2016 NFL Regular Season Week 1 Live Thread

Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars - 1pm ET

Big test for the upstart Jags in Week 1.

With QB Aaron Rodgers hoping for a bit of a bounceback 2016 season, he’s certain to be motivated. Meanwhile, Jacksonville spent nearly all of their 2016 NFL Draft class upgrading their defense which ranked 24th in yards allowed in 2015 (for reference, the LA Rams ranked 23rd).

This could be a fun one.

Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens - 1pm ET

Buffalo’s looking to show off their Rex Ryan Year 2 defense while hoping from enough offense out of TYGOD Tyrod Taylor and company. It’s not a long shot.

The Ravens are hoping to ride the most elite player in all of sports, QB Joe Flacco, come back from an unusually disappointing 2015, their worst season since 2007. They could get the defense back on track, but where is the offense going to come from?

Chicago Bears at Houston Texans - 1pm ET

The Bears could be headed toward the #1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. They’ve got a pretty rough early schedule starting today on the road in Texas.

The Texans are coming off a second consecutive 9-7 season with a playoff berth capping it off. Having handed the keys to new QB Brock Osweiler, the offense could take off. The bigger question might be whether Jadaveon Clowney, the #1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, is ready to do the same.

Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles, 1pm ET

RGIII vs. Carson Wentz. This will be fascinating regardless of how things turn out. ESPECIALLY for Rams fans.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons, 1pm ET

Huge Week 1 AFC South matchup for these two.

After five consecutive winning seasons from 2008-12, the Falcons have missed the mark in each of the last three years. This could be a definitive year for Matt Ryan, now 31-years old. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons are taking a Dak Prescott-like early QB to offer some upside behind their veteran next April.

For the Bucs, they’ve got the offense. They’ve got the young franchise QB in Jameis Winston. Is the defense going to hold together to give Famous Jameis the opportunity to win games?

Minnesota Vikings at Tennessee Titans, 1pm ET

Sam Bradford. Shaun Hill. Marcus Mariota. Jeff Fisher’s old team. The universe for Rams fans is straaaaaaaaange.

Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets, 1pm ET

For me, this is the most uninteresting game of the week. There are far too many other storylines of interest.

Oakland Raiders at New Orleans Saints, 1pm ET

Are the Raiders going to be for real in 2016? It seems like they have the pieces to win. And having stacked up more young defense in this year’s draft, the excuses we got used to out of Raider Nation in years past won’t hold up this year.

Meanwhile, the Saints aren’t sitting comfortably either. The Drew Brees era is headed to an end. 7-9 isn’t “acceptable” in New Orleans according to former Rams MLB James Laurinaitis...

San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, 1pm ET

The Rams’ former in-state occupant faces their new near-market opponent

Hard to buy in too hard to the Chargers while the Chiefs are hoping it all comes together for a legit postseason run.

Miami Dolphins at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05pm ET

What is a 2016 Miami Dolphins?

The Seahawks, meanwhile, are just going to hang around, stay in the mix and then matter in January. Oh, and lose at least one of the two games against us.

Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts, 4:25pm ET

Is Matthew Stafford headed back to the playoffs? There’s a lot of talent on both sides of this team.

And Andrew Luck needs to get the Colts back on track immediately, or things could get really ugly in Indy, really quickly.

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25pm ET

Dak Prescott...if he has a legit Week 1, the hype train coming out of Big D is gonna be unbearable.