NFL Week 1 upsets are a pretty common occurrence. It’s not unusual for cellar dwellers or unfancied sides to claim a victory over much more heralded opponents. Despite this, pundits and fans will lose their minds when an upset happens. It’s as frustrating as it is pointless.
Instead of repeating past mistakes, let’s learn from them. With that in mind, here are the 11 Biggest NFL Week 1 upsets.
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11 Biggest NFL Week 1 Upsets
11) Indianapolis Colts 20 at Jacksonville Jaguars 27 (2020)
Final Records: Colts (11-5) / Jaguars (1-15)
The Jacksonville Jaguars won exactly one game in 2020. It came against Indianapolis in week 1. The Colts would go on to win 11 games and make the playoffs. This is the perfect example of why you don’t overact to what happens during the first week of a new season.
Honestly, this was a pretty good game with Gardner Minshew producing some of his classic magic. It turns out the entire Jacksonville performance was a fluke while the Colts did get their act together in short order.
10) Washington Football Team 17 at New York Giants 20 (1977)
Final Records: Washington (9-5) / Giants (5-9)
During George Allen’s stint as head coach between 1971 and 1977, Washington never finished below .500 and made the playoffs in all but two seasons. The rival Giants never qualified for the postseason and only had one season above .500 over this time.
The 1977 season opener between the two was expected to hold that trend, especially considering the Giants were coming off a dreadful 3-11 campaign. That did not happen. In a game with some lucky plays, New York managed to eke out a victory. Even more interesting was the fact this was Allen’s first-ever loss to kickoff a season. He was previously 12-0.
9) San Francisco 49ers 10 at Chicago Bears 19 (2022)
Final Records: 49ers (13-4) / Bears (3-14)
Horrific weather proved to be an equalizer in this battle of haves and have-nots. Obviously, the San Francisco 49ers were much different at the start of 2022 with Trey Lance at quarterback and no Christian McCaffery. But this is as good as it got for the Bears.
It is important to note that the 49ers lost this matchup more than anything the Bears did. Kyle Shanahan’s side took a 10-point lead with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. They proceeded to fumble the win away through a series of turnovers, penalties, poor play-calling and even worse execution.
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8) Dallas Cowboys 10 at Houston Texans 19 (2002)
Final Records: Cowboys (5-11) / Texans (4-12)
It would be easy to look at the early 2000s and think this result isn’t an upset. But this was a pretty shocking loss all things considered. First, it’s important to remember how bad the expansion Browns lost in their first game. A subpar Steelers team crushed them 43-0 in 1999. Even the worst NFL sides were light years ahead of the new franchises.
That means the newly minted Texans enter their inaugural season with a poor roster. Even against the Quincy Carter-led Cowboys, most people thought they didn’t stand a chance. Alas, Dallas couldn’t be bothered to turn up. Seriously, this was an awful game all around and not worthy of the atmosphere and prime-time broadcast slot.
7) Miami Dolphins 28 at San Diego Chargers 50 (1986)
Final Records: Dolphins (8-8) / Chargers (4-12)
The Miami Dolphins headed into 1986 on the back of five straight postseason berths, including a Super Bowl appearance in 1984 and an AFC Conference Championship Game showing in 1985. Meanwhile, San Diego was in the last days of Don Coryell’s reign as head coach. The once innovative offense had stagnated by this time with the Chargers having finished .500 or thereabouts for three straight years.
This game turned out to be a swansong for the Air Coryell offense in San Diego. They rushed out to a 17-0 lead and had no issues dispatching the favored Dolphins to open the 1986 season. Things didn’t get better for either franchise, however. Miami finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Over in San Diego, the team lost its next eight contests with their legendary coach stepping down during this losing streak. The Chargers would finish 4-12.
6) Pittsburgh Steelers 21 at Cleveland Browns 21 (2018)
Final Records: Steelers (9-6-1) / Bills (7-8-1)
Sometimes, a tie can be as good as a win. At least it was if you were a fan of the mid-2010s Cleveland Browns. The team was 0-16 in 2017 and that came after an embarrassing 1-15 campaign in 2016. Over in Pittsburgh, the Steelers had won the AFC North three out of the past four seasons and were coming off a 13-3 year.
