Breaking down the NFL standings coming out of Week 1

The NFL is almost finished with Week 1. We break down the standings as the league starts to look to Week 2.

By David Fucillo@davidfucillo Updated Sep 13, 2021, 9:08pm PDT

Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills is pursued by Cameron Heyward #97 and T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York.

The NFL is headed into the prime time window to close out Week 1. The Rams host the Bears on Sunday Night Football and then the Raiders host the Ravens on Monday Night Football. It will close out a weekend of some wild wins and some expected and unexpected thumpings.

The Steelers got a big road win against the much-hyped Bills while the Chiefs beat the Browns and showed the world there is not yet a changing of the guard in the AFC. The NFC saw three of the West teams head east and win in the 1 p.m. ET slot — something often deemed an issue for west teams traveling east. And for one week, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have sole control of the NFC East.

Below are the eight divisional standings, along with some quick thoughts about each division after the first weekend of football. We’ll update with Rams, Bears, Raiders, and Ravens records after Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football.

AFC East

The Dolphins edged out the Patriots to open the season, in a game that was not pretty from wire-to-wire. Turnovers were the key, and Miami gets sole possession of first place for one week. The big surprise was the Bills struggling at home against the Steelers en route to a 23-16 loss.

AFC North

The Browns looked ready to take a big step forward in Week 1, but ended up blowing it in Kansas City to drop to 0-1. The Steelers stunned the Bills in Orchard Park while the Bengals equally stunned the Vikings in overtime. Baltimore lost a stunner in overtime on Monday Night Football.

AFC South

Well, this was an entirely unexpected result. The Texans were expected to be the worst team in the NFL, but they made the Jaguars look like the worst team. The Titans struggled in their first game without Arthur Smith calling plays, losing 38-13 to Arizona. The Colts couldn’t get going and lost 28-16 to the Seahawks.

AFC West

The AFC West has a shot at a clean sweep of Week 1 if the Raiders can upset the Ravens on Monday. The Chiefs put together a strong comeback to beat the Browns while the Chargers won an ugly one in Washington. Teddy Bridgewater impressed in his Broncos debut to get the Week 1 win. UPDATE: The Raiders shocked the Ravens in overtime to give the AFC West a clean sweep of Week 1.

NFC East

It was not exactly a banner weekend for last year’s worst division. On the positive side, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles impressed in a win against what appears to be a bad Falcons team, and the Cowboys almost stunned the defending champion Bucs. On the other side, Daniel Jones remains a turnover machine as the Giants lost 27-7 to the Broncos. Washington lost a close one to the Chargers, but also lost QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to a hip injury.

NFC North

It has not been a good Sunday for the NFC North. The Lions nearly pulled off a stunning comeback against the 49ers, but came up short in a 41-33 loss. The Vikings couldn’t get on track and lost in overtime to the Bengals. The Packers had the most embarrassing performance of the three though, getting absolutely crushed by the Saints. The Bears wrapped up a winless day for the division, losing to the Rams on Sunday Night Football.

NFC South

It was a mostly solid Week 1 for the NFC South. The Falcons were the lone exception, looking fairly lifeless in a loss to the Eagles. The Saints got the big win of the week, crushing the Packers in Jacksonville.

NFC West

The NFC West completed a clean sweep of Week 1 when the Rams thumped the Bears on Sunday Night Football. Notably, Seattle, Arizona, and San Francisco all won on the road to open the season. The 49ers almost blew their game, but they held on. Arizona and Seattle handled their business effectively.