The Seattle Seahawks edged the Denver Broncos 26-20 in overtime in a Super Bowl re-match as onfield action regained center stage in the NFL.
Sunday's slate of 14 games couldn't come soon enough for a league under fire for its clumsy handling of incidents of violence by players against women and children.
Commissioner Roger Goodell's promise on Friday that the NFL would "get our house in order" was greeted with widespread scepticism.
But game action gave fans something else to talk about, including an historic rally for victory by the Dallas Cowboys, a last-second field goal for victory by the Baltimore Ravens and -- less fortunately -- a bench-clearing brawl in Philadelphia's win over Washington.
Marshawn Lynch ran in a touchdown in overtime to give the Seahawks the victory in a game that bore little resemblance to Seattle's 43-8 blowout triumph over the Broncos in February's championship extravaganza.
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning threw for two touchdowns, including a 26-yard scoring pass to Jacob Tamme with 18 seconds left in regulation that was followed by his two-point conversion pass to Demaryius Thomas that knotted the score at 20-20 and forced overtime.
The tying drive covered 80 yards in 41 seconds, with Denver out of timeouts.
But Manning never got the ball in overtime after Seahawks signal-caller Russell Wilson opened the extra session with a touchdown drive capped by Lynch's winning leap over the goal-line.
Meanwhile it was another thriller in St. Louis, where the Dallas Cowboys matched the biggest comeback in club history as they erased a 21-0 deficit to stun the Rams 34-31.
The Minnesota Vikings, rocked this week by reaction to their handling of star rusher Adrian Peterson after he was charged with child abuse for whipping his four-year-old son with a switch cut from a tree, found little relief on the field.
The New Orleans Saints, buoyed by a return home, defeated the Vikings 20-9, with quarterback Drew Brees throwing for 293 yards and two touchdowns for the Saints.
Among other results, San Diego beat Buffalo 22-10, Cincinnati dominated Tennessee 33-7, Detroit downed Green Bay 19-7 in an NFC North division duel, and Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes to lead Indianapolis to a crushing 44-17 victory over Jacksonville.
New England held off a determined Oakland 16-9, the New York Giants won their first game of the season, 30-17 over Houston, Arizona defeated a penalty-prone San Francisco 23-14 and Kansas City beat Miami 34-15.
