NFL's Week 1 takeaways include Bears' pursuit of history, Cowboys' defensive woes

NEW YORK — The NFL season is underway — and with plenty of takeaways already.

It can be easy to overreact to Week 1, especially after a slate of games that totaled 791 points, tying the scoring record for an NFL opening weekend.

While that incredible rate of offense surely won’t maintain, quite a few more concrete developments stood out, including the healthy return of Patrick Mahomes and an injury to Myles Garrett.

Here are some of the biggest storylines coming out of Week 1.

Patrick’s back

It didn’t even take a full quarter for Mahomes to demonstrate his confidence in his surgically repaired left knee.

Mahomes scored the first touchdown of his Kansas City Chiefs’ 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night with a vintage 15-yard scramble.

That occurred after Mahomes’ 5-yard touchdown run was called back due to a penalty.

Making his return from last year’s operation, Mahomes shook off a slow start to complete 15 of 27 passes and two touchdowns with an interception. He rushed for 23 yards and seven carries, including that first-quarter TD.

It all made for a momentous comeback by Mahomes, who tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee exactly nine months earlier. Mahomes underwent surgery on Dec. 15 — the day after the injury — with the mission of being ready by Week 1.

Mission accomplished.

“If I was going to say (I was nervous about) anything, it was probably just getting hit on it,” said Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion.

“I just wanted to play. I’ve done so much rehab and so much work to put myself in this position, I just wanted to get out there and play. This is what you do it for.”

Newly signed Kenneth Walker III totaled 191 yards and two touchdowns in his debut with a Chiefs team eager to return to the playoffs after last season’s 6-11 disappointment.

Hollywood horror

Week 1 will likely go down as a blip for the Super Bowl-or-bust Los Angeles Rams, but their 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia certainly raised eyebrows.

Making matters worse was that Garrett — the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year — is expected to miss the next month due to arthroscopic knee surgery.

Acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns, Garrett grinded through his Rams debut and didn’t record a sack or tackle.

“I wasn’t the player that I wanted to be. I didn’t feel like I was the player I’ve been before when I’ve stepped onto that field,” Garrett said. “I’ve got to do what I can to get back to that.”

It remains to be seen whether defensive tackle Aaron Donald — a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who recently came out of retirement — will make his season debut on Monday night against the Giants.

But at the very least, the Giants won’t have to face Garrett, whose 23 sacks in 17 games last year broke Michael Strahan’s single-season record (22.5 in 16 games in 2001).

It was a similarly sobering Week 1 for the other Los Angeles team, as the playoff-hopeful Chargers were thoroughly dominated in a 26-14 home loss to an Arizona Cardinals team that many expect to be among the NFL’s worst.

Big bad Bears

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has made it clear he wants to set the NFL’s single-season scoring record.

Consider Sunday a good start.

The Bears exploded for 59 points in a 22-point win over the Carolina Panthers, rushing for six touchdowns, including two by quarterback Caleb Williams, who passed for a pair as well.

Incredibly, the Bears did so without fast-rising tight end Colston Loveland making a single catch — much to the chagrin of fantasy football managers.

The No. 1 overall pick in 2024, Williams is poised to take another big step in his third NFL season and his second in Johnson’s QB-friendly system.

The 2013 Broncos set the scoring record with 606 points, but that was in only 16 games. They averaged 37.9 points per game.

Dallas doomsday

Perhaps even more than usual, the Dallas Cowboys have been a popular pick among prognosticators for a deep playoff run.

The basis was that Dallas, with an elite offense returning, made wholesale changes to a defense that ranked last in points allowed (30.1 per game) and 30th in total defense (377.0 yards per game) last year.

But the Cowboys’ defense looked worse than ever in a 28-20 loss to the Giants, who converted 9 of 11 third downs and repeatedly exploited Dallas’ failures to make adjustments.

That was particularly evident on a fourth-quarter TD drive in which the Giants went left to Devin Singletary — three times via pass, once on a toss — on the final four plays.

Dallas, with a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker, has time to improve, but it won’t get any easier with the Washington Commanders, Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers among the upcoming opponents.

Harbaugh effect

Time will tell how much of Sunday night’s result was about the Cowboys’ woes, but the Giants have a clear identity under new head coach John Harbaugh that paid immediate dividends.

Behind the dynamic duo of Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo and an offensive line they’ve repeatedly invested in, the Giants physically pounded Dallas to the tune of 165 rushing yards while dominating the time of possession (36:40 to 23:20).

Newly signed tight end Isaiah Likely (two touchdowns) appears to be a weapon, while star receiver Malik Nabers looked good in his return from a serious knee injury.

This is the first time since 2009 that the Giants and Jets — who beat the lowly Tennessee Titans, 23-10 — are both 1-0.

Usual suspects

For all of the surprises above, some of the NFL’s opening slate was chalk.

The Ravens, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals — all expected to be contenders — each won, and they each scored at least 33 points in the process.

Under new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson looked athletic after an injury-plagued 2025. Meanwhile, ageless wonder Derrick Henry began his 11th NFL season with 163 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in a 41-23 drubbing in Indianapolis.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen appeared as elite as ever with two passing TDs and two rushing TDs in a 36-31 win over the Houston Texans, whose defense was arguably the NFL’s best last year.

And the Bengals’ new-look defense showed signs of improvement in a 33-27 win over the Bucs, forcing four turnovers. Dexter Lawrence, whom Cincy acquired from the Giants in the offseason, had a QB hit in his team debut.

Not so super

Last week’s Super Bowl rematch took a toll on the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks and the runner-up New England Patriots.

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold suffered a glute injury on his team’s fifth snap and did not return. While it’s not believed to be a long-term injury, Darnold’s timeline to return remains unclear.

The Patriots, meanwhile had an even rougher night, as they fell, 13-10, and lost newly acquired top receiver A.J. Brown to a dreaded high ankle sprain in the process.

Brown will miss at least four games after landing on injured reserve, and he could be out even longer. That’s bad news for Pats QB Drake Maye, who threw three interceptions in the Week 1 loss.