Welcome, friends, to the best time of the year. There are now three (four, in the case of Week 1) fewer evenings each week available for plans to be made, while Sunday is wiped out entirely. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
The NFL returned to our lives last week, with the weirdness levels boosted to the max. We’re not really talking about the fact that the 49.4 points per game was tied for the highest-scoring Week 1 since the merger, or that the San Francisco 49ers left the continent but the injury bug from their electrical substation still managed to find a seat on the team’s plane. Those sorts of things happen.
The weirdness we’re talking about is the fact that it was a historically high-scoring Week 1, yet it was the vaunted Los Angeles Rams offense that was the only team that couldn’t crack double-digits. The Chicago Bears had the most points scored with 59, and quarterback Caleb Williams attempted 37 passes, yet their young star tight end Colston Loveland got a measly two targets and couldn’t even muster up a single catch.
As if the New York Jets winning a football game wasn’t weird enough, the New York Giants did as well, marking the first time since 2009 that both New York teams began a season 1-0. If you are a New Yorker, the last time you shared that joy with your friends, it was by texting them on your iPhone 3GS.
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Even in a generally weird Week 1, we had our bits of normalcy. Deshaun Watson capped off his first drive of the season with an interception, as the Cleveland Browns validated the pessimism regarding the team. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys’ defense got run over by Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, racking up the second-worst defensive EPA in the league, bringing a halt to figuring out what the most efficient parade route through North Texas would be in February.
Since scoring was the name of the game in Week 1, that’s where we’ll begin this week’s What’s Trending in the NFL, looking at five of the most impressive scoring outputs and gauging how sustainable they are.
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5. Baltimore Ravens, 41 points vs. Indianapolis Colts: This was such an on-brand offensive showing by the Ravens, with four of their five touchdowns coming on the ground. Three of those rushing touchdowns came from Derrick Henry, who is 11 years into his NFL career and looks like he has 11 more in his tank. If healthy, the Ravens can be a force. The issue is that’s a heavy condition. Lamar Jackson’s injury last season derailed this unit. Zay Flowers was impressive Sunday but is already dealing with an injury, and rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane landed on injured reserve. Henry is 32 years old and plays a style that invites a lot of contact. When everybody is healthy, there may not be a more fun offense in the league.
4. Minnesota Vikings, 39 points vs. Green Bay Packers: The final 20 minutes of this game reminded me of the Denver Broncos’ furious comeback last season against the New York Giants, in which Denver scored 33 points in the fourth quarter of a 33-32 win. Minnesota doesn’t get the same shine because one touchdown was scored with two minutes left in the third quarter, but the Vikings scored 29 points in the final 17 minutes. While it was fun to watch Sunday, it’s not something you should get used to coming out of Minnesota.
3. Buffalo Bills, 36 points vs. Houston Texans: The Bills showed off their shiny new toy in wide receiver DJ Moore to the tune of five catches for 100 yards. Why is that noteworthy? In 19 games last season, regular season and playoffs, the Bills had two instances in which a wide receiver hit the century mark. We’re already halfway there in 2026! Josh Allen was spectacular, but nothing we haven’t come to expect from him. Houston’s defense is legit, and Buffalo still poured 36 points on the Texans, and that’s with James Cook being relatively bottled up. This offensive performance was no fluke.
2. Kansas City Chiefs, 31 points vs. Denver Broncos: Patrick Mahomes completed a little over half his passes and no wide receiver had even 20 yards receiving. Take Travis Kelce’s 59-yard catch-and-run out and the leading receiver would be backup running back Emmett Johnson, with 44 yards. The point is, this was about as rough as the Chiefs’ passing game will look, and they still scored 31 points on what was an elite defense last season. Giving this offense Kenneth Walker just feels unfair.
1. Chicago Bears, 59 points vs. Carolina Panthers: The word coming out of Chicago on Sunday was that there was some “meat left on the bone” after the team put up 59 points. The scary thing is I believe them. Nobody is sustaining 59 points on a weekly basis, but Caleb Williams looks unstoppable and there are two layers of quality talent at every skill position. I also don’t feel great about Chicago’s defense, which will only give the offense even more opportunities to score. Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan have been the face of the young offensive mind becoming a head coach trend, and Ben Johnson is a worthy third addition.
