The 2025-2026 NFL season officially kicked off on Sept. 4, as the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 23-20 in a Thursday night thriller.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers followed on Friday, Sept. 5, in what was the only NFL game to be hosted in Brazil all year. The rest of the action was slotted for Sunday and Monday, and Week 1 did not disappoint, delivering drama before the first snap of the season.

Jalen Carter Doesn’t Get Sportsmanship Memo

Jalen Carter, widely regarded as the best player on the Eagles defense, was ejected before the first offensive play of the season (excluding the kickoff) after spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

“It was something you would see in a high school game,” sophomore James Mahanna said. “It could have cost [Carter’s] team the game. If I’m the coach, I’m benching him.”

Opinions differed on whether Prescott provoked Carter, but Carter, who has had a history of attitude issues, acted rashly and was thrown out of the game.

Rodgers Is Back and Better Than Ever…But So Are the Jets?

The lowest predicted score of Week 1 turned into one of the highest, as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New York Jets 34-32 at MetLife Stadium.

Aaron Rodgers, who spent his previous two seasons with the Jets, had largely been written off, with many calling him washed up and too old to play. But Rodgers showed up, throwing 244 yards and four touchdowns, one of the best stat lines of any quarterback in Week 1.

A late fourth-quarter field goal from Chris Boswell gave Pittsburgh the win, but there were plenty of positives for Jets fans.

“[Jets QB Justin] Fields really exceeded my expectations,” junior Drew Milberg said. “I knew he’d be a threat on the ground, which would make our running game more dynamic, but I was pleasantly surprised with Fields’ poise in the pocket and his ability to hit the throws over the middle. One of my biggest issues with him in past years was his inability to throw it over the middle, so I’m glad he was able to do that.”

The Jets may have lost, but they showed flashes of greatness and gave fans reason to be excited for what’s ahead.

 Game of the Year? In Week One?

In what was widely considered the best game of the week, and possibly of the season to come, the Baltimore Ravens fell just short in a 41-40 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y.

It’s safe to say Baltimore dominated most of this Sunday night thriller. Although there was some back and forth, the Ravens held a commanding lead late in the fourth quarter. With 11:42 left, Derrick Henry, Baltimore’s star running back, broke off his second big touchdown run of the night, going 46 yards to bring the score to 40-25.

The Bills proceeded to score 16 unanswered points as Bills QB Josh Allen scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes with the first coming when Keon Coleman caught a 10-yard touchdown with 3:56 left on the clock. The comeback was completed by kicker Matt Prater who kicked a walk-off 32-yard field goal to seal the win for the Bills.

“Watching [the Ravens] slowly fall apart like that at the end of the game was crazy,” sophomore Ethan Wysmierski said. “It’s already the best game of the season, and I’m not sure if it will be beaten at all within the next 17 weeks.”

 What to Expect for the Future?

At the end of the day, this is just Week 1. There is no need for fans to panic if specific teams did not perform as well as fans had hoped. Teams like the Bengals and Texans, who did not play as well as they might have wanted, appeared to still be working out kinks and looked a little rusty after the 200-day-plus hiatus from football.

Week 2 commences with two winners from Week 1, the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders, as they play in Green Bay on Thursday, Sept. 11.