Points, points, points: Sunday was the highest-scoring NFL Week 1 of all time

Teams averaged a record 53.3 points per game across the league, highlighted by the Bears piling up 59 points in a historic shootout with the Panthers

Sep 14, 2026 at 12:39 pm ET • 3 min read

You usually expect to see some rust from teams in their season openers, but that was not the case on our first NFL Sunday of the year. In fact, it featured the most combined points per game (53.3) on a Sunday in Week 1 in NFL history, per CBS Sports Research. A total of 10 teams scored at least 30 points, and every team scored at least 10.

Let's look at some of these high-scoring results and the teams that surprised us with how many points they put up. 

The Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers was the highest-scoring game of the day, as Caleb Williams led his squad to a 59-37 victory. Those 96 combined points were the most scored in a Week 1 game ever. Plus, the final score was a Scoragami! The Bears' 59 points rank third-most in a game in franchise history, while Williams became the first Bear to throw for 250 yards and two passing touchdowns while also rushing for 50 yards and scoring two rushing touchdowns in a single game. 

Most points in a season opener

Points	Team	Year
62	Falcons	1973
59	Bears	2026
59	Ravens	2019
59	Cowboys	1968
59	Chiefs	1963

Williams is on track to become the first 4,000-yard passer in Bears history, but let's talk about the ground game. Both D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai crossed 100 yards rushing and found the end zone. Chicago actually scored six rushing touchdowns on Sunday. It tied for the most in a season opener in NFL history, with the 1920 Detroit Heralds, the 1920 Rock Island Independents and the 1922 Canton Bulldogs.

It was a damn track meet!

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young did his job on Sunday, as he threw three touchdowns and rushed for another. His 361 yards passing ranked second-most in a game for his career. It was Jalen Coker, not reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Tet McMillan, who stole the show offensively for Carolina, as he caught eight passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns! 

There weren't many points expected in Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans, which had a total listed at around 44.5. However, it finished with a 36-31 final score. 

Josh Allen earned his first-ever victory in Houston and recorded the first 300-yard passing game against a Texans defense since 2024. The last quarterback to do so was Cooper Rush, if you were curious. Allen completed 20-of-29 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns and added 23 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. James Cook was held in check with 57 yards rushing, but Dalton Kincaid and DJ Moore both crossed 100 yards through the air. 

The main takeaway from this matchup was definitely concern for the Texans defense. No one saw DeMeco Ryans' unit allowing 409 yards of total offense, and the 36 points Houston allowed were the most in a game since 2023. Maybe the Bills offense is just that good?

New Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray, unfortunately, went down with a concussion early in the first quarter on Sunday. Fans probably thought they were due to lose to Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers, but Carson Wentz entered the game and helped lead a wild comeback. Minnesota scored 29 unanswered points in the second half to win, 39-22 (another Scoragami!). 

This was the largest win by a team that trailed by at least 10 points in the second half since 2014, while Wentz became the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw three touchdowns off the bench in a season-opening win (joining Jake Delhomme in 2003). Justin Jefferson caught eight passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, while on the other side, the Packers' Christian Watson caught six passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. No one saw this game featuring 60-plus points, but that's what happened. The Vikings' 39 points were the most they've scored against the Packers since 1986. 

The Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts was a pretty fascinating Week 1 matchup to evaluate. You had a team with Super Bowl expectations debuting a new head coach, and a team that started last season on fire before injuries took their toll. The result was a 41-23 Baltimore thrashing.

Jesse Minter became the third head coach since 2000 to score 40 points in his NFL debut, joining Mike Martz and Sean McVay. Lamar Jackson finally snapped his 24-game streak of failing to reach 300 passing yards and had a rushing touchdown. Speaking of rushing touchdowns, Derrick Henry had three! He racked up 144 yards on the ground to go along with his three trips to the end zone, moving him past Marcus Allen for third-most in NFL history (125). He's still unstoppable.