EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jaxson Dart connected with Isaiah Likely for two touchdowns and Devin Singletary on another, Cam Skattebo ran for one in his first game back from injury and the New York Giants opened the season by beating the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 on Sunday night in John Harbaugh's debut as coach.
Dart made one smart throw after another, mixing in a series of well-timed runs to keep the defense off balance. He finished 23 of 29 for 230 yards passing, plus 54 rushing, including a couple of slides and a dive to avoid the unnecessary hits that punctuated his rookie year.
Likely made 8 catches on 8 targets for 78 yards in his New York debut after following Harbaugh from Baltimore, extending the training camp trend when he was consistently Dart's top option. No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers, playing for the first time since going down with a torn ACL in his right knee 350 days ago, made six catches for 69 yards.
Back on the field more than 10 months since breaking his right fibula and dislocating his right ankle in gruesome fashion, Skattebo rumbled for 81 yards on 18 carries. After getting in hot water for doing a backflip earlier this summer, Skattebo brought back his signature celebration after running into the end zone untouched for the Giants' first points of the season.
Dak Prescott threw a costly interception just before halftime but otherwise played well for Dallas, completing 22 of 34 passes for 175 yards and touchdown tosses to CeeDee Lamb and Javonte Williams, who also ran for a touchdown. Dallas benefitted from a series of defensive pass interference calls that extended drives.
The Cowboys hurt themselves with penalties -- eight of them for 85 yards, not counting an early intentional delay of game. That included a taunting call on Williams after he scored that contributed to Brandon Aubrey missing the ensuing extra point from farther out and a face-mask flag on Donovan Ezeiruaku just before the two-minute warning.
Their defense also did not look as improved on defense as they had hoped, at least in Week 1. After allowing the most points in the NFL last season at 30.1 a game, this was not far off, despite a new coordinator and some additional talent.
JETS 23, TITANS 10
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The New York Jets made some big moves and changes during the offseason trying to shake up a franchise mired in a decade of losing.
For one game, they got exactly what they wanted.
Breece Hall ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, Geno Smith threw for 215 yards in his return and the Jets defeated Tennessee on Sunday to spoil Titans Coach Robert Saleh's debut against his former team.
"We're just following our plan, and that's it," Jets Coach Aaron Glenn said. "That's it. We're happy to get a win. It's only one game."
The Jets never trailed, led 10-3 at halftime with the touchdown scored by rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq and held the ball close to 39 minutes. Smith, drafted by New York in 2013 and acquired from Las Vegas in March, finished 19 of 24 while efficiently moving new coordinator Frank Reich's offense.
Titans quarterback Cam Ward completed 19 of 32 passes for 140 yards and a late touchdown pass to Elic Ayomanor.
RAVENS 41, COLTS 23
INDIANAPOLIS -- Little Rock native Jesse Minter couldn't have asked for much more out of his debut as coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Derrick Henry still looked ageless, and Lamar Jackson put on an MVP-like show again. The 32-year-old Henry rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns as he moved into third place on the NFL's career list, and Jackson rebounded from a frustrating 2025 season by throwing for 324 yards, with touchdowns passing and rushing, as Baltimore opened the season with a victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
"Oh, King Henry, I love you," Jackson said as he jumped off the podium and hugged his teammate following his postgame news conference.
Jackson went 17 of 25 passing, had 7 carries for 40 yards and showed his elusiveness by escaping a sack near midfield and scrambling for a tone-setting first down on third-and-16 in the first quarter. Baltimore scored its second touchdown three plays later.
The Ravens outgained the Colts 506 yards to 251.
Indianapolis lost its 11th opener in 13 years. Daniel Jones completed 19 of 31 passes for 166 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first game since tearing his right Achilles tendon in December. Jonathan Taylor ran 19 times for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns but also lost a fumble that led to a Baltimore score.
STEELERS 20, FALCONS 13
PITTSBURGH -- T.J. Watt began his 10th season by trying to move past the noise that followed his ninth.
The former high school tight end turned back the clock in a season-opening win over Atlanta, leaping to pick off a pass from Cooper Rush and racing -- well, after stumbling over his own feet -- 35 yards for a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown as Pittsburgh made Mike McCarthy's debut coaching his hometown team a success.
"That's what he does," longtime teammate Alex Highsmith said. "He's the best in the world."
The Steelers needed a vintage Watt performance to overcome a sluggish start by Aaron Rodgers and company. Rodgers began his 22nd and final season by throwing for 221 yards and a touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth but was hampered by a couple of drops by DK Metcalf and a running game that did little to take pressure off him.
The Falcons have plenty of questions to answer this season under first-year Coach Kevin Stefanski. Running back Bijan Robinson is not one of them.
The young star did everything he could to keep the Falcons in it, accounting for 173 of the Falcons' 238 total yards and Atlanta's lone touchdown on a swing pass in which he split three defenders and raced to the end zone.
