Each week in this space, TeamFB7 will spotlight the biggest winners of the week — be it a team, coach, individual player or overarching storyline — while also levying criticism and second-guessing where deserved.
Did the Los Angeles Rams lose their “Superteam” status after just one game along with their star pass rusher (and any sense for logic) in their jet-lagged debacle “Down Under”?
Are the Kansas City Chiefs back even stronger in their 2026 comeback campaign?
Are the Cincinnati Bengals and their retooled defense to be believed after bullying the Buccaneers? Is Ben Johnson out to set offensive records in Chicago?
Those are but a few of the compelling storylines that emerged from Week 1 of the NFL season.
Here’s a full look at the winners and losers of the league’s opening week.
NFL Week 1 Winners
Patrick Mahomes, Kenneth Walker III And The Resurgent Kansas City Chiefs
We did emphasize in our preseason “Predictions and Perspective” season preview series that it is always perilous to doubt Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid?
Especially an extra-motivated Mahomes coming off knee surgery and now with the benefit of an actual run game!
There’s no overstating how impressive the Chiefs looked in their 31-10 demolition of the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
The early clash of top AFC West contenders figured to be quite an opening challenge for Kansas City given that it was playing with two new offensive tackles, including an undrafted rookie left tackle in Kahlil Benson who had never even played left tackle in college, while the Broncos were one of the best defenses in the league in 2025, coming off a 14-3 season and run to the AFC championship game while getting deeper offensively in the offseason.
But, no, the Chiefs absolutely had their way with the Broncos.
Kansas City came out intent on making a statement by running the ball on 8 of 10 plays on its first possession, driving for a quick touchdown.
The Chiefs had the eighth-worst rushing offense in the league last year (106.6 yards per game) and it was actually even worse than that as Mahomes contributed more than a quarter of the rushing yards when healthy. Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt were arguably the worst running back duo in the entire league, both averaging under 4 yards per carry.
If there was any question about the value of signing reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to a three-year, $43.05-million contract, it was answered emphatically Monday night as Walker rumbled for 173 yards and a TD on 23 carries and also scored on a receiving TD.
The only game last season in which Walker reached 20 carries for the Seahawks was the Super Bowl. The 23 carries Monday night marked the third-most regular-season total for Walker since his rookie season.
If the Chiefs see him as a true bell-cow back, he could be in store for a career year.
Ben Johnson’s Bears Bust Out
The Chicago Bears were one of the league’s great success stories in 2025 under first-year coach Ben Johnson.
That might have just been a tease of what’s to come, though.
Johnson, the architect behind the Detroit Lions’ offensive surge in previous years, is staking his claim as perhaps the top offensive coach in the game today.
The Bears’ 59-37 win on the road at Carolina on Sunday was the highest-scoring season-opener in NFL history, the fourth-most points Chicago has ever scored in more than 100 seasons and the most points the Panthers have given up in their history.
“That’s how we want to look each week,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “That’s who we want to be each week.”
Chicago averaged the sixth-most yards (369.2/game) and ninth-most points (25.9/game) last year with Williams, the former No. 1 overall draft pick, taking off in his second season and WR Luther Burden III and TE Colston Loveland emerging over the second half of their rookie seasons. It only makes sense that the best is still yet to come from that group, fellow young wideout Rome Odunze and veteran RB D’Andre Swift, who just signed a three-year, $33.75-million contract extension.
They start this season with a 552-yard performance, led by Williams (269 yards and 2 TDs passing, 65 yards and 2 TDs rushing) and Swift (124 rushing yards and 3 TDs).
Williams has yet to truly show off his full potential as a dual-threat QB, rushing for 489 yards as a rookie and 388 last year. He’s made a concerted effort to continue his development and upward trajectory as a pocket passer, but he’s always had the ability to be among the best running QBs in the league if he chooses. That’s an interesting subplot to keep an eye on this year.
Seahawks, Ravens, Bills And 49ers Also Look Like Super Bowl Contenders
It remains to be seen if the Bears are true Super Bowl contenders after reaching the divisional round of the playoffs last year. They did also give up 478 yards and 37 points to the Panthers and have plenty of defensive questions.
