Obviously, Week 1 may be a mirage. Teams that did not have their starters in the preseason are rusty. The lack of film and information on how teams have changed over the offseason from a schematic and personnel perspective may give some teams an advantage. But not everything is a mirage. Some teams have legitimately improved! Let’s look at the units that surprised in Week 1 and figure out how real their improvements are. Is the Bengals defense real? The Cincinnati Bengals seemed like the perfect defense for an offensive team. On the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first drive, it looked like defensive coordinator Al Golden wanted to go back to his roots and play heavy man, but they got hurt, so he adjusted and went mostly zone, with some man spread out. After the first drive, they limited the big plays, got takeaways, stiffened in the red zone and pressured the quarterback. This was a huge improvement for a unit that had some historically poor metrics last season. The Bengals’ revamped defensive line, featuring Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen, dominated a very good Buccaneers offensive line for most of the day and had Baker Mayfield struggling all day. The secondary had some busts, but they were mostly sticky in man coverage and did a good job communicating and tackling in zone coverage. It seems that Corner DJ Tuner is taking that step towards the elite level of corners. He had a play where he stiffened, rolled back and made the tackle; It’s not usually a highlight play for a defensive back, but I loved the effort and it’s an example of the attitude the Bengals defense wants to play with. His quick defense seemed improved. They’re not going to stop the run often, but they didn’t allow any explosive runs. Last season, they ranked 31st in carries of 15+ yards allowed. They allowed nothing against a Bucs rushing offense that is expected to be explosive. The Bengals aren’t going to force four turnovers every game, but they played well against a talented Bucs offense. It looks like a defense that will be much better than last year. Even if they return to a middle-of-the-road unit, that should be enough to make the Bengals real contenders. Is the Ravens offense real? When the Indianapolis Colts defense is healthy, it is a talented group along the defensive line and outside with two great cornerbacks. That being said, the Ravens’ offense made the Colts look foolish. “Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle’s first game gets a big A+”. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was under center on 41 percent of snaps, which is by far the highest rate in any game of his career. One of Jesse Minter’s best hires was offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford. The Ravens’ revamped offensive line was exceptional blocking out of the zone and created phenomenal pass blocking for Jackson, who was rarely bothered and had room to scramble if he needed to. Being under center helped open up the pick-up game for Jackson, and after the Colts’ defensive ends grew tired of Jackson getting to the perimeter, they began sitting outside, which opened up huge cutting lanes for Derrick Henry. You can see Ledford’s influence in the run game, as the Ravens repeatedly put a tight end in motion to help with inside double teams, something the Falcons did often last season. When the scheme didn’t create easy opportunities, Jackson was still Jackson. He can still create second-reaction plays at an elite level. The connectivity he has right now with Zay Flowers is special. There were plays in which the two improvised in sync like Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes. 7:10 left in the second quarter, second and 9. Here, Flowers lined up in the backfield to run a chosen route. The Colts were called for a weakside blitz, which is a good but aggressive call knowing Flowers isn’t there to block the pass. Safety AJ Haulcy was supposed to replace No. 57 and essentially match Flowers. Initially, Flowers settled into the gap in the zone, but Haulcy was running at him with full force. With a free runner closing in on him, Jackson had the patience to pump fake Haulcy into jumping. Flowers was on the same page and slid inside. Throwing from the pad, Jackson hit Flowers in stride, and Flowers did the rest, tearing through the defense with electric speed for the touchdown. Zay Flowers is FAST. 54-yard score! BALvsIND on CBS/Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/IQfU8vIXhY — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026 The problem with this offense is its lack of receiving talent. Flowers had to leave the game because he injured his hamstring and could miss time. Rookie Ja’Kobi Lane will miss time due to a broken wrist. Doyle’s creativity could be tested early if Flowers is unable to play against the New Orleans Saints next week. Still, I’m buying shares of this Ravens offense. Right now, I’m buying a lot of stock in this Doyle/Jackson partnership. Is the Bills offense real? In his last two games against the Houston Texans, Josh Allen has struggled mightily. He might have had the best game I’ve seen him play this week. While the Buffalo Bills aren’t necessarily candidates for improvement because they finished third in points per drive last season, what