NFL Week 1: 5 Questions That Will Shape the 2026 Season

The 2026 NFL season is finally here, and Week 1 already comes with plenty of questions that could follow teams, quarterbacks and coaches for the next four months. From loaded contenders to quarterbacks trying to bounce back, new offensive coordinators taking control of offenses for the first time. Here are five questions that could shape the season.

1. Can the Rams’ Star-Heavy Roster Produce a Championship?

The Los Angeles Rams have constructed one of the most intriguing rosters in football. Matthew Stafford is coming off an MVP season in which he led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns while throwing only eight interceptions. The Rams finished 12-5 and averaged 30.5 points per game, the league’s highest scoring average. Now add Myles Garrett, who set an NFL single-season record with 23 sacks in 2025, and the return of Aaron Donald on the same defensive front changes the equation for every offense Los Angeles will face. Both players demand significant attention, and there is only so much help an offense can provide before another matchup becomes vulnerable. If Donald can return anywhere close to his previous form and Garrett builds on his record-setting 2025 season, the Rams could have a pass rush capable of controlling the line of scrimmage and changing the outcome of games.

2. Can Jayden Daniels Rebound From Washington’s 5-12 Season?

Washington’s 2025 season was a major step backward after the Commanders reached the NFC Championship Game in 2024. The team finished 5-12, scored 356 points and allowed 451. It also went just 2-6 in one-score games after going 8-4 in those situations the previous season. That swing alone shows how thin the margin became for Washington last season. A healthier Daniels and even a modest improvement in those late-game situations could change the complexion of the season pretty quickly. Daniels played only seven games and completed 60.6% of his passes for 1,262 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He added 278 rushing yards and two touchdowns. David Blough now takes over as offensive coordinator, with Washington planning to use Daniels more under center and create a more balanced run-pass attack.

3. Can the New Offensive Coordinators Change Their Teams?

Washington’s David Blough, Baltimore’s Declan Doyle and Carolina’s Brad Idzik enter the season with important responsibilities. Blough’s biggest challenge will be finding a better balance around Daniels without taking away the improvisational ability that makes him dangerous. In Carolina, Idzik inherits a quarterback in Young who finally showed real progress last season and now needs an offense that can help make that level of play sustainable.

Doyle has perhaps the strongest statistical résumé entering his new job. In his first season as Chicago’s offensive coordinator in 2025, the Bears averaged 369.5 yards per game, ranking sixth in the NFL, while averaging 144.5 rushing yards per game. Now he gets Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry in Baltimore. The question is how quickly his ideas translate to a new offense and whether Baltimore can maintain its explosiveness while adapting to his system.

4. Can Bryce Young Turn Improvement Into Consistency?

Bryce Young enters 2026 with evidence that he is continuing to develop into the quarterback Carolina envisioned when it drafted him No. 1 overall. In 2025, Young completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while posting an 87.8 passer rating. Those were career highs, and Young also led Carolina to a career-high eight wins as a starter. Carolina is also turning to Brad Idzik as its new play-caller after Dave Canales called the plays during the first two seasons of his tenure.

Idzik has worked closely with Young since joining the Panthers, and now he gets his first full-time play-calling assignment. If Idzik can keep the passing game on schedule and Young continues limiting mistakes while creating outside the pocket, Carolina may finally have the quarterback it envisioned at No. 1 overall. Young has already shown he can play at a high level. Now he has to prove he can do it week after week.” The next step for Young is turning his improved numbers into sustained offensive production throughout an entire season.

5. How Quickly Will Patrick Mahomes Look Like Patrick Mahomes Again?

One storyline that may not matter for long is whether Patrick Mahomes will still be the quarterback we have come to know following his return from a torn ACL. Mahomes suffered the season-ending injury in December 2025 and underwent surgery before beginning his rehabilitation. He has been working toward a Week 1 return, and Kansas City reported in July that he had returned to 11-on-11 work for the first time since the injury.

There will be plenty of discussion surrounding Mahomes as he works his way back, particularly regarding his mobility and ability to extend plays. But if he is healthy and starts making the throws, creating outside the pocket and leading the Chiefs the way he has throughout his career, the storyline could disappear quickly. Mahomes has spent years answering questions on the field, and 2026 could be another example of a preseason concern that matters far more before the games begin than once they count.