NFL winners & losers, Week 1: Bears are for real, Packers collapse

(Photo by Jared C. ) | Getty Images Ben Johnson returned to his home state of North Carolina and chose violence to open the NFL season. The Bears and Panthers combined for the highest-scoring opener in league history in a 59-37 Chicago win, which in reality felt a lot like a beatdown. It was a Scorigami, but more importantly, it represented the Bears’ coach delivering on a promise to bring the most explosive offense the NFL had ever seen, and while it might just be Week 1, he delivered on that promise. Johnson made his intentions clear when he spoke to The Athletic in August. “I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored [37.9], and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts.” The game against Carolina wasn’t always a lock, as it was a true shootout for much of the afternoon until the Bears pulled away — but that didn’t stop Johnson from proving his point. Chicago dismantled a terrible Carolina defense, not only using his talent to its full potential but also showing why he’s the offensive scheme king of the NFL. This was an exceptionally easy afternoon for Caleb Williams and company, using hefty doses of misdirection and pre-snap confusion to open up wide windows for the Bears’ QB to throw into, or gashing through open running lanes that allowed for a mammoth 291 yards on the ground. Obviously, the Bears won’t be able to feast on the ground each and every week like they did against Carolina, but it’s the foundation of this offense which is universal. Chicago has the talent to run the ball effectively through the middle, which opens up pre-snap movement in offensive schemes to keep defenses guessing, and the receiver talent to execute on the vision. If that was all the team had you’d have an offense very similar to what Johnson utilized in Detroit with the Lions, but Caleb Williams gives him the x-factor of a QB who can escape pressure, make plays with his legs, and extend the play when things aren’t working. This was the biggest revelation from the first season of the Johnson/Williams union. Early in the season, it seemed the two struggled to reconcile their wildly conflicting styles, with Caleb going off-script too often and Johnson frustrated that the young QB didn’t execute his vision. As the season went on, however, we saw their styles meld, and toward the back-end of the 2025 season we saw this work in concert. The question was whether or not defenses could watch the film and find holes in the game, and judging from Carolina the answer is no. There is another soft entry into the season for the Bears, entering Week 2 in a game against the Vikings that can help assert themselves in the NFC North. From there all eyes will be on Monday Night Football in Week 3, when the Bears face the Eagles. If this team is able to show up on offense in that game, then the hype behind the Bears will be fully deserved, and white-hot. As incredible as Chicago’s offense was on Sunday, some major questions remain. This team was porous on defense, allowing Bryce Young to finish with 361 yards passing and four total touchdowns, none of which came in garbage time as the game remained fairly close until the 4th quarter when Chicago pulled away. While the Bears deserve their flowers for an incredible offensive day, they still allowed 478 yards of offense in their own right — which will be highly problematic if they can’t seal things up against the likes of Philadelphia in Week 3 or the Packers in Week 5. For now, Bears fans deserve to bask in the hype. This team has earned the pre-season excitement they were lacking in Week 1 a year ago. If we see another level of progression from this team in 2026, then watch out — because something very special could be brewing in Chicago. Now the winners and losers from Week 1 in the NFL Winner: The new-look New York Giants The Giants had talent on their roster to be sure, but what we saw on Sunday Night Football was the difference a good coach can make on a football team. John Harbaugh’s hiring was as much about putting an adult in charge of this team as anything else — someone who could take all this unharnessed, oft-unfocused energy and direct it on a singular goal. That all came together against the Cowboys, as the Giants beat their division rival and embarrassed Dallas in what could become a critical NFC East divisional matchup. Winning by eight might not seem like a beatdown, but these are the kind of games Dallas believes it should win extremely easily. They ended up failing offensively, which is where you’d assume they had the edge — and got completely outclassed by Jaxson Dart in the passing game. A good season is built off a statement, and the Giants made that statement in Week 1. Loser: Green Bay Packers There is no excuse for what happened to the Packers in the fourth quarter of that game against the Vikings. Green Bay has quickly become the least-clutch team in the NFL, capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory like nobody else. Over the span of 2:39 the Packers