By DAVID MEISTER
Sports Editor
In two weeks, the NFL will kick off for its 100th season. The Green Bay Packers joined the league the following year. The Bears and Packers are the oldest rivalry in professional football, and it seems fitting for the 100th season that the league forgo its traditional first matchup where the defending Super Bowl champions host a game on the first Thursday night of the season. Instead, on Sept. 5, it’ll be Green Bay traveling to Chicago to take on the Bears.
Green Bay is coming off a tumultuous 2018 season where they finished 6-9-1 and saw long time head coach Mike McCarthy fired halfway through the year. McCarthy is replaced by first year head coach Matt LeFleur. The Bears are coming off an NFC North division title after a 12-4 record. The team last year had a defense that led the league in multiple categories including points allowed per game, and interceptions.
Let’s take a look at a few big matchups for week 1.
The first Sunday of the season will start at 1 p.m.with an AFC East matchup between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. New York is hoping for more from second year quarterback Sam Darnold and he will be boosted in the back field by newly acquired running back Le’Veon Bell. Buffalo finished 6-10 last season after making the playoffs two years ago for the first time since 1999. Buffalo will have second-year man Josh Allen under center while LeSean McCoy will be in the backfield for the Bills.
Next is the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. The Titans finished last season at 9-7 and did not make the playoffs. Mike Vrabel enters his second season as Tennessee’s head coach. Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will be entering his fifth season in the NFL The Browns have started to emerge from the league’s basement after finishing 2017 with a winless record. Last year they finished 7-8-1 and halfway through the season, head coach Hue Jackson was fired.
An NFC East matchup is up next with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. Philadelphia has dominated this matchup of late, winning both meetings in 2017 and 2018. Last year, the Eagles were the defending Super Bowl champions and finished the year at 9-7 making the playoffs but losing in the divisional round to the Saints. The Eagles have Carson Wentz in 2019. The Redskins finished 2018 at 7-9 for the second straight year. The injury bug bit Washington’s quarterbacks last year as Alex Smith broke his leg, his backup, former Texas Longhorn Colt McCoy came in and also broke his leg. Washington this year drafted Dwayne Haskins out of Ohio State to lead the team this year.
An intriguing matchup of two younger teams in the AFC with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kansas City made a deep run into the playoffs thanks to second year quarterback Patrick Mahomes who was named the league’s MVP for 2018. The Jaguars two years ago surprised the league and went to the AFC title game but last season was a disappointment as they finished 5-11. The Jags brought in Nick Foles to try to revitalize their passing game. Foles has a promising receiving core with Marquise Lee and Dede Westbrook to name a few as well as Leonard Fournette at runback.
The LA Rams will be taking on the Carolina Panthers to wrap up the 1 p.m. block. The Rams are coming off a Super Bowl loss to the Patriots last year, although Saints fans will say it should’ve been them. The Rams picked up Blake Bortles from Jacksonville to back up Jared Goff and will hope that between their offense led by Goff and the defense led by Aaron Donald will be able to make another deep postseason run. The Panthers had a promising season going, starting off 6-2 and looking at the playoffs, but Carolina proceeded to finish the season 1-7 and missed out on the postseason. Cam Newton will be entering his ninth season as the starting quarterback for the Panthers and will have rising star Christian McCaffrey in his backfield.
The Detroit Lions will be headed west to start the season against the Arizona Cardinals. The Lions finished 6-10 and last place in the NFC North. 2019 is the second year under head coach Matt Patricia and the eleventh for quarterback Matthew Stafford. Despite the lackluster year. The Cardinals are also coming off a bad year, finishing 3-13 and last in the NFC West. Head coach Steve Wilks was one and done and was fired after 2018 and he will be replaced by Kliff Kingsbury. This season will be his first time ever coaching in the NFL in any capacity. The Cardinals drafted quarterback Kyler Murray first overall and he will start for the Cardinals.
To wrap up, the 4 p.m. block is what seems to be the traditional week one matchup between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. The Giants finished at 5-11 and last in the NFC East. They do have a promising rising star in runback Saquon Barkley who made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year. quarterback Eli Manning is entering his 16th season as the starting man and he’ll have surprise first round draft pick Daniel Jones backing him up. The Cowboys finished 10-6 and won the NFC East but lost in the divisional round to the LA Rams. The offseason for Dallas has been a roller coaster with contract negotiations for their three offensive stars, quarterback Dak Prescott, runback Ezekiel Elliott, and WR Amari Cooper dominating the conversation. This season will see the return of TE Jason Witten who came out of retirement.
The first Sunday Night Football game of 2019 will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots. The Steelers finished 9-6-1 good for second place in the AFC North but did not make the playoffs. The team is entering its 13th season under head coach Mike Tomlin and 16th with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Patriots finished as the Super Bowl champions with an 11-5 record. The team tied Pittsburgh’s record for most Super Bowl titles with six. Head coach Bill Belichick is entering his 20th season leading New England and the 19th for quarterback Tom Brady.
The first Monday night of the year will be a doubleheader. At 7:10 p.m. it will be the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints. The Texans won the AFC South last year with an 11-5 record but lost in the Wild Card to the Colts. The team is entering its sixth season under the leadership of head coach Bill O’Brien. The team will also make its debut in London on November 3 against the Jaguars.
To wrap up week one at 10:20 p.m. are the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders. Denver finished 2018 at 6-10 good for third in the AFC West. The Broncos will have longtime Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco under center after a trade in February sent him west. The team will also have a new head coach after Vance Joseph was fired. Leading Denver into 2019 will be Vic Fangio. The Raiders finished 2018 at 4-12 which put them last in the AFC West. The Raiders will have their second season under head coach Jon Gruden and their sixth under Derek Carr.
Week one is always an exciting time for everyone around the NFL. Everyone starts with a clean slate and believes they can make it to the playoffs and the Super Bowl. The 100th season of the NFL will be filled with history, and the road to Super Bowl LIV in Miami starts soon.
