Looking back at the Week 1 NFL games in our first recalibration of the season…
The Chicago Bears offense is frightening
Not just because they scored 59 points against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Not only because quarterback Caleb Williams was making all the right decisions in head coach Ben Johnson’s scheme. And not because an explosive running game balanced the Bears in a way that made them unstoppable.
Chicago did all of this without getting a single touchdown from tight end Colston Loveland and wideouts Luther Burden and Rome Odunze.
When I passed through Bears camp in August, that young trio had everyone in the franchise buzzing. Significant growth was anticipated. Cornerstones were settling in. Even with Williams’ offseason strides — which saw him take ownership of Johnson’s offense — you couldn’t debate Chicago’s goal of being the highest-scoring team in NFL history without talking about Loveland, Burden and Odunze.
And then the Bears went out and rolled up 59 points in Week 1, with that trio putting up a combined stat line of seven catches for 115 yards and zero scores. A modest haul that was accentuated by Loveland failing to catch a single pass on two targets.
If this is what the Bears offense looks like when its young pass-catching stars don’t need to have big days, I can’t imagine what this offense is going to look like when that trio shoulders the load that it is capable of.
It’s remarkable how quickly Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles have replicated Johnson’s peak Detroit Lions experience, creating a roster of skill position players that can spread the wealth in different places from one game to the next. From developing running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai into Johnson’s next David Montgomery/Jahmyr Gibbs duo, to signing returner/wideout Kalif Raymond and using him to weaponize the rungs of the depth chart under the Loveland/Burden/Odunze trio.
In the preseason, there was hand-wringing about whether the defense was going to be good enough to prevent a regression from 2025. If this is what the offense looks like — and it’s still Week 1, so let’s be measured — then I don’t think the defense has to be anything but average for the Bears to roll the NFC. That defense was woeful against the Panthers and it still didn’t matter.
That’s the message a 59-37 dismantling sends. 552 yards. 291 rushing yards. Six rushing touchdowns. Against a Panthers team that is not devoid of talent on defense. Chicago’s offense looks good enough to allow the defense to figure it out over the course of the season.
As Williams told reporters, this is the standard: “That’s how we want to look each week. That’s who we want to be each week.”
The rest of the NFC had better hope this performance was the biggest Week 1 liar.
This better not be an accurate representation of the Dallas Cowboys defense
I got sucked in. I’ll admit it. When I saw the Cowboys defense in camp, it looked more talented across the board and new defensive coordinator Christian Parker seemed to have resolved the communication problems that plagued the unit last season. I gushed.
Now I’m a little nervous after the Cowboys’ 28-20 loss to the New York Giants.
Not only did the Cowboys clearly have some communication issues on the back end of the defense, but also the line looked stunningly overmatched by the New York Giants offense at the point of attack. There’s too much money and talent invested in that defensive front for it to get physically pushed around. And that was hardly the only problem.
The bigger worry may be the adjustments. Dallas clearly couldn’t figure out what to do with Giants tight end Isaiah Likely in key situations, as he came up with one big catch after another. That contributed to several moments where NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth basically embarrassed the Cowboys defense by simply doing his job. Not only showing how the Giants were utilizing an oddly and repeatedly wide-open left flat for completions to running back Devin Singletary, but also unleashing on the Cowboys after Likely was left uncovered in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
“I thought I saw some bad defense out of the Cowboys last year,” Collinsworth said late in the first half. “That sequence was as bad as it gets. They’re going to leave this corner completely wide open against Isaiah Likely, who has been destroying them the entire half. I don’t know who’s blowing these coverages out here in the defensive left flat, but they had two guys chasing the wide receiver who was three yards down the field and nobody on the corner route.”
The unit was atrocious on third down (giving up 9 of 11 conversions), there appeared to be confusion in coverages (sound familiar?), there were multiple missed tackles, and the four-man pass rush provided little pressure on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, who also rushed for 54 yards.
