Week 1 winners and losers: Caleb Williams, Josh Allen shine; Ja'Marr Chase disappoints

Week 1 of the 2026 fantasy football season was one for the ages, with huge scoring performances by Caleb Williams, Josh Allen and Derrick Henry. On the flip side, fantasy stars Ja'Marr Chase, Drake London and James Cook III were among the biggest disappointments. Who were the big winners and losers around the league during the opening week of the fantasy football season? Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft offer their analysis. Jump to a topic: Ranking winners | Ranking losers Biggest injuries and what's next Ranking fantasy winners of Week 1 1. Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears Williams led all quarterbacks in the early window with 37.26 points as the Bears offense dropped 59 on Carolina. Yes, we saw Williams' rare playmaking ability -- as a runner and thrower -- but don't forget about the efficiency from the pocket, as he completed 72.4% of his passes. He'll be a top-five QB in my ranks for the Week 2 home opener against the Vikings. -- Bowen 2. Josh Allen, QB, and DJ Moore, WR, Buffalo Bills Allen's 35.66 fantasy points are 15.06 more than any quarterback scored in a game last season against the Texans, this year's No. 1 defense drafted on average. It extended his record to nine career games with at least two passing and two rushing touchdowns (Steve Young is next closest with four), and it saw him display good rapport with new No. 1 receiver Moore, who scored 21.0 fantasy points. And let's also send a little love Dalton Kincaid's way, as the tight end scored 18.0 points. This offense is humming, and it should keep up the big scores in Week 2 against the Lions. -- Cockcroft 3. Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens Henry led all running backs in the early window with 35.3 points, rushing for 144 yards and three scores on 24 carries, while he caught one pass for 19 yards. He had some runways to get rolling on in this one, too. Open daylight in Doyle's new run scheme to get north/south with the ball. Henry will be a mid-tier RB1 in my ranks for the Week 2 game versus the Saints' defense. -- Bowen 4. D'Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears Swift led a Bears run game that was downhill and explosive in the Week 1 win over the Panthers. Swift, who finished with 32.4 points, rushed for 124 yards -- and three touchdowns -- on 18 carries, plus he added a reception for 10 yards. The play speed jumped here in Ben Johnson's scheme, too. Keep Swift as a solid RB2 for the Week 2 game versus the Vikings. -- Bowen 5. David Montgomery, RB, Houston Texans Montgomery (28.9 points) didn't have a very efficient day running the ball versus the Bills front (3.0 YPC), but the red zone usage boosts his fantasy profile here. Montgomery scored twice on red zone carries (one on the goal line), and he was targeted on a schemed throw from quarterback C.J. Stroud to find the end zone. Montgomery will remain a touchdown dependent RB2 in the Week 2 matchup versus the Bengals. -- Bowen 6. Lamar Jackson, QB, and Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle schemed targets for his playmakers in the pass game, while Jackson threw for 324 yards and rushed for 41 with two total touchdowns (24.96 points). You can lock in Jackson as a top-2 play for the Week 2 home matchup versus the Saints. Flowers - before exiting with a hamstring injury - caught five passes for 150 yards and a score (26 points). We'll monitor Flowers' injury, but when healthy, he should be viewed as a WR2 who can produce game breaking weeks in this scheme. -- Bowen 7. Bryce Young, QB, and Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers In the shootout loss to the Bears, Young had 31.4 points, throwing for 361 yards and three touchdowns, plus he rushed for a score. He remains a starter in 2QB Superflex formats. Coker -- one of my favorite late round targets -- had a career-best 33.8 points, catching eight passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Rostered in 50.8% of ESPN leagues, Coker is a must-add ahead of the Week 2 game versus Atlanta. -- Bowen 8. