American football: the main stories of 14.09.2026

Charles Tillman has described the path that took him from the Chicago Bears secondary to the FBI. The former cornerback gave the league the Peanut Punch, a way of knocking the ball loose instead of simply making the tackle, and defenders are still taught it. In an interview published on Tuesday, Tillman talks about a childhood spent moving from place to place, his attachment to Chicago and his years in law enforcement. He said he loved his work at the bureau but that nothing compared with the NFL. He played in Chicago from 2003 to 2014 and spent one more season in Carolina before he retired.

One report puts the total for Week 1 at 791 points. That equals the best opening round of the Super Bowl era, first set in 2012. The biggest single contribution came when the Bears beat Carolina 59:37. According to the same outlet, the 96 combined points set a new Week 1 record, beating the previous best of 88. Kansas City beat Denver 31:10, and one outlet reports that Travis Kelce passed Jason Witten during that game. That would move Kelce to second among tight ends for career receiving yards.

• Mike LaFleur won his first game as Arizona head coach, 26:14 against the Los Angeles Chargers. According to one report, he is the first permanent Cardinals head coach since 1973 to win on debut.
• The season opener, in which Seattle beat New England, drew more than 25 million viewers, one outlet reports.