NFL Game Recaps: Week 1, 2026

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Seahawks 13, Patriots 10
This game was nearly over as soon as it began. That's because Sam Darnold limped off the field upon taking a sack on the final play of the opening drive. It didn't look too bad at first glance, and there were no trainers around him immediately, but he went into the locker room for an X-ray and was soon ruled out for the game.

With Drew Lock in the game, the Patriots weren't threatened at all by Seattle's passing attack. Lock completed a high percentage of his throws but didn't challenge the Patriots downfield at all.

Meanwhile, Seattle offensive coordinator Brian Fleury didn't seem to recognize that he had a mega talent in the backfield in Jadarian Price. While Price was ripping off big gains whenever he touched the ball, George Holani was constantly doing nothing, and yet the two nearly had the same rushing carry total by halftime.

If the Seahawks had Darnold, or perhaps a veteran offensive coordinator, they likely would have had the lead entering the second half. The only offensive production the Patriots mustered prior to intermission occurred when A.J. Brown drew a deep pass interference penalty to set up a Drake Maye touchdown pass to Eli Raridon.

The Patriots didn't score again until the third quarter, when the Seahawks committed a roughing-the-punter penalty, setting up a field goal. At 10-0, the Patriots looked like they were well in control, but that changed when Brown suffered an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Cooper Kupp made an amazing one-handed catch, putting Seattle in the red zone for the first time. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, there were more Holani runs, which ruined the opportunity for the team to score a touchdown.

The Seahawks settled for a field goal, but the defense helped on an ensuing possession when Maye threw an interception deep downfield while targeting Romeo Doubs. On the next possession, the Seahawks scored a touchdown on a fourth-and-1 pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, where Fleury did a good job of getting Smith-Njigba in space.

This game was tied at 10 when the Patriots seemed to hit a big play as Maye found Doubs for what looked like a considerable gain. However, Doubs dropped one of the easiest receptions he would have had in his life. On the very next play, Maye didn't see safety Julian Love while throwing over the middle of the field, resulting in an interception.

The Seahawks were able to convert a field goal, but the Patriots had one more chance. Maye completed a fourth-and-9 pass to Mack Hollins, moving into field goal range. On third down, all Maye needed to do was throw the ball away if he didn't have anything because a chip-shot field goal would have sent the game to overtime. Instead, Maye made a terrible decision when he lofted the ball toward two Seattle defenders, causing another interception. Instead of going to overtime, this game ended because of Maye's foolish decision.

49ers 27, Rams 7
The 49ers and Rams took different approaches to this game. San Francisco traveled to Australia very early and spent the week there, while the Rams flew in just prior to the game.

This did not seem to have an impact in the early going. The 49ers had a nice drive to open the contest where Mike Evans converted three third downs, but San Francisco had to settle for a field goal from the 2-yard line because Kyle Shanahan loves nothing more than to kick field goals from the 2-yard line.

The Rams answered with a touchdown drive where Puka Nacua broke through two tacklers to set up a first-and-goal. Kyren Williams scored to give Los Angeles the 7-3 lead. The Niners responded with a Brock Purdy bomb to Demarcus Robinson.

This was an evenly matched first half, but it was a completely different story following intermission. The Rams, likely gassed from their recent travel, looked completely exhausted in the second half. They couldn't stop anything the 49ers were doing on the ground, as Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black ran all over them to set up an Evans touchdown to put the Niners up 17-7.

The Rams responded with a great drive but got stalled at the 2-yard line. They had three chances from the two but couldn't get in, ultimately failing with a Matthew Stafford sneak on fourth-and-inches.

All hope wasn't lost for the Rams, however, because they were still down just 10 points with slightly more than a quarter to go, and the 49ers were pinned at their own 1-inch line. Forcing a quick punt would allow Los Angeles to get back in the game.

The 49ers, however, went 99.9 yards to score a touchdown via Brock Purdy scrambles and big plays from their other skill players. This put the game out of reach for the Rams, who didn't look like anything resembling the best team in football.