All of this after Parker’s system change promised clearer checks and communication and an ability to fix mistakes quickly in-game. I still think there’s a solid chance this is a Week 1 issue and that the talent on this defense can work out the kinks. But if this is something that becomes a trend, I can tell you right now what the story is going to become very quickly in Dallas: Parker has never called a defense before, and this is what it looks like when he does.
That’s something that could get very ugly, very fast.
Deshaun Watson is very likely playing for his starting job this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We could very easily be talking today about the Browns defense, which was much worse in the 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars than I anticipated. But first things first. This situation with Watson feels like it could be on track for the Week 3 quarterback change that some predicted when Watson was named the starter.
Already, there has been a slight shift in the stance of head coach Todd Monken: when he could have come out and named Watson the Week 2 starter after Sunday’s ugly 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he didn’t. When he had another opportunity to do it on Monday, Monken said he “anticipated” Watson being the starter against Tampa.
While I think it’s clear that Watson is the starter, that language still feels like some slippage. Not that Monken isn’t doing his best to deflect blame from Watson.
“It confirmed it when I looked at the tape — we’ve got to play better around him [and] we’ve got to call it better,” Monken said. “And he’s got to play better. … Our inability to function consistently as an offense was a byproduct of ‘we,’ coaching and playing.”
In the respect that this wasn’t all a Watson loss, I think Monken has a fair point. On one hand, Watson threw away a promising opening drive with a bad interception. Who knows what it would have meant for Cleveland’s momentum if it had been able to mount a touchdown drive. But on the other, the Browns’ defense failed to get some stops that could have altered momentum, too. The 3rd-and-7 that became a 30-yard Parker Washington touchdown was one. A pair of chunk plays to Washington and Brian Thomas Jr. on the Jaguars’ next offensive series.
In a snap, the Browns had given up 110 passing yards on back-to-back drives and were trailing 14-0. Then rookie wideout KC Concepcion fumbles and gives Jacksonville a short field when Cleveland is trailing 17-0. That short-field drive gets converted into a 24-0 lead for the Jaguars and then it’s an onslaught. The Jaguars pass rush is cranking up the pressure knowing the Browns are in passing situations. And just like that, it’s over.
So it wasn’t all Watson. But there was one moment late in the first quarter that I think is worth exploring with Watson. On 3rd and 10 late in the first quarter — clearly a passing down — Watson lined up in the shotgun. Upon taking the snap, he backpedaled another seven steps, to a depth that was roughly 13 yards behind the line of scrimmage when he set up. I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen a quarterback take a seven-step drop out of the shotgun. Initially, I thought it could have been a sly screen attempt that was thwarted (and it may have been), given that a Jaguars defender showed rush but then peeled off to follow the running back bleeding out of the backfield into the right flat.
Whatever it was — and I still think it could have been a screen — the play was blown apart. Watson was sacked and fumbled. His depth appeared to contribute to it, but it also was not blocked particularly well. It’s not clear whether more of the issue was on the line or Watson. I texted the play to a pair of pro scouts and asked them to take a look. My exact question: “You ever seen anything like this?”
“Dropping back that far? Yes,” one replied. “Usually from a guy that doesn’t want to be hit or he’s not convicted in what he sees.”
“7 steps from gun, never seen [that] before,” the second replied. “Maybe the 1960s or 1970s when Dan Pastorini and those guys would backpedal drop.”
Whoever was at fault on the play, the reality is the first game showcased that a lot of problems still exist in Cleveland and Watson is at least one of them. I think he has a chance to put up a bounce-back game against the Buccaneers and head into Cleveland’s home-opener against the Carolina Panthers as the starter. But if Watson and the Browns lose to Tampa Bay in a fashion similar to the Jaguars defeat, I think Week 3 could be extremely ugly with the home crowd. Maybe that’s something the Browns and Monken are willing to endure, but I think it’s going to be a distraction that sends the needle into the red for the franchise.
I wrote before about the multitude of decisions it takes for a quarterback to function in Monken’s offense at the line of scrimmage. Maybe Shedeur Sanders can’t handle all of the checks and calls and decisions. But if this is what Cleveland’s offense looks like with Watson, does it really matter? Especially when you have a fan base that is souring quickly on what they’re seeing.
