First impressions aren't always telling in the NFL world.
Week 1 is naturally ripe for overreactions. And after a long summer wait, it can be difficult not to draw conclusions based on how some teams fare in their initial showings.
Of course, the opening week inevitably produces some outcomes that later become exceedingly difficult to square. In 2025, for example, Pete Carroll's Las Vegas Raiders bested Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots. Any assessments from that game didn't prove meaningful, as the Raiders went on to earn the No. 1 pick and fire Carroll, while the Patriots rebounded and captured the AFC crown.
But even if patience is required, some of the first glimpses of players and coaches in new settings shouldn't be summarily dismissed.
And though some of the most anticipated veterans re-introductions were spoiled by injury – including Myles Garrett, A.J. Brown and Kyler Murray – many more warranted a closer look.
With that in mind, here are the best and worst debuts of NFL Week 1:
Best debuts of NFL Week 1
1. John Harbaugh
Even with the excitement of Harbaugh's hire extending throughout training camp and the preseason for the New York Giants, the notion of the former Super Bowl coach bringing a level of respectability to the once-proud franchise on Day 1 seemed far-fetched. Following one of the most impressive all-around displays of the weekend, that no longer seems like a pipe dream.
From tone-setting physicality on both sides of the ball to a distinct level of persistence, the Giants showed in a 28-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys they could live up to Harbaugh's vision of what the team could become in short order. Jaxson Dart exhibited a level of composure not previously seen in his volatile rookie campaign, completing 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. New York also pushed Dallas around upfront en route to converting 9 of 11 first downs. While four fumbles and 114 penalty yards left plenty to work on, the Giants showed a resilience that should serve them well for the rest of the season.
Regardless of whether the Giants build on this or suffer setbacks in trying to push for their first NFC East crown in 15 years, flipping the script on what had been a lopsided rivalry served as the ideal start to an already invigorating era.
2. Declan Doyle
Jesse Minter had plenty of believers as a figure capable of engineering a rapid turnaround for the Baltimore Ravens. But while the first-time head coach seemed sure to provide a steady hand, what was less certain was what to expect of Doyle. The 30-year-old, who became the league's youngest play-caller and offensive coordinator, was put in charge of providing a new direction for the offense and rejuvenating two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.
At the very least, Doyle's debut served as proof of concept for his hiring. The Ravens erupted for 41 points in a rout of the Indianapolis Colts that underscored just how creative this attack can be. Doyle deployed Zay Flowers out of the backfield and otherwise seemed to fully leverage his skill set as an undersized speedster who can get a defense on its heels in an instant. The receiver's 150-yard outing was just one of several highlights on a day that saw Jackson recapture his explosiveness as a runner and confidently attack in the dropback game, both from the pocket and on the move.
Reeling off 500 yards every week probably isn't a realistic standard for Baltimore, especially if Flowers and fellow receiver Ja'Kobi Lane are slowed by the injuries that knocked them out of Sunday's game. But there might not have been a more stirring initial showing for a potential contender than the one Doyle strung together on Sunday.
3. Joe Brady
Having been promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Brady was hardly an unknown entity to the team he took over. But in his first game at the helm, the NFL's youngest coach struck a new chord for a franchise demanding a fresh voice.
Facing a Houston Texans team that had a solid claim as the league's most dominant unit, Brady unleashed an aggressive attack that was integral to scoring a 36-31 win. Josh Allen fired 16 of his 29 attempts more than 10 yards downfield and routinely connected. DJ Moore, who could have been a candidate for this list on his own, lived up to his billing as a man-coverage beater in the vertical game, with his threat opening up opportunities for others elsewhere. And Dalton Kincaid was freed up with a heavy dose of motion, allowing him to post the most receiving yards (130) by a Bills tight end since 1967, according to ESPN.
Buffalo's defense left plenty to be desired, but in a league where outcomes are coming to be driven by any imbalance in explosive plays, Brady might be the figure needed to help the Bills push the throttle.
4. Kenneth Walker III
Very rarely does a signing as seemingly straightforward as Walker's addition by the Kansas City Chiefs pan out right away. It took all of one game, however, for the big-play running back to demonstrate how far he can carry an offense desperate to re-establish its potency working from under center.
