Monday’s question of the day: What was the biggest surprise in the first week of the NFL season?

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What was the biggest surprise in the first week of the NFL season? is today’s question of the day. Reporters from the Tribune family tackle today’s question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

Injuries are never a surprise in the NFL, but the number of key players injured in Week 1 is eye-opening. From Chicago’s Brian Urlacher (wrist) to Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu (knee) to Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb (rib) to Indianapolis’ Anthony Gonzalez (knee), this was a bad week for some very good teams. Urlacher’s dislocation, which reportedly ends his season, is a huge blow to a franchise looking to return to defensive respectability. With a playmaker like Polamalu on the sideline, the Steelers are a far less effective defense. McNabb should return quickly – it helps that Michael Vick will be looking over his shoulder – but that’s the type of injury that can affect a quarterback all season. And the Colts can’t be the same offense without Gonzalez, whose prognosis is unclear. One battle wound that didn’t grab a lot of headlines but is really significant is the knee injury to Josh McCown, Carolina’s backup quarterback. It means the Panthers have to stick with Jake Delhomme.

Paul Doyle, Hartford Courant

When the Jets traded up for the fifth overall draft pick in April, Mark Sanchez joined the long and lean list of franchise QBs drafted by the team since Joe Namath limped away – from Richard Todd and Ken O’Brien through Browning Nagle and Chad Pennington. After Week 1 of the Sanchez era, Jets fans have reason to think this one might be different. Sanchez (18 of 31, 272 yards) had impressive numbers in a 24-7 win over the Texans, but it was his poise that was most surprising. In Game 1 of his NFL career, Sanchez never fluttered in the pocket and was at his best during the most important plays of the day. Consider his third-down efficiency: 12 for 15, 191 yards and a touchdown. He threw for a first down nine times and he ran for a first down on third-and-7. This week, Sanchez will face Bill Belichick’s defense. The Patriots-Jets game became a whole lot more intriguing after what we saw from Sanchez on Sunday.