Caleb Williams threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and two more scores as the Chicago Bears defeated the Carolina Panthers in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history. Chicago and Carolina scored eight more points than the previous record of 88 set in Tampa Bay’s 48-40 win over New Orleans in 2018. Coach Ben Johnson’s prolific Bears also broke a franchise record for points in an opener, a mark that had stood since 1948, when Chicago hung 45 points on Green Bay at Wrigley Field.
The 59 points were the most allowed by the Panthers in team history. D’Andre Swift, who received a $33.75m contract extension earlier this week, ran for 124 yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns, while Kyle Monangai had 100 yards rushing, including a 61-yard touchdown burst. Josh Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to lift the Buffalo Bills to a win over the Houston Texans in a back-and-forth season opener.
Allen had 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to get his first win in Houston after losing his previous four games at Reliant Stadium. The Texans led 31-30 when Allen split two defenders to find Palmer. The two-point conversion failed.
The Texans had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Greg Rousseau had his second strip sack of the day, taking down CJ Stroud at the Buffalo 28. Tyler Shough threw an incomplete pass in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt, allowing the Detroit Lions to escape with a win in overtime over the New Orleans Saints. Saints coach Kellen Moore chose to go for the win instead of tying the game with 1:34 left in overtime after his team came back from a three-touchdown deficit in the third quarter and allowed a touchdown on the opening possession of the extra period.
Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for three touchdowns. Cincinnati’s overhauled defense converted three first-half fumbles into touchdowns and led the Bengals past the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Joe Burrow finished 25-of-35 for 254 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Bengals, who finished with four forced turnovers.
Baker Mayfield was 23-of-28 for 216 yards and a touchdown run for the Buccaneers, who dropped their first season opener since 2020. Mayfield lost three fumbles for the first time in his career. Evan McPherson converted all four field goal attempts, including kicks of 55 and 58 yards, to help Cincinnati to their first Week 1 win at home since 2021.
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