Jaguars 34, Browns 10

It's unclear why the Browns decided to make Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback after he was miserable against third-stringers in the preseason. That decision didn't work out so well.

Cleveland began with a nice drive, taking the ball into the red zone, but Watson threw an interception because he didn't see the defender. On the next drive, Watson was nearly picked again when he threw the ball across his body, but the interception was dropped. It only got worse on the third possession when Watson was strip-sacked, though one of his teammates recovered. On the fourth possession, KC Concepcion lost a fumble. And on the fifth and final drive of the opening half, the Browns committed multiple penalties and faced a second-and-34.

The Jaguars took advantage of all these opportunities. They scored three touchdowns and a field goal off Cleveland's mistakes in the first half. This gave them a dominating 24-0 lead at halftime, as Trevor Lawrence sliced through the Myles Garrett-less Cleveland defense en route to an easy victory.

Ravens 41, Colts 23 This game was a complete massacre, though you wouldn't have known the Ravens would win in a blowout based on the opening drive. The Colts went down the field very easily with mostly passes. However, when they reached the 10-yard line, they gave the ball to Jonathan Taylor, who scored a touchdown. The extra point was missed, and that was the beginning of the downfall for the Colts.

The Ravens answered with a big play by Zay Flowers that set up a Lamar Jackson touchdown run. The Ravens then got an interception when Daniel Jones couldn't get the ball over Roquan Smith. Jackson responded by escaping two potential sacks to convert a third-and-16. Jackson then converted a third-and-12 to Flowers by fitting the ball through a tight window.

Flowers continued to do damage in this game, catching a short pass when the game was 14-6. He evaded all defenders, prompting one of the announcers to say that it looked like Flowers was "playing in fast forward."

Now down 21-6, the Colts set up a nice play for Taylor, but he lost a fumble after making a significant gain. The Ravens once again capitalized on Indianapolis' mistake, with Derrick Henry scoring on a 32-yard rushing touchdown. At 28-6, this game was over by the middle of the second quarter, though it's worth noting that both Zay Flowers and Ja'Kobi Lane left the game with injuries.

Steelers 20, Falcons 13

The Steelers entered their first game in the post-Mike Tomlin era facing an injured third quarterback. Cooper Rush came into the contest with back spasms, but it appeared as though the Steelers might hand the Falcons a win when Jaylen Warren fumbled deep in his own territory to set up a Bijan Robinson touchdown to put Atlanta up 7-3.

Rush, however, proved as incompetent as everyone believed he would be. He threw an interception, setting up the Steelers for a touchdown as Rodgers found Pat Freiermuth in the end zone to put the Steelers up 13-7.

Things got a little dicey for the Steelers late in the game. Rodgers threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-3 at Atlanta's 45-yard line, giving the Falcons a chance to score a touchdown to take the lead. All the Falcons could muster was a field goal, however, and then T.J. Watt secured a pick-six on the next possession, snatching the ball out of the air on a short toss by Rush.

The Falcons had one more chance when Rodgers took a sack to move out of field goal range. Atlanta moved across midfield, but Alex Highsmith sacked Rush on third down to effectively end the game.

Bills 36, Texans 31

This was an incredible back-and-forth game where both teams made huge plays on both offense and defense.

It looked like the Texans defense would have Josh Allen's number once again when the Bills went for it on fourth down in field goal range, but Kamari Lassiter tackled Allen for a loss. However, Buffalo's defense answered with a strip-sack of C.J. Stroud.

Allen bounced back with a deep pass interference flag that he drew on a throw to D.J. Moore. This set up an Allen rushing touchdown, and on the next possession, Allen connected with Moore on a deep throw to further extend the lead. Moore did an incredible job staying in bounds as he caught the pass right near the sideline.

As this was happening, the Texans were able to keep pace as Stroud performed admirably while David Montgomery picked up chunks of yards on the ground. However, the Texans seemingly forgot to give Montgomery the ball in the second half for some reason, which put more stress on Stroud.

