by Justin Patrick, Last Word on Pro Football.
The 2016 NFL season is set to kick off Thursday night when the Denver Broncos host the Carolina Panthers. It is always extremely exciting when a new NFL season begins, but with 32 teams in action this week, which matchups should be the best Week 1 NFL games of 2016? The three best Week 1 games, in no particular order, are listed below.
Best Week 1 NFL Games of 2016
Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos
Thurs., Sept. 8 at 8:30 PM ET on NBC
This is a rematch of Super Bowl 50 which the Broncos won 24-10 and Super Bowl rematches simply do not happen that often. They almost never happen in Week 1. Plus, it’s the first regular season game of the season and the only NFL game on Thursday night.
With future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning now retired and Brock Osweiler now under center for the Houston Texans, the Broncos have named Trevor Siemian as their starting quarterback. It will be very interesting to see how the former Northwestern quarterback does against the Panthers defense. Carolina’s defense should still be one of the best in the NFL, but fans will want to see just how good the Panthers defense is this season with cornerback Josh Norman now with the Washington Redskins. After missing all of the 2015 season with an ACL tear it will be fun to see Kelvin Benjamin back on the field in a regular season game. Will the Broncos defense be as dominant as it was last season with the losses of Danny Trevathan and Malik Jackson? How will reigning MVP Cam Newton kick off the 2016 season when he plays against the same team that stifled him in the Super Bowl?
There is a lot to look forward to in this game.
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