Three NFL teams facing nightmare Week 1 matchups

Week 1 is supposed to offer NFL teams a fresh start. The schedule apparently didn't get the memo.

Three teams enter Sunday as sizable underdogs in matchups that could expose their biggest concerns immediately. Three teams won't get anything resembling a soft opening to the 2026 season.

Jacoby Brissett gets thrown directly into the fire

The Cardinals aren't merely underdogs against the Los Angeles Chargers. They're staring at the largest spread on Sunday's schedule.

Los Angeles is a 9.5-point favorite, and Arizona will counter with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. 

That's a rough combination.

Brissett will be operating Mike LaFleur's new offense against a Chargers team carrying legitimate expectations into the season. Los Angeles also gets the benefit of opening at SoFi Stadium rather than asking Arizona's new-look offense to figure things out in friendlier surroundings.

Oddsmakers aren't expecting much suspense. A spread approaching double digits in Week 1 is about as loud a warning as Arizona could receive.

If Brissett falls behind early, the Cardinals could spend most of Sunday asking him to throw his way back into a game against an opponent that would love exactly that scenario.

Browns couldn't have drawn a much worse starting point

Cleveland's reward for a five-win season is a trip to Jacksonville against one of Week 1's biggest favorites.

The Jaguars are favored by 8.5 points, trailing only the Chargers among Sunday's largest spreads. 

Cleveland enters the year with a new head coach in Todd Monken and Deshaun Watson returning after his long recovery from Achilles injuries. The Browns are also beginning life without reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

Jacksonville doesn't need to be flawless to make that combination hurt.

The Jaguars are at home and coming off a season that created far more optimism than anything currently surrounding Cleveland. This is exactly the type of opener where one early mistake can become two, then suddenly a new coaching staff is spending halftime trying to prevent the afternoon from getting embarrassing.

An 8.5-point Week 1 spread says sportsbooks aren't simply picking Jacksonville to win. They're expecting separation.

Saints could spend Sunday desperately trying to keep up

New Orleans doesn't face quite as daunting a spread, but its matchup might be the ugliest stylistically.

Detroit is a 6.5-point favorite at Ford Field. 

The Saints finished 6-11 last season despite winning four of their final five games. Tyler Shough enters 2026 firmly in control of the offense, but New Orleans has questions surrounding its supporting cast, particularly at receiver and running back. 

Detroit can turn those problems into something much worse.

The Lions still have an offense capable of forcing opponents to chase points. If New Orleans falls behind and Shough has to abandon a comfortable game plan, Detroit's pass rush gets to start hunting. The Lions finished tied for fourth in the NFL with 49 sacks last season, with Aidan Hutchinson accounting for 14.5 of them. 

Maybe New Orleans' strong finish last season carries over. Maybe Cleveland's changes work faster than expected. Maybe Brissett ruins somebody's survivor pool.

That's the beauty of Week 1.