allowed three touchdowns, fueled by a series of mammoth defensive errors, and offensive screw-ups. There’s no sugarcoating what the Packers did, because that was a damn joke. Jordan Love and the offense are masters of fair-weather football, routinely unable to assert themselves when the games matter. Love shrinks when the pressure is on more than any other quarterback in the NFC. Not only does he make bad decisions with the football, but his mechanics have a tendency to fly out the window when the game requires him to step up. Call me a Jordan Love hater all you want, but that game was proof positive of what has marred his career, and why I always struggle to consider him an elite top-tier QB. Winner: Buffalo Bills The Bills faced a lot of pressure entering Week 1 of the 2026 season to prove that making personnel changes, and most critically the switch at head coach wasn’t a mistake. Unquestionably the toughest test a contender had in Week 1, the Bills marched into Houston to show the Texans that they weren’t going to be intimidated by their prolific defense. Josh Allen is always going to be great, that’s a given — but the addition of D.J. Moore has really opened up this offense in a way we haven’t seen in past years. He’s a younger, shiftier version of Stefon Diggs that fills a similar role that Diggs was supposed to, but in a more effective manner. One of the reasons I loved the Moore trade for for Buffalo was the familiarity with Joe Brady from their time in Carolina, and the two are picking up where they left off. It’s only natural to fall victim to recency bias after one week of football, but this was a signature win against a tough opponent in their own house. These Bills are who we thought they were. Loser: The Chargers, who opened the season by Charger-ing One of these days we’ll be rewarded for believing the Chargers can ascend but today will not be that day. Nobody gets to own the most embarrassing Week 1 loss more than Jim Harbaugh, who went into the week being one of those teams people thought might make noise in the AFC this year, but the sound was actually a wet fart as they lost to the Cardinals — fairly convincingly, mind you. The offense under Mike McDaniel wasn’t special, like we hoped it might become — and the defense was an absolute mess. Jacoby Brissett completed over 72-percent of his passes, Arizona had almost 400 yards of total offense, it was an utter embarrassment. I still think the Cardinals will be a bad team when the dust settles, and this win could come back to haunt them in the race to land a top QB in 2027. Winner: Brian-freaking-Flores Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a defensive wizard, and we could dive into the political reasons he’s not a head coach right now — but instead, let’s appreciate what he’s able to do with a decent defensive unit, but not one you’d ever call transcendent on paper. What Ben Johnson does for offense, Flores does for defense. He is a coordinator capable of taking the talent around him and making them transcend, becoming much more than a sum of their parts. The pressure this team brought to Jordan Love in the fourth quarter was otherworldly, and as soon as he solved the Packers offense they completely crumbled. If Flores can make this team play from the first whistle then the Vikings will have one of the scariest defenses in the NFL this season. Loser: Video review from New York At what point can we admit that this process of throwing to New York to overturn calls is a mess? This marred several games in Week 1, but none more egregiously than what took place early in Saints vs. Lions, when Jared Goff clearly fumbled, but it was overruled. WTF??? Saints got screwed! This was called a fumble and touchdown on the field but after review the refs called it back for the Lions.. pic.twitter.com/D2q8gXCq7c — Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) September 13, 2026 Hand position has always been the determining factor in whether or not a pass is forward or backward. The section of the rulebook cited is literally titled “Forward Movement of Hand,” but the justification from the official was that Goff has started his “throwing motion,” which didn’t matter how the quarterback’s hand was moving. This broad reading of the rule can be construed as correct, but it’s impossible to know a passer’s intention in that moment. There is a chance that Goff could have pump-faked; he could have tucked and ran — but essentially the Lions were given the benefit of the doubt on the play, erasing a touchdown from the Saints. Detroit would go on to win 31-30 in overtime. This system changing the outcome of games is a joke. Loser: My buddy Kris Sorry dude, but you sent this to me so I need to shout you out. My man had a 25-leg parlay hit 24 legs, but lost because Ja’Marr Chase didn’t finish with 40 receiving yards in the Bengals win over the Buccaneers. Just a heartbreaking way to lose in Week 1. What a weird, wonderful week in the NFL. Who are your personal winners and losers from the week?

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