Peyton wins 'Manning Bowl' clash

Peyton edged younger brother Eli to win the Manning showdown

Peyton Manning claimed family bragging rights over brother Eli by guiding the Indianapolis Colts to a dramatic 26-21 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.

The NFL season opener was hyped as the "Manning Bowl", with brothers facing each other as starting quarterbacks for the first time in NFL history.

"It was a great game," said 30-year-old Peyton. "But I'm just glad it's over.

"I'm looking forward to the next regular season game. This wasn't a regular game."

The brothers' father Archie Manning is a former quarterback for the New Orleans Saints and was watching from the stands with their mother as the two hugged each other after the game.

Peyton completed 25 of 41 passes for 276 yards, including a two-yard touchdown strike to Dallas Clarke, to claim family honours.

Younger brother Eli, 25, completed 20 of 34 attempts for 247 yards, including TD passes to Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey, while Tiki Barber rushed for 110 yards on 18 carries.

Elsewhere, Reggie Bush ran for 61 yards on his NFL debut and John Carney booted four field goals as the New Orleans Saints beat the Cleveland Browns 19-14.

Bush, the second overall pick in this year's NFL draft, carried the ball 14 times, including the longest run of the game of 18 yards.

But he had to share the spotlight with Carney, who connected on 43, 25 and 21-yard field goals in the opening half to help the Saints to a 9-0 lead, then nailed a 20-yarder with less then six minutes left to clinch victory.

Forced to play all of last season on the road after Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the SuperDome, the Saints will return home on 25 September when they host the Atlanta Falcons at their rebuilt stadium.

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Results from the NFL games on Sunday:

Houston 10-24 Philadelphia
Kansas City 10-23 Cincinnati
New England 19-17 Buffalo
St Louis 18-10 Denver
Tampa Bay 0-27 Baltimore
Tennessee 16-23 NY Jets
Carolina 6-20 Atlanta
Cleveland 14-19 New Orleans
Detroit 6-9 Seattle
Arizona 34-27 San Francisco
Green Bay 0-26 Chicago
Jacksonville 24-17 Dallas
NY Giants 21-26 Indianapolis