Wiedmer: Falcons, Titans pleasantly surprise in Week 1

photo Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker (10) runs in his game against Tennessee Titans in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014.

With the first Sunday of the 2014 NFL regular season now officially in the books, is anybody ready to pencil in our Atlanta Falcons and our Tennessee Titans for the Super Bowl?

Anybody?

OK, so maybe the Seattle Seahawks were more impressive in their opening-weekend win over Green Bay than either the Falcons or the Titans were in their victories. San Francisco looked pretty good against Dallas, but keep in mind it's the Cowboys, whose chief attraction these days is pretty much that they're the Cowboys, kind of like the Beach Boys will always be the Beach Boys, no matter how long ago their last hit single was.

photo Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) works against the New Orleans Saints during their game, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, in Atlanta.

But regardless of which other teams impressed this weekend, both Atlanta and Tennessee almost certainly pleasantly surprised their fan bases more than anyone else.

The Falcons, of course, did what they've done better than any other team in the NFL since Matt Ryan became the starting quarterback in 2008 -- they delivered the 25th fourth quarter/overtime comeback win of Matty Ice's career.

That this 37-34 OT victory came against the visiting Saints -- who led 20-10 at halftime -- only sweetened the joy of this win within the ATL by about a thousand percent. Especially after last season's injury-riddled 4-12 worksheet.

Yet however impressive the Dirty Birds' triumph, its shock value paled in comparison to what the Titans pulled off in Kansas City in thoroughly dismantling the Chiefs, 26-10.

KC was a playoff team a year ago and expected to challenge for the postseason again this year. The Titans were 7-9 and entered Sunday with a new head coach in Ken Whisenhunt and an old question mark in fourth-year QB Jake Locker.

So what does Shaky Jakey do against the Eric Berry and the Chiefs? Try 22-of-33 for 266 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Maybe it wasn't the 448 passing yards, three touchdowns and no INTs turned in by the Falcons' Ryan, but it was arguably the best effort of Locker's career, given the setting, the outcome and the Titans' need for him to stay healthy for the first time in his career.

Or as CBS broadcaster Kevin Harlan said: "Locker looks like a completely different player."

If he does, Whisenhunt would appear to deserve at least some of the credit for that change, which he seemed happy to accept.

"Jake did great," Whisenhunt said told the media. "All those things we've worked with, footwork-wise and technique-wise ... you saw it."

What we'll see from this point forward with both the Falcons or the Titans is uncertain, though Atlanta again looks like a team capable of returning to the same NFC title game it lost in 2012. In the Titans' case, KC was forced to play most of the game without All-Pro linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive tackle Mike DeVito, who were both lost for the season with Achilles injuries, which likely had a significant impact on the outcome.

But two quotes from the television announcers covering these games should also be strongly considered going forward:

CBS's Rich Gannon on the Titans' offensive line, which helped pile up 405 total yards, including 162 on the ground: "They are powerful, and they really come off the ball in the running game."

Fox's John Lynch on the Falcons' ridiculously talented group of wide receivers: "That can be a tough group to cover. You just have to stop somebody on the other side now and then."

However, that's also exactly why Atlanta won. On the Saints' first two possessions, the Falcons held them to field goals. Beyond that, had Julio Jones not fumbled away what probably would have been a sure score in the first half, Atlanta probably would not have been forced to outscore the Saints 27-14 over the final half to win.

And regardless of how much the Falcons struggled at times defensively against New Orleans -- giving up 472 yards -- they still piled up 568 yards themselves, which should scare everyone else they play moving forward.

Through the luck of the NFL schedule, there's even an opportunity to see what might happen if the Falcons and Titans do both reach the Super Bowl, since Atlanta travels to Cincinnati to play the Bengals this Sunday before Tennessee visits the River City the next weekend.

Yes, it's just one game. As Matty Ice said late Sunday of his team's glittering performance against the Saints: "It's a good start, but it's a long season."

Yet play as they did on Sunday from this point forward and the seasons of the Falcons and Titans just might last longer than anyone thought possible this time a week ago.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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