Cowboys' defensive calamity leads NFL Week 1 winners and losers

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Even a so-so setup couldn't dampen the excitement surrounding the first Sunday of a new NFL regular season.A pair of midweek matchups pitting top contenders against one another – first the Seattle Seahawks' season-opening statement win against the New England Patriots, then the San Francisco 49ers' surprising dismantling of the Los Angeles Rams – shaped the early portion of the Week 1 schedule. But the league's focus on maximizing early prime-time tilts – the Kansas City Chiefs will also take on the Denver Broncos on "Monday Night Football" – also left a relatively thin Sunday slate.Still, even if the day was light on drama, the first weekend of action featured plenty of important first impressions.Here are the biggest winners and losers of Week 1 in the NFL:NFL Week 1 winnersBaltimore Ravens' offenseWith first-time offensive coordinator and play-caller Declan Doyle bringing radical change to the Ravens' attack, Lamar Jackson and Co. could have been forgiven if things got off to a rocky start. By halftime, however, Baltimore had fully harnessed an explosive streak that should have the rest of the league on edge.In a 41-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts that was even more lopsided than the score suggested, the Ravens reeled off 31 points in the first half. Through its first five drives, the offense averaged 11.1 yards per play. Jackson looked fully rejuvenated after his explosiveness waned last season, with his running threat re-emerging and his heightened comfort level operating on the move fully on display. Meanwhile, utilizing Zay Flowers out of the backfield – including on a choice route that turned into a 54-yard catch-and-run – helped facilitate a 150-yard outing for the speedy wide receiver.Keeping up this torrid pace could be tricky if Flowers misses substantial time after leaving the game upon aggravating a hamstring injury. But between the high-flying aerial attack and Derrick Henry's continued steadiness on the ground, Baltimore could be back to its days of being one of the league's most vexing matchups.Josh AllenAt first blush, the setup for the 2024 NFL MVP might not seem too different from what he's grown accustomed to. In the Buffalo Bills' back-and-forth 36-31 win over the Houston Texans, Allen once again had to be an all-purpose playmaker, tallying two touchdowns passing and two more as a runner. But while the quarterback remains the engine powering everything for Buffalo, the parts surrounding him look far more functional.DJ Moore and his penchant for breaking free from coverage downfield helped strike a sharp contrast with last year's receiving corps. Just as potent of a threat, though, was Dalton Kincaid. After playing through last season on a torn posterior cruciate ligament originally suffered in 2024, the tight end recorded a team-high 130 receiving yards and was every bit the matchup problem Buffalo drafted him to be. Add in a line that provided superlative protection after the Texans sacked Allen eight times last November, and it was clear that this group could stand up to arguably the league's most dominant defense.The newfound success also created additional opportunities elsewhere. On the game-winning 34-yard touchdown strike to Joshua Palmer, Allen said the offense said "we have never once repped the ball going there." But with the secondary gravitating toward Moore, the quarterback opted to take a shot – and one that paid off handsomely.Ben JohnsonTo fulfill their coach's vision of becoming the NFL's highest-scoring offense, the Chicago Bears would need to average 38 points per game. Johnson's crew got well ahead of pace in the season opener with a 59-38 drumming of the Carolina Panthers.The opening statement was a full showcase of the offense at its highest powers. Caleb Williams was at the center of the effort, exhibiting his multifaceted explosiveness with four total touchdowns. But Chicago's running backs also ripped off 224 yards and four scores on 28 carries.These high-octane shootouts might become a way of life for the Bears, whose defense looks liable to give up chunk gains repeatedly. But the takeaways kept coming with two fumble recoveries (one on special teams) and one interception, helping mitigate the persistent concerns of the shaky secondary and inert pass rush.Cincinnati Bengals defenseTo return to a level that would enable the team to recapture its contender status within the AFC, the Bengals counted on improvement on a couple of key fronts. A horde of marquee veteran additions were expected to not only provide much-needed stability but also up the unit's playmaking quotient. Meanwhile, its tandem of staring linebackers had to leave their rookie struggles in the past and become reliable presences at the second level.In a 