Bears, Bills and Ravens win on record-breaking Sunday

Bears, Bills and Ravens win on record-breaking Sunday. Skip to main content Skip to navigation Sizing up four Week 1 offensive explosions: Barnwell on the Bears, Ravens, Bills and JaguarsChicago Bears22hBill BarnwellSolak makes sense of key NFL Week 1 stats: Williams goes 20-plus mph twice, Kincaid leads Bills in receivingChicago Bears1dBen SolakWhat to know from Sunday's Week 1 games — including the Giants' statement win over DallasCleveland Browns1dNFL NationResist the urge to overreact to Week 1!

What happened

After kicking off the NFL season with a Super Bowl rematch and a trip to Australia, week one continued with a record-breaking Sunday. The Bears, Bills, Jaguars and Ravens all had high hopes for their offenses heading into Week 1, but they scored a combined 170 points in their season-opening victories. Jump to: Bears | Bills | Jaguars | RavensBears 59, Panthers 37While there will still be concerns about the Bears' defense after it allowed Bryce Young & Co. to score 37 points, defense isn't going to matter if you're approaching 60.

Oregon Ducks2dMel Kiper Jr. and Jordan ReidTaylor Swift shares suite with Tom Cruise, supports Travis Kelce at Broncos-ChiefsKansas City Chiefs8hESPN staffNew York State of Mind: Jets, Giants each start 1-0 for first time in over 15 yearsNew York Giants12hAnthony GharibEarly bets for Week 2: Four games worth targeting19hESPNNFL Week 1 brought touchdowns galore and 'bettor-friendly trifecta' in opening SundayChicago Bears19hDoug GreenbergplayHow Caleb Williams showed Week 1 that he's a fantasy 'league winner' (0:56)Bill BarnwellSep 14, 2026, 07:55 AM ETCloseBill Barnwell is a senior NFL writer for ESPN. com.

I'll run through all four, starting in Chicago, where the Bears heard Ben Johnson say that he wanted to field the highest-scoring offense in NFL history and proceeded to tie the 2019 Ravens in scoring the most points on offense of any team in NFL history in a season-opening performance. Ravens 41, Colts 23The Ravens might have also joined the Bears in topping 50 points if they had more healthy wide receivers to play. Jackson was 6-of-8 for 114 yards operating from under center Sunday, including a 49-yard play to Flowers out of a boot concept to the left, the sort of explosive pass concept the Ravens were hoping to create off play-action by moving Jackson under center more often.

The wider picture

While the Bears are set to face stiffer competition, the Ravens have a soft slate of defenses in the weeks to come. NewsTechMicrosoftMicrosoft issues emergency Windows 11 update to fix its record-breaking patchThe out-of-band update fixes Remote Desktop, USB audio, and Hyper-V issues. Microsoft has started rolling out an emergency out-of-band update to fix problems with its record-breaking September patch Tuesday update. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, African wild dogs are extraordinary long-distance travellersByHelen BriggsEnvironment correspondentPublished14 September 2026A pack of African wild dogs has completed a record-breaking 2,485-mile (4000km) journey across Zambia.

A. teams floppingLos Angeles Rams1dDan Graziano'I'm willing to do whatever it takes': Inside the 274 days that rebuilt Patrick MahomesKansas City Chiefs6hNate TaylorLamar Jackson looks like old self in Ravens' new offenseBaltimore Ravens18hJamison HensleyDave Canales: Panthers need to 'play way better football'14hMike KayeIs Lawrence's 4-TD day a new normal? Why Jags' hot start faces early test14hMichael DiRoccoMalik Willis takes blame for five-sack Dolphins debut:14hMarcel Louis-JacquesFantasy football free agents: Shough, Black, Coker highlight top options for Week 217hEric KarabellWho got the ball Sunday?

Follow on XMultiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThere are few joys in sports like the first Sunday of the NFL season. Nine different teams scored 30 or more points in the early window on Sunday, just the second time that has ever happened.

What has been reported

And with the Vikings unexpectedly making it to 39 points in their comeback win over the Packers, 10 teams scored 30 or more points in all on Sunday. That's the first time that has happened since 2002 and just the third time it has happened on the opening Sunday of the NFL season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 (1986 being the other). The Texans managed 31 points against a conservative Bills defense in C. And while the Panthers scored 37 points on a day when Bryce Young threw for 361 yards, well, the Bears scored more points on offense than any team has since the Dolphins went for 70 in September 2023.

In their season opener, the Bears' offense scored more points than they have in any other game in the 105-year history of the franchise. They somehow scored 59 points on offense without a single catch from tight end Colston Loveland, the sort of combination that would seem impossible if it hadn't just played out Sunday afternoon in Charlotte. To get there, the Bears produced something that we didn't see from them on offense in 2025: big plays on the ground.

For all the things the Bears did well during Ben Johnson's first year at the helm, creating big rushes wasn't one of them.

What happens next

It took the 2026 Bears all of one game to match their seasonlong total from a year ago. The Bears finished with 291 rushing yards on 39 attempts, averaging 7. And defensive issues certainly made life easier for the Bears. On the whole, though, the Bears were dominant running the ball because they simply overwhelmed the Panthers. The Bears were average on rush yards over expectation per attempt on designed runs last season (NFL Next Gen Stats), but they were comfortably tops in the league in Week 1.

The 2024 first overall pick has deservedly lived in the dreams of Bears fans all offseason for the memorable moments he had down the stretch and into the postseason in 2025, creating magic in the fourth quarter for the Bears as they led late comebacks. We know Williams still has that capacity to extend plays and deliver passes that few other quarterbacks on the planet can make, and we saw a little bit of that Sunday.

The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across espn.com, theverge.com, bbc.co.uk. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.