Happy days are here again, because football is finally back. The NFL season kicked off last night with a closer-than-expected battle between the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and their longtime NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys, with Philly overcoming a Jalen Carter ejection in the first six seconds and a complete no-show from AJ Brown to just squeeze out a 1-0 start.
Nobody could have predicted either of those two things happening, and few people could have expected a two-touchdown game from Javonte Williams in his Cowboys debut or a "tale of two halves" kind of game in which both teams combined for 41 first-half points but put up just a single field goal in the final 30 minutes.
The NFL is always an unpredictable league, so it was nice to get a reminder of that so soon in the season. Even armed with that knowledge, though, it's just too much fun to peer into the future and try to guess what's going to come next. After all, that's why so many millions of us bet on the games and play fantasy football.
It's been a long, football-less summer. Training camp and the preseason was mildly interesting for a bit, and it's been fun to watch the Bills and Cowboys in HBO's Hard Knocks and Netflix's America's Team, respectively. None of those viewing experiences can compare to the Christmas-like feeling of waking up this Sunday knowing that a full slate of real games is just hours away.
We know it's foolish to predict what's going to happen, but when has that stopped us before? Let's kick Week 1 off with some bold predictions that may actually come true.
Justin Fields will finally beat Aaron Rodgers in the Steelers-Jets quarterback revenge battle
Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers have traveled very different paths in their NFL careers. Long before Caleb Williams usurped him in Chicago, Fields was supposed to be the savior of the Bears. Rodgers of course had a long and fruitful career with the rival Packers, during which time he won a Super Bowl and lorded over the Monsters of the Midway like the iron-fisted boss the Bears have long wished the McCaskey family to be.
Rodgers' Packers beat Fields' Bears all four times they met, but since then, both have become quite the NFL nomads. Rodgers followed the Brett Favre model by leaving Green Bay for the Jets, but after tearing his Achilles mere plays into his tenure with Gang Green and then scuffling his way to a 5-12 record in Year 2, he's now in Pittsburgh hoping for one last chance at glory before hanging up his cleats and going on a permanent darkness retreat.
Fields was in Pittsburgh last year, but he merely kept the seat warm for Russell Wilson. Now he's Rodgers' successor with the Jets, and as luck would have it, the two are set to square off in Week 1.
For all the jokes about how the Steelers' recent ceiling under Mike Tomlin is the Wild Card Round, Jets fans would take a first-round playoff exit happily. No team has suffered in futility as long as the Jets have, but I think they'll start the Aaron Glenn era right with a home win over Rodgers and the Steelers.
For one thing, Glenn has gotten positive press for changing the culture in New York. For another, the Jets will be more motivated to stick it to Rodgers than the Steelers will to the likable Fields. Garrett Wilson said earlier this week that he hasn't spoken to Rodgers since he was released months ago, which tells you all you need to know.
I don't know if the Jets will finish with a better record than the Steelers this year, but at this point in their careers, I trust Fields to make some plays more than I trust Rodgers. This game will be ugly, but the Jets will find a way.
Joe Flacco will join Tom Brady as the only other 40-year-old quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a game
The Browns are going to be a rough watch this year, but they could be involved in one of the most entertaining Week 1 games. That's because they're matched up with the Bengals, who until they finally gave last season's NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson a raise two weeks ago, had poured just about all of their resources into the offensive side of the ball while doing very little to fix what was one of the league's worst defenses.
If Joe Burrow is able to stay upright behind a shaky offensive line, the Bengals are going to pile up points like a can of chili atop a plate of spaghetti. Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki are all locked up to long-term contracts, and running back Chase Brown proved late last year that he's more than capable of keeping up.
Other teams will need to open it up to keep up with Cincy's prolific offense, and with few guys outside of Hendrickson there to stop them, they'll mostly succeed. Even the Browns, who have an offense that's difficult to get excited about, should score with regularity.
Joe Flacco is old, but he can still chuck it. Jerry Jeudy had the best season of his career last year, and David Njoku is one of the most athletic tight ends in the game. As for the state of Cleveland's running game, your guess is as good as mine. Second-round draft pick Quinshon Judkins remains unsigned, and with Nick Chubb gone to the Texans, Jerome Ford and rookie Dylan Sampson may be adequate at best.
The Browns will need to fling it in this game, which could make Flacco just the second 40-year-old quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a game. Tom Brady is the other, and the ageless TB12 did it six times. The Browns are probably not going to win, but Flacco will go down flinging.
The Falcons will emerge from Week 1 as the overlooked team that deserves to be taken seriously
Everyone seems to be penciling in the Bucs to defend their NFC South title. With the listless Saints and the always-disappointing Panthers in the division, it makes sense to believe in Baker Mayfield and company, but the experts are doing a disservice to the Falcons by counting them out.
Atlanta finished 8-9 last year despite relying on a hobbled Kirk Cousins for all but the final three weeks. Now the job belongs to Michael Penix Jr., and though I won't pretend to know what to expect from the young lefty, I know he'll be more willing to push the ball downfield than Cousins will.
The Falcons should also rely more on Bijan Robinson to keep the offense moving, and that's a good thing. If Penix can hit a few deep shots to Drake London and/or Kyle Pitts (Darnell Mooney is questionable), that should open running lanes for the talented back.
This game sets up well for the Falcons. The game is in Atlanta, and it's Tampa's first one since losing offensive coordinator Liam Coen to the Jaguars. First Team All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs has been ruled out as he recovers from offseason knee surgery, and Chris Godwin will also be out as he works his way back from last season's fractured ankle. Vita Vea is questionable, and if he also misses the game then Bijan could really go nuclear. The Falcons actually swept the season series last year, and I think they'll keep their streak going.
The Ben Johnson era will begin with a bang as the Bears hang 30 on the Vikings
Caleb Williams threw for 531 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in two matchups against the Vikings last year, and that's when he had a coaching staff that ... let's just say wasn't very good. Now he has offensive mastermind Ben Johnson drawing up plays for him.
The flip side of that coin is that expectations in Chicago are higher than they have been in a long time, and the NFL league office did the Bears no favors by starting them off with a division foe in a nationally televised game. Will the pressure prove too much, or will the new-look Bears make a statement with a big win?
I'm expecting the latter. The Bears did more for Caleb than just give him the league's most sought-after head coach. General manager Ryan Poles also surrounded him a vastly upgraded offensive line and an incredibly talented young skill position core.
Caleb was sacked 68 times last season, the third-most in history. Whereas then he had at best a replacement-level interior O-line, now he has All-Pro Joe Thuney, former Pro Bowler Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman, the top center on the free agent market. In addition to DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet to throw to, he also has 10th-overall draft pick Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. Also watch for Olamide Zaccheaus, who turned heads throughout camp with his home run ability.
Johnson has made it clear that mediocrity will no longer be accepted in Chicago, and I think he'll open up his bag of tricks to take advantage of a Vikings team that will be looking to ease new starting quarterback JJ McCarthy in slowly. If the Bears can put a couple of early touchdowns on the board and get Soldier Field rocking, this one could become an unexpected blowout. I'm predicting Bears 30, Vikings 13.