Contrary to what we saw from Stroud last year, however, he answered for the most part. The Texans went up 31-30, and Allen took the field deep in his own territory after injuring his hand. We didn't see any evidence of the injury, however, when he fired a pass to Dalton Kincaid for a big gain.

The Bills moved into Houston territory when Allen took a careless shot into the end zone. Lassiter dropped the pick, which would have ended the game. The announcer said, "I can't believe Josh Allen threw a YOLO ball like that."

On the very next play, Allen fired a dart to Joshua Palmer to go up 36-31.

The Texans had enough time for a complete drive, and it looked like they would have a chance to score when Stroud found Jaylin Noel wide open inside the 10-yard line. However, Buffalo's defense finally came up big. The Bills sacked Stroud on the next play, and then two snaps after that, they strip-sacked Stroud to end the game.

Bears 59, Panthers 37

I don't need to tell you that the Bears had a phenomenal offensive performance. You can just look at their point total for that. What might be surprising is that they did not have a good start to this game, as Luther Burden lost a fumble, which set up a Carolina touchdown. Bryce Young ran into the end zone while avoiding a couple of potential sacks to put the Panthers up 7-0.

The Bears bounced back, of course, as their offensive line dominated the next several drives. They blew open huge lanes for D'Andre Swift, and they allowed Caleb Williams to have enough time to find his receivers for deep throws. It didn't help the Panthers that they gave the Bears great field position on an unnecessary roughness penalty on one drive, which set up a Williams touchdown to Cole Kmet to put the Bears up 21-7.

It seemed as though the Bears had run away with an easy victory, but they took an unnecessary gamble when they went for it on fourth-and-1 on their own 21. Williams was stuffed, which allowed the Panthers to score a touchdown after Young found Jalen Coker for a deep connection. Young then rushed into the end zone to tie the game at 21.

Just when it seemed like this game had swung the other way, the Panthers lost a fumble on a muffed punt when Jimmy Horn inexplicably swan-dived for the ball. The Bears kicked a field goal to go up 24-21.

It was all Chicago after that. Kyle Monangai broke free for a 61-yard touchdown, and the Bears scored on a couple of other occasions to put this game out of reach for the Panthers.

Jets 23, Titans 10

The public perception was that these two teams were even entering the game, but that was proven to be incorrect as the Jets dominated the Titans. New York had nearly double the yardage that Tennessee accumulated, and the Titans had some of their production occur in garbage time.

As if the Titans weren't bad enough already, they made some mistakes on special teams to help the Jets. On one occasion, they kicked the ball out of bounds, and the Jets capitalized on the short field with a Kenyon Sadiq end-around touchdown. Later in the game, Chimere Dike lost a fumble on a kick return.

The Jets had no issues moving the ball on the Titans via Breece Hall runs and Garrett Wilson receptions. Adonai Mitchell also caught a 40-yard pass to set up another score.

Lions 31, Saints 30

Based on the DFS ownership, this game looked like it was going to be a potential shootout. That was certainly not the case, as both offenses were sluggish for most of the afternoon. The Lions had a great early drive, with Jahmyr Gibbs making some big plays, but they couldn't get anything going for a while.

It looked like the Saints would be able to tie the game early on when they recovered a Jared Goff strip-sack, but replay review noted that it was a forward pass even though the pass went backward. The call made absolutely no sense, and the Saints were robbed of a potential turnover.

Then again, another controversial call went the Saints' way when Gibbs made contact with the ground, but replay review somehow reversed the call to a fumble. Nothing the officials did in this game made any sense.

Speaking of not making any sense, Tyler Shough was abysmal for most of the afternoon despite having a positive matchup. He threw an interception when he didn't see a defender, setting up another Gibbs touchdown. He then lost a fumble on a strip-sack to set up an Amon-Ra St. Brown touchdown. This put the Lions up 21-0, and the game appeared to be over.

However, something happened in the second half, and the switch flipped on for Shough. He began connecting with Chris Olave and then had a terrific 15-yard pass on a fourth-and-12 to Bryce Lance. Shough followed that up with a 43-yard bomb to Olave, setting up a Juwan Johnson touchdown. This completed the comeback temporarily, as the Saints tied the game at 24.

