NEW YORK — SPORTS — The NFL returns this week and it’s time to get back to football. Kickoff Weekend presented by YouTube TV signals the start of a 272-game journey, one that promises hope for each of the league’s 32 teams as they set their sights on Super Bowl LIX, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Here’s a look at a few interesting storylines entering Kickoff Weekend:
- BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK?: The 105th season of NFL play kicks off on Thursday night (NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET) as the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in a rematch of the 2023 AFC Championship Game.The Chiefs became the ninth team ever to repeat as Super Bowl champions and can become the first team all-time to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The last NFL team to win three consecutive championships was the Green Bay Packers, who won the NFL Championship in 1965 and Super Bowls I and II in 1966-67. Kansas City looks to become the fourth team to advance to three consecutive Super Bowls, joining New England (2016-18 seasons), Buffalo (1990-93) and Miami (1971-73).
- INTERNATIONAL NFL: On Friday, Sept. 6, the Green Bay Packers will play the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo (8:15 p.m. ET, Peacock) in the historic first-ever regular season game in Brazil, marking the first time the NFL has played a game on Friday night of its opening weekend in over 50 years (St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams, Sept. 18, 1970).
- EVERY TEAM HAS A CHANCE: Entering the 2024 season, every team has hope and here are a few reasons why…
o Since 1990 – a streak of 34 consecutive seasons – at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs that were not in the postseason the year before. There were six new playoff teams last season – Cleveland, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston, the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh.
o In 20 of the past 21 seasons (2003-23), at least two teams have won their divisions the season after missing the playoffs. There were four new division winners in 2023 – Baltimore (AFC North), Dallas (NFC East), Detroit (NFC North) and Houston (AFC South).
o At least one team has won its division the season after finishing in or tied for last place in 19 of the past 21 seasons (2001-23). Houston completed the ‘worst-to-first- turnaround last season and became the fourth team in NFL history to win a playoff game with a rookie head coach (DeMeco Ryans) and a rookie starting quarterback (C.J. Stroud).
- NEW RULES:
o DYNAMIC KICKOFF: For the upcoming season, the NFL approved the implementation of the dynamic kickoff, a new design resembling a typical scrimmage play and more rigid zones on the field that players must occupy.
The kicking team will now line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line. The receiving team will line up in the Setup Zone, a five-yard area from the 35 to the 30-yard line, where at least nine players must line up, including at least seven with a foot on the 35. The play begins only when the ball either hits the landing zone or is touched by the receiving team. For more information on the dynamic kickoff, click here.
o PENALTY FOR HIP-DROP TACKLE: With player health and safety always a priority, the league approved a personal foul penalty (loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down) to eliminate a potentially dangerous tackling technique, the hip-drop tackle.
It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground:
- grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms;
- and unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.
- ROOKIE QUARTERBACKS IN WEEK 1: With rookie quarterbacks Caleb Williams (No. 1 overall in 2024 NFL Draft, Chicago), Jayden Daniels (No. 2, Washington) and Bo Nix (No. 12, Denver) named their team’s Week 1 starter, the 2024 season is expected to join 2012 (five rookie quarterbacks), 2023 (three) and 2021 (three) as the only seasons since 1970 in which at least three rookie quarterbacks started in Week 1.
o Williams can join Kyle Orton (2005) as the only rookie quarterbacks to start for the Bears in Week 1 in the common-draft era. Since 1967, 18 quarterbacks have been selected with the first pick in the NFL Draft and started in Week 1 of their rookie season, including each of the past four quarterbacks chosen No. 1 overall [Bryce Young (2023), Trevor Lawrence (2021), Joe Burrow (2020) and Kyler Murray(2019)].
o Daniels can join Robert Griffin III (2012) as the only rookie quarterbacks to start for the Commanders in Week 1 since 1967. Rookie quarterbacks selected No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the NFL Draft have both started in Week 1 on seven previous occasions since 1967, including the 2023 season (Bryce Youngand C.J. Stroud).
o Nix can join Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway (1983) as the only rookie quarterbacks to start for the Broncos in the common-draft era.
- PLAYOFF & SUPER BOWL REMATCHES ON KICKOFF WEEKEND:
o Baltimore at Kansas City – 2023 AFC Championship rematch (Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): The Chiefs defeated the Ravens, 17-10, in Baltimore to advance to Super Bowl LVIII. In the contest, tight end Travis Kelce recorded 11 receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (151 receptions) for the most postseason receptions by a player in NFL history.
Should Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (2019 and 2023 Most Valuable Player) and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (2018 and 2022) both play, it will mark the first time in NFL history that a Week 1 matchup has featured opposing players each with multiple Most Valuable Player awards. It will also mark the first meeting in NFL history in any week to feature opposing players both under the age of 30, each with multiple Most Valuable Player awards.
o L.A. Rams at Detroit – 2023 NFC Wild Card rematch (Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): The Lions defeated the Rams, 24-23, to earn their first postseason win since 1991. In the contest, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and the Lions’ Jared Goff became the first pair of quarterbacks to start in the same game against a team they previously played for.
Despite the loss, Los Angeles’ Puka Nacua registered 181 receiving yards, the most by a rookie in a playoff game in NFL history. During the 2023 regular season, Nacua set NFL rookie records with 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards. Justin Jefferson holds the record for the most receiving yards by a player in his first two career seasons (3,016 receiving yards) while Jefferson, Michael Thomas and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown share the record for the most receptions by a player in his first two seasons (196 receptions).
o Denver at Seattle – Super Bowl XLVIII rematch (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS): The Seahawks defeated the Broncos, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, 2014. Malcolm Smith earned MVP honors with a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown and Percy Harvin opened the second half with a 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, one of 10 kickoff return touchdowns in Super Bowl history.
Including this matchup, Denver and Seattle will have met on Kickoff Weekend three times in the past seven seasons, with each team winning at home in the previous two meetings (Broncos 27, Seahawks 24 in Denver in 2018; Seahawks 17, Broncos 16 in Seattle in 2022).
- Additional notes about the Week 1 slate:
· Arizona at Buffalo (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): In the last meeting between the two clubs (Week 10, 2020 in Arizona), the Cardinals overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to defeat the Bills, 32-30. With two seconds remaining, Kyler Murray connected with DeAndre Hopkins for a 43-yard game-winning touchdown pass. According to Next Gen Stats, the pass had a 16.9 percent completion probability.
· Houston at Indianapolis (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud made five starts against AFC South opponents last season and completed 120 of 171 pass attempts (70.2 percent) for 1,445 yards (289 per game) with 10 touchdowns (nine passing, one rushing) and no interceptions for a 113.3 passer rating.
· Jacksonville at Miami (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): In Week 1 last season, the Dolphins defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 36-34, as Tyreek Hill recorded the third-most receiving yards (215) in a season-opening game in NFL history and Tua Tagovailoa registered the fourth-most passing yards (466) in a season-opening game all-time.
· Dallas at Cleveland (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX): Last season, Cleveland recorded the best home winning percentage (.889, 8-1) among AFC clubs while allowing the fewest points per game (13.9), fewest total yards per game (215.9) and fewest passing yards per game (126.3) among all teams at home. Dallas led the NFL with 29.9 points per game in 2023.
· New York Jets at San Francisco (Monday night, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC): Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers enters the 2024 season with the fifth-most touchdown passes (475) and ninth-most passing yards (59,055) in NFL history. Since 2014, in his last 10 Monday starts, he has recorded 23 touchdown passes with three interceptions and a 113.6 passer rating, with his team compiling a 10-0 record in those games.