JAGUARS 34, BROWNS 10
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Trevor Lawrence threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns, opening the season much like he closed last year, and Jacksonville dominated rebuilding Cleveland to spoil the debut of new Browns Coach Todd Monken.
The Jaguars scored on six of their first seven possessions, as Lawrence connected with Parker Washington, rookie Josh Cameron, Brenton Strange and Jakobi Meyers for touchdowns. Three of four targets were wide open.
Lawrence completed 18 of 23 passes. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the league down the stretch in 2025 while leading the Jaguars to the AFC South title.
Jacksonville entered this fall as a trendy pick to return to the postseason. The opener was a solid start.
Washington, a pending free agent who's in contract negotiations with Jacksonville, made a diving catch on Lawrence's first touchdown pass and flashed a "pay me" sign to the 42,000 in attendance at EverBank Stadium.
RAIDERS 27, DOLPHINS 13
LAS VEGAS -- Kirk Cousins became the 15th quarterback to throw at least 300 touchdown passes in his career after tossing three on Sunday to lead the Las Vegas Raiders to a 27-13 season-opening victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Two of his touchdown passes went to running back Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 102 yards and caught 6 passes for 45 more. This was the third career 100-yard game for Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft who showed no ill effects of an ankle injury he suffered on Aug. 23.
Cousins, making his first start for the Raiders after being acquired in the offseason from Atlanta, completed 21 of 30 passes for 160 yards, though he was intercepted twice.
The Raiders totaled 290 yards in their first game under Coach Klint Kubiak, the offensive coordinator on Seattle's championship team last season. It was a noticeable improvement for an offense that last season was last in the league in yardage (245.2 per game) and scoring (14.2 points).
Las Vegas is about to embark on a six-game gauntlet against teams such as Kansas City, Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams that will test how much the offense truly has improved.
Malik Willis completed 15 of 27 passes for 220 yards with an interception in his debut as Miami's starter. He also led the Dolphins with 39 rushing yards on six carries.
VIKINGS 39, PACKERS 22
MINNEAPOLIS -- Carson Wentz came in after Kyler Murray's first-quarter concussion in his Minnesota debut and led a spirited comeback against the rival Green Bay as the Vikings scored 29 straight points to close a victory.
Wentz threw two touchdown passes to Justin Jefferson, matching the two-time All-Pro's 2025 season total, and the pair connected on a two-point converstion when the Vikings took their first lead at 25-22 with 6:37 remaining. Green Bay extended the drive three times with crushing defensive penalties.
Jordan Love, who had been brilliant against a relentlessly blitzing defense, melted down along with the rest of the team by losing a fumble on a sack and throwing an interception deep in Packers territory.
Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason each tallied rushing touchdowns and T.J. Hockenson caught one of the three scores thrown by the 11th-year veteran Wentz, who was appointed the backup to Murray ahead of 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy for his considerable edge in experience.
Love finished 21 for 42 for 387 yards and 2 first-half touchdowns to Christian Watson, but the two late turnovers and a 3-for-12 conversion rate on third downs loomed large as the Packers picked right up where they left off with a five-game losing streak that ended last season.
EAGLES 24, COMMANDERS 22
PHILADELPHIA -- Jalen Hurts threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and the Eagles' Moro Ojomo stuffed the Commanders' attempt at a tying two-point conversion with 1:01 remaining as Philadelphia squeaked past Washington.
Jayden Daniels threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to on third-and-goal to Antonio Williams with 1:01 left for the Commanders' second touchdown of the fourth quarter. On the two-point try, Washington called a shovel pass to tight end John Bates, who was wrapped up instantly by Ojomo.
The Eagles improved to 6-0 in season openers under coach Nick Sirianni since 2021.
The early big play came late in the first quarter when Hurts had multiple targets open on a play-action and connected with Dontayvion Wicks for a 64-yard reception. Wicks, acquired in an April trade from Green Bay, had the longest reception of his career and gave the first signal that perhaps the Eagles will be just fine at wideout after trading disgruntled star A.J. Brown to New England.
CARDINALS 26, CHARGERS 14
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Jacoby Brissett threw for 277 yards and a touchdown and Arizona defeated Los Angeles, giving Mike LaFleur a victory in his head coaching debut over Jim Harbaugh.
LaFleur became the first Cardinals coach to win his debut since Don Coryell in 1973. Coryell coached the Chargers from 1978-86.
Chad Ryland made four field goals as the Cardinals won on the road against the Chargers for the first time since 2001. His only miss was a 54-yarder when the ball hit the right upright in the second quarter.
The Chargers made a mess of the fourth quarter. On their first three possessions, they had a blocked punt, Justin Herbert was intercepted and they turned the ball over on downs on fourth-and-goal from the 3. They had another turnover on downs with less than two minutes remaining.
Herbert completed 17 of 27 passes for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and was sacked three times.