(My Sportsbook) - The biggest mouth may be gone from the locker room, but the big play hasn't left the Dallas Cowboys offense.

The long-awaited question of whether the Cowboys could survive the offseason departure of Terrell Owens was answered with an emphatic yes in Sunday's season-opening victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the team's first game since severing ties with the spotlight-seeking star wide receiver, Dallas piled up 462 total yards and got a career day out of quarterback Tony Romo in cruising to a 34-21 win.

Despite no longer possessing Owens' obvious talents as a deep threat, the Cowboys had no problem stretching the field against a transitioning Tampa Bay defense. Romo threw three long touchdown passes en route to racking up a personal-best 353 passing yards, with the celebrity signal-caller connecting on a 42-yard strike to Miles Austin late in the first half, a 66-yarder to Owens heir apparent Roy Williams early in the third quarter and an 80-yard bomb to Patrick Crayton in the fourth to answer a Buccaneers' comeback threat.

Romo needed to complete only 16 passes to amass his career-high yardage total, with Dallas receivers averaging a startling 22.1 yards per catch. Crayton finished with 135 yards on just four grabs, the second-highest output of his six-year career.

"We don't think about explosive plays," said Romo when asked if the offense felt it had something to prove. "We just play what the defense is giving us. We're just trying to go out there and execute on that specific play, and I think we did that today. We were able to take advantage of some opportunities."

While Sunday's win was certainly encouraging, the Cowboys are also aware that's there's still plenty of room for improvement. A revamped defense surrendered 450 total yards, including 174 on the ground, to a Tampa squad that had changed offensive coordinators just days prior to the game. After producing an NFL-best 59 sacks a year ago, Dallas failed to take down Bucs quarterback Byron Leftwich once in the opener.

"Defensively they gashed us in the run game and had a lot of yards on us, especially in the first half, but we made some adjustments, came back in the second half and played solid defense," said linebacker Keith Brooking, one of five new starters on the Cowboys' stop unit. "We gave up a couple big plays in the passing game, but all-in-all at the end of the day, we made the plays we had to make to win the game."

QUICK HITS: The Cowboys improved to 8-1 in September under third-year head coach Wade Phillips and won their opener for the third straight season...Sunday's victory was Dallas' first-ever at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium and first in the city since 1990. The team had lost in each of its previous two visits to the Bucs' current home venue...After finishing with 71 yards on a team-best five catches, tight end Jason Witten eclipsed 5,000 career receiving yards (5,006)...Strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh left Sunday's game in the third quarter with bruised ribs, but x-rays turned up negative and he expects to play in this week's matchup with the New York Giants.

NEXT UP: The first regular-season test at the lavish new Cowboys Stadium takes place this Sunday, when the division-rival Giants come in for a primetime showdown. Dallas has won three of its last four non-playoff meetings at home against New York, but figures to be tested by a Giants' offense that led the NFL in rushing yards in 2008.

N.Y. GIANTS: The Giants also entered the season with glaring question marks at the wide receiver position, concerns that were eased as well by the performance of two young players in Sunday's 23-17 home win over Washington.

The duo of third-year pro Steve Smith and sophomore Mario Manningham combined for 14 catches, 142 yards and a touchdown in the season-opening triumph. Smith, taking over the flanker position that had been held down the previous 13 seasons by franchise all-time receptions leader Amani Toomer, led the charge with six grabs totaling 80 yards.

Manningham, one a group of relative neophytes being asked to fill the shoes of the controversial but accomplished Plaxico Burress, may have been even more impressive in the extensive game action of his brief career. The former University of Michigan star garnered 58 yards on three catches and scored a dazzling 30-yard touchdown in the second quarter by putting a nifty shake-and- bake on Redskins cornerbacks Fred Smoot and DeAngelo Hall.

The 23-year-old Manningham totaled a mere four catches for 26 yards in a disappointing rookie season, but showed on Sunday he may be ready to take on a larger and more needed role in the Giants' offense.