New Orleans even had a chance to win in regulation. After a nice run by Travis Etienne, Johnson made a terrific 19-yard diving catch to move into Lions territory. However, the long field goal was no good, which sent the game to overtime.

The Lions overcame their sluggishness in overtime, going right down the field. St. Brown scored a touchdown to put Detroit up seven, and then the Saints had a chance to either tie the game or take the lead.

Shough converted a fourth-and-3 after a fumble on third down via a pass to Olave. He then had a 27-yard completion to Johnson down the sideline. Shough followed that up with a touchdown to Noah Fant, but the Saints decided to go for the win rather than the tie. Shough's pass sailed over the receiver's head on the two-point conversion, allowing the Lions to hold on to their one-point victory.

Bengals 33, Buccaneers 27
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Buccaneers gave this game away, literally. They coughed up the ball four times, giving the Bengals an easy victory because of their horrible fumbles. This was our only blemish as far as the early Week 1 NFL picks were concerned.

The Bengals avoided their traditional slow start thanks to Baker Mayfield going on a turnover spree. After Mayfield just signed a mega-extension, he had three huge fumbles that provided the game-winning point swing for Cincinnati. The Bengals' revamped defense produced some huge turnovers, but they did struggle with giving up yardage aside from the takeaways.

The Buccaneers took the opening kickoff down the field for a short field goal, led by Bucky Irving and Mayfield distributing the ball. After a Bengals punt, Mayfield was gang-sacked, with Myles Murphy forcing a fumble. Linebacker Demetrius Knight scooped up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. The next Bucs drive saw Irving fumble after a hit by Bryan Cook, and the Bengals recovered at the Tampa Bay 33. Cincinnati took advantage with a short touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki.

The Buccaneers responded with a drive into Cincinnati territory. A penalty took away a Mayfield interception, and on a third-and-6, Mayfield dodged a sack and took off for a first down. He ran inside the 5-yard line when Barrett Carter stripped him of the ball. Bryan Cook recovered the ball in the end zone to kill the scoring opportunity.

The Bengals marched down the field, with Chase Brown scoring on a short touchdown run. Tampa Bay used Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin to move the ball down the field to set up a short rushing touchdown for Irving. Late in the second quarter, Burrow connected with Gesicki for three receptions to move inside the Tampa Bay 20. The Bengals tacked on a field goal to go up 24-10 at the half and then added another field goal on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Tampa Bay responded with a field goal to make it 27-13, and then the Bucs got back into the game when rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter intercepted Burrow and returned the pick 38 yards for a touchdown to cut the Bengals' lead to 27-20. Evan McPherson drilled a 58-yard field goal to put Cincinnati back up by 10 early in the fourth quarter.

After a nice conversion by Irving, Mayfield held onto the ball too long, and Boye Mafe came from behind him for a strip-sack that was recovered by Tampa Bay. That turned into another Cincinnati field goal. The Bucs produced a drive that ended with Mayfield running in for a touchdown from about 10 yards out. Burrow then connected with Ja'Marr Chase, and the Bengals ran for the yardage needed to kill the clock and clinch the victory.

Vikings 39, Packers 22
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: I still can't believe the Vikings won like this. They looked completely dead when they were down 22-10 and couldn't get a first down. They somehow prevailed by 17!

This was a crazy game, as Green Bay was in firm control for three quarters, but the Vikings produced 29 unanswered points with their backup quarterback, and Minnesota got a huge Week 1 divisional win. Jordan Love and the Green Bay receivers played well for much of the game, but in the fourth quarter, the Packers' offensive and defensive lines collapsed, leading to turnovers and an inability to stop the Vikings' offense.

It is a long season with everything possible, but this could prove to be a pivotal divisional game. A year ago, the Packers beat the Lions in Week 1, and that had a big impact on Green Bay making the playoffs and Detroit just missing out.

