Chairshot NFL News Report (9/10/2026): Seattle Survives, Darnold Goes Down & Dallas Loses Smith

Seattle rallies past New England after Sam Darnold exits, A.J. Brown gets hurt and Dallas loses Tyler Smith to injured reserve.

The 2026 NFL season started with a familiar result and a very different path getting there.

Seattle defeated New England again in Wednesday’s Super Bowl rematch, but the defending champions had to do it after Sam Darnold left with a hip injury. The Seahawks defense intercepted Drake Maye three times in the fourth quarter, while A.J. Brown also exited his Patriots debut with an ankle injury.

Thursday takes the league to Australia for the first time.

It’s the Chairshot NFL News Report for September 10, 2026!

Seahawks Rally Past Patriots After Darnold Injury

Seattle defeated New England 13-10 Wednesday night after overcoming an early 10-0 deficit. Sam Darnold left during the first half with a right hip injury, forcing Drew Lock into the game. Lock completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown while Seattle’s defense intercepted Drake Maye three times in the fourth quarter.

That is an extremely Seattle way to begin a championship defense.

The offense lost its starting quarterback almost immediately and spent much of the night struggling to generate points, yet the defense kept the game within reach until Lock eventually produced enough offense. Maye’s fourth quarter will be the part New England has to live with.

Three interceptions in one quarter turned what could have been a statement road win into another loss against the team that beat the Patriots in February.

Week 1 does not define a season, but Seattle immediately demonstrated that its championship identity survived the offseason.

Sam Darnold Avoids a Fracture

Initial X-rays and a CT scan showed no fracture in Darnold’s injured right hip. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald called that encouraging news, although Darnold is scheduled for an MRI Thursday to determine the extent of the injury.

That is the best possible first update without an actual diagnosis.

Darnold left early enough that Seattle never seriously considered putting him back into the game, and Lock’s performance removed any reason to reconsider that decision.

Now the calendar matters. Seattle does not play again until September 20 against Arizona, giving Darnold more than a week to recover if the MRI confirms something manageable.

The Seahawks learned Wednesday that they can survive one game with Lock. They would rather not find out how many.

A.J. Brown Injured in Patriots Debut

A.J. Brown left his first game with New England after suffering an ankle injury in the third quarter. Brown caught three passes for 26 yards before Seattle cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett landed on his leg while breaking up a pass. X-rays were taken, but New England did not immediately announce the severity of the injury.

Brown was supposed to be one of the biggest changes between the Patriots team Seattle beat in February and the one that returned Wednesday. Instead, his debut lasted less than three quarters.

New England paid a significant trade price to bring Brown into the offense because Maye needed a receiver capable of changing the geometry of the field. Any extended absence immediately complicates that plan.

Between Henderson missing the opener and Brown leaving during it, New England did not get many opportunities to see the version of its offense it spent the offseason building.

Cowboys Place Tyler Smith on Injured Reserve

Dallas placed Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith on injured reserve Wednesday after the thumb injury he suffered required surgery. Smith will miss at least four games, with T.J. Bass expected to replace him at left guard. The Cowboys promoted Nick Leverett to the active roster and added veteran Laken Tomlinson to the practice squad.

Dallas spent August making aggressive moves to strengthen its offensive line. Now one of the best players already on that line disappears before the Cowboys play a game.

Smith’s absence is particularly frustrating because offensive-line continuity matters as much as individual talent. Broderick Jones was already arriving from Pittsburgh and learning a new system, and now the group has to adjust another position around him.

Tomlinson gives Dallas experienced insurance. It would still rather have Smith.

Brock Bowers Expected to Miss Time

Raiders tight end Brock Bowers is expected to miss one or two games after undergoing a meniscus trimming procedure on his knee. Bowers had been dealing with the issue since training camp, while running back Ashton Jeanty returned to full practice Wednesday following his ankle injury.

The two updates move Las Vegas in opposite directions. Bowers is one of the most difficult matchup pieces in the Raiders offense, and losing him immediately puts more pressure on a quarterback situation that already carries uncertainty.

Jeanty returning is the better news. He now has a legitimate opportunity to play Sunday against Miami after missing multiple weeks, which gives Las Vegas another way to create offense if Bowers cannot go.

Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins Trending Toward Sunday

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins remain on track to play Sunday against Tampa Bay. Chase is recovering from a knee injury, while Higgins has been dealing with a heel issue.

Cincinnati has spent the last two weeks being cautious without sounding especially concerned. Neither receiver needed another August workload simply to prove availability. The Bengals need both healthy enough to give the offense its normal shape when Tampa Bay arrives.

Having Chase and Higgins together also removes a significant amount of pressure from everything else Cincinnati is trying to establish offensively in Week 1. The receiving room looks considerably different when both are available.

49ers Lose Alfred Collins for the Season

San Francisco defensive tackle Alfred Collins tore his patellar tendon during practice in Melbourne and will miss the entire 2026 season. The injury comes after Sam Okuayinonu was already ruled out with a broken foot, leaving the 49ers thin along the defensive line before Thursday’s opener against Los Angeles.

The 49ers finally got Nick Bosa back and immediately lost another important piece beside him.

Collins started 12 games as a rookie and was expected to take another step inside San Francisco’s defensive front. Instead, the 49ers now have to reconstruct that rotation before playing Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams and one of the league’s most aggressive offenses.

Injuries are always part of the NFL. Losing two defensive linemen before the first kickoff feels particularly cruel.

NFL Heads to Australia Tonight

San Francisco and Los Angeles will play the first regular-season NFL game in Australia tonight at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Rams arrived considerably later than the 49ers after Sean McVay chose to keep his team closer to its normal body-clock schedule, creating two dramatically different approaches to international preparation.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams – 8:35 PM ET – Melbourne Cricket Ground – Netflix

Aaron Donald will not play for Los Angeles, but Myles Garrett makes his Rams debut. San Francisco gets Nick Bosa back, while George Kittle has also progressed far enough from his Achilles injury to create optimism about his availability.

The football matchup would already be significant without the location. Los Angeles and San Francisco are division rivals coming off playoff seasons, with the Rams entering 2026 carrying legitimate Super Bowl expectations.

Australia simply turns the opener into something the league has never done before.

Wednesday’s NFL Transactions

Teams continued making Week 1 adjustments Wednesday as injuries created several active-roster openings.

• Dallas Cowboys – Signed G Nick Leverett
• Dallas Cowboys – Signed G Laken Tomlinson to practice squad
• Dallas Cowboys – Placed G Tyler Smith on injured reserve
• Green Bay Packers – Signed RB Damon Bankston to practice squad
• Green Bay Packers – Signed CB Kahlef Hailassie to practice squad
• Minnesota Vikings – Signed LB Jihad Ward to practice squad
• New Orleans Saints – Signed Kyrese Rowan to practice squad
• Seattle Seahawks – Signed S AJ Finley

The season needed exactly one night to remind everybody how quickly plans disappear.

Seattle entered Wednesday expecting Sam Darnold to lead its championship defense. New England entered expecting A.J. Brown to transform its offense. Neither made it through the opener.

The Seahawks survived anyway because their defense still looks capable of winning games when the offense cannot.

Thursday changes the scale again. San Francisco and Los Angeles will play an important division game roughly 8,000 miles from California, with both teams already adjusting to significant defensive absences.

The NFL is back, and the consequences arrived immediately.

This report includes information from: APNews.com, Reuters.com, NFL.com, CBSSports.com, and Seahawks reporting.