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Chicago Bears 59–37 Carolina Panthers
Caleb Williams threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and two more scores as the Chicago Bears defeated the Carolina Panthers in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history. Chicago and Carolina scored eight more points than the previous record of 88 set in Tampa Bay’s 48-40 win over New Orleans in 2018. Coach Ben Johnson’s prolific Bears also broke a franchise record for points in an opener, a mark that had stood since 1948, when Chicago hung 45 points on Green Bay at Wrigley Field. The 59 points were the most allowed by the Panthers in team history. D’Andre Swift, who received a $33.75m contract extension earlier this week, ran for 124 yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns, while Kyle Monangai had 100 yards rushing, including a 61-yard touchdown burst.
Buffalo Bills 36–31 Houston Texans
Josh Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to lift the Buffalo Bills to a win over the Houston Texans in a back-and-forth season opener. Allen had 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to get his first win in Houston after losing his previous four games at Reliant Stadium. The Texans led 31-30 when Allen split two defenders to find Palmer. The two-point conversion failed. The Texans had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Greg Rousseau had his second strip sack of the day, taking down CJ Stroud at the Buffalo 28.
Green Bay Packers 22–39 Minnesota Vikings
Carson Wentz came in after Kyler Murray’s first-quarter concussion in his Minnesota debut and helped the Vikings in a spirited comeback to beat the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings took their first lead with 6:37 left while scoring 29 straight points to close out their season-opening victory. Wentz hit Justin Jefferson for two scores and a two-point conversion that put the Vikings up 25-22 after the Packers extended the drive three times with crushing defensive penalties. Jordan Love’s otherwise strong afternoon was spoiled by two late turnovers deep in his own territory.
Washington Commanders 22–24 Philadelphia Eagles
Jalen Hurts threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and the Eagles’ Moro Ojomo stuffed the Commanders’ attempt at a tying two-point conversion with 1:01 remaining as Philadelphia squeaked past Washington. Jayden Daniels threw a one-yard TD pass to on third-and-goal to Antonio Williams with 1:01 left for the Commanders’ second touchdown of the fourth quarter. On the two-point try, Washington called a shovel pass to tight end John Bates, who was wrapped up instantly by Ojomo. The Eagles improved to 6-0 in season openers under coach Nick Sirianni since 2021.
New Orleans Saints 30–31 Detroit Lions (OT)
Tyler Shough threw an incomplete pass in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt, allowing the Detroit Lions to escape with a win in overtime over the New Orleans Saints. Saints coach Kellen Moore chose to go for the win instead of tying the game with 1:34 left in overtime after his team came back from a three-touchdown deficit in the third quarter and allowed a touchdown on the opening possession of the extra period. Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for three touchdowns.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27–33 Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati’s overhauled defense converted three first-half fumbles into touchdowns and led the Bengals past the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Joe Burrow finished 25-of-35 for 254 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Bengals, who finished with four forced turnovers. Baker Mayfield was 23-of-28 for 216 yards and a touchdown run for the Buccaneers, who dropped their first season opener since 2020. Mayfield lost three fumbles for the first time in his career. Evan McPherson converted all four field goal attempts, including kicks of 55 and 58 yards, to help Cincinnati to their first Week 1 win at home since 2021.
Baltimore Ravens 41–23 Indianapolis Colts
Derrick Henry ran for three touchdowns to move into third on the NFL’s career list, Lamar Jackson threw for 324 yards and a TD and rushed for a score, and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens improved to 13-6 in openers since 2008 and have topped the 20-point mark in their last 10, the league’s longest active streak. Henry had 24 carries for 144 yards, his 56th 100-yard game and his eighth with three or more TD runs. Henry has 125 career rushing TDs, two more than Hall of Famer Marcus Allen. Jesse Minter won his debut as the Ravens’ coach.
Cleveland Browns 10-34 Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns, opening the season much like he closed last year, and the Jacksonville Jaguars dominated rebuilding Cleveland to spoil the debut of new Browns coach Todd Monken. The Jaguars scored on six of their first seven possessions, with Lawrence connecting with Parker Washington, rookie Josh Cameron, Brenton Strange and Jakobi Meyers for touchdowns. Three of four targets were wide open. Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson, making his first start in nearly two years, threw an interception on the opening drive and nearly threw another one on the team’s second possession.
Arizona Cardinals 26–14 Los Angeles Chargers
Jacoby Brissett threw for a touchdown as Arizona upset the Los Angeles Chargers. The victory gave Mike LaFleur a win in his head coaching debut. The Chargers were 9.5-point favorites which was the biggest margin among teams in Week 1 but they trailed the entire game. LaFleur became the first Cardinals coach to win his debut since 1973. Chad Ryland kicked three field goals, helping the Cardinals secure their first road win against the Chargers since 2001. The Chargers struggled in the fourth quarter with a blocked punt, an interception and two turnovers on downs. Arizona dominated possession and outrushed the Chargers.
Miami Dolphins 13–27 Las Vegas Raiders
Kirk Cousins became the 15th quarterback to throw at least 300 touchdown passes in his career after tossing three to lead the Las Vegas Raiders to a season-opening victory over the Miami Dolphins. Cousins, making his first start for the Raiders after being acquired in the offseason from Atlanta, completed 21 of 30 passes for 160 yards, though he was intercepted twice. He has 301 touchdown passes for his career, moving into 14th and one TD ahead of John Elway. Two of his TD passes went to running back Ashton Jeanty, who also rushed for 102 yards and caught six passes for 45 more.
Atlanta Falcons 13–20 Pittsburgh Steelers
TJ Watt intercepted a Cooper Rush pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to help the Pittsburgh Steelers edge past the Atlanta Falcons. Pittsburgh began the Mike McCarthy era with a sluggish performance, particularly on offense. Aaron Rodgers passed for 221 yards and a touchdown in the first game of his 22nd NFL season and his reunion with McCarthy. Bijan Robinson accounted for 173 of Atlanta’s 238 total yards. Rush was filling in for the injured Tua Tagovailoa. He threw for a touchdown and a pair of interceptions that Pittsburgh turned into scores.
New York Jets 23-10 Tennessee Titans
Kenyon Sadiq and Breece Hall ran for touchdowns, Geno Smith threw for 215 yards and the visiting New York Jets put the clamps on the Tennessee Titans to start the season with a victory.
Smith was 19 of 24 in winning his first start for the Jets since 2016. Hall added 102 yards on 22 rushes as the Jets outgained Tennessee 367-195 and hogged the ball for 38 minutes and 46 seconds. Cam Ward struggled most of the game for the Titans, hitting 19 of 32 passes for only 140 yards and a late touchdown. Ward played under constant pressure as New York recorded three sacks and forced him into inaccurate throws.
