Cunningham, Krieg Hurt in Openers

It was a bad opening day for NFL quarterbacks.

Philadelphia’s Randall Cunningham, the NFL’s best running quarterback and one of its most durable, could be out for the season after tearing two ligaments in his left knee on Sunday.

Seattle’s Dave Krieg will be out about six weeks after suffering a broken finger.

And it could have been worse.

Buffalo’s Jim Kelly, who led his team to the Super Bowl last season, limped through the afternoon with a sprained left ankle, but the veteran passed for 381 yards to lead the Bills to a 35-31 victory over Miami.

Cunningham’s injury against Green Bay was the worst of the day.

The scrambling quarterback was in the pocket when he was hit on his left knee by Packer linebacker Bryce Paup on the first play of the second quarter.

A preliminary diagnosis by team physician Vincent DiStefano revealed that Cunningham had torn the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments of his left knee.

Tests will be done today to determine if surgery is necessary.

Cunningham, who became a starter in 1987, and Miami’s Dan Marino are the only active NFL quarterbacks to have started every game since the end of the 1987 players’ strike.

“I got hit pretty good, but I thought I was going to be able to get up,” said Cunningham, who was on crutches after the Eagles’ 20-3 victory over the Packers.

“I heard it pop but I’ve been hit before, so I was optimistic that I could come back in.”

Paup said he was just trying to bring Cunningham down.

“When I got to Randall, I didn’t know if he had the ball or not, so I just tackled him. I don’t know how he got hurt or what happened,” Paup said.

After Paup’s tackle, Cunningham stayed on the ground for a minute and then hobbled to the bench.

Asked how long he might be out, Cunningham said, “Who knows? I put a lot of time in and I’ve been blessed not to be injured to this point.

“I’ll be all right. I hope I’m not out for the season. But sometimes that happens.”

DiStefano said if surgery is necessary, Cunningham’s chances of a complete recovery “ought to be very reasonable.”