The NFL opened its 2026 season across five days, from a Wednesday night game in Seattle through Sunday Night Football at MetLife Stadium. Fifteen games were decided before Monday's finale. Below is every result, with the games Uristocrat covered separately linked out.
Wednesday and Thursday
Seattle beat New England 13-10 on Wednesday, September 9 to open the season. On Thursday, September 10, the 49ers beat the Rams 27-7 in the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia.
Sunday, September 13
Thirteen games were played Sunday. The full slate:
- Bears 59, Panthers 37
- Vikings 39, Packers 22
- Bills 36, Texans 31
- Jaguars 34, Browns 10
- Bengals 33, Buccaneers 27
- Lions 31, Saints 30 (OT)
- Giants 28, Cowboys 20
- Raiders 27, Dolphins 13
- Cardinals 26, Chargers 14
- Eagles 24, Commanders 22
- Jets 23, Titans 10
- Ravens 41, Colts 23
- Steelers 20, Falcons 13
The highest-scoring opener on record
Chicago and Carolina combined for 96 points, eight more than the previous season-opener record of 88. Caleb Williams went 21 of 29 for 269 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, two of them rushing; Bryce Young went 23 of 37 for 361 yards with four total touchdowns and an interception, and Chicago forced three turnovers, per NBC New York. Full details are in our report on the Bears' 59-37 win.
New head coaches went 3-1 on Sunday
Three of the offseason's coaching hires won their first game. Jesse Minter's Ravens beat Indianapolis 41-23 behind 324 passing yards from Lamar Jackson and three touchdowns from Derrick Henry. Mike McCarthy's Pittsburgh debut, replacing Mike Tomlin after 19 seasons, ended 20-13 over Atlanta on a fourth-quarter T.J. Watt pick-six. And the Giants beat the Cowboys 28-20 in John Harbaugh's first game in New York. Robert Saleh's Tennessee debut was the exception: the Titans lost 23-10 to the Jets, with rookie Cam Ward going 19 of 32 for 140 yards and a touchdown without a turnover.
The rest of the slate
Buffalo beat Houston 36-31, with Josh Allen throwing for 324 yards and accounting for four touchdowns and the game winning on a 34-yard pass to Joshua Palmer; C.J. Stroud went 26 of 38 for 274 yards with two touchdowns and two lost fumbles. Detroit beat New Orleans 31-30 in overtime after Tyler Shough threw for 410 yards on 56 attempts and the Saints failed a two-point conversion. Trevor Lawrence went 18 of 23 for 245 yards and four touchdowns as Jacksonville beat Cleveland 34-10. Cincinnati forced four turnovers and recorded four sacks in a 33-27 win over Tampa Bay, where Baker Mayfield lost three fumbles. Las Vegas beat Miami 27-13 behind 102 rushing yards, six catches and two touchdowns from Ashton Jeanty. Arizona beat the Chargers 26-14 in Mike McDaniel's first game calling the Los Angeles offense, with Justin Herbert going 17 of 27 for 209 yards. Minnesota closed on a 22-0 fourth-quarter run to beat Green Bay 39-22 after Kyler Murray left with a concussion and Carson Wentz threw three touchdowns. Philadelphia held on 24-22 over Washington, detailed in our report on the Eagles' win.
Denver at Kansas City on Monday, September 14 closes Week 1. The weekend's schedule was previewed in our Games to Watch for Sunday, September 13.
Source: ESPN, NBC New York
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