Week 1 Closed With 59 in Carolina: Monday Night Opens in Kansas City

By Derek Shaw

Week 1 is closed on the Sunday board. It is not closed on the week. Sixteen games have a final. One game is still posted. The Chicago Bears beat the Carolina Panthers 59-37 in Charlotte. That is the loudest posted number on the weekend. Monday night is still ahead. The Denver Broncos visit the Kansas City Chiefs at 8:15 p.m. ET at Arrowhead Stadium. ESPN and ABC have the window. This desk will not invent a Monday night score.

Gameday Signal is filing the Sunday finals first. The Signal is not a mood piece about what Week 1 felt like. It is a scoreboard with clocks attached. Wednesday already had a final in Seattle. Friday in Melbourne already had a final. Sunday filled the rest of the card. Monday is the last snap of the week.

Do not treat 59 as a season verdict. It is one posted result in one building. Do not treat Monday night as already played. It is scheduled. Those two facts sit on the same calendar date for a reader who wants the week in order.

The Week Already Had Two Finals Before Sunday

Wednesday, Sept. 9, opened the season at Lumen Field. The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 13-10. Sam Darnold left the first drive with a hip injury. Drew Lock finished 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. Seattle trailed 10-0. The Seahawks picked off Drake Maye three times in the fourth quarter. Josh Jobe took the last one in the end zone with 21 seconds left.

That Wednesday final was a Super Bowl LX rematch. It is now a posted score, not a preview. Seattle is 1-0. New England is 0-1. The rematch did not wait for Sunday.

Friday in Melbourne added the second final. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes. Mike Evans caught one. Demarcus Robinson caught one. Deebo Samuel caught one. The crowd was listed at 100,021. That is the seventh-largest regular-season crowd in league history on the reports that posted the number. Kyren Williams scored the Rams' touchdown in the second quarter. San Francisco answered and did not trail again.

Those two finals sit in front of Sunday. A reader who starts the week on Sunday is late. The Signal starts where the league started.

59 in Charlotte Is the Sunday Marker

The Bears' 59-37 win in Charlotte is the number the weekend will be filed against. Reuters called it the highest-scoring Week 1 game in league history. Chicago also posted a franchise record for points in a season opener. Caleb Williams accounted for four touchdowns. He threw two. He ran for two. The Bears listed him at 334 yards from scrimmage, 269 through the air and 65 on the ground.

Carolina stayed in the scoring column. Bryce Young hit Jalen Coker for an 8-yard touchdown that made it 52-37. D'Andre Swift's 28-yard run made it 59-37. The final is not a defensive story. It is a posted shootout that Chicago left with the win.

The Signal will not dress that final up as a personality test. 59 is the home opener record. 37 is what Carolina put on the same board. Both numbers are in the book.

Detroit Needed Extra Time. Buffalo Did Not Wait.

The Detroit Lions beat the New Orleans Saints 31-30 in overtime at Ford Field. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Detroit got the ball first in overtime. Goff hit St. Brown from 4 yards for a 31-24 lead with 5:04 left in the extra period.

Tyler Shough brought the Saints back down the field. He threw an 8-yard touchdown to Noah Fant. The two-point try was incomplete in the back of the end zone. That is the posted ending. Shough finished with 410 yards and three touchdown passes after three turnovers. Chris Olave caught 10 passes for 182 yards. The Saints forced overtime on a 9-yard strike to Juwan Johnson late in regulation. They did not finish the conversion that would have tied it again.

The Buffalo Bills beat the Houston Texans 36-31 on the road. Josh Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 left. That throw is the posted winner. DJ Moore caught five passes for 100 yards in his first game with Buffalo. Allen was listed at 334 passing yards and two touchdowns. Houston's last chance ended on a fumble. Greg Rousseau had a strip-sack. Terrel Bernard recovered it.

Those two AFC and NFC results now point at Thursday. Lions at Bills is the first Thursday night of Week 2. That game is not this column. It is the next one on the week.

Baltimore and Jacksonville Posted Lopsided AFC Finals

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Indianapolis Colts 41-23. Derrick Henry ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Lamar Jackson threw for 324 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Zay Flowers caught five passes for 150 yards and one touchdown. Jesse Minter's first game as head coach is a 41-23 road win. Daniel Jones started for Indianapolis. The Colts are 0-1.

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Cleveland Browns 34-10 at EverBank Stadium. Trevor Lawrence completed 18 of 23 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. The Jaguars led 14-0 after the first quarter and 24-0 at halftime. Parker Washington caught a scoring pass. Josh Cameron caught one. Brenton Strange caught one. Jakobi Meyers caught one. Cam Little added field goals from 47 and 40 yards.

Deshaun Watson started for Cleveland for the first time in 693 days. He finished 16 of 22 for 205 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Foyesade Oluokun's 22-yard interception return started Jacksonville's first scoring drive. Denzel Boston caught a 46-yard touchdown for Cleveland with 1:52 left. The Browns had 11 penalties for 75 yards and two turnovers.

