Caleb Williams had a rough debut for Chicago but was bailed out by his defense, with Tyrique Stevenson returning an interception 43 yards for the go-ahead touchdown to give the Bears a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
The Bears, who have their sights set on a playoff spot after going 10-24 over the previous two seasons, trailed 17-0 in the first half. They shut down the Titans from there and spoiled the debut of Tennessee coach Brian Callahan.
Williams, the No 1 overall pick, finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards with a 55.7 passer rating. The former Heisman Trophy winner at Southern California still became the first quarterback drafted first overall to win his debut start since 2002, when David Carr led Houston past Dallas. The past 15 No 1 picks were a combined 0-14-1 in their first starts, beginning with Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer in 2003.
The Bears had just cut it to 17-16 on a field goal by Cairo Santos when Stevenson put Chicago on top midway through the fourth quarter. With DeMarcus Walker about to sack him, Will Levis flung the ball in desperation, and Stevenson grabbed it and ran untouched down the sideline. A two-point conversion pass from Williams to D’Andre Swift made it 24-17.
Jaylon Johnson sealed the win with just over a minute remaining when he intercepted a deep pass intended for Tyler Boyd on fourth down at the Tennessee 40, giving fans who spent a big portion of the afternoon booing a reason to cheer.
Jacksonville Jaguars 17-20 Miami Dolphins
Jason Sanders nailed a 52-yard field goal as time expired, and the Miami Dolphins rallied past the Jacksonville Jaguars to win their fourth straight season opener.
Fresh off a big offseason payday, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 336 yards and a touchdown and led Miami on an eight-play, 31-yard drive over the final 2:09. Tyreek Hill started the comeback with 80-yard touchdown catch that sparked Miami’s sluggish offense in the third quarter and got the Dolphins within 17-14. After the score, Hill placed his hands behind his back as if to simulate being handcuffed, hours after he was placed facedown and handcuffed on a street by Miami-Dade Police officers after being stopped for a traffic violation near Hard Rock Stadium.
Dallas Cowboys 33–17 Cleveland Browns
Dak Prescott threw a touchdown pass hours after agreeing to a four-year, $240m contract with Dallas and the Cowboys’ defense roughed up Deshaun Watson in his return, throttling the Cleveland Browns in their opener. Prescott’s deal ends months of speculation about his future with the Cowboys, who have won 12 games in each of the past three years with him. Dallas opened a 27-3 lead early in the third on KaVontae Turpin’s 60-yard punt return TD. Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 57, 50, 46 and 40 yards for the Cowboys. Watson was sacked six times and intercepted twice in his first game since breaking a bone in his right shoulder in November.
Arizona Cardinals 28–34 Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen had three of his four touchdowns in the second half and the Buffalo Bills overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals. Greg Rousseau had a career-best three sacks, including one that forced a fumble. The Bills defense preserved the win with Damar Hamlin and Ja’Marcus Ingram breaking up Kyler Murray’s pass attempt to Greg Dortch near the goal line on fourth-and-seven from Buffalo’s 29 with 26 seconds remaining. The outing featured the first kickoff return for a touchdown under the NFL’s new rules with Arizona’s DeeJay Dallas running one back for 96 yards to cut Buffalo’s lead to 31-28.
Houston Texans 29-27 Indianapolis Colts
Stefon Diggs caught two touchdown passes and Joe Mixon rushed for 159 yards and another score to help the Houston Texans close out victory at Indianapolis. Houston won their second straight road game in the series for the first time in franchise history. The Colts extended the NFL’s longest active opening day winless streak to 11 despite getting two TD passes of more than 50 yards from Anthony Richardson. But Richardson also missed two wide-open receivers on what could have been scoring plays.
Las Vegas Raiders 10–22 Los Angeles Chargers
JK Dobbins rushed for 135 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown, and the Los Angeles Chargers had a successful debut under Jim Harbaugh as they rallied in the second half for victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. All 10 of Dobbins’ carries came in the second half. It was the fifth 100-yard rushing game for Dobbins, who signed a one-year deal with the Chargers during the offseason after beginning his career in Baltimore. Justin Herbert was 17 of 26 for 144 yards and a touchdown. Gardner Minshew was 25 of 33 for 257 yards with a touchdown and interception in his first game for the Raiders.
Washington Commanders 20–37 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a rout of the new-look Washington Commanders. The Bucs spoiled the NFL debut of No 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels. Daniels was more effective running the ball than passing, scoring a pair of rushing TDs for Washington. Dan Quinn lost his debut as the Commanders’ coach. Mayfield completed 24 of 30 passes without an interception, including two TD throws to Mike Evans.
Pittsburgh Steelers 18–10 Atlanta Falcons
Justin Fields stepped in to lead the Steelers to victory over the Atlanta Falcons with Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh debut put on hold by a calf injury. He got a big assist from Chris Boswell’s strong right leg. Boswell booted six field goals, three of them longer than 50 yards, and the Steelers made life miserable for Kirk Cousins in his first game as Atlanta’s big-money quarterback. Boswell accounted for all the Steelers’ scoring. Cousins passed for just 155 yards and was picked off twice in Raheem Morris’ first game as Falcons coach.
Denver Broncos 20–26 Seattle Seahawks
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 84 of his 103 yards and a touchdown in the second half and the Seattle Seahawks overcame a mistake-filled first half to beat the Denver Broncos in the debut of new coach Mike Macdonald. Walker sparked a second-half rally after an unsightly performance by Seattle’s offense over the first 30 minutes littered with sloppy miscues. The Broncos led 13-9 at the half thanks in part to two safeties. Walker scored on a 23-yard TD run in the third quarter and Geno Smith hit Zach Charbonnet on a 30-yard TD pass. Bo Nix ran for a TD in his debut for Denver, but threw two interceptions.
Minnesota Vikings 28–6 New York Giants
Sam Darnold threw two touchdowns in a highly efficient performance and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel scored on a spectacular one-handed 10-yard interception return to lead the Minnesota Vikings to an easy victory over the New York Giants. Darnold had touchdown passes of three yards to Justin Jefferson and 21 to Jalen Nailor. He also had a 22-yard pass to tight end Josh Oliver to help set up Aaron Jones’ TD run. Graham Gano hit two field goals for the Giants in a poor performance to open their 100th season.
Carolina Panthers 10–47 New Orleans Saints
Derek Carr passed for three touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints scored on their first nine possessions in a one-sided victory over the Carolina Panthers. Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams each ran for touchdowns and Blake Grupe kicked four field goals in an extraordinary debut for new Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The season opener could not have gone much worse for new Carolina coach Dave Canales. Second-year quarterback Bryce Young was 13 of 30 passing for 161 yards, was intercepted twice and sacked four times. Carr’s first TD pass was a 59-yarder to Rashid Shaheed on the game’s first series.
New England Patriots 16–10 Cincinnati Bengals
hamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, Joey Slye kicked three field goals and the New England Patriots won Jerod Mayo’s debut as coach, beating the mistake-prone Cincinnati Bengals. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett wasn’t exceptional for New England but he kept the Patriots moving well enough against slow-starting Cincinnati. The Bengals went three-and-out on their first three possessions and didn’t score a touchdown until near the end of the third quarter. Joe Burrow threw for just 164 yards and star receiver Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 62 yards.
