NFL Weekend Review: Josh Allen's box office finish, Trevor Lawrence's MVP contention and Derrick Henry greatness

Josh Allen delivers more late drama for the Buffalo Bills, Derrick Henry stars for the Baltimore Ravens and the Chicago Bears flex their scoring power on a wild opening Sunday of the 2026 NFL season. Welcome to the weekend review...

The Josh Allen experience is back with a vengeance. Perennial thrill, unyielding adventure, eternal tenterhooks - the knife-edge epitome of everything we've so dearly missed about this wonderful game called football.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback positioned himself front and centre to a box office finish on the NFL's opening Sunday of the 2026 season, flirting with catastrophe before playing hero just seconds later to lead his side to a 36-31 win over the Houston Texans.

Kamari Lassiter should have iced the game for Houston inside the final two minutes when Allen gift-wrapped a would-be interception to the Texans cornerback, who failed to hold onto the ball while back-peddling in his own end zone. How quickly he learned not to grant Josh Allen a second life.

On the very next play Allen would connect with Joshua Palmer for a 34-yard touchdown on third-and-11 to put Buffalo on top with 1.36 remaining. Jim Leonhard's new-look Bills defense handled business from there, Greg Rousseau forcing a fumble from CJ Stroud and Terrel Bernard pouncing on the loose ball to call game in the final seconds.

The camera quickly panned to Allen's beaming smile on the sidelines as the Bills quarterback resumed the never-ending Super Bowl quest that continues to dictate the pre-season, in-season and, such has been his playoff agony, post-season narrative. Every year is his year, until it isn't, yet the vicious cycle never fails to convince us that his Lombardi lift is just around the corner.

It is moments like Sunday that reinforce the concept, Allen's association with the dramatic fuelling Buffalo's unwavering contention with him at the helm. The Texans had been purring with fresh optimism, their offence hanging in a shoot-out with what is consistently one of the league's best units, C.J. Stroud going toe-to-toe with Allen, until the latter had seen enough.

It is daggers like Sunday's, and closing moments like those, that define Allen - underlining an ability to strap a team to his back in a manner few other quarterbacks in the league can attest to. He is back like never before, piloting a side determined to cash in on his prime this offseason by firing Sean McDermott and subsequently replacing offensive coordinator Joe Brady with a new head coach.

Allen finished Sunday 20 of 29 for 334 yards and two touchdown passes to Palmer and newest receiver DJ Moore, while also rushing for two scores to lift his career tally of ground scores to 81.

The Bills are coming off their fourth divisional-round defeat in five years following January's loss to the Denver Broncos, having also been beaten at two AFC Championship Games since 2020. It stands as the NFL's biggest modern door-knocking venture. But Allen is back, and he just took down one of the most feared defenses in the league.

Trevor Lawrence is an MVP contender. Sure, the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback was playing an incompetently run Cleveland Browns team, and sure, he was facing a defence adjusting to life without Myles Garrett and Jim Schwartz. But there had been a sense coming into this season that the NFL still wasn't universally sold on the Lawrence-Liam Coen tandem. Based on Week One, Lawrence has picked up exactly where he left off at the end of a glittering second half to last season.

The former No 1 pick finished 18 of 23 for 245 yards and four touchdowns in Jacksonville's 34-10 victory, extending their winning streak to nine straight regular-season games dating back to the 2025 campaign. Coen continues to inspire the most assured, clinical and surgical version of Lawrence the NFL has seen.

Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg said his unit would be built on violence and bad intentions. That might have been an overreaction, because they barely got close enough to the Jags' play-caller to find out.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson - playing his first regular season game since October 2024 - was mediocre at best, his only touchdown coming in garbage time, and Cleveland's defence allowed Lawrence and his offence to score on six of their first seven drives.

The Baltimore running back - dubbed by team-mates and fans alike as 'King Henry' - added another regal flourish to his illustrious career with an incredible week one performance.

Henry notched 144 yards and three touchdowns from his 24 carries in the Ravens' 41-23 road drubbing of the Colts, moving him to third on the NFL's all-time rushing touchdowns list with 125, passing hall-of-famers Marcus Allen and Marvin Harrison.

At 32, Henry continues to redefine conventional ideas about his position, breaking records at an age that far surpasses the average running back's ability to continue playing in the NFL, let alone do it at the league-leading standard he performed at in the season opener.

History beckoned in both directions. The New Orleans Saints were threatening their biggest comeback win ever, and the Detroit Lions were threatening their biggest blown lead in franchise history having surrendered a 21-0 lead to find themselves locked at 24-24.

It would be Detroit who survived humiliation as they clinched a 31-30 win in overtime after Tyler Shough's pass fell incomplete on the two-point attempt.

Shough had sent the game to overtime with a nine-yard touchdown strike to Juwan Johnson with 1.07 remaining in the game, before the Lions struck in the extra period thanks to Amon-Ra St Brown's four-yard touchdown catch. But back came the Saints as Shough fired an eight-yard scoring strike to Noah Fant, before Kellen Moore elected to go for the win instead of the game-tying field goal.

Second-year quarterback Shough had been enduring a miserable start to his second before finishing 35 of 56 passing for 410 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, Chris Olave his chief target with 10 catches for 182 yards. Jahmyr Gibbs, the highest-paid running back in NFL history, starred for the Lions with 29 carries for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

The big news from Sunday came before kickoff as it was reported Myles Garrett will miss at least the next four weeks due to a knee injury that requires surgery.

The Los Angeles Rams pass rusher has been placed on injured reserve in an early disruption to his first season with the Rams after arriving in a blockbuster trade from the Cleveland Browns earlier this year.

Garrett was quiet on his debut for the team during the week as Sean McVay's side suffered a 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne.

The Vikings were dealt an injury setback later in the evening when starting quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a concussion in Minnesota's 39-22 win over the Packers.

The former Cardinals quarterback received a huge hit on a third-and-seven scramble in the first quarter, his helmet coming off as he came into contact with Lukas Van Ness and Javon Bullard. He eventually returned to his feet and was able to walk to the locker room, before being replaced by Wentz.