By Field Level Media
Sep 14 (Field Level Media) – Caleb Williams threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more and the Chicago Bears pulled away for a 59-37 victory against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte in the highest-scoring Week 1 game in NFL history.
In the teams’ season opener, D’Andre Swift scored three touchdown runs and rushed for 124 yards on 18 carries for Chicago. Williams completed 21 of 29 passes for 269 yards and added 65 rushing yards. Kyle Monangai gained 100 yards on 10 carries, including a 61-yard TD.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young threw two of his three touchdown passes to Jalen Coker. Young was 23-of-37 passing for 361 yards with one interception. Coker made eight catches for 138 yards. Chuba Hubbard scored touchdowns on a run and a reception.
The Panthers pulled even at 31-31 on Hubbard’s 2-yard run with 9:02 left in the third quarter. From there, the Bears posted the next three touchdowns on runs by Swift (1 yard), Monangai and Williams’ 1-yard pass to Jahdae Walker. Later, Swift found the end zone from 28 yards out.
Bills 36, Texans 31
Josh Allen accounted for four touchdowns and tossed the decisive 34-yard scoring pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining as Buffalo won in Houston for the first time in 20 years with a wild victory over the Texans.
Allen completed 20 of 29 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns and added two rushing scores while winning in Houston for the first time in five career attempts, including the postseason. The touchdown throw to Palmer capped a seven-play, 96-yard drive.
Dalton Kincaid had five receptions for 130 yards and DJ Moore had five catches for 100 yards and one touchdown in his Buffalo debut. Tyler Bass kicked three field goals and Rousseau had two sacks as the Bills won in Joe Brady’s first game as head coach. David Montgomery rushed for two touchdowns and caught another in his Texans debut.
Lions 31, Saints 30 (OT)
Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown and host Detroit held off New Orleans in overtime.
Detroit got the ball first in overtime and Goff threw a 4-yard TD pass to St. Brown for a 31-24 lead with 5:04 remaining in the extra period. Tyler Shough drove the Saints down the field on the ensuing drive and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant, but his two-point conversion pass was incomplete in the back of the end zone.
Shough recovered from three turnovers to pass for 410 yards and three touchdowns, including a 9-yard strike to Juwan Johnson late in regulation that forced OT. Chris Olave hauled in 10 receptions for 182 yards.
Jaguars 34, Browns 10
Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes and Jacksonville dominated visiting Cleveland and Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Lawrence completed 18 of 23 passes for 245 yards as Jacksonville built a 31-0 lead before tapping the brakes in the second half. Parker Washington caught Lawrence’s first TD pass and led the Jaguars with five receptions for 83 yards. Ten Jacksonville receivers caught at least one pass.
With the Browns down 34-3, Watson threw a 46-yard TD pass to rookie Denzel Boston with 1:52 remaining in the game. Watson was 16-of-22 passing for 205 yards and an interception, but he also fumbled and was sacked five times.
Steelers 20, Falcons 13
Aaron Rodgers began his final NFL season by throwing for 221 yards and a score and T.J. Watt returned an interception for a touchdown to help Pittsburgh hold off visiting Atlanta.
Watt also had three tackles for loss and two sacks for the Steelers, who won their third straight season opener. Cooper Rush completed 12 of 22 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown while throwing two interceptions for the Falcons. Bijan Robinson rushed for 83 yards and had eight catches for 90 yards and a score.
Facing a 13-7 halftime deficit, Atlanta threatened to cut the margin in half on its first drive of the second half, but Nick Folk missed his second field goal attempt of the game — this time a 45-yard try. So when Folk hit from 51 later in the third quarter, the Falcons still trailed 13-10. But Watt’s touchdown less than a minute into the fourth made the lead too big for Atlanta to overcome.
Bengals 33, Buccaneers 27
Cincinnati’s overhauled defense converted three first-half fumbles into touchdowns and led the Bengals past visiting Tampa Bay.
Joe Burrow finished 25-of-35 passing 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 its first Week 1 win at home since beating Minnesota in 2021.
Jets 23, Titans 10
Kenyon Sadiq and Breece Hall ran for touchdowns, Geno Smith threw for 215 yards and visiting New York put the clamps on Tennessee. The outcome spoiled the first game as Tennessee’s coach for former Jets boss Robert Saleh.
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.
Ravens 41, Colts 23
Derrick Henry scored three touchdowns to move into third place on the all-time rushing TDs list and rushed for 144 yards to power visiting Baltimore past Indianapolis.
Ravens wideout Zay Flowers (hamstring) had five receptions for a career-high 150 yards before he was ruled out. Lamar Jackson had 324 yards passing with a touchdown pass to Flowers and ran for a score while Henry (125) passed Marcus Allen (123) on the TD list.
Daniel Jones passed for 166 yards, one TD and one interception, while Jonathan Taylor ran for 98 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns for Indianapolis. The Colts fell to 1-8-1 in regular-season openers the past 10 years.
Vikings 39, Packers 22
Justin Jefferson caught eight passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and Minnesota closed the game with 29 unanswered points to stun Green Bay in Minneapolis.
Kyler Murray’s Vikings debut ended early as he sustained a concussion, and Carson Wentz came off the bench to complete 12 of 19 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones Sr. rushed for one touchdown apiece, and T.J. Hockenson had one touchdown catch.
Jordan Love completed 21 of 42 passes for 387 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Packers. Christian Watson caught six passes for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Raiders 27, Dolphins 13
Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns, two to running back Ashton Jeanty, and Las Vegas took care of visiting Miami in a meeting of teams not expected to do much this season.
Cousins, who signed with Las Vegas this offseason after spending the last two seasons with the Falcons, completed 21 of 30 passes for 160 yards and two interceptions. He leaned heavily on Jeanty, who rushed for 102 yards on 23 carries and caught six passes for a team-high 45 yards. Las Vegas controlled the ball for 34:53 and finished with 290 total yards.
Malik Willis hit 15 of 27 passes for 220 yards and an interception in his first start for Miami while running for its only touchdown. The Dolphins managed 259 total yards and converted only 2 of 10 third downs. Willis absorbed five sacks.
Cardinals 26, Chargers 14
Jacoby Brissett threw for 277 yards and a touchdown, Jeremiyah Love added a TD in his NFL debut and Arizona pulled off a victory over Los Angeles at Inglewood, Calif.
Trey McBride had nine receptions for 95 yards and a TD as the Cardinals won their season opener after losing their final nine games of the 2025 season. Arizona outscored the Chargers 19-7 after each team scored on its opening drive, thanks in large part to Chad Ryland’s four made field goals.
Justin Herbert was held to 209 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Ladd McConkey caught five passes for 82 yards and a score before departing toward the end of the third quarter with a chest injury for Los Angeles, which was unable to find sustained offense in its first game under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.
Eagles 24, Commanders 22
Jalen Hurts completed 14 of 25 passes for 203 yards and three touchdown passes plus 46 rushing yards as Philadelphia won its sixth consecutive opener by holding off visiting Washington.
Dallas Goedert caught four passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, while Saquon Barkley had 15 carries for 83 yards for the Eagles. Dontayvion Wicks, in his first game for Philadelphia, had two receptions for 73 yards, including a 9-yard TD catch in the first half.
Jayden Daniels completed 18 of 34 passes in the game for 164 yards with two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Commanders created a dramatic finish. Daniels went to rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams on a quick out for a 1-yard TD pass with 1:01 remaining for a 24-22 deficit. The Eagles weren’t fooled on the two-point try. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo was waiting for an inside shovel pass to tight end John Bates, stopping him at the line of scrimmage.
(–Field Level Media)
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