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars Second-half-of-2025 Lawrence remains in the building, though his 26.1 fantasy point performance did come against a bad Browns team. It's the sixth time in his past seven regular-season games that he has exceeded 20 points, as he has certainly warmed to his focal-point role in Liam Coen's offense. Lawrence has a tougher Week 2 road assignment against the Broncos, but most weeks he should make the "worth-your-start" cut. -- Cockcroft 9. Tyler Shough, QB, and Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints Though his performance was sluggish in the game's early going, Shough had the goods as a passer in the latter stages, to the point that he might not be as far off being of use in one-starter, 10-team formats as you might think. Coming back from two touchdowns behind, he scored the near-entirety of his 23.2 fantasy points on the Saints' final five drives, nearly rallying them to an overtime victory. Shough made good use of his receivers, especially Olave (28.2 fantasy points) but also Devaughn Vele (19.9), and Olave might well be a fantasy WR1 with this level of usage. They face a tougher test in the Ravens next week, but that merely means wait and see with Shough. -- Cockcroft Ranking fantasy losers of Week 1 1. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals Don't panic if you've got him, as he's no stranger to slow starts. Chase's 3.2 fantasy points were the second-worst score of his career, and he has now delivered two of his three worst outputs in the past two Week 1s. He has averaged 5.5 fewer points in September than in all other months, though, hey, his Bengals did manage a win to draw to an even 10-10 in the opening month in his career (they are 42-30 the rest of the year, including the playoffs). Chase now gets a Texans defense, typically a tough matchup, but one that was battered by the Bills. Be patient with the star wideout. -- Cockcroft 2. Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons The late QB switch to Cooper Rush, after Tua Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury during Thursday's practice, was disastrous for the Falcons' offense, which totaled 238 yards, had two turnovers and was sacked four times. London saw only four targets, scored 5.5 fantasy points and even had a six-yard run -- his second career rushing attempt -- as the Falcons desperately tried to get him involved. Tagovailoa's health will have a bearing on London's Week 2 utility against the Panthers, as he'd only be a near-WR1 with his quarterback back under center. -- Cockcroft 3. Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears Few things are more painful to fantasy managers than to hear that your player was involved in the highest-scoring Week 1 game in NFL history -- the Bears and Panthers totaled a record 96 points!!! -- only to open the box score and see him with a big, fat doughnut. That's despite his pacing the team's receivers in snaps (60) and routes run (25). Loveland will surely be needed more in the passing game in Week 2 against the Vikings. -- Cockcroft 4. James Cook III, RB, Buffalo Bills In a tough Week 1 matchup versus the Houston run defense, Cook had only 9.9 points, but this isn't the time to sound off alarms. Cook did average 4.4 YPC and he finished the day with 16 total touches. The volume (and production) will be there in an explosive Bills offense. Keep Cook in the RB1 mix for the Week 2 home game versus the Lions on Thursday night. -- Bowen 5. Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns The Browns' offensive woes, many of which can be pinned upon starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, held Judkins back in their Week 1 drubbing at the hands of the Jaguars. Judkins has 12 of the backfield's 13 carries and team's 21 rushing attempts total, but could muster only 7.0 fantasy points. The Browns are shaping up as a top-shelf offense against which to stream D/STs (hint: get the Buccaneers for Week 2!), but Judkins should regularly see enough work to be a serviceable RB2/flex option. -- Cockcroft Injury impact Zay Flowers and Ja'Kobi Lane, WRs, Baltimore Ravens What we know: Flowers' big Week 1 ended early due to a hamstring injury, as did Lane's due to a wrist injury, both of which were sustained during the second quarter. With the Ravens winning in blowout fashion, 41-23, neither was pressed to return during the game's second half. What's next: We'll see whether Flowers' or Lane's injuries are significant enough to extend into Week 2, or whether the Ravens merely had the luxury to rest both. Jackson targeted tight end Mark Andrews four times during the second half, and he might lean more upon Andrews if either or both wide receiver misses additional time. Chris Moore also saw two second-half targets. -- Cockcroft Kyler Murray, QB, Minnesota Vikings What we know: Murray left the game in the first quarter after taking a late hit on an attempted slide attempt. He was later ruled out of the game with a concussion. What's next: If Murray doesn't clear concussion protocol for Week 2, backup Carson Wentz would be in line to get the start at Chicago. -- Bowen