Faulk Receives Pass to Select Group

Well, at least there was one bright spot for Marshall Faulk on Sunday. The St. Louis Ram running back had seven receptions for 27 yards to become only the fourth running back in league history with 6,000 yards receiving.

Faulk, who ranks second in career receptions among running backs with 635 (trailing New England’s Larry Centers, who has 812), has 6,011 yards receiving, trailing Centers (6,709), Ronnie Harmon (6,076) and Lenny Moore (6,039).

Of course, his achievement was lost among all the discussion of the Rams’ 23-13 loss to the New York Giants and the concussion suffered by quarterback Kurt Warner.

Also Sunday, two streaks ended for the Miami Dolphins. They lost their opener for the first time in 12 years, and their record fell to 0-1, ending their streak of consecutive weeks with a .500-or-better record at 97.

The team with the second-longest streak of weeks at .500 or better was Oakland, which lost to Tennessee, 25-20, ending its streak at 49.

The new leader? Denver, which is 1-0 after beating Cincinnati, 30-10, improving its streak to 44 weeks in a row.

Incidentally, Raider owner Al Davis holds the record for most consecutive victories in lawsuits against the NFL and/or cities at 2,287.

The Dallas Cowboys hold the record for the most consecutive victories in season openers, 17, from 1965 to 1981.

You know, back when they used to be good.

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Besides Warner’s concussion, there was a rash of injuries Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers lost two of their top receivers on the same drive in a 30-25 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Pro Bowl receiver Donald Driver strained his neck in a scary fall in the fourth quarter and remained in the hospital overnight as a precaution. Shortly after Driver was hurt, the Packers’ other starting receiver, Robert Ferguson, tore ligaments in his right ankle and knee when he was hit hard by cornerback Ken Irvin.

New Orleans Saint defensive end Darren Howard will sit out up to three months after dislocating his right wrist against Seattle. He was hurt by falling on his wrist after colliding with 315-pound Seahawk tackle Walter Jones.

Also, Seahawk rookie fullback Chris Davis left in the second quarter because of a knee injury.

Atlanta Falcon receiver Brian Finneran broke two bones in his left hand against Dallas and will be out at least four weeks. Finneran was Atlanta’s leading receiver last season.

Two of the Dolphins’ defensive backs were injured against Houston. Backup defensive back Shawn Wooden strained his right hamstring and broke his left hand, and cornerback Sam Madison twisted his left ankle.

Also, Carolina linebacker Mike Caldwell injured his knee in the first half against Jacksonville and is out for the season, and Tennessee kicker Joe Nedney sprained his right knee against Oakland.

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Those of you who chose Baltimore quarterback Kyle Boller for your fantasy team shouldn’t have been surprised by his poor performance (22 for 43 for 152 yards, with one touchdown and one interception). Rookie quarterbacks whose first game was a season opener are 3-6 since 1990. Only two, Chris Weinke and Peyton Manning, threw for even 200 yards.

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New Detroit Coach Steve Mariucci showed why he is the smartest man on the planet. The Lions defeated Arizona, 42-24, so to whom did Mariucci give the game ball? Was it Joey Harrington, who passed for a career-high four touchdowns? The defense, which held Arizona scoreless in the fourth quarter, forced two fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown? No, Mariucci gave the game ball to team owner William Clay Ford. Mariucci gets five years, $25 million; Ford gets a game ball.

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In its seemingly unending pregame show before Thursday’s New York Jet-Washington Redskin game, ABC ran a cute little feature where it played the 2003 season on the just-released “ESPN NFL Football” video game. Touting the game’s realism, the announcers gushed over the game, which predicted that the 2004 Super Bowl champion would be the Arizona Cardinals.

Sunday’s update: Detroit 42, Arizona 24.

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Biggest mistake of the day: Dallas’ Troy Hambrick ran out for pregame introductions wearing a black cowboy hat, but backed it up with only 53 yards in 14 carries in his debut as Emmitt Smith’s replacement.

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Moments before their stunning 21-20 victory over the Dolphins, the Houston Texans announced that they had released long snapper Chance Pearce and signed long snapper Bryan Pittman, leading to one important question: Who cares?

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Not only was Sunday Week 1 in the NFL, it was the 60th anniversary of the league passing a rule making helmets mandatory.

But you probably shouldn’t mention that to Warner.

Associated Press contributed to this report.