Pittsburgh Steelers edged out rivals Cleveland Browns 21-18 in a closely fought AFC North divisional game to open the season.
Antonio Brown was the standout for the Steelers, picking up 182 yards off 11 catches, including a somewhat controversial 38-yard grab late in the fourth quarter to extend a drive and allow Pittsburgh to run the clock down.
The ball came loose at the end of the Brown catch and the play was reviewed, but it was ruled that the Steelers receiver had already completed the catch to end the play by the time the ball popped free.
Rookie 21-year-old quarterback DeShone Kizer impressed in flashes for the Browns on his first NFL start, including rushing for a one-yard score and throwing a three-yard TD to Corey Coleman, which brought the Browns to within three of the Steelers.
But, Kizer also threw an interception - J.J. Watt's younger brother T.J. with the pick - and was sacked seven times as he was guilty of extending plays too long at times.
Earlier, the Steelers took an 7-0 lead when a blocked punt was recovered by linebacker Anthony Chickillo in the end zone. Defences dominated the majority of the first half thereafter.
Pittsburgh advanced their lead with two short touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger to tight end Jesse James either side of half-time and while the Browns rallied late, it wasn't to be enough.
Elsewhere in the early Sunday kick-offs in the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons recovered from their heart-breaking Super Bowl LI defeat by earning a 32-17 road win over the Chicago Bears.
Coming off an MVP-worthy season, Ryan was 21 of 30 passing, for 321 yards and a touchdown.
AFC contenders Oakland Raiders got the better of the Tennessee Titans 26-16 in Nashville, with quarterback Derek Carr threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns
In Texas, Leonard Fournette ran for 100 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Houston Texans 29-7.
Jacksonville had 10 sacks and forced four turnovers to help the Jaguars, with QB Tom Savage struggling badly behind a porous offensive line, benched in favor of rookie Deshaun Watson at half-time with Houston trailing 19-0.
The Philadelphia Eagles earned an impressive 30-17 road win over NFC East divisional rivals Washington Redskins, with QB Carson Wentz throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
By contrast, Washington's Kirk Cousins struggled, being picked off at the goal line and fumbling twice. Cousins' second fumble was forced by Brandon Graham and returned 20 yards for a touchdown by Fletcher Cox in the final minutes.
Baltimore Ravens' rebuilt defence picked off Andy Dalton four times and forced a fumble as they shut out the Cincinatti Bengals 20-0 in Ohio.
The Ravens ended a five-game losing streak in Cincinnati by pressuring Dalton into matching his career-high for interceptions, three of them in the first half.
Detroit Lions set an NFL record last year in winning eight games when trailing in the final quarter, and they opened the 2017 season with another as they beat the Arizona Cardinals 35-23 at home.
The Cardinals led 17-9 late in the third quarter before giving up 26 straight points.
In the AFC East divisional match-up between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, the Bills came out on top 21-12 in front of their home fans in Buffalo.