The North and the East Put Close Games on the Board

The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 39-22 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Green Bay held a second-half lead and lost it. Minnesota ran away with the fourth quarter. The Packers' own recap said they had no answers once the game got away. That is the posted road loss. Green Bay visits the Jets next week. Minnesota is 1-0 at home.

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27. Cincinnati's defense forced four turnovers. One was a fumble return for a touchdown, the club's first since 2022. Joe Burrow threw for 254 yards and a touchdown. Tampa Bay is 0-1. Cincinnati is 1-0 in the AFC North with Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 24-22 at Lincoln Financial Field. Jalen Hurts threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Jayden Daniels hit Antonio Williams from 1 yard with 1:01 left. Moro Ojomo stuffed the two-point try that would have tied the game. The Eagles are 1-0 in the NFC East. Washington is 0-1.

New York Night. Arizona Day. Pittsburgh Finish.

The New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium. It was John Harbaugh's first regular-season game as Giants head coach. Jaxson Dart completed 23 of 29 for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He ran 11 times for 54 yards. Cam Skattebo scored from 3 yards on the opening drive and finished with 18 carries for 81 yards. Isaiah Likely caught eight passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

The Giants converted 9 of 10 third downs before the final kneel. Jevon Holland intercepted Dak Prescott before halftime. Prescott finished with 175 passing yards. He threw two touchdowns. He threw one interception. Dallas ran 18 times for 69 yards. Malik Nabers was active and caught six passes for 69 yards. Odell Beckham Jr. was introduced with the starters and did not record a catch.

The Arizona Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Chargers 26-14 in Inglewood. Mike LaFleur won his first game as a head coach. Justin Herbert hit Ladd McConkey from 8 yards to make it 16-14. Arizona scored the last 10 points. The Chargers are 0-1 in the AFC West. The Raiders already have a win. Denver and Kansas City have not played.

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Atlanta Falcons 20-13 in Mike McCarthy's debut. T.J. Watt intercepted Cooper Rush and returned it 35 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown. Aaron Rodgers threw for 221 yards in his first game with Pittsburgh. Rush started after Kirk Cousins was not the posted starter for Atlanta. The Steelers turned both interceptions into touchdowns.

Las Vegas and the Jets Closed Quiet Boards

The Las Vegas Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins 27-13. Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes and reached 300 career touchdown passes. He is the 15th quarterback on that list. The Raiders' defense finished with five sacks. Miami went 2 of 10 on third down. Jeremy Chinn forced a late fumble. Quay Walker recovered it. Las Vegas is 1-0. Miami is 0-1.

The New York Jets beat the Tennessee Titans 23-10 in Nashville. Breece Hall ran for 102 yards and a touchdown. Geno Smith threw for 215 yards in his return to the Jets. New York held a 367-195 edge in total yards. The Jets had a 19-play drive that used nearly 12 minutes of the first half. Robert Saleh's first game as Titans head coach was against the club he used to coach. New York is 1-0. Tennessee is 0-1.

Monday Night Is Still a Posted Time

The Broncos visit the Chiefs on Monday, Sept. 14, at 8:15 p.m. ET. The local clock in Kansas City is 7:15 p.m. CT. Arrowhead Stadium is the site. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are in the booth. Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge are on the sideline. That is the posted crew. The score is not posted because the game has not been played.

Denver is 0-0. Kansas City is 0-0. Both clubs have a bye from Sunday because the league put them on Monday. The AFC West already has a result from Las Vegas. It does not yet have a result from Arrowhead.

The Signal will not preview Monday as if it is already a final. It will mark the clock. 8:15 p.m. ET. ESPN. ABC. One remaining Week 1 snap after a Sunday that already put 59 on the board in Charlotte.

What the Sunday Board Actually Says

Count the posted winners without turning them into a theory. Seattle. San Francisco. Chicago. Detroit. Buffalo. Baltimore. Jacksonville. Minnesota. Cincinnati. Philadelphia. the Giants. Arizona. Pittsburgh. Las Vegas. the Jets. Those clubs are 1-0. The clubs on the other side of those scores are 0-1. Kansas City and Denver are still waiting.

The NFC South is 0-4 on the Sunday board. Carolina lost. New Orleans lost. Tampa Bay lost. Atlanta lost. That is a posted fact for one week. It is not a season shape. The AFC North is 3-1 if you count only the Sunday games. Baltimore won. Cincinnati won. Pittsburgh won. Cleveland lost.

Week 2 already has a Thursday. Lions at Bills. 8:15 p.m. ET. Highmark Stadium. That file belongs to Wednesday. Today's file is Sunday's finals and Monday's remaining clock.

If you want the week in one sentence, use the two clocks that are still true on Monday afternoon. 59-37 is in the book. 8:15 p.m. ET in Kansas City is not. Gameday Signal will wait for the snap.