For the second time in four years, a new National Football League season will kick off at Arrowhead Stadium. Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs host the exciting Detroit Lions in the Thursday night opener.
As usual, it was another interesting offseason for all 32 teams in the league. Now it’s time to see if all that work pays off in 2023. There will be a 16-game slate during each of the first four weeks of this season before those vacations begin.
Here are 16 appetizers to supplement your football dining in Week 1, with half of the menu involving divisional matchups.
NOTE: 2022 regular-season win-loss records in parentheses
Thursday, Sept. 7
Detroit (9-8) at Kansas City (14-3): Only four teams in the NFL averaged more points per game last season than Dan Campbell’s Lions. Of course, one of those clubs was the reigning NFL champion Chiefs. Including the win over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, Andy Reid’s talented squad was 6-0 vs. NFC teams in 2022.
Sunday, Sept. 10
Carolina (7-10) at Atlanta (7-10): Panthers’ quarterback Bryce Young was the top overall pick in April’s draft. However, the 2023 first-round selection that also bears watching is Falcons’ rookie running back Bijan Robinson. Head coach Arthur Smith will test Carolina’s 18th-ranked run defense from a year ago.
Houston (3-13-1) at Baltimore (10-7): New head coach DeMeco Ryans and company head to Baltimore, where the Texans have never won (0-6, including playoffs). The Ravens have a new offensive coordinator (Todd Monken) and a new-look receiving corps. Houston was winless outside of the AFC South in 2022.
Cincinnati (12-4) at Cleveland (7-10): Since 2018, the Bengals own a dismal 2-8 mark in this divisional rivalry and have lost five straight at Cleveland. Kevin Stefanski looks for bigger things from Deshaun Watson after he went through a full training camp. Cleveland’s revamped defensive line bears watching.
Jacksonville (9-8) at Indianapolis (4-12-1): The Colts were an abysmal 1-4-1 vs. their AFC South rivals this past season, but that lone victory came against the Jaguars in Week 6 at Indianapolis. Dating back to the club’s second meeting in 2017, the home team has won 11 straight games in this divisional setting.
Tampa Bay (8-9) at Minnesota (13-4): The Buccaneers’ new quarterback is Baker Mayfield, who will play for his fourth team in six seasons. However, the real story here is how much progress has the Vikings’ defense (next-to-last in the NFL in total yards allowed in 2022) made under new coordinator Brian Flores.
Tennessee (7-10) at New Orleans (7-10): Mike Vrabel’s team bottomed out a year ago and dropped their final seven games after a 7-3 start. The Saints have a new quarterback in nine-year veteran Derek Carr, late of the Raiders. However, the team from the Big Easy is coming off its first losing campaign since 2016.
San Francisco (13-4) at Pittsburgh (9-8): Nick Bosa (2022) has agreed to a new deal, which means we may see the last two NFL Defensive Players of the Year (Steelers’ T.J. Watt in 2021) on Sunday. The 49ers were the league’s top-ranked defense in ’22. Pittsburgh limited its last seven foes to 17 points or less.
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Arizona (4-13) at Washington (8-8-1): The Cardinals went from 11 wins and a playoff appearance in 2021 to the second-worst record in the NFC this past season. New head coach Jonathan Gannon inherits a seven-game losing streak. The Commanders gave up the third-fewest yards per game in the NFL in 2022.
Green Bay (8-9) at Chicago (3-14): Let’s just go back to 2008. Green Bay owns a 26-5 record vs. the Bears (including the 2010 NFC Championship Game), most of that with Aaron Rodgers at the controls. Of course, the latter is now with the Jets. Chicago enters this opener after dropping its last 10 games last season.
Las Vegas (6-11) at Denver (5-12): Last season, these two teams combined to win three fewer games (11) than the divisional rivals Chiefs (14). Sean Payton is Denver’s fifth different head coach since 2017. The Raiders have won the last six meetings in this series, their longest streak of success since 1992-94.
Miami (9-8) at L.A. Chargers (10-7): It’s a clash between two clubs that reached the playoffs a year ago. Last season, on a Sunday night at SoFi Stadium (Week 14), Brandon Staley’s team came up with a 23-17 victory over the Dolphins. Miami set a dubious franchise record last season with only 14 takeaways.
Philadelphia (14-3) at New England (8-9): There was a time when the Patriots had their way with NFC teams. Over the past three seasons, Bill Belichick’s club is a disappointing 5-9 vs. interconference competition. Can Eagles’ rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter improve the Birds’ shaky run defense?
L.A. Rams (5-12) at Seattle (9-8): A season ago, Pete Carroll’s club swept the Rams for the first time since 2013. Sean McVay’s club fell hard a year ago and things don’t appear to be getting any better with Cooper Kupp’s status in doubt. In 2022, the Rams won at Arizona (Week 3), then lost their last seven road games.
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Sunday night
Dallas (12-5) at N.Y. Giants (9-7-1): Big Blue comes off a year in which they won a postseason game for the first time since 2011. However, Brian Daboll’s club had a rough time vs. NFC East rivals last season, going a combined 1-5-1 (including playoffs). The Giants are 1-11 vs. the Cowboys, dating back to 2017.
Monday, Sept. 11
Buffalo (13-3) at N.Y. Jets (7-10): What could quarterback Aaron Rodgers do for Robert Saleh’s club this season? In a down year for the four-time NFL MVP, he threw 26 touchdown passes in 2022. A year ago, the Jets’ offense totaled 28 TDs in 17 contests. Saleh’s team dropped its final six games this past season.