The 2018 National Football League season will be here before you know it. The preseason is halfway over, and the regular season is oh so close. Week 1 starts on Thursday, September 6th and concludes on Monday, September 10th. Of course, there is a full slate of Sunday afternoon, late afternoon, and a Sunday Night Football game. Once again in 2018 – there is a pair of Monday Night Football games. One early and one late. There will be plenty of football, and the Week 1 schedule is set to thrill football fans all over the world. Let’s take a look at the Week 1 schedule:
The Thursday Night Football game for Week 1 features the Atlanta Falcons on the road at the Philadelphia Eagles. This is a battle of the two most recent NFC Champions. Atlanta fell in the Super Bowl two seasons ago to the Patriots, while the Patriots lost a season ago to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles will see all sorts of fanfare before the season opener at Lincoln Financial Field. This is an NBC Thursday Night Football game and should be one of the most competitive games in all of Week 1.
When Sunday arrives, there is 8 games at noon Central Time, four games during the 3 pm hour and then the Sunday Night Football game. Speaking of those New England Patriots – they will start the season with what the Texans hope is DeShaun Watson under center. The Patriots host Houston at Gillette Stadium. Ben Roethlisberger and company are on the road in Week 1, as the Steelers are at the Browns. America hopes to see Andrew Luck as the Colts host Cincinnati. The other noon Central time games feature the Titans on the road at the Dolphins, Jimmy G and the 49ers are in Minnesota, Tampa travels to New Orleans, the Jaguars are at the Giants, and the Bills take on the Baltimore Ravens.
The late afternoon games start at 3:05 pm CT with the Kansas City Chiefs on the road at the Los Angeles Chargers. This is a huge AFC West game right out of the gate. This is one of just four divisional games in the opening weekend. Following that – the trio of games is the Seattle Seahawks at the Denver Broncos, Washington is on the road at the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys head to Carolina to take on Cam Newton and the Panthers.
The first Sunday Night Football Game of the Year features Mitchell Trubisky and his Chicago Bears on the road at Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers. This will be an interesting NFC North affair. Finally – Monday Night Football arrives, and the New York Jets are at Detroit in Game 1, while the Los Angeles Rams are on the road at the Oakland Raiders in Game 2. The Rams and Raiders also played in preseason Week 2. This will be the first regular season for head coach Jon Gruden since his first retirement. It will also feature the Rams, who many are considering the favorite to take down the Eagles out of the NFC in 2018.
