The NFL season is ready to kick off on Thursday night when the reigning champion Los Angeles Rams take on the Buffalo Bills.
These two teams are both expected to compete for the Super Bowl this year, as Buffalo has the best odds to win the whole thing.
This is the best matchup of Week 1 and the NFL did a good job by having this as the season kickoff.
But, there are still plenty of other games worth mentioning.
Some players will be making their team debuts and others will be in tough division battles.
Here are the three best storylines to watch for in Week 1.
The Trey Lance Era Begins
The San Francisco 49ers will turn over their franchise to second-year QB Trey Lance.
Despite playing a few games last season in a backup role, this is his first chance as the unquestioned starter.
Jimmy Garoppolo is still a part of the 49ers as the backup to Lance.
Lance gets to match up with a rebuilding Chicago Bears team that gave up the third-most passing touchdowns in the league last year.
It's officially Trey season in San Francisco. 🔥@treylance09 | @49ers pic.twitter.com/Mhw7Fzg0vg
— NFL (@NFL) August 30, 2022
The 49ers are seven-point favorites in the game and this should be a great chance for the 22-year-old to show off his arm and legs.
He has a chance to be an elite rushing QB this season.
Also, the Bears will be trotting out second-year QB Justin Fields under center.
Chicago does not have a very good roster but the development of Fields will be vital.
So the battle of the third and eleventh overall picks in the 2021 draft should be exciting.
Brady And The Bucs Face Dak And The ‘Boys
In a rematch of the season opener from last year, the Dallas Cowboys will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This time the matchup is in Dallas and the Cowboys will have a new-look offense.
Dak Prescott will still lead the way at quarterback along with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard at RB.
Dak Prescott has completed 94-of-119 (79.0%) passes in three career games against Tampa Bay, the highest of any quarterback against any single opponent in NFL history (min. 100 attempts), according to the Cowboys
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 6, 2022
But, the receiving corps lost Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson.
Now it is CeeDee Lamb who will step up in the WR1 role.
Tom Brady makes this game a lot more exciting.
After unretiring, the Bucs went from being an afterthought to back in the Super Bowl discussion.
Both of these teams won their respective division last year and this should be one of the best matchups of the week.
Wilson Returns To Seattle
The NFL schedule-makers outdid themselves with this Week 1 schedule.
Another highly anticipated game will be on Monday Night Football when the Denver Broncos visit the Seattle Seahawks.
Russell Wilson, who just got traded from Seahawks, will play his first game with the Broncos in Seattle.
The Broncos have the much better team in this matchup and the game may not be particularly close.
But, the intrigue is from Wilson’s return.
It will be interesting to see which Broncos offensive player gets the targets from Wilson in Week 1.
The Seahawks look to replace Wilson with Geno Smith.
While that is not very exciting the Seahawks are in rebuild mode and they have a chance to finish with a top draft pick in 2023.
This game may not end within one possession but it will be interesting to see how Wilson plays in his former home.
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