33-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati saw significant strides made in both areas. Four takeaways were integral to the promising showing. On Tampa Bay's second drive, Barrett Carter helped force a Baker Mayfield fumble that fellow linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. ran back for a 27-yard score. Three plays later, safety Bryan Cook and edge rusher Boye Mafe – both atypical free-agent signings for the Bengals – were the catalysts in prying the ball from Bucky Irving. Carter's second forced fumble helped prevent a Mayfield touchdown scramble, while Mafe's fourth-quarter strip-sack helped stave off a comeback.The Bengals can't rely on opponents having such spotty ball security on a weekly basis, but having the defense hold up the rest of the team rather than weigh it down was a welcome departure.Aaron GlennAfter his debut season as head coach of the New York Jets amounted to a yearlong humbling, Glenn could have had another embarrassment in store as he matched up against his Gang Green coaching predecessor Robert Saleh and the Tennessee Titans. Instead, Sunday's summit of two moribund franchises helped highlight the strides New York has already made.In a 23-10 win, the Jets looked composed on offense and highly encouraging on defense. That's a marked difference from last fall, when neither unit could be described as such. Glenn also helped assuage any concerns that he was in over his head by taking on defensive play-calling duties, with New York displaying a discipline that was almost entirely absent in 2025. The degree of difficulty will ramp up considerably in the coming weeks – perhaps it's best to reserve judgment until the Week 2 tilt against the Green Bay Packers – but the Jets should savor any positive signs after tallying their first Week 1 Sunday win in a decade.T.J. WattThe former NFL Defensive Player of the Year's star faded a good bit last year, when he missed three games with punctured and partially collapsed lung and registered just seven sacks. On Sunday, though, the big plays came rushing back to Watt, who notched two sacks and a critical 36-yard pick-six to help the Pittsburgh Steelers seal a tighter-than-necessary 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons. With standout cornerback Joey Porter Jr.'s status unclear after he missed the opener, Watt's contributions to the edge rush are nothing short of vital to the defense's well-being.NFL Week 1 losersChristian ParkerThe Dallas Cowboys' new defensive coordinator appeared perturbed by softened expectations, saying he wouldn't settle for the goal that some outsiders had for a maligned unit to be merely average. After a jarring opener, though, being serviceable might sound awfully good – and feel a long way off.The raw numbers in the Cowboys' 28-20 loss to the New York Giants might not be as alarming as the ones the defense permitted a year ago, when it allowed a league-worst 30.1 points per game. But an inability to handle basic tasks should have Jerry Jones feeling unsettled after Dallas was dead set on moving on from the repeated breakdowns that plagued the team in 2025.Tight end Isaiah Likely scored twice on wide-open touchdowns seemingly enabled by some kind of coverage breakdowns. In the fourth quarter, Jaxson Dart found running back Devin Singletary in the flat three times over four plays, with the last connection giving New York the winning score. Losing the bully-ball battle was a problem throughout the evening, with the Giants racking up 165 rushing yards on 37 carries. And Dallas couldn't get off the field in the few opportunities when it had a chance, allowing Big Blue to convert nine of 11 third downs.Still short on premier defensive talent, the Cowboys needed improved communication and schematic support to power an early surge. There's still hope for an upswing, but one shouldn't be taken as a given after this performance.Cleveland BrownsJust as optimism can go unchecked throughout the summer, so, too can angst get amplified beyond a reasonable point for teams. Somehow, though, things seem even more dire for the Browns than they did after a training camp and preseason that featured its starting quarterback and fan base explicitly turning against one another.In the Jacksonville Jaguars' 34-10 romp, Cleveland didn't take long to reveal it couldn't measure up. At the core of its ineffectiveness is Deshaun Watson, who threw an interception on the fifth play from scrimmage and didn't pick things up from there. Somehow managing to be both tentative and reckless, the quarterback continues to impede any sense of progress that an offense rife with young pieces might otherwise make.First-time head coach Todd Monken tried to ease the pressure on his embattled signal-caller, saying the outcome wasn't all on Watson. That's certainly true, as this was a multifaceted failure. The defense, for