In a "Monday Night Football" triumph over the Denver Broncos that seemed destined to be defined by Patrick Mahomes' return from last December's season-ending knee injury, Walker instead took control. He paced the attack early with 105 scrimmage yards. Not long after halftime, though, his 60-yard touchdown scamper on fourth-and-1 struck the sharpest contrast with Kansas City's offense of the last two seasons. For an attack that had long been hampered by its complete inability to generate any explosive plays on the ground, Walker showed just how capable he is of creating for himself when he bounced left and then sprinted down the sideline to deflate a defense that had overcommitted on the inside.
Denver's uncharacteristically dreadful defensive performance has to be taken into consideration here, with the missed tackles on Walker accounting for half of the Broncos' total, according to Next Gen Stats. But with Kansas City's passing attack still hampered by its lackluster receiving corps, Walker looks on track to be a centerpiece rather than a mere flourish.
5. Mike LaFleur
When LaFleur was the penultimate official hire of a coaching carousel that featured 10 vacancies, most envisioned his first year with the Arizona Cardinals as something to merely push through. Waiting in 2027 would surely be a top pick, as well as a war chest with which to acquire the free agents necessary to prop up a spotty roster.
But with a 26-14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, LaFleur pulled off one of the biggest surprises of Week 1. Though many saw the outcome as a reflection of the Chargers' missteps rather than the Cardinals' achievements, Arizona had plenty going for it. Jacoby Brissett led a composed offense that converted 6 of 14 first downs. The defense, meanwhile, conjured up big plays in critical spots. It might be an outlier result for a franchise still facing a challenging road in the NFC South, but Arizona will take any signs of encouragement it can muster.
6. Isaiah Likely
Amid the unrest about the Giants' shortage of pass-catching weapons, Likely and his value to this offense might have been drastically overlooked.
The mismatch-creating tight end capitalized on the Cowboys' coverage breakdown, powering a win in Harbaugh's debut with his game-high eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He also kept a methodical offense moving, hauling in four third-down catches for conversions. With New York's passing attack likely having to live in the short-to-intermediate game and middle of the field when not going to top target Malik Nabers, Likely could be in for a substantially high volume of looks on a weekly basis after never topping 60 targets in a season with the Ravens.
7. Raheem Morris
Fans rightly fawned over Kyle Shanahan and a masterful game plan for the San Francisco 49ers in their resounding win over the Los Angeles Rams in Australia. Comparably impressive, however, was how Morris pulled the strings for a defense that took control of the game.
One year after its severely shorthanded pass rush generated heat less frequently than any other unit, San Francisco pressured Matthew Stafford on 44% of his dropbacks. Morris achieved that feat while seldom blitzing, instead throwing the reigning NFL MVP off his game with slants and twists that exploited vulnerabilities in the Rams' front. The 49ers upped the confusion and complexity by sprinkling in dime packages. Coverage, meanwhile, was consistently physical from the line of scrimmage to the catch point. All that created a cascading effect in which the Rams couldn't escape the third-and-long situations that they routinely faced, with just two third-down conversions on the day.
In all San Francisco held Los Angeles to its lowest scoring output (7 points) in any start by Stafford. Morris clearly had a bead on Sean McVay, under whom he served as the Rams' defensive coordinator before taking the Atlanta Falcons' head-coaching job. But this was the kind of performance that should put the rest of the NFC on notice rather than just the Rams.
8. Trey Hendrickson
In his first showing for the Ravens, the two-time NFL sack king didn't get home the way he did at his peak for the Cincinnati Bengals. Even with just one tackle, though, Hendrickson was still plenty disruptive.
Next Gen Stats credited the pass rusher with eight pressures, with half of them coming under 2.5 seconds. There was also a marked difference in the defensive performance when he was on the field and when he was off, with the 58.6% pressure rate dropping to 20% on the snaps he missed. The showing, which Minter called "dominant," was all the more impressive given that it came against a typically stellar left tackle in the Colts' Bernhard Raimann.
