Week 1 of the NFL season is officially in the books and it's hard to believe so much could happen in just one 16-game slate of games. While we have already done some analysis on the biggest winners and losers of the week, as well as fantasy ramifications from Week 1, the NFL is such a vast organism that you can never find enough stories to discuss in a given week.
Midweek is a perfect time to reflect on the week that was and set the stage for the next round of NFL action. Welcome to the NFL Skinny, where we'll take a deeper dive into some big-picture headlines of the week that were and set the stage for the week ahead. Let's get things started with this week's top headline.
The Big Skinny: NFL offenses are back earlier than usual
Week 1 has typically been a bit of a slower week for offensive football as teams get used to playing a full 60 minutes after managing their starters' health in the preseason. 2026 apparently didn't get the memo, as teams scored 791 combined points in Week 1, tying the 2012 campaign for the most offensive output to start a season.
Chicago led the way with 59 points in a huge win over Carolina but the Panthers, Bengals, Lions, Saints, Ravens, Jaguars, Bills, Texans, Vikings and Chiefs also racked up over 30 points in their Week 1 contests. Fantasy managers will undoubtedly be thrilled with the offensive explosion and we'll see if that trend continues in Week 2.
Risers after NFL Week 1
New York Football
The Jets and Giants both picked up Week 1 victories for the first time since 2009, when Mark Sanchez (in his NFL debut) and Eli Manning won games for Rex Ryan and Tom Coughlin. Considering these teams have made a combined two playoff appearances (both by the Giants) since 2012, any victory this early can bring plenty of enthusiasm to the market.
The path forward appears to be easier for the Giants, who have a higher upside roster with the better head coach in John Harbaugh to go along with a more manageable schedule. Aaron Glenn also showed that his Jets won't be in the running for one of the worst teams in football this year, which makes their home opener against a shell-shocked Packers' team a sneaky good watch in Week 2.
Kenneth Walker III
One of the biggest splashes of the offseason was seeing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III take his talents to Kansas City, which hasn't invested in a running game for a while now. Walker paid immediate dividends for his new team on Monday night, racking up 173 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs' 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos.
Given Patrick Mahomes is coming off an ACL injury, it makes sense to ease his workload by relying on Walker, who got 23 carries in the win. With a home date against a Colts' defense that got gashed by Derrick Henry on tap in Week 2, Walker has a chance to become a true workhorse back, something the Seahawks never truly let him do throughout his career.
Fallers after NFL Week 1
Los Angeles Football
All the good that New York fans experienced was inversed in Los Angeles, where the Rams looked sleepy in a loss to the 49ers in Australia while the Chargers were the week's biggest upset victim against the Cardinals. The Rams did suffer a big injury loss as Myles Garrett landed on IR after arthroscopic knee surgery, but the bigger concerns appear to be centered with the Chargers.
Jim Harbaugh's team fumbled away a winnable game and has a brutal stretch on tap after Week 2 with their next seven games being as follows: At Buffalo, At Seattle, Denver, At Kansas City, at the Rams, Houston, at Baltimore. Failing to get a win over the Raiders on Sunday could set up the Chargers for a disaster season that could get buried by Halloween if they aren't careful.
The Browns
There may not be a more hopeless fan base in the league than Cleveland's, which is being forced to suffer through another round of the Deshaun Watson experience for the time being. Watson didn't look any better after missing two seasons with Achilles injuries, throwing a bad pick and taking five sacks in a 34-10 beatdown by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Head coach Todd Monken is sticking with Watson for now, leading football fans around the nation to go to the natural follow up question of "why?". There are some talented players on the Browns' offense, including tight end Harold Fannin and wideout Jerry Jeudy, but they will wither away on the vine as long as Cleveland keeps doubling down on their Watson mistake.
The Fantasy Football Corner
Let's check in on the fantasy world for a few minutes, as anyone who had stakes in the Bears offense emerged a huge winner. D'Andre Swift celebrated his new contract extension with three touchdowns and 124 yards on the ground, while quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 269 yards with four total touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) to be the top scorer in standard leagues.
Running backs also feasted in Week 1, as seven of the top ten scorers in the W/R/T department were backs, with Derrick Henry leading the way thanks to his monster day in Indianapolis, while Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson also lived up to their top pick billing. One of the big surprises was Panthers' receiver Jalen Coker, who caught eight passes for 138 yards and two scores in the Carolina-Chicago shootout.
Coker should be a priority pickup in your fantasy league if he's available. Other names to monitor include Saints' receiver Devaughn Vele, Dolphins' receiver Caleb Douglas, Cardinals' running back Tyler Allgeier, 49ers' running back Kaelon Black and Bengals' tight end Mike Gesicki.
We'll also round out this space every week with a look at the official FanSided fantasy league, a 12-man half PPR league featuring yours truly alongside FanSided's own Cody Williams, Chris Landers, Lior Lampert, Justin Carter, Christopher Kline, Zach Rotman, Adam Fromal, Ryan Heckman, Brad Berreman, Oliver Fox and Jason Reed.
I had the fifth pick in the draft and used it to land Christian McCaffrey, who had a solid Week 1, but the combination of Swift, Nico Collins, Chris Olave and Christian Watson was plenty to roll to a 153.66-134.46 victory over Ryan, who had a hot start from Williams and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Most matchups were blowouts, with the closest call being Cody's victory by just under seven points against Justin.
As a result of the bang-up week, 4th Quarter Mike (Yahoo's suggested name that I am not altering yet out of superstition) enters Week 2 in first place. We'll check back in next week to see how the group fares against Brad's squad, which is headlined by star running backs Jonathan Taylor and Travis Etienne.
NFL Week 1 MVP and LVP
MVP: Derrick Henry
As we start to wind down the skinny, we'll hand out our MVP and LVP of the week, honoring the best and worst individual performers of the slate. We'll start with the positive as Derrick Henry takes home the Week 1 MVP for continuing to show he will defy aging curves with a 24 carry day that produced 144 yards and three touchdowns against the Colts.
LVP: Drake Maye
The other end of the spectrum sees the LVP handed to Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye, who coughed up a winnable game against Seattle with three critical fourth quarter interceptions. That effort certainly won't help the narrative that Maye can't beat good teams as New England heads home to take on the Steelers in Week 2.
Games to Watch in NFL Week 2
Detroit Lions (1-0) at Buffalo Bills (1-0)
The first true Thursday night game of the season is a doozy as the Bills open their new stadium against Detroit, which won a shootout by hanging on for dear life against a game Saints team at home. Fantasy owners will also surely be interested in seeing how Gibbs and Josh Allen follow up on their tremendous opening performances.
Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Houston Texans (0-1)
If you can find this game in the 1:00 window of your area be sure to tune in as Cincinnati will look to jump out to 2-0 against a Texans' defense looking to show they are better than the effort they put up against Buffalo in Week 1. Even though the AFC South is relatively manageable, Houston will be desperate to avoid an 0-2 start at home.
Minnesota Vikings (1-0) at Chicago Bears (1-0)
Our final game is an NFC North clash between the Vikings and Bears with the winner set to have at least a share of first place by the end of the afternoon. Chicago will want to see its defense put up a better effort in Week 2 while the Vikings' unit is more capable of providing more resistance to Williams and company than Carolina was.
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