The odd thing about this game is that Pittsburgh was comfortably in control for three and a half quarters. Then some summer showers rolled in and made the conditions sloppy. The Steelers fumbled twice in the final eight minutes with Cleveland improbably scoring two touchdowns to tie the game up.
It could be argued that the Browns should have won this game. They had the ball inside Steelers territory with 20 seconds in the fourth quarter but Tyrod Taylor threw an ill-timed interception. In overtime, both sides would miss chip-shot field goals meaning things ended all square. After one victory in two years, the tie was just as good as a win. It also qualifies as a major upset.
5) New England Patriots 0 at Buffalo Bills 31 (2003)
Final Records: Patriots (14-2) / Bills (6-10)
Nothing says incoming Super Bowl champion quite like a 31-0 drubbing at the hands of an average divisional opponent to start the season. In the end, it turned out okay for the Patriots who only lost once more in 2003. On the other hand, this was the Bills’ Super Bowl, and they finished the year 6-10.
This matchup is probably best remembered for Lawyer Milloy sticking it to the Patriots five days after the team released him. Drew Bledsoe was there as well but the storyline featuring New England’s former safety garnered most of the headlines. It is also worth saying again, results like this are why fans shouldn’t put much stock in week 1.
4) Miami Dolphins 23 at Houston Oilers 26 (1985)
Final Records: Dolphins (12-4) / Oilers (5-11)
These were two teams on the opposite end of the NFL spectrum heading into 1985. Miami was coming off a 14-2 campaign, although they were thoroughly beaten in Super Bowl XIX by the San Francisco 49ers. Houston had won 13 games in total between 1981 and 1984 as the franchise struggled in the post-Bum Phillips era.
The Dolphins’ preparations to start 1985 were disjointed as Dan Marino skipped training camp and the preseason in an attempt to get an improved contract. He reported a week before the season began, but things did not go smoothly. In fact, Head Coach Don Shula would bench his star quarterback during this game after throwing two interceptions.
Houston would come out on top late in the fourth quarter after the teams traded touchdowns. Normal service would resume after week 1 with Miami winning their next four games and the Oilers losing five straight.
3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48 at New Orleans Saints 40 (2018)
Final Records: Buccaneers (5-11) / Saints (13-3)
This game was not nearly as close as the score indicates as Tampa Bay led by 48-24 in the early stages of the fourth quarter. Similarly, this result was not indicative of the seasons either NFC South side would have in 2018. Drew Brees and company were playoff bound while Dirk Koetter was on his way to another 5-11 campaign.
The New Orleans Saints were coming off a painful loss in the 2017 NFL Playoffs with the Minneapolis Miracle derailing their Super Bowl ambitions. That hangover spilled over into Week 1 of 2018 where Ryan Fitzpatrick produced a classic bout of Fitz-magic.
2) Miami Dolphins 24 at New England Patriots 34 (1974)
Final Records: Dolphins (11-3) / Patriots (7-7)
The Miami Dolphins were coming off back-to-back Super Bowl championships heading into the 1974 season. During that time, New England finished 3-11 and 5-9 while losing all four matchups against their AFC East rivals. It’s safe to say no one really saw this result coming when the football schedule was released.
A Jim Plunkett-led Patriots team raced out to a 24-7 first-half advantage before going up 31-10 in the third quarter. Miami struggled to protect Bob Griese while the team’s vaunted rushing attack combined for 89 yards on 29 carries. This was actually the beginning of the end for the Dolphins dynasty. A trio of stars had already been poached by the recently launched WFL for the 1975 season.
1) San Francisco 49ers 21 at Minnesota Vikings 28 (1985)
Final Records: 49ers (10-6) / Vikings (7-9)
Miami wasn’t the only Super Bowl XIX finalist to lose their season opener. San Francisco put in an embarrassing performance against a Minnesota side that finished 1984 a lowly 3-13. What made this all the more shocking was the fact the 49ers only lost a single game the previous year.
This just may be the franchise’s worst game under Bill Walsh. Despite a roster littered with NFL Hall of Famers, they were unable to do much against the Vikings. Joe Montana and company lost five fumbles and had seven in total. This prevented them from building any momentum.
The game took a wild turn in the final quarter when the Vikings scored following one of these fumbles. On the ensuing kickoff, San Francisco fumbled again which set Minnesota up for the winning score. This was an absolutely stunning result.
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