"He did some really good things today," quarterback Eli Manning said of Manningham. "He's got a lot of talent, a lot of ability. Really, the touchdown pass, that was just all him."

Manningham's emergence couldn't have come at a more opportune time for the Giants. Not only do the defending NFC East champions have to replace the talents and presence of Burress, a task the team had great difficulty getting done after the troubled wideout took himself out of action with a self- inflicted gun shot wound late last season, and the steady production of Toomer, but they'll also have to make do without promising rookie Hakeem Nicks for at least a couple of games.

Nicks, New York's first-round pick in April's draft and the intended eventual successor to Burress, suffered a left foot sprain in the second half of his NFL debut and will probably be sidelined for 2-to-3 weeks.

Manning seemed to have little difficulty gaining a rapport with his new-look receiving corps, completing a sharp 20-of-29 passes for 256 yards in the opener. The even-keeled field general did not throw for more than 191 yards in any of the Giants' final five games (including playoffs) of 2008, a stretch that coincided with Burress' absence from the lineup.

QUICK HITS: Defensive end Osi Umenyiora had a highly-successful return in Sunday's win. The two-time Pro Bowl honoree, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, sacked Washington's Jason Campbell and forced a fumble he returned 37 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. It was his third career score...Reserve running back Danny Ware dislocated his left elbow on the game's opening kickoff and will miss at least two weeks...Cornerbacks Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery were inactive for the opener due to hamstring injuries, while outside linebacker Michael Boley sat out the contest to serve a one-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

NEXT UP: The Giants will face a second straight divisional opponent when they pay a visit to the extravagant new Cowboys Stadium this Sunday. New York has lost the last two regular-season matchups in this series, including a 20-8 setback back in December, but did deal Dallas a 21-17 defeat at the old Texas Stadium in the 2007 NFC Divisional Playoffs.

PHILADELPHIA: While the Cowboys and Giants have to be mostly pleased with their Week 1 results, the Philadelphia Eagles are likely viewing their season- opening outcome as a mixed bag. The team produced an authoritative 38-10 victory on the road over the reigning NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, fueled by a dominating display by a defense that forced seven turnovers, but the optimism was tempered somewhat due to a potentially-costly injury to quarterback Donovan McNabb.

McNabb suffered a fractured rib after being hit hard by the Panthers' Damione Lewis on a three-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, leaving the brittle veteran's status for this Sunday's clash with the New Orleans Saints in serious doubt. If McNabb doesn't play, it will mark the fourth time in the last five seasons he's missed at least one game due to injury.

While there's mounting evidence that McNabb won't be available this week, it's uncertain as to who will be under center when the Eagles host the Saints. The situation was clouded even further after Monday's surprising signing of 39- year-old Jeff Garcia, the battle-tested old pro who guided Philly to five straight late-season wins and an NFC East title after taking over for an ailing McNabb back in 2006.

Garcia, who's well-versed in the Eagles' West Coast scheme, should provide some insurance for unproven third-year man Kevin Kolb, the favorite to start the New Orleans game. Michael Vick is not an option for Sunday's tilt, as the former Atlanta Falcons star won't be eligible to be fully reinstated from his well-publicized league suspension until Week 3.

In the meantime, the Eagles will lean on a defense that was both aggressive and highly opportunistic in new coordinator Sean McDermott's official debut. The unit intercepted five passes and delivered five sacks in addition to forcing a pair of fumbles, one of which was returned two yards for a touchdown by end Victor Abiamiri, in Sunday's rout of the Panthers. The seven turnovers directly led to 24 of the Philadelphia's 38 points.

"The guys did a tremendous job of getting pressure early," said cornerback Sheldon Brown, who picked off the Panthers' Jake Delhomme twice on the afternoon. "If the guys up front make some plays on the quarterback early, then they make some mistakes. The guys up front dominated the line of scrimmage today."