But Week 1 did reiterate the Super Bowl upside of the aforementioned Chiefs, reigning-champion Seahawks, reset Ravens, Joe-Brady-led Bills and perennially contending 49ers.
We won’t belabor that point other than to spotlight a quick takeaway from each of their Week 1 performances:
– Seahawks: In the rematch of the Super Bowl to kick things off last Wednesday, Seattle looked as stifling as ever on defense in 13-10 win over the Patriots while surviving QB Sam Darnold’s early exit with a glute injury. Drew Lock looked like one of the best backup QBs in the NFL in completing 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards, 1 TD and 0 INTs.
– Bills: The reason for excitement in the Bills making the change from stodgy, defensive-minded longtime head coach Sean McDermott to promoting Joe Brady from offensive coordinator is that Brady might open the offense up and be more aggressive in the passing game with the best quarterback in football. It’s only one game, but it was mighty impressive to see Josh Allen pass for 334 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTS (plus 2 rushing TDs) against what is arguably the best defense in football in the Houston Texans. Houston didn’t allow any passer to reach even 280 yards last season and only one to throw for even more than 235. Allen powered the Bills to 36-31 win on the road in a strong statement performance.
– Ravens: Coach Jesse Minter’s Baltimore debut checked all the boxes in a 44-23 road win at Indianapolis. The Ravens doubled up the Colts in yardage (506-251), forced 2 turnovers and got prime performances from stars Lamar Jackson (324 passing yards and TD, 40 rushing yards and a TD), the ageless Derrick Henry (24 carries for 144 yards and 3 TDs) and Zay Flowers (5 catches for 150 yards and a TD). Credit new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, hired away from the Bears, as well. One key for Baltimore’s offensive upside this year is getting Jackson running more again. He only had 7 attempts in this one, but then again, the Ravens were in such control he didn’t need to do any more. That’s something to track moving forward, though.
– 49ers: The 49ers’ terrible injury luck will apparently never cease as WR De’Zhaun Stribling, the team’s top draft pick expected to make a major impact, is now out roughly 10 weeks following ankle surgery. And yet, Kyle Shanahan’s team always keeps chugging along. San Francisco’s 27-7 win over the Rams in Australia was arguably the most impressive performance of Week 1. Free agent additions Mike Evans (6 catches for 49 yards, 1 TD) and Deebo Samuel (6-48-1) gave the passing game a jolt while having LB Fred Warner (team-high 11 tackles, 1 pass defended) back in the middle of the defense helped as well. Meanwhile, QB Brock Purdy looks primed for a huge season.
Boye Mafe And Bengals Defense Stick It To Our Preseason Predictions
Well, Week 1 affirmed a lot of our preseason takes and positions.
The biggest whiff — at least so far — was that the Bengals defense really didn’t do much to improve itself beyond two big investments on the defensive line and that Cincinnati egregiously overpaid for former Seahawks rotational edge rusher Boye Mafe.
Boy, do we have some egg on our face — this week, at least. (No, we’re not ready to fully concede on the Bengals’ defense in general, but picking Cincy as the most overrated team in the league is looking like an ice cold take at the moment!)
Mafe played a pivotal role in the Bengals’ 33-27 win over the Buccaneers with a strip sack in the fourth quarter. He had 3 pressures overall and recovered a fumble earlier in the game.
Overall, Cincinnati forced 4 fumbles in the win. Safety Bryan Cook, another free agent addition, had 6 tackles, a forced fumble and a recovery while making his presence felt.
It’s easy to believe in the Bengals’ offense (QB Joe Burrow actually had a modest game with 254 passing yards, 1 TD and 1 INT), but we’ll remain in wait-and-see mode on the defense.
Mafe’s Week 1 performance definitely made our preseason take on his signing look off-the-mark, though.
Ditto Second-Half Shough And The Saints
Another hot take from our preseason predictions series was to pour cold water on all the hype for the New Orleans Saints and second-year QB Tyler Shough, based mostly off a late-season four-game winning streak against favorable matchups.
For two quarters, that perspective looked spot-on as Shough opened the game 10-of-22 passing for 85 yards and an INT as the Saints trailed the Lions 7-0.
