Leodis McKelvin made a name for himself in the worst way possible last night.

Last night’s Monday Night Football double-header provided more than just insomnia for people living on the East Coast.  It provided two games that were much more competitive than people were expecting, and two of the marquee moments of this opening week of the NFL season.

First, the New England Patriots escaped at home with a 25-24 win over the Buffalo Bills after Tom “the Golden Boy” Brady found tight end Ben Watson in

In his first real game back, Brady was 39-53 for 378 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT.

the endzone twice in the final 5:43 to complete a great comeback from down 24-13.  However, its how the Pats got the chance to win the game that will be discussed more than anything else. 

The Bills’ rising defensive star in CB Leodis McKelvin inexplicably decided to attempt to run back the kickoff after the Patriots cut the deficit to 24-19.  McKelvin, who by all accounts had a very nice game defensively, coughed up the ball at the Bills 32, setting up the game-winning strike from Brady to Watson. 

Naturally, the camera focused on a forlorn Dick Jauron on the sidelines, who was once again left to wonder how his team could lose a game like THAT. 

There are really only a few teams that could lose a game in such a fashion, namely, the Bengals, Lions, and now the Bills.  That’s not the kind of company you want to be in if you expect to be a winning team this year. 

After the game, I was somewhat impressed by the way Brady and the Pats looked at the game, realizing that they had seized the opportunity given to them and that they could have played far better. 

In actuality, this was a game where it seems like you were better lucky than good, as New England dominated almost every major stat category with 28 first downs to Buffalo’s 17, over 400 yards of offense, and just over 37 minutes of possession. 

This sets up another battle with the division rival New York Jets in the Meadowlands on Sunday, which should certainly provide some fireworks both on and off the field this week. 

As for the Bills, they will have to find a way to put this heartbreaker behind them as they host the Tampa Bay Bucs, who are coming off of a 34-14 loss at home to the Cowboys.

The second game might have been an even bigger surprise than the first, mainly because not one person really gave the Oakland Raiders a good

Rivers had a less-than-spectacular game, but was 6-7 for 79 yards on the Chargers’ winning drive.

chance against the San Diego Chargers.  Yet it took a final 89 yard TD drive, engineered by Philip Rivers, to help lift the Chargers to a 24-20 victory in the Black Hole. 

The key to figuring out this one really is how well the Raiders ran the ball, as well as how they defended against the run.  Oakland out-rushed San Diego 148-77, and also forced LaDanian Tomlinson’s first lost fumble in almost 3 seasons. 

Richard Seymour, whose status was uncertain three days ago, looked like a force to be reckoned with in the trenches with his six tackles and two sacks, and the Raiders’ O-Line won their battle up front. 

At the end of the day, though, the Raiders’ three turnovers proved to be very costly.  JaMarcus Russell threw two picks in the first half, showing that he still can’t make some of the throws a good NFL QB needs to be able to make. 

Darren McFadden doesn’t look like he’s cured his case of Fumble-itis.  The Raiders will look to bounce back next week as they face-off against another division foe in the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.  The Chargers will look to make it 2-0 as they host the Baltimore Ravens.

Earlier tonight, ex-convict Michael Vick returned to the field for the first time since Dec. 31, 2006, ironically playing for the team the had last played against in the Philadelphia Eagles.  Andy Reid and the rest of the Eagles’ brain trust predictably played it safe, limiting Vick to mainly shorter passes in a night where both Vick and the franchise began a new chapter.

All seems good in the City of Brotherly Love for now, but things could get very interesting if the “E-A-G-L-E-S” Eagles fail to meet the demands of their rabid, at times criminal fanbase, many of which are thinking that this could be their year to finally make it to the top and win their first Super Bowl. 

In fact, it’s not THAT far of a stretch to think that the 2010 NFL offseason could bring both a quarterback change and a head coaching change to Philadelphia.

Let’s look a year into the future and assume that the Eagles once again make the playoffs, but fail to go all the way.  Eagles fans have long been bitterly divided over the play of Donovan McNabb. 

McNabb, once again proving that he couldn’t quite lead the team to the Promised Land, is once again berated with insults and calls for his trade or release by the fans, as per usual every year Philly falls short. 

However, unlike past years where this was basically impossible because the Eagles would then have to turn to the likes of A.J. Feeley, Kevin Kolb, or a completely unproven rookie QB, they now have Mike Vick who can take the reins of the offense and has had a whole season to learn the Eagles schemes and play calls.

The front office shops the aging career Eagle QB to the highest bidder, and there will be bidders on McNabb.  They end up sending him to offensively-challenged Oakland, a literal black hole for quarterbacks, where he ends up in a QB battle with his old backup, Jeff Garcia and JaMarcus Russell, who is looking more and more like a bust with every pound he gains, thus paving the way for the newest Philadelphia Eagle.

Obviously, it goes without saying that the easiest person to blame for a team’s lack of success falls solely on the Head Coach.  Andy Reid has been feeling the heat for his sometimes questionable personnel and play-calling abilities, especially after last year’s stunning defeat in the NFC Championship Game to the Arizona Cardinals.

Another year like that could very well be the end of Andy Reid’s days in Philly.  Who would replace him, though? Two words: Tony Dungy. 

Again, this isn’t that far of a stretch when you look at the chain of events that led to the Vick signing in Philadelphia.  Dungy was Vick’s “advisor,” which allowed him to prove to Eagles brass that he could not only work well with Mike Vick, but also with the front office within the organization.

In addition, this would allow Dungy to implement an offensive scheme in Philadelphia that is more like the Colts’ offense, which thrives on big pass plays downfield, the area where most people would agree the team has improved in the most over the last two drafts with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. 

So Dungy might fit the needs of the personnel package in Philadelphia better than Reid does at this point.

So you see now that the Eagles really aren’t that far away from being a very different looking team this time next year. The pieces are all in place, it’s really just a matter of whether or not the stars will align for the Eagles on the night of Super Bowl XLIV.