QUICK HITS: Standout offensive lineman Shawn Andrews was placed on injured reserve Tuesday due to a lingering back issue that limited the three-time Pro Bowler to only two games in 2008...Regular left guard Todd Herremans also missed the opener with a stress fracture in his foot, with Nick Cole taking his place in the starting lineup and Winston Justice manning Andrews' right tackle spot...Wide receiver DeSean Jackson had an 85-yard punt return touchdown in the second quarter, the second-longest in team history...The Eagles scored an offensive, defensive and special teams touchdown in the same game for the first time since a loss at Cincinnati on December 12, 1994...Reserve defensive lineman Darren Howard had two of the Eagles' five sacks on Sunday.

NEXT UP: Kolb's appears to be on track to make his first NFL start when the Eagles open their 2009 home slate against a high-powered Saints team that's coming off a 45-27 win over lowly Detroit in Week 1, behind a six-touchdown effort from prolific quarterback Drew Brees. New Orleans will be making its first visit to Lincoln Financial Field since a 33-20 loss to Philadelphia in 2003.

WASHINGTON: The offensive problems that plagued the Washington Redskins during the second half of last season seem to have carried over to 2009. The Burgundy and Gold mustered just 272 total yards in Sunday's loss to the Giants and failed to sufficiently move the football throughout much the first half, putting the team into a 17-0 hole it could never dig its way out of.

Of Washington's two touchdowns, one came on a well-executed fake field goal attempt by punter Hunter Smith in the closing seconds before halftime. The other, a 17-yard strike from quarterback Jason Campbell to tight end Chris Cooley, happened with under two minutes left to play against a relaxed New York defense holding a comfortable 23-10 lead.

The Redskins also failed to find the end zone on a third-quarter drive that started at the Giants' 11-yard line after cornerback DeAngelo Hall intercepted an Eli Manning pass, settling instead for a short field goal that cut the deficit to 17-10.

"I think we showed flashes of what we can do offensively, but we weren't consistent, and we didn't take care of the ball, we had some silly penalties, and we stopped ourselves on drives," Cooley remarked. "It's hard when you're trying to establish a drive and take two or three chunks down the field and then don't finish. "That's the kind of momentum that we need in the game to just go ahead and score a touchdown."

Washington scored 13 points or less in six of the final eight games of the 2008 season, and lost six of those tests to finish with a discouraging 8-8 record. The team ended the year ranked 28th of the NFL's 32 teams in scoring offense.

Despite Sunday's undesired ending, there were a few encouraging samplings from the offense. Campbell connected on better than 73 percent (19-of-26) of his throws and finished with 211 yards. Veteran wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, used primarily out of the slot, hauled in seven passes for 98 yards, his highest output since Week 4 of the 2007 season.

QUICK HITS: Middle linebacker London Fletcher was credited with a game-high 18 tackles, including 11 solo stops, in Sunday's loss...Smith's eight-yard touchdown run was the second score of his career. The former Indianapolis punter had a 21-yard scamper while with the Colts against the New York Jets on November 16, 2003...Defensive end Phillip Daniels, who missed the entire 2008 season after tearing his ACL on the opening day of training camp, started the opener and recorded a pair of tackles...Cooley only scored one touchdown all of last season, a year in which he set career-bests in catches (83) and receiving yards (849) and made the Pro Bowl...The Redskins have now lost six of their last seven games against New York, as well as five of the past six meetings between the teams at Giants Stadium.

NEXT UP: The Redskins will aim for a rebound when the St. Louis Rams head to FedEx Field this Sunday for Washington's home opener. The Rams won only two games during a forgettable 2008 season, but one of them was a 19-17 road triumph over the Redskins in Week 6. Washington had a 368-200 advantage in total yards in that contest, but committed three fumbles that factored in the final outcome. St. Louis was handed a humbling 28-0 loss at Seattle last Sunday in new head coach Steve Spagnuolo's first game at the helm.