On the second play from scrimmage, new Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray threw a dumb pass off his back foot into double coverage, and it was easily intercepted by Green Bay. The Packers turned that turnover into a long field goal. After a Vikings punt, Jordan Love hit Christian Watson on a deep cross, and he turned the corner and raced down the sideline for an 81-yard touchdown. Trey Smack missed the extra point, so the Packers held a 9-0 lead.

On the ensuing drive, Murray took off scrambling and got nuked by two Packers defenders with a hard shot to the head that caused a concussion. Murray went into the locker room, and Carson Wentz came in for Minnesota. Wentz led the Vikings to a field goal. Bo Melton returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards into Minnesota territory and set up another field goal to make it 12-3 midway through the first half.

With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Wentz lofted a 39-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson to cut the lead to 12-10. In the final minutes before halftime, Love connected with Tucker Kraft and Watson for some long gains to get inside the 10-yard line. To cap the drive, Love found Watson wide open in the end zone to build the lead to 19-10 at halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Love found tight end Jonnu Smith wide open in busted coverage for a 44-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal. Green Bay had to settle for a field goal, and that proved to be a decisive stand for Minnesota. The Vikings returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to start inside the Packers' 30. A few plays later, Wentz hit T.J. Hockenson down the seam for a touchdown to make it 22-17 entering the fourth quarter.

Love found Matthew Golden for a 42-yard completion, and it appeared the Packers had settled for a field goal. However, the Vikings were offsides, and Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur took the points off the board and went for it on fourth-and-1. The Vikings stuffed the attempt.

Minnesota responded with a long drive that was aided by some Packers penalties, including some questionable calls and non-calls. A defensive holding penalty on Green Bay canceled out an interception on a terrible pass from Wentz. That led to Aaron Jones scoring from a few yards out. The two-point conversion was good, giving the Vikings a 25-22 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores fired up the blitz and forced consecutive strip-sacks of Love, with the second being recovered by Minnesota. Brian Cashman returned the second fumble to the Green Bay 1-yard line. Jones dove into the end zone on the next play to put Minnesota up 32-22 with less than five minutes remaining.

Love then made a bad pass that was dropped by Vikings safety Harrison Smith, but teammate James Pierre caught the deflection off Smith for an interception and returned it inside the 20. Justin Jefferson made a great play on a 10-yard touchdown to clinch the win for Minnesota.

Cardinals 23, Chargers 14

The Chargers were the biggest favorites entering Week 1, but they did not get off to a good start in this game. They allowed the Cardinals to go down the field on the opening drive, with Jeremiyah Love scoring the opening touchdown.

The Chargers answered and then took possession in a seven-all tie. They entered Arizona territory, so it looked like they were going to take the lead, but Omarion Hampton lost a fumble. The Cardinals took over in favorable field position and went ahead.

The Chargers had a chance to tie or go ahead via a Ladd McConkey deep pass interference flag. However, Justin Herbert was sacked on fourth-and-goal. Rather than the Chargers scoring, Arizona put points on the board, as the ensuing possession featured Michael Wilson drawing a deep pass interference flag.

Adding injury to insult for the Chargers, McConkey suffered an injury on a third-and-16 pass from Herbert. After that, Herbert took a sack to ruin a drive, and then a blocked punt allowed Arizona to take over on the Chargers' 3-yard line. Jacoby Brissett threw a touchdown to Trey McBride, effectively ending the game.And if that wasn't clear enough, Herbert threw an interception on a deep shot into double coverage on the ensuing possession.

Raiders 27, Dolphins 13 The Dolphins had a nice opening drive in this game but stalled in Las Vegas territory. The Raiders answered with a more successful possession, as Kirk Cousins located Jack Bech for a touchdown.

The Raiders, however, did their best to keep the Dolphins in the game. Up 7-0, Michael Mayer appeared to lose a fumble, but he was ruled down by contact. Cousins then had a poor interception while up 17-6 and was picked again after that. Meanwhile, Las Vegas' special teams allowed a great kickoff return for the Dolphins.