Not Ranked — San Francisco 49ers, 27 points vs. Los Angeles Rams: There was a lot to like about the 49ers’ offense, but there were a lot of unusual circumstances involved, too. The Rams decided they could fly across the globe and play a game right after getting off the flight. Myles Garrett was limited and Aaron Donald didn’t play. It was encouraging to see Shanahan take some of the load off Christian McCaffrey, and it was still just the first game back from injury for George Kittle. Optimism is justified for the 49ers’ offense but we’ll wait and see to what extent.
Mike Evans and the 49ers looked good in their opener against the Rams. (Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
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5. Seattle Seahawks: This is going to be a tough team to evaluate in this category because everything on offense carries an asterisk until Sam Darnold returns, and all we have is one series with Darnold to look at. But defense was always the identity of this team, and that unit remains elite.
4. Los Angeles Rams: This is where we remind you that this is not a power ranking. One loss in which the quarterback looked rusty and one top defensive acquisition played hurt and the other didn’t play at all isn’t enough to make me believe the Rams won’t be Super Bowl contenders. Matthew Stafford’s age does make me a little nervous but no need to panic until we see a pattern established.
3. Kansas City Chiefs: The offense was basically a one-man show with Walker, as Mahomes eased his way back into the lineup. But the defense was perhaps the most impressive part of the win, especially with a completely revamped secondary.
2. San Francisco 49ers: Outside of Brock Purdy, I feel like I can make a decent argument for Fred Warner being the most valuable player on the 49ers. That feels like an absurd thing to say about a linebacker in today’s NFL, but that’s how good of a player Warner is. Raheem Morris has picked up seamlessly as the defensive coordinator from what Robert Saleh left behind, and has the benefit of good health from Warner and Nick Bosa.
1. Buffalo Bills: The defense wasn’t great, especially against a Houston offense that isn’t supremely talented. But it may not matter if the Bills can outscore their problems. There’s some dialogue to be had about the top three to five quarterbacks in the NFL, but I’m not sure I would take anybody over Allen right now.
Not Ranked — Cincinnati Bengals: Are we ready to buy into the changes on defense? They forced and recovered four fumbles, which is half of their total from last season. Defending a big lead in the second half, they only gave up one touchdown. These are all positive signs, and if they’re able to build on it, they could be a factor in the AFC. For now, they still fall behind the Ravens in the division.
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5. Arizona Cardinals: Outside of the top three teams here, it’s hard to gauge who will be bad enough to challenge for the worst record in the NFL. The Cardinals had the upset of the weekend but they’re still in a tough division and have a tough schedule, which gives them the edge over the Las Vegas Raiders for this spot.
4. New York Jets: The Robert Saleh Bowl was a tough watch. There shouldn’t be any complaints about a 13-point win, no matter who the opponent is, but what’s it going to take for the Jets to get an interception?
3. Miami Dolphins: When a team intentionally enters a rebuild, you have to expect losses. Good for Malik Willis for getting his shot as a starter in the NFL. There’s no way he could turn down the opportunity, but he is not set up for success in Miami.
2. Tennessee Titans: Forget wins. You just want to see some progress from quarterback Cam Ward in his second season. Instead, Ward looked awful and the Titans may have the most forgettable roster in the NFL in 2026.
1. Cleveland Browns: This is the most miserable state of the organization in Cleveland that I can recall in recent history. Makes it all the more fitting that they have to see Baker Mayfield this week, as a reminder of what they had before the Deshaun Watson debacle.
Not Ranked — Atlanta Falcons: The NFC South came out of Week 1 as the only division with all four teams sitting at 0-1. That’s why it may be a challenge for any of these teams to truly be in the running for the No. 1 pick, because even the bad teams from the division could fall into a critical win or two. If we do have to pick a team that looked the worst from the worst division though, it’d be the fightin’ Bijan Robinsons. It’s not fair to expect any third-string quarterbacks to come in and look formidable but for a veteran backup who has some quality wins in the NFL, that was a rough outing by Cooper Rush.