speedster, 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, showed some toughness by breaking three tackles to get into the end zone.NATIONAL ANTHEMPanthers safety Eric Reid knelt during the national anthem in protest of racial and social injustice. None of Reid's new Carolina teammates joined him or stood near him at midfield. He is the first Panthers player ever to kneel during the national anthem.INJURIESGiants: Right tackle Chad Wheeler left in the fourth quarter with a hand injury and did not return.Panthers: Wide receiver Devin Funchess was evaluated for a concussion in the fourth quarter following a helmet-to-helmet hit by Giants defensive back Michael Thomas, but returned to the game. ... Center Ryan Kalil was shaken up late in the fourth quarter and did not return as Tyler Larsen finished the game.UP NEXTGiants: Host Eagles on Thursday night.Panthers: Visit Redskins next Sunday.
