Finally, the NFL is back.

It all kicked off Thursday as the New England Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 28-21. Houston starts its run today at noon against the Kansas City Chiefs and former Port Arthur Memorial standout Jamaal Charles.

Charles, the all-time Port Arthur rushing leader with 4,069 yards, did many No. 25 fans a favor and rented two charter buses to take them to the game. The seats, bought by the fans themselves, are reportedly located in the upper level, so if you are headed to the game, look up and find the group. Former sports editor Bob West and I will be in the pressbox. Follow me at @PANewsGabe on Twitter for live updates on Charles in his return home. …

Speaking of the NFL, Tom Brady did his best to stick it to the NFL Thursday.

Brady recently won his appeal against the league and started for the Patriots against the Steelers. With the entire league watching, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and every NFL fan glued to the TV, Brady did his best to show the ‘Deflategate’ scandal was a joke by throwing for 288 yards and four touchdowns on only 28 attempts. Brady at one point completed 19 straight passes. It was the equivalent of Brady giving Goodell the finger on prime-time television. …

I have been asked several times what I make of the Port Neches-Groves Indians’ loss to the West Orange-Stark Mustangs. It is a simple answer: The Mustangs are the Mustangs.

They were fast, really fast. WO-S junior quarterback Jack Dallas is one of the best leaders of a team I have ever watched play the game of football. Coach Cornel Thompson has quickly turned the Mustangs into a state contender and PN-G lost to a very good football team. The Indians do have things to work on before District 22-5A play begins in a couple weeks. You cannot turn the ball over as much as PN-G did against WO-S and expect to win games. Coach Brandon Faircloth can get these things corrected and I stand by the prediction of the Indians winning the district title this season. …

Fox Sports Southwest was in town this week and talked to both Nederland coach Larry Neumann and PN-G coach Brandon Faircloth about Mid-County Madness. The station plans to air a 30-minute documentary on the series the week of this year’s game. Mid-County Madness, a designation first penned by former News sports writer Tom Halliburton, is scheduled for Oct. 16. Jeff Powers of FSSW said the show will be played three times the week of MCM beginning Monday, Oct. 12, and is slated to have air times in the evenings.

Powers also interviewed several members of the communities while in town, and fans can expect the show to really capture the history of the series. A few names included are PN-G standout Jeff Bergeron, Nederland’s Bruce Bush, Halliburton and West. Powers also has footage with Debbie Phillips, wife of Bum Phillips, and Wade and Laurie Phillips.

Powers made sure to stop by Market Basket to get a shot of the Bum Phillips Bowl Trophy. Stay tuned for show times to be announced in this spot. …

One more note on WO-S graduate and Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas: If you are a fan, take the time and head over to theplayerstribune.com. The website publishes pieces written by athletes and Thomas spends his time describing his hometown of Orange in his document titled “From Somewhere.” It is an excellent read and it becomes very obvious very quickly how proud Thomas is to call Orange home. Make sure to check it out. …

Thank you for reading and enjoy the new week. If you are traveling to games this week be safe and stay off the cell phone when driving! I had a friend recently have a close call when driving and it really hit home how quickly an accident can happen. No text or email or Facebook update is worth endangering your life and the lives of other drives. It can wait. Take care folks.

Gabriel Pruett can be reached at gabe.pruett@panews.com.