NFL Week 1: 5 best games of the weekend

The NFL is finally back with real games, and there are five you can’t miss.

Any time there is real football on the television, you need to strap yourself down to the couch with an iron belt and frantically wave the kids away. Your time has come.

Week 1 of the NFL season is always especially fun. Teams are always ripe to surprise, while prized rookies are ready to explode onto the scene.

This weekend, here are five games you need to watch:

5. Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets

This is a sneaky-good game. New York won 10 games last season despite not making the playoffs, and may have upgraded in the backfield provided Matt Forte stays healthy. With Ryan Fitzpatrick back in the fold, the Jets should have a quality passing game with Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall on the outside.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, has some looming question marks after a tough offseason. The Bengals watched both Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu leave in free agency, leaving the onus on rookie receiver Tyler Boyd to fill a hole opposite A.J. Green. Cincinnati is also without Reggie Nelson in the secondary and a suspended Vontaze Burfict, but ample talent remains.

This could be a game that we look back on in December as a key tiebreaker. Cincinnati and New York figure to be in the playoff hunt late, and both could be staring down a wild card race. Getting a win here would be a nice first step.

Next: No. 4