The Aporia · The NFL opened with a scoring binge and defenses getting ‘faces kicked in’

The NFL opened with a scoring binge and defenses getting ‘faces kicked in’ — why it’s not just a fluke

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Dunleavy, R. (2026, September 18). The NFL opened with a scoring binge and defenses getting ‘faces kicked in’ — why it’s not just a fluke. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/18/sports/the-nfl-opened-with-a-scoring-binge-and-defenses-getting-faces-kicked-in-why-its-not-just-a-fluke/

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Quick Summary

Week 1 of the NFL season saw teams score an unprecedented 791 combined points, matching the Super Bowl-era record set in 2012. This averages to 49.4 points per game and 24.7 points per team, a significant increase from recent seasons. The surge in scoring is partly attributed to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's innovative matchup zone defense with two safeties over the top, which has been widely adopted by other teams. The article questions whether this high-scoring trend will continue into Week 2 or if it was merely an anomaly.

Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The NFL began its season with an offensive explosion, scoring 791 combined points across all games in Week 1, matching a Super Bowl-era record set in 2012. This averages out to 49.4 points per game or 24.7 points per team, signaling a significant increase from recent seasons where scoring has been lower. The trend started with the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio implementing a matchup zone defense with two safeties over the top, designed to prevent big plays. With Week 2 seeing 72 total points in just one game between the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, it remains unclear if this high-scoring trend is an anomaly or marks a new norm for the league.

Written for “NFL Season Kicking Off Explosive” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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0 of 5 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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not political

takes no side on a contested political question

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66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Who wrote this

Ryan Dunleavy

68 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 68 articles by Ryan Dunleavy →

Claims (5 extracted, 0 hedged)

It is difficult to pinpoint whether the offensive outburst that defined Week 1 of the NFL season is a waypoint or the endpoint on the road back from years of decreased scoring. asserted

that → pinpoint → scoring

Not to fingerpoint, but it was Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio who sparked this offensive progression when he first appointed a matchup zone with two safeties over the top as the defensive scheme to copy for taking away big plays. asserted

he → fingerpoint → plays

If you think you just read a lot of compound words including “point,” consider that teams tied the Super Bowl-era record in Week 1 (set in 2012) with 791 combined points scored, which averages out to 49.4 per game and 24.7 per team. asserted

which → think → team

Now that’s a lot of points. asserted

that → ’ → points

Or are more scoreboard lightbulbs going to be tested again in Week 2 (which opened with 72 total points from the Bills and Lions)? asserted

which → go → Bills

The NFL opened with a scoring binge and defenses getting ‘faces kicked in’ — why it’s not just a fluke

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Claims (5 extracted, 0 hedged)