On the opening Sunday of the 2026-27 NFL season, 10 teams – Baltimore, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minnesota and New Orleans – all scored at least 30 points, tied for the third-most such teams in a Week 1 in NFL history.
Seven teams – Arizona, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minnesota and the New York Jets – all won in Week 1 after missing the postseason in 2025.
Six teams – Baltimore, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati and Jacksonville – all scored at least 24 points in the first half of their games today, the most such teams in Week 1 in NFL history.
96 Points Scored
The Chicago Bears defeated the Carolina Panthers, 59-37, in Week 1 and the combined 96 points are the most points scored in a season-opening game in NFL history, surpassing the 88 points scored by Tampa Bay and New Orleans in Week 1 of the 2018 season.
Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams passed for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 65 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ win over Carolina.
Henry Stars for Ravens
Baltimore running back Derrick Henry rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns in the Ravens’ 41-23 win at Indianapolis.
Henry has 125 career rushing touchdowns, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen (123 rushing touchdowns) for the third-most rushing touchdowns in NFL history.
Henry has 26 career games with at least 100 rushing yards and has eight career games with at least 100 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns – the third-most such games in NFL history.
Wins for Lions & Bills
Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs recorded 186 scrimmage yards (156 rushing, 30 receiving) and two rushing touchdowns and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had 10 receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions’ 31-30 overtime win over New Orleans.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen passed for 334 yards and two touchdowns and had two rushing touchdowns in Buffalo’s 36-31 win over Houston.
Allen, who has 303 combined passing and rushing touchdowns (222 passing, 81 rushing) in 129 games, became the fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 300 career combined passing and rushing touchdowns, surpassing Aaron Rodgers (134 games).
Jaguars & Vikings Open Season With Victories
Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 18 of 23 pass attempts for 245 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in Jacksonville’s 34-10 win over Cleveland.
Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson had eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings’ 39-22 win over Green Bay.
Jefferson, who has 8,572 career receiving yards in 95 career games, became the third-fastest player in NFL history to reach 8,500 receiving yards.
Steelers & Cardinals On Top
Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt recorded two sacks and returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown in the Steelers’ 20-13 win over Atlanta.
Watt, who has 117 sacks and 10 interceptions in his career, joins Pro Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers as the only players with at least 100 sacks and at least 10 interceptions since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.
Arizona tight end Trey McBride recorded nine receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals’ 26-14 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
McBride has 38 career games with at least five receptions, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famers Antonio Gates (38 games) and Kellen Winslow Sr. (38) for the second-most such games by a tight end in his first five seasons in NFL history.
Other Week 1 Sunday Games
New York Jets rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq recorded a rushing touchdown in his NFL debut in the team’s 23-10 victory at Tennessee.
Tampa Bay rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter had a sack and returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown in his NFL debut against Cincinnati, becoming the first player since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, to record a sack and an interception-return for a touchdown in his first career game.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert passed for 209 yards and a touchdown against Arizona.