they did at Reliant Stadium was special. This was the worst game in terms of total defensive EPA per play for the Texans in three years, and the Bills’ 7.9 yards per play average is the highest they have allowed in that time span. The Bills decided to go big or go home. They were not going to play scared and discarded the traditional running game, turning the ball over only 15 times. Joe Brady smartly didn’t try to “establish the run” before moving on to the intense action. Forty percent of the Bills’ dropbacks were play actions, and Allen made downfield throws. His average passing yards per attempt was 13.68, the highest against the Texans in the last two years. Brady put together a solid protection plan with physical chips, fake chips and shooters to control the Texans’ dynamic edge rushers. 0:58 left in the first quarter, first and 10. The Bills used this protection scheme frequently in their play action concepts. On the right side of the line (left of image), a tight end would break the end, slowing him down for left guard Alec Anderson to throw to him. Left tackle Dion Dawkins was relied on to block Will Anderson one-on-one, but the line would slide his way, giving him some inside presence. With the line sliding his way, Dawkins could play Anderson stronger on the outside because he could have potential help on the inside. Center Connor McGovern was busy here, but he had his eyes on Anderson in case of an inside move and could help as soon as his right guard got past his block. The scheme helped give Allen the time he needed to throw punches downfield. DJ Moore isn’t an elite receiver, but he’s the best pure spacer Allen has had in a long time and gives them an answer against man coverage, which they struggled with last season. A healthy Dalton Kincaid also helps a lot in that department. If elite defenses can’t simply make the Bills’ offense better, watch out! Is the 49ers defense real? The San Francisco 49ers have declined defensively over the years. They have repeatedly tried to stick with their one-stop front-attack scheme, but they simply don’t have the defensive line talent to play that style, which prioritizes keeping things simple so players can play fast. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has been a chameleon schematically, so it was a bit of a mystery what his defense would be like with the 49ers. What we saw in Australia was the most modern a 49ers defense has looked in a long time. 8:58 left in the second quarter, third and 10. On Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s interception on third and 10, the 49ers initially showed him a man look with a deep safety. Stafford figured he would have one-on-one coverage on Puka Nacua running a corner route, which is a great route to throw against Cover 1. However, the defense fell. in a cover zone 2 next to Nacua, with cornerback Renardo Green playing the flats beneath Nacua. Stafford fumbled without seeing the change in coverage and threw the ball directly to Green. Against the powerful Rams, the 49ers had the fourth-best defensive EPA per dropback (0.28) in Week 1. Morris called two high defenses on 51.72 percent of dropbacks, which is the highest rate for the 49ers. in the Kyle Shanahan era (dating back to 2017). They also played dimes (six defensive backs) on 14 percent of the drop backs, something the 49ers haven’t done much of in the past. Additionally, they lined up in odd fronts and used rookie inside linebacker Jaden Dugger as an edge player. The 49ers don’t have deep defensive tackle space and are susceptible to runs, but if the 49ers’ offense can force opponents to pass scripts, Morris’ defense has a chance to surprise. Bonus Points Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson told The Athletic’s Dan Pompei that he wants to break the Denver Broncos’ 2013 scoring record (37.9). So far, so good. The Bears opened the season with a 59-point explosion against the Carolina Panthers. By the looks of their defense, which gave up 37 points, they may have to break the record to get back to or surpass their 2025 win total (11). The Panthers ranked 22nd in DVOA last season and invested resources to improve it this offseason. I don’t think this is a last-place unit in the league that the Bears just ran over. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams reduced his error rate from 14.6 percent to 10.3 percent and completed 72.4 percent of his passes. His timing looked better, and when you combine that with his ability to play off-script, Williams could have an MVP-type season ahead of him. Mike McDaniel’s debut as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers did not go as planned. The Chargers offense ran the ball poorly, averaging -0.19 yards before contact and struggled to protect. The interior line looked like one of the worst in the league. This is an issue that McDaniel was able to solve with his plan in Miami. However, in Miami he had De’Von Achane, who had the speed to regularly win at the rim, and Tua Tagovailoa had an incredibly fast release time. Although Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s ceiling is much higher, he needs protection to unlock the rare throws he could make downfield. It’s only Week 1, so it’s not time to panic yet, but the interior will have to improve quickly.
