We do not have to wait for Sunday to get our first real NFL read.
The league opens Wednesday night, and before most teams even touch the field, four clubs will already start answering the questions that have been hanging over the offseason. That alone makes this a sharp way to kick off Week 1.
The first stop is a Super Bowl rematch, with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks hosting the New England Patriots at Lumen Field just seven months after Seattle’s 29-13 win in Super Bowl LX. That game gives us the simplest question of the opening week: are these teams really the same ones we watched in February?
Seattle doesn’t have to prove it can win. The Seahawks already did that last season, going 14-3 and bringing back much of the roster that powered the title run. But Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is now in Kansas City, and the bigger issue is whether this group can repeat the whole thing.
For New England, the intrigue runs in a different direction. Was the Super Bowl just the end of one season, or did it expose something the Patriots still have to fix?
They’ve spent the offseason reshaping things around Drake Maye, adding A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs and Alijah Vera Tucker.
Now they get their first chance to see how that looks against the team that just beat them for the championship.
Then Thursday takes the whole thing in a different direction.
Before most of the league has played a snap, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will meet nearly 8,000 miles from home at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. It will be the first regular-season NFL game ever played in Australia, which gives the matchup an unusual backdrop and a few obvious unknowns.
Travel is one of them. San Francisco got there a week early to deal with the time difference, while the Rams are taking the opposite route and plan to arrive just a day before kickoff. Whether that ends up mattering is part of the fun.
The game itself matters too. Both teams are expected to be part of the NFC conversation this season, so this isn’t just a novelty act. It’s also a division matchup that could say plenty about where each team stands.
Is San Francisco ready to make another run? Are the Rams as good as plenty of people think they are? Can either side grab an early edge against a division rival?
Those are the kinds of questions this opening stretch is built to answer.
And that’s what makes Wednesday and Thursday so appealing. We spend the entire offseason sorting out the contenders, the improved teams and the teams getting talked up because it’s September and everyone starts 0-0. By the time Sunday arrives, four teams will already have handed us some clues.
Just keep the perspective in place.
It’s Week 1. Whatever happens on Wednesday and Thursday will tell us something.
In Other News...
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Fiskes reaction underscores how quickly a blockbuster deal can alter the mood around a team, even when the headline is centered on the player coming in. The Rams clearly made the move to raise their ceiling, but the immediate aftermath is just as important for the players who have to absorb the change, adapt to the new look and figure out what it means for their roles moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Irvin Just Added Intrigue To Rams Niners Pregame Coverage
Michael Irvin has already added an unexpected wrinkle to the buildup for the 49ers-Rams matchup, and it has nothing to do with Xs and Os. The Hall of Famer, who is part of Netflixs pregame coverage, went on a Twitch stream and publicly defended 49ers owner Jed York after Yorks recent misdemeanor charges tied to a prostitution sting, saying York should not be embarrassed by the incident.
The timing makes the whole thing more interesting for anyone watching the pregame show, because Irvin is set to be part of the Netflix broadcast for 49ers-Rams. Whether the subject comes up on air is the part to watch now, especially with the spotlight already on a matchup that carries plenty of its own edge for both teams. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Australia Opener Just Got An Added Spotlight Fans Will Notice
The Rams first trip into NFL regular-season history in Australia is getting a little more star power. When Los Angeles faces the 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the halftime spotlight will belong to the Jonas Brothers, adding a pop-culture layer to a game already carrying the weight of being the leagues first regular-season matchup on Australian soil.
The buildup around the September event is stretching well beyond game day, too. The NFL Kickoff Festival will run across three days at Melbourne Park next to the MCG and feature a slate of Australian artists, turning the opener into a broader celebration of football and local music as the Rams and 49ers take the field on September 11 AEST. [Read more 🡒]