instance, doesn't look capable of shouldering the disproportionate load it did when Myles Garrett and Jim Schwartz were still around.But after just one week, the Browns already look to be at a breaking point. Clinging to the notion that Watson is a palatable starter – much less one who will somehow achieve a breakthrough in his fifth year in Cleveland – has created legitimate unrest in Cleveland, even if it's the discontent is simmering in the stands rather than the locker room. Monken might see this as a one-off, but fans won't grant him much grace if he stays the course on an unacceptable trajectory.Los Angeles ChargersSure seems like all of the excitement about Mike McDaniel electrifying the Chargers' attack was premature. In a 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals that surely left a good deal of survivor pool entrants fuming, Los Angeles never fully clicked offensively and only seemed to get more out of sorts as the game progressed. Not only did the offensive line fail to provide a sufficient push in the run game or safeguard Justin Herbert, but there was again little skill-position support beyond Ladd McConkey, who suffered a chest injury late and did not return to the game. After repeatedly stalling early in drives, the team went a combined 2-for-11 on third and fourth downs.With time, the Chargers might be able to find the level of precision needed for McDaniel's scheme to get rolling. But after Sunday, Jim Harbaugh and Co. no longer have the luxury of a trial-and-error period. Following next week's meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Bolts face a brutal seven-game stretch that includes five playoff teams from 2025. If this unit doesn't sort things out quickly, Los Angeles could rapidly fade from the pack of AFC contenders.Matt LaFleurOn a day when his brother, Mike LaFleur, saw his coaching debut get off to an auspicious start, the elder LaFleur endured a nightmarish finish in his own opener. The Packers fully unraveled in a 39-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, squandering a two-score lead late in the third quarter by allowing 29 unanswered points.Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was relentless in sending all-out blitzes, which put the Packers out of sorts in the second half. All four sacks that Jordan Love took came in the second half, as did the quarterback's two turnovers that accelerated his team's tailspin. LaFleur's decision to take three points off the board to attempt a fourth-and-1 sneak that was stuffed loomed large over the outcome, but the larger problem was the coach's inability to conjure any solutions in the face of the havoc that was thrown his way.Yes, the Packers were without Josh Jacobs and Micah Parsons, whose expected returns sometime in the early-to-middle portion of the season should be a massive boon. Yet for a team that has a pesky problem of coming undone in divisional matchups, falling to a Carson Wentz-led group should be extremely troubling. Said LaFleur: "(Finishing) is gonna be a topic of conversation for all you guys until we do it."Cam WardAfter mustering just 195 yards against the Jets, Ward asserted that the Titans are "better than what we showed offensively." Maybe it feels that way for the 2025 No. 1 pick, but where's the evidence to back that up?New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was brought on to help Ward properly tap into his daring play style. Yet as Year 2 begins for the signal-caller, Tennessee's offense still can't seem to handle the basics. Ward was pressured on 42.1% of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats, and completed just two passes more than 10 yards downfield. The quarterback and his receivers largely seemed out of sync, derailing any hopes for the short game to click. And after too often tapping into his daredevil side as a rookie by trying to keep plays alive, Ward on several chances didn't even give his teammates a chance, including with his bizarre decision to step out of bounds on a third down.Indianapolis ColtsAs a team that ran things back hoping to recreate its sizzling start of last year, Shane Steichen's crew should find Sunday's setback especially painful. The outcome was startling enough to make one question what the vision was for this group.Was a supposedly stellar secondary supposed to make up for the long lagging pass rush? If so, that looks like a dubious plan after the Ravens repeatedly went after slot corner Justin Walley in the NFL debut for the second-year cornerback, who missed his entire rookie season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Indianapolis also still looks soft at the second level of its defense. And while Daniel Jones was fine in his return from a torn Achilles, stalling out after the first drive was an ominous sign for an offense that Indianapolis made a concerted effort to keep together.