However, Miami's new offense couldn't take advantage of these opportunities. Malik Willis was intercepted himself when he threw into double coverage, and following that great kickoff return, the Dolphins missed a field goal.

Caleb Douglas made some very good plays for the Dolphins, but that was pretty much it, as Miami's offense couldn't get anything going, particularly on third down. They converted just two of 10 third downs, while the Raiders were five of 13.

Eagles 24, Redskins 22

The Eagles were able to hit some big plays in the post-A.J. Brown era. They got out to a 14-3 lead as Dontayvion Wicks and Dallas Goedert scored early touchdowns. Wicks was able to put Philadelphia in position to score with a 64-yard reception. The Eagles looked like they were going to dominate the game.

Things changed after that, as Washington was able to put a surprising amount of pressure on Jalen Hurts despite Hurts being protected by a well-respected offensive line. Philadelphia couldn't generate too many offensive drives as a result, allowing the Redskins to creep back into the game.

Washington scored a touchdown via a Stefon Diggs reception to climb to within 17-16. The Redskins seemed to have the Eagles on the ropes, but Philadelphia finally answered when Hurts found Goedert for a short pass. Goedert did the rest of the work, turning a short catch into a long touchdown to go up 24-16.

Washington answered after that. Jayden Daniels had a great drive, which he capped off with a touchdown to Antonio Williams. However, the two-point conversion to John Bates ended up being just shy of the goal line, allowing the Eagles to preserve their 24-22 victory following a failed onside kick attempt.

Giants 28, Cowboys 20 The Cowboys entered this game as field goal favorites, but they gave away a potential victory with so many mistakes. They gave out free first downs like candy on Halloween with six penalties in the first 20 minutes. And at the end of the first half, Dak Prescott tried to throw the ball away, but instead hurled an interception that set up a Giants touchdown that would end up being a big factor in the game.

Speaking of the Giants, this was a huge statement game for Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo, Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely, and the rest of the team. Dart was incredible with precise accuracy and big-time plays. Skattebo had some huge runs, and both Likely and Nabers came up with big catches.

Dallas' defense, which was supposed to be improved this year, had no answer for anything the Giants were doing. This includes the final drive of the game when the Cowboys needed to get off the field for a potential game-tying touchdown. Instead, they allowed a third-down conversion from Dart and then surrendered a long run by Skattebo that sealed the victory for the Giants. This marked the first time the Giants have beaten the Cowboys and their starting quarterback for a full game since 2016.

Chiefs 31, Broncos 10

The Broncos were one of the heaviest-bet teams in the NFL this week, but those who wagered on them were not happy on the opening drive when Bo Nix was intercepted by rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane. Things got even worse for them when Patrick Mahomes rushed in a touchdown on the ensuing possession, showing that he is healthy coming off his torn ACL.

The rest of the first half was a slog, however, as neither team could get much going aside from a couple of drives. Both teams sputtered with constant three-and-outs, and it looked like this was going to be a defensive struggle in the 20-17 range.

Things changed in the second half, however. It was a 14-7 game when Kenneth Walker broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run to put the Chiefs up 21-7.

The Broncos had no response. Nix, who barely ran in this game, which might be an indication that his ankle isn't anywhere near 100 percent, took a delay of game and then suffered a drop from Jaylen Waddle. He was bailed out by a Mahomes interception when there was a miscommunication with Xavier Worthy, but the Broncos blew a golden opportunity to score from the 5-yard line. Nix fumbled for a loss, and Denver had to settle for a field goal.

With the score 21-10, the Chiefs needed a big play to put the Broncos to rest. They got that from Travis Kelce on a 59-yard reception in which he moved into second place behind Tony Gonzalez for the most receiving yards in a career by a tight end, passing Jason Witten in the process. The Chiefs ended up kicking a field goal to go up 24-10.

Before long, it was 31-10, as Nix was strip-sacked. The Chiefs responded with a quick touchdown to Walker to seal the victory over their divisional rival.