But then there was the second half …
Shough rallied the Saints back from a 21-0 deficit to force overtime at 24-24. After the Lions scored first in the extra session, the Saints tied it but fell short on a two-point conversion for a 31-30 loss.
Shough finished 35-of-56 passing for 410 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs.
In our preseason critique and why we’re not as high on Shough as others, we wrote this:
The second-year QB seems to read the field well and make quick-enough decisions, has good ball placement and touch, some above-average mobility and ability to create with his legs, and he possesses clear poise and leadership aura. We’ll give him all of that. But he lacks the very most important component to being a successful NFL quarterback — elite arm talent (or even top-half-of-the-league arm talent). … Shough’s highlight film …. shows a quarterback who can effectively get the ball to wide receivers open underneath or on quick outs with enough cushion, occasionally lead a receiver to open space over the middle with good anticipation and timing, and the ability to throw a decent low-risk lob down the sideline. The latter seems his only real shot at making truly big downfield plays, and his touch is good enough to hit on a few, no doubt.
We’ll stick with that evaluation for now because almost all of Shough’s big plays came over the top and leaning on that impressive touch he has on such throws, rather than the need to create plays in tight windows. Not all defenses are going to allow as many such opportunities.
But we’ll continue to evaluate the second-year signal-caller if he keeps piling up the stats.
T.J. Watt Back In a Big Way
It was at least fair to wonder what Pittsburgh Steelers’ future Hall of Fame edge rusher T.J. Watt still had in the tank heading into his 32nd birthday (next month) and coming off an uncharacteristically modest season with just 7 sacks in 14 games (while missing time due to a punctured lung).
Perhaps Watt felt those questions because he delivered a resounding answer in Week 1 with 2 sacks (3 tackles or loss total) and a 35-yard interception return for touchdown in the fourth quarter that proved to be the decisive score in the Steelers’ 20-13 win over the Falcons.
Watt has five top 4 finishes in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in the last seven seasons, including winning the award in 2021 and finishing second two other times. He’s up to 117 career sacks (and 10 INTs).
New Coaches Deserving Praise
With 10 new head coaches around the league, the early returns were hit and miss in Week 1, but in addition to the Bills’ Brady and Ravens’ Minter, these three also deserve acknowledgement:
– New York Giants coach John Harbaugh: After 18 seasons, 180 regular-season win and a Super Bowl title in Baltimore, John Harbaugh is starting a second chapter to his career in New York. And it seemed clear he’s already made plenty of impact on a Giants team that looked disjointed and poorly run for many years. Harbaugh’s Giants showed a clear identity in rushing for 165 yards in a 28-20 win over the Cowboys. Meanwhile, second-year QB Jaxson Dart played one of the best games of his young career, completing 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs while rushing 11 times for 54 yards.
– Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak: After winning a Super Bowl as offensive coordinator in Seattle last season, Klint Kubiak is a first-time head coach and already looking like one of the best hires of the offseason. Sure, it was against the rebuilding Dolphins, but the Raiders looked in total control in a 27-13 win. Most encouraging, Kubiak unlocked 2025 first-round pick Ashton Jeanty (more on him in a moment).
– Arizona Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur: We didn’t like the Cardinals hiring of Mike LaFleur, formerly the OC of a loaded Rams team with head coach Sean McVay calling the plays, but Arizona pulled off the biggest upset of Week 1 in a 26-14 win over the Chargers.
Jaguars Just Fine, Jeanty Rejuvenated And Jets Competent
As always, it’s time for an alliterative speed round …
– Jacksonville looked like a possible regression team on paper after a 13-win breakout in coach Liam Coen’s debut, after losing leading rusher Travis Etienne and top linebacker Devin Lloyd in free agency while making no major additions. But the biggest feat Coen accomplished last year was awakening quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s full potential, and if that sustains in 2026 the Jaguars will be just fine. So far, so good then. Lawrence was 18-of-23 passing for 245 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs in a 34-10 win over the Browns.