Other odds and ends…
Trevor Lawrence has been the hottest quarterback in the NFL since Week 12 of last season. It’s Week 1, so I’m not going to go overboard, but his growth and confidence with head coach Liam Coen have been transformative. We’ve waited a long time for that Lawrence. He might be here to stay.
Charles Robinson@CharlesRobinson#Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence is *murdering* it since the Week 12 comeback against the #Cardinals 9 games, including the playoffs: 29 total TDs, 7 turnovers (3 of which happened in that Week 12 game) 2,308 passing yards. 8.34 adjusted net yards per attempt 9.09 TD % 8-1 record.5:23 PM · Sep 14, 2026 · 9.92K Views2 Replies · 17 Reposts · 125 LikesAgain, it’s just Week 1, but it was intriguing to see three teams that have gone through the wood chipper for a long time — the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets — get their seasons off on a winning note. I went through all three camps in the preseason, and the one that really stood out was the complete atmospheric change inside the Raiders. The tense issues on the coaching staff in 2025 between Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly and others definitely had people in the franchise walking on eggshells. The arrival of Klint Kubiak, Kirk Cousins, Tyler Linderbaum and some other veterans made a huge difference in the attitude and approach in the preseason. Maybe no player will end up benefiting more than running back Ashton Jeanty, who is operating behind an offensive line that looked like a totally changed unit in Week 1.
NFL@NFLAshton Jeanty went airborne on this run 🏃 MIAvsLV on FOX/FOX One Stream on @NFLPlus
10:26 PM · Sep 13, 2026 · 350K Views32 Replies · 110 Reposts · 1.44K LikesWhen tight end Brock Bowers returns, which should be soon, it will be interesting to see where this offense can go with Kubiak. It might be an overreaction off of one week, but I’ve been through the Raiders for years in camp and this time it did feel different.
Speaking of the Raiders, I did some quick poking around on Kirk Cousins — just in case the Minnesota Vikings quarterback situation completely falls apart — and got the sense that there’s no chance Cousins would be in play for the Vikings at the trade deadline. Regardless of circumstance, I don’t think Vikings ownership would be on board with it. Nor do I think the Raiders are going to be inclined to take Cousins away from Fernando Mendoza, especially if the Raiders are a competitive team heading into the trade deadline.
I think I’m going to get to this one later in the season, but if something doesn’t change soon, the Cam Ward-Jaxson Dart-Tyler Shough draft dynamic is going to weigh on the Tennessee Titans fan base. Surely it already does. But if Dart and Shough continue on their current trajectories, this is going to be a rough 2025 draft rehash for years to come.
Get ready to start talking about the head coaching interviews for new Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. Baltimore’s offense looked exquisite in Week 1. Hamstring issues aside, Zay Flowers looks like he leveled up in the offseason and is capable of being a top-end WR1. And running back Derrick Henry…I’m not saying he could be a threat to the NFL’s all-time rushing title, but I did look to see how old Frank Gore was when he last played in the NFL.
Football Performances@NFLPerformancesDerrick Henry opened the season looking like the same old King Henry 👑 24 CAR, 144 RUYDS, 3 TD, 1 REC, 19 REC YDS
8:14 PM · Sep 13, 2026 · 281K Views35 Replies · 699 Reposts · 5.98K LikesGore played until he was 37. Henry is 32 and an absolute freak as an athlete. If his Week 1 performance (24 carries for 144 yards and three touchdowns) is a real projection of his staying power as a top-tier running back, it’s hard to rule out the possibility that he can crank out some big seasons for a few more years.
The Houston Texans defense is going to be fine. … Buffalo’s wide receivers already look better with the offseason retooling. … Myles Garrett’s knee issue and the Australia travel have low-key provided some cover for how off the Los Angeles Rams’ offense was in the opener. … Shout out to Carolina Panthers wideout Jalen Coker, who I have loved since he came out of Holy Cross. And I have the receipts to prove it. See the undrafted priority free agent that was on the roster of the 2024 All-Juice Team.
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That’s it for this week’s recalibration. As always, plenty more to come.