2026 NFL Week 1 Takeaways: Should the Rams still be Super Bowl favourites?

Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is in the books.

We’re back to prime-time games at least three times a week and Sundays can be fully devoted to watching football. All is right in the world.

The opening week’s slate of games delivered everything you could ask for. There were 693 points scored, every team punched a ticket to the end zone and we even had an overtime thriller.

So, what did we learn from Week 1? Let’s get into it with some takeaways.

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Slow your roll on the Rams

The Rams were one of the most hyped teams in years over the off-season and entered Week 1 as +500 Super Bowl favourites. Well, it didn’t take long for serious question marks to arise after a 27-7 beatdown by division-rival San Francisco in Australia.

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett was completely ineffective in his L.A. debut, failing to record a tackle. Now Garrett is set to miss at least the next four games because of knee surgery and there’s no timetable for the return of recently un-retired Aaron Donald.

With upcoming games against the Giants, Broncos, Eagles and Bills, there’s a real chance the Rams (now +650 to win the Super Bowl) could start the season around 1-4. Is Donald already regretting coming out of retirement?

Bears offence is must-watch

Bears head coach Ben Johnson raised eyebrows in the off-season when he said he wanted to have the highest scoring offence ever this year. Johnson put his money where his mouth is after Chicago stomped Carolina’s defence in a ridiculous 59-37 win to open the season.

Caleb Williams had four total touchdowns (two passing, two rushing), while D’Andre Swift (124 yards, three TDs) and Kyle Monangai (100 yards, one TD) combined for 224 yards on the ground.

Three players finished with over 50 receiving yards, led by Kalif Raymond, who led the Bears with 84 yards on eight catches.

While Chicago’s defence was torched for 478 total yards, the offence will make the Bears a must-watch team this season.

Ravens/Giants are in good hands with Minter/Harbaugh

The Ravens and Giants each have new head coaches this season, with Jesse Minter taking over in Baltimore and former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh leading New York.

Almost everything seemed to work out for Baltimore in a 41-23 win over the Colts. Lamar Jackson threw for 324 yards and one TD while adding another score on the ground. Derrick Henry rushed for 144 yards and three TDs. And before leaving early with a hamstring injury, Zay Flowers went off for 150 receiving yards and a TD.

The Giants were just as impressive in a 28-20 win over the Cowboys. Jaxson Dart finished with 230 passing yards and three TDs, while adding 54 yards on the ground. The receiving duo of Isaiah Likely (79 yards, two TDs) and Malik Nabers (69 yards) also looks like they will be a major factor after Nabers missed nearly a year with an ACL injury.

Baltimore and New York are both in good hands this season.

Beware the Bengals

Cincinnati started the year off strong with a 33-27 win over Tampa Bay, but surprisingly, Joe Burrow and the offence were not really the story.

Limited to eight game because of injury last year, Burrow was fine in his 2026 debut with 245 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, although the defence was the real story. The Bengals finished with four sacks and produced four turnovers, which lined up the offence for short-distance opportunities.

If both units continue to perform at this level, Cincinnati will be a handful in the AFC North.

So much for defence wins championships

The real story of Week 1 was points, points, points. The Bears and Panthers combined for 96 points, the highest total since 2018, and that wasn’t the only game to see the offence get the better of the defence.

Buffalo (36) vs. Houston (31) and Detroit (31) vs. New Orleans (30) also saw both teams hit the 30-point mark. In total, 10 teams scored at least 30 points last week, including the Ravens (41), Vikings (39), Jaguars (34) and Bengals (33).

Team defences are generally ahead of offences at the beginning of the season, but that certainly wasn’t the case in Week 1. For entertainments sake, let’s hope that trend continues.