– As for the aforementioned Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in the draft last year had a frustrating rookie season behind the Raiders’ woeful offensive line, averaging just 3.7 YPC (975 rushing yards, 346 receiving yards and 10 total TDs). That unit looked moderately improved over the offseason, but Jeanty looked totally revived in Kubiak’s offense in Week 1 while rushing 23 times for 102 yards and catching 6 passes for 45 yards and 2 TDs.
– And, hey, the Jets are 1-0! New York took it to the equally-rebuilding Titans in a 23-10 road win as Geno Smith completed 19 of 24 passes for 215 yards, Breece Hall rushed for 102 yards and a TD and the Jets won the turnover battle 1-0 (still no defensive interception yet in the Aaron Glenn Era, though.)
NFL Week 1 Losers
Packers, Colts Validate Preseasons Pessimism
Two teams we are fading this season affirmed our feelings in Week 1.
The Packers had an unremarkable offseason, are without star edge rusher Myles Garrett for the first third of the season and have running back Josh Jacobs sitting indefinitely on the commissioner’s exempt list unable to play or even practice.
Even with a contract extension in the offseason, we felt Packers coach Matt LaFleur was on a bit of a hot seat entering 2026, and losing 39-22 to the Vikings and backup QB Carson Wentz isn’t going to help matters.
Green Bay was up 22-10 late in the third quarter with Vikings starting QB Kyler Murray knocked from the game early with a concussion, and yet the Packers still couldn’t close it out.
Worse, they gave up 29 unanswered points to get blown out.
Something truly seems amiss in Green Bay.
…
The Colts also had a bad offseason, overpaying to keep wide receiver Alec Pierce while having to trade key veterans (WR Michael Pittman Jr., LB Zaire Franklin) to shed salary cap space otherwise.
With Pierce miscast as a WR1, QB Daniel Jones coming back on an accelerated timetable from a torn Achilles and the Colts defense looking worse on paper from a year ago, we had our doubts even before the Ravens dominated Indianapolis, 41-23.
Jones had just 166 passing yards, 1 TD and 1 INT while Pierce was relatively quiet with 4 catches for 61 yards.
Rams Superteam Status
The Rams were the overwhelming favorites to win the Super Bowl and still are the betting favorites (down to +650 on DraftKings Sportsbook) after trading for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, bringing future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald out of retirement and rebuilding the secondary with new cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.
And then they made the indefensible decision to arrive in Australia barely a day before their game with the 49ers, after a 15-hour flight halfway across the globe, and predictably looked like they were beset by jetlag in getting manhandled by San Francisco.
We’ll leave that matter alone as it’s been picked apart enough the last week, but then there’s the news that Garrett underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and is out at least the next four games while on injured reserve.
Neither the Rams’ vaunted offense nor its rebuilt defense (Donald didn’t make the trip while continuing to ramp up for his return) showed anything encouraging in that 27-7 loss.
Was it just an anomaly and result of truly poor travel planning? Or worse?
We’re not going to overreact because the talent is so clearly there for a team that reached the NFC championship game last year, returns every key member of the offense and got better defensively. But it was a concerning debut all the same.
Stefon Diggs’ Costly Celebration
Veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs went all the way into August without a contract before signing with the hometown Washington Commanders, so he understandably felt reason to celebrate when he hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels early in the fourth quarter Sunday.
Unfortunately, Diggs celebrated by leaping full speed into goalpost and wrapping his legs around it, drawing a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That proved especially costly as the Commanders would have other had the chance to go for a two-point conversion and tie the game. Instead, they kicked the extra point and tried to go for two on a later score, failing and losing 24-22 to the Eagles.
New Seasons, Same Concerns For Chargers
The Chargers’ offensive line woes were supposed to be a thing of the past with starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt returning after Slater missed all of last season with a torn patellar tendon and Alt missed most of it following ankle surgery. Add in the big free agent pickup of former Commanders center Tyler Biadasz, the second-round draft pick of interior lineman Jake Slaughter from Florida and the unit should look like new.
Welp … Biadasz is out for the season with a torn ACL sustained in August and the interior of the line looked like a disaster in the opener as QB Justin Herbert was sacked 3 times and threw for just 209 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in that loss to the Cardinals.
