Bills’ Everett has neck surgery

The first full day of games is a day of celebration for football lovers across the country, but that celebration was subdued in Buffalo, where Bills tight end Kevin Everett underwent neck surgery Sunday night, hours after incurring damage to his spine during a game against the Denver Broncos.

“He’s had some sparse movement,” Everett’s agent, Brian Overstreet, told the Associated Press. “The next couple of days is going to be critical. Our concern is for him to come out of this healthy and, hopefully, be able to walk again.”

Everett fell to the ground and never moved after a helmet-to-helmet hit when he tackled Denver’s Domenik Hixon during a kickoff to open the second half. Everett was put on a backboard with his head and body immobilized, and carefully loaded into an ambulance during a delay in action that lasted about 15 minutes.

Bills Coach Dick Jauron said immediately after the game that the player sustained a cervical spine injury but wouldn’t discuss the severity. Those who witnessed Everett lying motionless on the field could only hope for the best.

“It was real hard,” cornerback Terrence McGee said. “I watched the whole thing and he never moved. . . . It’s real sad to see him go off on a stretcher, but we hope he’s OK.”

Ryan Neufeld, another Bills tight end, was seen leaving Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital after the surgery and told Buffalo television station WIVB that the surgery “went well as far as we can tell and he’s recovering right now.”

Replacing a legend

Replacing Bill Cowher was never going to be easy, but the Pittsburgh Steelers helped new Coach Mike Tomlin make a smooth transition by routing the Cleveland Browns, 34-7, in Tomlin’s debut.

Then the team made Tomlin feel right at home by presenting him with the game ball, and that brought a smile to Tomlin’s face -- a far cry from the scowling, square-jawed look Cowher made famous during his 15 years as coach. He retired after last season.

“It’s big,” safety Ryan Clark said. “I think any time it’s a young guy in a head coaching job in a storied franchise there’s going to be a lot of pressure. We wanted to come out of the box strong and take some of the pressure off of him.”

A career-high four-touchdown passing performance by Ben Roethlisberger, trying to rebound from a difficult 2006 season, helped Tomlin win the first game since 1991 that had someone other than Cowher calling the shots on the Steelers’ sideline. Tomlin, 35, deflected attention from himself.

“This is not my story; this is the story of the 2007 Steelers. That’s what I want it to be. Today’s victory will allow it to be our story. We have a lot of men in there working.”

Going the distance

New England’s Ellis Hobbs set an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return, raising the question: What was he doing running the ball out when he caught it that deep in the end zone?

“I didn’t even think about kneeling that ball,” he said. “We’re taking them all out. They pay me to make plays. They don’t pay me to take knees. This isn’t college. This isn’t high school. We’re in the NFL. They pay me to return the ball and guys in front of me to block. Why not give them something to celebrate and enjoy?”

Early success

As No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell continues his holdout from the Oakland Raiders, a couple of other rookies had impressive debuts.

Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings had 103 yards in 19 carries and added a 60-yard touchdown reception, Marshawn Lynch of the Buffalo Bills carried 19 times for 90 yards and a touchdown and Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson had four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Peterson set a team record for rushing yards by a rookie.

“I always expect myself to go out there and help the team by making plays,” Peterson said. “That’s what you dream about the night before. I was prepared and I felt like I had a pretty good day.”

Sophomore jump

Houston Texans defensive lineman Mario Williams endured a season full of doubters last year, those who lambasted him and the team for making the defensive lineman first pick of the 2006 draft when Reggie Bush and Vince Young were available.

Williams finally had an answer Sunday, when he had five tackles, including two sacks, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in Houston’s 20-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Last year, he had 47 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks in 16 games.

“I don’t really feel like I’m under any pressure,” he said. “When you look at it, the pressure applied from critics and media and whatever, I’m always behind anyway. I was drafted No. 1, but I was never really whoever else you might try to compare me to.”

Fantasy dud

St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson began the season with high expectations after leading the NFL with 2,334 yards from scrimmage but had about as disappointing an opening day as anyone in the league.

Jackson had only 58 yards rushing in 18 carries and had one reception for three yards. He showed all the rust of someone who had not played in the preseason when he fumbled twice, equaling his season total from last year and summed up his day as “a rough one.”

“Tests come, tests go,” Jackson said. “You just have to be able to withstand the storm. You can’t give a testimony without going through a test. I didn’t expect my season to start off like this, but since it did I will not back down.”

Ready for some football

The season debut of “Monday Night Football” tonight features one of the league’s top offenses in the Cincinnati Bengals, one of its top defenses in the Baltimore Ravens and one of the best jabber-jaws in Bengals receiver Chad Johnson.

But Johnson, aka Ocho Cinco, has shown restraint and even some respect this week. He said he had a new touchdown celebration planned should he reach the end zone but called Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis to clear it first.

“He called me to say, ‘Bro, I don’t want you to be mad at me,’ ” the Ravens linebacker said, chuckling. “I was like, ‘Chad, [be] you.’ ”

Tonight’s second game -- between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers -- features quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Alex Smith, who are forever linked by the 2005 draft.

Leinart chose not to make himself available and returned to USC, so the San Francisco 49ers, who were expected to take Leinart, instead took Smith from Utah with the first pick that year.

Injury report

Tampa Bay running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams left in the third quarter against Seattle because of a rib injury. . . . St. Louis offensive tackle Orlando Pace will undergo an MRI exam today after injuring his right shoulder in a loss to Carolina. . . . Minnesota running back Chester Taylor injured his hip on a screen pass in the first quarter against Atlanta and did not return. . . . Kansas City receiver Eddie Kennison injured his right hamstring on the Chiefs’ first play from scrimmage against Houston. . . . New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, the NFL sack leader last season, was taken for X-rays on his leg after landing awkwardly during the first series against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com

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Long hauls

Ellis Hobbs of New England set an NFL record for longest kickoff return and equaled the mark for longest play when he went 108 yards Sunday in a 38-14 victory over the New York Jets. Here’s a look at the longest plays in NFL history:

* 108 -- Ellis Hobbs: New England at New York Jets, Sept. 9, 2007, kickoff return.

* 108 -- Devin Hester, Chicago at New York Giants, Nov. 12, 2006, missed field-goal return.

* 108 -- Nathan Vasher, Chicago vs. San Francisco, Nov. 13, 2005, missed field-goal return.

* 107 -- Chris McAlister, Baltimore vs. Denver, Sept. 30, 2002, missed field-goal return.

* 106 -- Ed Reed, Baltimore vs. Cleveland, Nov. 7, 2004, interception return.

* 106 -- Roy Green, St. Louis at Dallas, Oct. 21, 1979, kickoff return.

* 106 -- Noland Smith, Kansas City at Denver, Dec. 17, 1967, kickoff return.

* 106 -- Al Carmichael, Green Bay vs. Chicago Bears, Oct. 7, 1956, kickoff return.

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Associated Press