By DAVID MEISTER
Sports Editor
Football is back. Three words that make NFL fans across the country excited. The seven month wait since the Eagles lifted the Lombardi Trophy is over. It’s time to dust off those jerseys, and invite your friends over each Sunday to enjoy the game. It all kicks off Thursday night and it’s a good time to go through the matchups this week to give you all a preview of what’s to come for Week 1.
On Thursday night The City of Brotherly Love will be rocking as their Eagles unveil their championship banner and get their rings as champions of Super Bowl LII. Looking to play spoiler is the Atlanta Falcons who finished 10-6 last season earned a wild card spot last season but were ultimately defeated by the Eagles 15-10. Philadelphia will get Carson Wentz back after an injury during the regular season sidelined him throughout the playoffs.
Fast forward now to Sunday and a whole slew of matchups.
Starting off with the one o’clock games we have the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo ended their playoff drought last season thanks to 9-7 record. The Bills have an interesting quarterback situation as it’s now a two way race between Nathan Peterman, and the Bills’ first round draft pick Josh Allen. For Baltimore, Joe Flacco is entering his tenth season as the Ravens’ signal caller.
Next up is a intriguing matchup between the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars. Big Blue will have the 14 year man Eli Manning under center. The Giants are looking to bounce back after a 3-13 finish last season. Jacksonville was a team that surprised a lot of people last year after they made it all the way to the AFC Championship game against the Patriots. This Jaguars squad is a young team. Look for them to make some more waves this season if QB Blake Bortles has another good season.
An NFC South divisional matchup next with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. Tampa Bay will be without starting QB Jameis Winston who is suspended for the first three games of the season so Ryan Fitzpatrick will start. For New Orleans, Drew Brees will be under center alongside his second year running back Alvin Kamara who had an outstanding rookie season.
The Houston Texans and New England Patriots are up next. 41-year-old Tom Brady will once again be the guy in Foxborough. Houston had a disappointing year in 2017 finishing 4-12. They are looking for a strong sophomore campaign out of QB Deshaun Watson.
The San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings is a matchup between two teams who are on the rise in 2018. The Niners have a new quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo and he looks to spark San Francisco this year. Minnesota had a magical run last season. The reigns turn over to former Redskin Kirk Cousins to lead the Vikings back to the playoffs.
The Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins are one of the lesser talked about matches of week one. Tennessee made a run into the postseason last year behind a 9-7 campaign The passing game will be led once again by Marcus Mariota The Dolphins are coming off a 6-10 season which was led by Jay Cutler who has not officially retired yet. Cutler played in relief of Ryan Tannehill who was injured for the entire season.
Another less talked about match will take place in Indy with the Colts set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Indianapolis is happy to have their starting quarterback, Andrew Luck, Luck will be looking to target wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle. Meanwhile for the Bengals, they come off a 7-9 finish and will have Andy Dalton under center this year.
The final one o’clock game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. Ben Roethlisberger returns as the QB for Pittsburgh and he still has most of his targets on offense including Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.Cleveland finished 0-16 last year and has not made an official decision yet at QB but it’s a three man race between Tyrod Taylor, Drew Stanton, and the Browns’ first round draft pick out of Oklahoma, Baker Mayfield.
Next up are the four o’clock games. The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chiefs will be starting Patrick Mahomes II at quarterback. Mahomes will have plenty of options to throw the ball to with tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. For Los Angeles, they are looking to get over the hill after finishing 9-7 last season but not making the playoffs. LA has plenty of offensive powerhouses starting with QB Philip Rivers and behind him RB Melvin Gordon.
An interesting inter conference game on the docket next with the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. Starting with Denver, they will have Case Keenum under center. Defensively the “Mile High D” has linebacker Von Miller, and their draft pack Bradley Chubb also at LB. The Seahawks’ defense will have questions to answer but it’s up to veterans Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright to lead this unit. On offense, Russell Wilson will look to keep this side of the ball rolling.
This next matchup features two teams with playoff aspirations in the NFC with the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. Carolina made the playoffs last season at 11-5. They look to return this season with Cam Newton back under center and an up and coming running back in Christian McCaffrey. The Cowboys will still have QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott leading the charge for their offense.
Finally for four o’clock games we have the Washington Redskins and the Arizona Cardinals. The Redskins will have Alex Smith at the helm of their offense after being traded there from Kansas City. For the Cardinals, they will have Sam Bradford at QB. The receiving core will be anchored by the 14-year veteran Larry Fitzgerald.
The first edition of Sunday Night Football pits two old rivals together with the Chicago Bears traveling to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers. The Bears made a big splash for their defense with the recent trade that saw them obtain linebacker Khalil Mack from Oakland. On offense, Chicago will be led by their sophomore QB Mitchell Trubisky. The Packers have a lot of star power on offense and it starts with QB Aaron Rodgers. At WR they have Randall Cobb and Davante Adams.
And if you still need more after Sunday’s action, there is a doubleheader on Monday Night Football. Starting with the Detroit Lions and New York Jets. For the Lions, Matthew Stafford once again will be the signal caller on offense. On defense, the Lions have t Ezekiel Ansah leading the pass rush. The Jets will have rookie Sam Darnold starting his first career game.
Finally to cap off week one is an all west coast affair with the Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders. For Oakland, they have a new head coach in Jon Gruden, who coached the team from 1998-2001. Oakland will be returning Derek Carr as their starting QB. For LA, Jared Goff enters his third season as QB and will have the reigning Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley in the backfield.
So football fans rejoice, there is a full helping of NFL action this weekend and everyone starts fresh with aspirations of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