9. Jacob Rodriguez
A second-round linebacker's effort in a losing performance might not seem worthy of the spotlight. Rodriguez, however, was a clear standout in the rebuilding Miami Dolphins' loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The second-round pick out of Texas Tech notched 14 tackles – the second-highest total of Week 1 – and fared well in coverage. Of course, there was only so much he could do to compensate for an underdeveloped defense's shortage of talent and experience at every level. But as the NFL's only green-dot rookie, he was a persistent and active presence for a group short on building blocks.
10. Anthony Hill Jr.
There wasn't much to like about the Tennessee Titans' initial showing in a 23-10 loss to the New York Jets – more on that later – beyond Hill. Still, the second-round linebacker from Texas at least provided one positive to focus on.
Carrying over a strong training camp and preseason, Hill notched a league-high 16 tackles in Week 1. He also recorded two pass breakups and, if not for a controversial call by an official, could have added a forced fumble and recovery to his output. As a rangy playmaker perfectly suited for Saleh's scheme, Hill can solidify the middle of a defense that still is in search of plenty of support elsewhere.
11. Antonio Williams
Any hopes of the third-round rookie from Clemson making early waves for the Washington Commanders seemed to be dashed when the team signed veteran Stefon Diggs in August. But with the Philadelphia Eagles locking down go-to target Terry McLaurin on Sunday, someone needed to step up for Jayden Daniels to give the offense a chance in a close contest.
Williams answered the call, racking up a team-high 64 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches despite running just 10 routes. The slot receiver shook free from All-Pro Cooper DeJean for his first catch and displayed sure hands on a 1-yard touchdown pass that Daniels put at ground level. Opportunities might remain limited, but keeping Williams sidelined could be difficult given how few easy answers Washington has at its disposal when McLaurin is guarded.
Worst debuts of NFL Week 1
1. Robert Saleh
Served up a prime opportunity to score revenge against the franchise that jettisoned him, Saleh seemed to have all the elements in place to get his second coaching stint off to a favorable beginning – except, of course, for his own team's performance.
In what might be the opening weekend's most unequivocal failure, the Titans were outclassed in almost every facet. Saleh admitted he was taken aback by the discrepancy between the two teams, both of which were merely seeking some baseline of competence on which to build. New York did a far superior job of establishing that, nearly doubling up Tennessee in yardage (367 to 195) while controlling the contest at the line of scrimmage. Cam Ward and the offensive line alternated turns doing disservices to one another, with the quarterback showing a rare level of resignation on a third-down supposed sack in which he merely walked out of bounds.
The troubling news for Saleh: the degree of difficulty ramps up considerably from here. The next four weeks bring meetings with the Eagles, Giants, Ravens and Texans.
2. Mike McDaniel
Offseason hype, meet regular-season reality. Imagining the Chargers immediately unlocking the full extent of their capabilities under their new offensive coordinator's proven scheme was a fun summer hypothetical. It proved to be just that, though.
Los Angeles' loss to the Cardinals stood out as arguably the biggest letdown for any contender. The explosive running game never took off for the Bolts, and the suspect setup of the interior offensive line proved every bit as problematic as many figured it would. Yet perhaps the biggest issue for the Chargers was an overall lack of cohesiveness between Justin Herbert and his pass catchers. That issue was exacerbated by leading receiver Ladd McConkey's third-quarter exit with a rib injury.
Perhaps operational misfires should have been expected given the intricacies involved in making McDaniel's attack work. Still, next week's tune-up against the Raiders needs to yield substantial progress, as a brutal seven-game stretch awaits on the other end.
3. Christian Parker
Nowhere to go but up from here, right? That was the sentiment that seemed to color the offseason for the Cowboys' defense, which surrendered a league-worst 30.1 points per game in 2025 and routinely unraveled with coverage busts. That still seems to be the prevailing mindset, though, after Parker failed to deliver the level of cohesion he was brought on as defensive coordinator to institute.
With the Cowboys routinely offering up easy gains, the Giants were all too content to take them. Sometimes that meant repeated completions to the flat, where running back Devin Singletary hauled in three completions in four plays to get New York its final score of the evening. Occasionally, it entailed leaving Likely wide open, as Dallas did in the end zone on the first of the tight end's two scores. The end result was enough to spark some postgame furor from typically mild-mannered coach Brian Schottenheimer, who bemoaned the lapses by young players.
