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Jack Del Rio has always had big ones, if you know what I mean.

As a player he was feisty, tough and never backed down. He even had a well-publicized fight with Chiefs great Otis Taylor during the NFL strike of 1987. Del Rio has a swagger about him, almost cockiness.

But that's why it wasn't surprising to see him go for two after his Raiders scored late against the Saints. It wasn't conventional. It wasn't what I would have done. But it fits Del Rio.

After Derek Carr hit Seth Roberts with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds left to cut the Saints lead to 34-33, Del Rio opted to go for two. It was a big risk, but Carr hit Michael Crabtree for two points and the lead.

In typical Raiders style, they got a celebration penalty that enabled the Saints to get in position for a potential winning field goal from 61 yards, but it was wide left. The young Raiders scored 22 points in the fourth quarter on three long drives to rally back against the Saints.

They had the momentum, which is why I wouldn't have attempted the two-point conversion. Why put it on one play? I'd take my chances playing it out.

Then again, Drew Brees threw for 423 yards and four scores in the game, which might have been why Del Rio opted to go for two.

In the end, it worked.

In the end, it was typical Del Rio. He coaches like he played, with a swagger.

There are some who say his defense doesn't take enough chances, that when he was running the Broncos scheme in Denver he was too vanilla. But on this day, vanilla wasn't his style.

He went for it -- and it worked.

It was a big gamble for a guy who is secure enough in his own skin to handle the push back if it didn't work.

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Del Rio made quite the gutsy call in the Raiders' Week 1 win. USATSI

Here's some more musings from around Sunday's action:

Baltimore Ravens

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was really impressive in the first half of his first game after tearing his ACL last November. Flacco threw for 188 yards and a touchdown in the first half and finished with 258 yards and one touchdown and no picks. The deep ball was back for Flacco, who hit on the 66-yard touchdown throw to Mike Wallace.

Buffalo Bills

If the heat wasn't on Bills coach Rex Ryan before Sunday's loss to the Ravens, it is now. The Bills lost 13-7 to the Ravens, and didn't look good doing so.

The Bills have issues.

We know they have been hurt by injuries and suspension on defense, but that unit actually settled down in the second half against Baltimore and did a nice job. It's the offensive struggles that have to be concerning.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw for just 111 yards against Baltimore. That has to be better, especially after he got a contract extension. The Ravens said after the game that they wanted to make him play real quarterback. That meant keeping him in the pocket, and for the most part they did that.

Running back LeSean McCoy had 58 yards on 16 carries and receiver Sammy Watkins just four catches for 43 yards. Those three have to provide more, starting Thursday against the Jets.

Or Ryan's seat will be even hotter by this time next week.

Cincinnati Bengals

Even though he was sacked seven times, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had a nice day. Dalton threw for 366 yards and a touchdown and led the Bengals to game-winning field goal on a 55-yard drive. The Bengals would have been a real Super Bowl contender if Dalton didn't go down last season. He's so much more comfortable now than he was a few years ago.

The line has to be better. Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson owned the line of scrimmage. Bengals center Russell Bodine has been an issue for some time for Cincinnati.

Green Bay Packers

Did a 199-yard passing game ever look as good as the one Aaron Rodgers had against Jacksonville? That looked like a 350-yard game.

Houston Texans

Even with J.J. Watt not scratching in the sack department, the Texans had five sacks against the Bears. Whitney Mercilus picked up where he left off last year with two sacks of Jay Cutler. Jadeveon Clowney also had a sack. That front could be special once Watt gets back to 100 percent after back surgery.

On offense, the Texans look much faster with Will Fuller, Braxton Miller and Lamar Miller now on the roster. Fuller had five catches for 107 yards and a 35-yard touchdown on a short play he ran into a big one. That speed will really help an offense that needs it.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are right there on the list of bad defensive teams. They can't rush the passer and they have injury issues in the secondary. That's a bad combination. If Robert Mathis can't get it going in terms of the pass rush -- he had one hit Sunday -- they might have big problems. That means Andrew Luck will have to be in a lot of shootouts.

New England Patriots

I can't tell you how impressed I was with the Patriots Sunday night, beating the Cardinals without Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Tells you how valuable the coaching of Bill Belichick is to this team.

Jimmy Garoppolo played well on offense, but it was the defense that impressed against the Cardinals. They took away the deep ball, frustrating the Cardinals. Arizona has to do a better job of taking what the defense gives them.

But let's give big kudos to the Pats. One quick thing: Belichick had clock-management issues again at the end of the game. He allowed way too much time to tick off the clock before he called timeout prior to the missed field goal in the closing seconds that would have won the game for Arizona. Chandler Catanzaro missed the kick, so it didn't matter.

It once again, though, proves even the best blow the clock-management game, which Belichick has done several times in each of the past few seasons.

New Orleans Saints

Anybody who thinks Drew Brees is close to being done needs to put on Sunday's tape. He was sensational in typical Bress style. He was calm, cool and accurate. Brees is 37 and has hinted he would like to play into his 40s. The way he's playing now, who are we to doubt him?

New York Jets

Revis Island as we've come to know it might be done. Jets corner Darrelle Revis had a rough go of it against Bengals receiver A.J. Green, who had 12 catches for 180 yards and a 54-yard touchdown catch. On that play, Revis was in a zone coverage, but got no safety help when Marcus Gilchrist bit on the underneath route. That made it look like it was all the fault of Revis, when he tried to recover and break up the pass. That was only partially his fault. Even so, Revis had a rough go of it.

Philadelphia Eagles

I thought the Eagles' decision to play rookie Carson Wentz was the right one. He proved that to be true against the Browns. He threw for 278 yards and two scores. I'll be honest, he's much better than I thought he was going to be right away. He's got a big arm, but he seemed calm in the pocket. The Eagles have to be thrilled with what they saw. Then again, it came against a team in Cleveland that isn't very good on defense.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are going to have a tough time getting past their blown lead in Kansas City. They led 27-10 early in the fourth quarter, got tied late, and then lost in overtime. That's devastating. They also lost top receiver Keenan Allen for the season with a torn ACL in his knee, which really hurts. The good news is the Chargers get a young Jacksonville team traveling to San Diego next week. That will make it easier to get over it than if they had to go back out on the road again. If they even can.

Seattle Seahawks

That was a big-time drive by Russell Wilson to beat the Miami Dolphins. I know quarterbacks get credit for game-winning drives when a field goal is needed. But I think the drives that deliver a touchdown to win it are the ones that define the quarterbacks.

Wilson, who hurt his ankle in the first half, struggled for much of the day against the Dolphins, but down 10-6, Seattle went on a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended when Wilson hit Doug Baldwin for a 2-yard touchdown pass in the final minute. The big play of the drive was a 22-yard throw on fourth-and-4 to Baldwin. Wilson was sacked three times and pressured a bunch more. The line struggled in a big way.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston threw four touchdown passes against Atlanta and is quickly developing into a big-time quarterback. In his second season, Winston is poised for a big season. He threw those passes to four different players. Winston works at his craft and understands what it takes to be a star quarterback. His pre-snap reads look improved already.