New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker (83) celebrates after his second touchdown catch, during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Randy Moss said he doesn't think he's appreciated in New England, and Terrell Owens apologized to Bengals fans. Wes Welker, however, stayed typically quiet and concentrated on scoring touchdowns.

In a game that featured star receivers on both sides, Welker capped his speedy return from a serious knee injury by catching two TD passes from Tom Brady to help the Patriots beat Cincinnati 38-24 in their season opener Sunday.

While the New England defense was holding Owens and teammate Chad Ochocinco in check early, Welker was darting through the Bengals' secondary. He caught eight passes for 64 yards less than eight months after surgery to repair a knee ligament he tore in the final game last season.

Many doubted the 2009 All-Pro would be back for the opener, but he and Brady were confident.

"I had pretty much instilled it in my mind that I would be back," Welker said. "I still have a ways to go. ... I have this stupid knee brace I hate. I can't wait to burn it. We're getting there, slowly but surely."

The Patriots also scored on defense with Gary Guyton's 59-yard interception return and on special teams with Brandon Tate's 97-yard runback of the second-half kickoff.

DeAngelo Hall returned a fumble 32 yards for Washington's only touchdown, and Donovan McNabb completed 15 of 32 passes for 171 yards in his Redskins debut.It also was the Washington curtain-raiser for Mike Shanahan, and the longtime Denver Broncos coach watched his defense keep the Cowboys at bay when it mattered.

Arian Foster ran for a team-record 231 yards and scored three touchdowns to help Houston end a six-game losing streak against Peyton Manning and the defending AFC champions.Foster, an undrafted rookie who spent most of last season on the practice squad, had 33 carries in gaining the most yards by a Colts opponent. He had the NFL's second-best opening weekend rushing performance since 1933, topped only by O.J. Simpson's 250 yards for Buffalo in 1973 against New England.Manning completed 40 of 57 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns.

Aaron Rodgers threw a pair of touchdown passes, Mason Crosby kicked a team-record 56-yard field goal and Green Bay won despite a vintage performance by Michael Vick.In their first game since trading McNabb to Washington, the Eagles started with Kevin Kolb and finished with Vick. Kolb left with a concussion at halftime, so Vick played meaningful snaps for an extended period for the first time in nearly four years.

Jay Cutler threw for 372 yards, including a 28-yard TD pass to Matt Forte with 1:32 left to lift Chicago.The Lions, who lost quarterback Matthew Stafford with a right shoulder injury late in the first half, nearly pulled out the win, but Shaun Hill's 25-yard pass to Calvin Johnson in the end zone with 25 seconds left was ruled incomplete after a review.Two incompletions later, the Lions walked off the field with their 21st straight road loss.

Matt Hasselbeck threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Seattle gave new coach Pete Carroll a winning start.Carroll left Southern California after last season and is back coaching in the NFL for the first time in 11 years.

Larry Fitzgerald caught a 21-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter, helping Arizona spoil the debut of No. 1 draft pick Sam Bradford.Derek Anderson passed for 297 yards in his first start as the replacement for the retired Kurt Warner.

Chris Johnson ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, Vince Young threw for two scores and the Titans avoided any comparisons to last year's 0-6 start with a season-opening rout.The Titans sacked new Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell four times.

The New York Giants opened their new $1.6 billion home by beating the Panthers with a big second half.Trailing 16-14 at halftime, the Giants surged behind second-year receiver Hakeem Nicks, who caught three touchdown passes from Eli Manning.

David Garrard threw three touchdown passes, two to tight end Marcedes Lewis, and Jacksonville won a game the team called one of the most important in franchise history.

Karlos Dansby and Miami's new-look defense limited Buffalo to 166 yards on offense in Chan Gailey's debut as Bills coach.

Josh Freeman returned from a three-week layoff because of a broken thumb on his throwing hand and tossed a pair of TD passes as Tampa Bay overcame an 11-point deficit.The Browns fell to 1-11 in openers since the club returned as an expansion franchise in 1999.