Upon his hiring, Parker was touted for his adaptability and later highlighted it as a crucial component of his approach. He'll have to be far quicker to respond if the Cowboys are to turn up the heat and cut down on the mistakes that defined this disappointing first go.
4. Mike Rutenberg
You're forgiven if the name of Jim Schwartz's successor doesn't immediately ring a bell. Rutenberg was tasked with maintaining what Schwartz built for the Cleveland Browns after the celebrated defensive coordinator left the franchise when he wasn't selected as its new head coach. It didn't take long for things to fall by the wayside for the unit.
Cleveland's defense was hardly the only problem in a 34-10 rout by the Jacksonville Jaguars that quickly got out of hand, but this was a jarring outcome for a group that still had several promising pieces. Rutenberg's dramatic scaling back of the Browns' blitz rate, combined with his tilt toward zone coverages, left Trevor Lawrence plenty of room to operate. The quarterback responded by repeatedly attacking the intermediate level while mixing in a couple deep bombs for four scoring strikes total on the afternoon. Defensive end Jared Verse, the core asset in the Myles Garrett trade, was held without a pressure for the first time in his career. Meanwhile, Liam Coen's misdirection and manipulation had reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger out of sorts.
Though it's not time to sound the alarm on the unit just yet, this could serve as a reminder of just how difficult things might get for Cleveland across the board in 2026.
5. Romeo Doubs
This might have been the most notable – and perhaps lone – instance of a high-priced free-agent signing truly fizzling out in Week 1.
Nearly six months after signing a four-year, $68 million deal to help level up the New England Patriots' passing attack, Doubs was essentially ignored in the season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Despite top target A.J. Brown exiting the game, the former Green Bay Packers receiver earned just three targets and was held without a catch. An ugly drop in the fourth quarter was followed by Drake Maye's second interception of the night.
Doubs admitted he wasn't "locked in enough" on the pass and vowed to be better in the coming weeks. With Brown out at least four weeks and possibly longer, the Patriots need him to help pace a passing attack that's suddenly short on weapons again.
6. Reed Blankenship
A Texans defense that had seemingly everything shored up one of its few weak spots this offseason by adding Blankenship to an already stellar back end. The fifth-year safety was coming off a shaky final campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he looked poised to bounce back after generally holding up well both in coverage and against the run throughout his career.
Against the Bills, however, Blankenship was a significant liability. Pro Football Focus credited him with giving up 110 receiving yards on six receptions. The clear low point came when he tried to undercut an Allen pass to the sideline but instead allowed Moore to coast into the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown. Houston's defense might not stay down for long, but its susceptibility to allowing explosive plays could be a major pain point if Blankenship doesn't settle in better.
7. Rueben Bain Jr. and Alex Anzalone
To combat their defensive downturn, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent the offseason addressing two key deficiencies: an edge rush that topped out as passable and a linebacker corps that repeatedly let the rest of the unit down. Substantial investments in both areas didn't move the needle much in a season-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The pre-draft questions about Bain's short arms were almost certainly overblown, but the No. 15 overall pick drew a nightmare matchup against massive right tackle Amarius Mims, who engulfed him on almost every passing down en route to holding him without a pressure. And while second-round linebacker Josiah Trotter notched a pick-six and had several encouraging stretches, Anzalone missed multiple tackles and repeatedly came up short in coverage against the Bengals' backs and tight ends, who did much of the heavy lifting.
8. Jaylen Waddle
There was only so much that the Broncos' new wide receiver could do to alter the trajectory of a game in which so many of his new teammates floundered. But any time a game-breaking talent is traded in an effort to put an established contender over the top, coming up nearly empty in the box score warrants mention.
Waddle had just one catch for 2 yards against the Chiefs. Beyond his bare stat line, the receiver also had an unfortunate third-down drop early in the second half. The Broncos had bigger problems, of course, as Bo Nix took four sacks and the run game evaporated. But while buying low on Waddle might be wise, Denver might have to make more of a concerted effort to integrate him into the attack.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking best and worst debuts of players, coaches in NFL Week 1
