By Ethan Kerr / The Jambar
The 2026 National Football League season kicked off with a rematch of Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. The Seahawks defeated the Patriots in a 13-10 win Sept. 13.
Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the game with 122 receiving yards. The key play of the game came from defensive back Josh Jobe with an interception to seal the game for the Seahawks.
The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams played in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 10. The 49ers defeated the Rams 27-7. Quarterback Brock Purdy led the game with 205 passing yards and three touchdowns.
The Chicago Bears scored the most points of the week with a 59-37 victory over the Carolina Panthers. The Bears had two players rush for 100 yards or more with 124 yards from running backs D’Andre Swift and 100 yards from Kyle Monangai. Quarterback Bryce Young led the game with 361 passing yards and three touchdowns.
The Detroit Lions won in overtime 31-30 after the New Orleans Saints failed two game-winning point conversions. Quarterback Tyler Shough led the game in passing yards with 410, with 182 of those yards to wide receiver Chris Olave. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs had the most rushing yards in the game with 156 and two touchdowns for the Lions.
Shough earned the most passing yards across all players in the first week, while Olave earned the most receiving yards.
The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Indianapolis Colts 41-23. The Ravens’ offense saw quarterback Lamar Jackson throwing for 324 yards, with 150 yards to wide receiver Zay Flowers. Running back Derrick Henry led the game in rushing yards with 144 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Atlanta Falcons in a close game with a final score of 20-13. The game was controlled by both defenses with linebacker TJ Watt who made an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
Linebacker Payton Wilson for the Steelers led the game in tackles with 13. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the game in passing yards with 221 yards.
The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Cleveland Browns 34-10. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns to four different players for the Jaguars. Lawrence threw his 100th career touchdown to rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron, marking his first career touchdown
The Buffalo Bills took down the Houston Texans 36-31. Quarterback Josh Allen led the game in passing yards with 334 and two touchdowns for the Bills. Quarterback CJ Stroud had 274 passing yards for the Texans.
The offense controlled the majority of the games, as all teams averaged 50 points scored on the week. The passing game was the strength for most offenses with teams averaging 212.8 yards in the air and 120.3 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield had the highest completion percentage, with 82.1% of his passes for the Buccaneers. The Bears offensive line opened up holes in the running game with the top two highest yards per attempt on carries — Monangai averaging 10 yards and Swift averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28-20. Quarterback Jaxson Dart led the game in passing with 230 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Cam Skattebo was the leading rusher for the game with 81 yards and one touchdown for the Giants.
The Kansas City Chiefs finished the week of games defeating the Denver Broncos 31-10. Running back Kenneth Walker led the game in rushing with 173 yards. Walker led all players in rushing yards for the week.
The season continues at 8:15 p.m., Sept. 17, where the Lions travel to Highmark Stadium to face the Bills to kick off Week 2.
