By Stephen Juza
September 6th, 2023
After a long offseason, the NFL returns to action this week. The season kicks off on Thursday with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions. With a full slate of games, which ones should capture your attention? Here are our top three games for Week 1, all in different time slots to offer you maximum viewing opportunities.
Lions at Chiefs:
The NFL selected an exciting game to kick off the NFL season, with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions, a team desperate to prove that last season was not a fluke. The Chiefs enter the season primed for another championship run behind head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
However, the league seems to be buying into the Lions’ hype for 2023. Coming off their strongest season since 2017, the Lions are looking to capture their first division title in 30 years. Dan Campbell hopes to show that last season’s surprise outcome was not a fluke, while quarterback Jared Goff is hoping to show he can be a long term solution at the position.
A Lions win would be a surprise, but would show the entire league that 2022 was not a fluke and, while putting them squarely in contention for the NFC North title.
Bills at Jets:
The AFC East could be the toughest division in the league this year, with both the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets figuring to be competing for something more than just the division title. The Bills remain the team to beat, coming off three straight division titles. However, the Jets made probably the biggest splash of the offseason, trading for future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
The Jets suffered from arguably the worst quarterback play in the league last season, but somehow still managed seven wins behind an otherwise loaded squad. While the offense may have tons of talent and experience, it remains to be seen if the offensive line can keep Rodgers upright for the season.
Buffalo is still clearly the team to beat in the East. But with everyone eager to see what Rodgers can still be capable of, the league has a great Monday Night Football matchup to kick off the season for these teams.
Cowboys at Giants:
Turning to the other East division, the Sunday Night game features two division rivals in the Dallas Cowboys against the New York Giants. Both teams made the playoffs last season and are hoping to build on that this season.
A major story throughout the offseason was disgruntled running backs, with the Giants’ Saquon Barkley playing a major part in the story. Running backs across the league expressed a lot of frustration and anger this offseason at their diminished salaries and the lack of long term deals. After being tagged with the franchise tag, Barkley signed a 1-year deal for $11 million, much smaller than Barkley hoped. However, if the Giants want to improve this year and compete for the NFC East title, they need Barkley to be at his best.
Expect the Cowboys to secure the win. The Cowboys returned many key players from last year’s 4th ranked offense, and it will be too much for the Giants to contain.