Last season's beaten Super Bowl finalists the Atlanta Falcons made a winning start to the new campaign with a 23-17 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Quarterback Matt Ryan proved to be the difference at Soldier Field as he threw for 321 yards, including a match-clinching 88-yard pass to tight end Austin Hooper in the final quarter.
Matt Bryant kicked three field goals, with Devonta Freeman also running in a five-yard score for the visitors, while touchdowns from Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen and a Connor Barth field goal were in vain for the Bears.
The Baltimore Ravens were in dominant form as a defensive master-class helped them to a 20-0 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked five times, two of those to Terrell Suggs, as the Ravens produced a shut-out to send a daunting message to the rest of the league.
Justin Tucker kicked Baltimore into a 3-0 lead in the first quarter before Joe Flacco found Jeremy Maclin for a 48-yard touchdown, with Terrance West running in to extend their advantage to 17-0 at half-time.
Tucker rounded off the scoring in the third quarter with another field goal as Dalton suffered a terrible night with four interceptions and one fumble.
Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdowns passes as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns 21-18.
Jesse James was the recipient for both scores to help Big Ben get the better of opposite number DeShone Kizer - making his NFL debut - and record 263 passing yards.
Calais Campbell made four sacks as he helped the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 29-7 success over the Houston Texas, while Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes in a 30-17 victory for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Washington Redskins.
Matthew Stafford was in imperious form with four touchdown passes for 292 yards to guide the Detroit Lions to a 35-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals, while the Oakland Raiders overcame Tennessee Titans 26-16 and the Buffalo Bills were 21-12 winners over the New York Jets.
Aaron Rodgers lost his streak of 251 games without an interception as his Green Bay Packers took on the Seattle Seahawks, with running back Ty Montgomery and receiver Jordy Nelson scoring a touchdown apiece in a 17-9 win.
The Los Angeles Rams routed the Indianapolis Colts 46-9 as quarterback Jared Goff passed for a career-high 306 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start, while the Carolina Panthers beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-3.
In the late game, the Dallas Cowboys scored the only touchdown beating the New York Giants 19-3 as Jason Witten racked up a franchise record for yard receiving.
