– Motown & Mahomes: We all waited to see what the first game would be to open the season. I’ll admit to you that I was thinking it’d be the Dolphins and Chiefs, especially with the potential return of Tyreek Hill facing his former team and the debut of Jalen Ramsey for Miami. Instead, the league gave us a curveball! The opening game to kick off the 2023 season will be the Detroit Lions against the Kansas City Chiefs! The last time Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes played one another, they were featured in a very memorable Monday night showdown that turned into a shootout. I could see the same thing happening in this game here to open the 2023 season. This could be a game to set the tone for the Lions against the defending Super Bowl champs.
– The East End: The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants have given us many memorable moments over the years. Last season, they played in two close games with the Cowboys taking both games from the G-Men. At one time, this was always a match up we could bank on to open the season. We will get these NFC East rivals to kick off the season at MetLife Stadium on a Sunday night. Both teams were in the playoffs a season ago. Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones, Mike McCarthy, the reigning Coach of the Year in Brian Daboll and Darren Waller will make his debut for the Giants. It’s always a physical football game when these two meet up. I expect nothing different here in week one.
– Empire: The Buffalo Bills have been the best football team in New York the last few seasons. They’ve won the AFC East for the last three seasons and are the favorites to win the division once again. The New York Jets were in the playoff hunt for most of last season. Everything was there for them. A stingy defense that won games for them, a strong running game before Breece Hall was injured, the reigning Offensive and Defensive rookies of the year in Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner. All they needed was a Quarterback. East Rutherford, I introduce to you Aaron Rodgers. For the first time in his career, Aaron will be wearing the uniform of another team. He will make his debut with the Jets on a Monday night against Josh Allen and those Bills from upstate New York.
– Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood: I’ve always stated that Aaron Rodgers owned the Chicago Bears back to his days with the Green Bay Packers. Throughout his legendary career, he’s also been strong against the Dallas Cowboys. Aaron will make his road debut for the Jets against Dak and the Cowboys. This will also be a reunion game as Aaron will face his former Head Coach in Mike McCarthy. I see the football flying around in this game. Think of some of the star power here as well. Rodgers, Dak, CeeDee Lamb, Sauce, Garrett, Breece Hall and Stephon Gilmore, who knows a thing or two about facing AFC East teams in his career.
–Rewind: The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams was a Super Bowl a few years back that nobody saw coming. The Bengals got hot when it mattered most and beat the top two teams in the AFC playoffs to get to the Super Bowl, while the Rams became just the second team to play in a Super Bowl in their own stadium and win it joining the Buccaneers who first did it in 2020-21. For the first time since then, these two will meet and face one another in a Super Bowl rematch. The Bengals have won the AFC North two years in a row and were a game away from reaching the Super Bowl once again. How will the Rams bounce back from a down season in 2022?
–Finally?: For years, we have been waiting for Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes to play one another. As I always say, these Quarterback battles are so far and few these days, so whenever we can get one, we take full advantage of it. When the two Quarterbacks were supposed to meet the first time, Mahomes was hurt. There was the possibility of them meeting in the Super Bowl, but one man didn’t hold up his end of the bargain. They were supposed to meet in 2021, but Rodgers tested positive for Covid-19. Here’s to hoping we’ll see this matchup between two MVP Quarterbacks. This will be the first meeting between the two and this will also be the Jets’ first Sunday night game since the 2011 season.
–Old School: The Cowboys have been sent home by the San Francisco 49ers the last two seasons in the playoffs. I love this old school rivalry and if you watched that playoff game last season, that was as close to 90s football as it could possibly be. These iconic franchises will do battle for the first time since the divisional round of the playoffs at Levi. I expect another close and hard-hitting football game between the two. The Cowboys will come into this game with a chip on their shoulder, especially since they’ve been sent on vacation because of the Niners. Who will be the starting Quarterback for Kyle Shanahan in this one? Only time will tell.
–Tide!: Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa will forever be linked to one another. When Jalen struggled in the National Title game a few years back for Alabama, Nick Saban pulled him and put Tua in the game and he leads them to a thrilling title game victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. That same year, Tua got hurt in the SEC title game and Jalen filled in for him to finish out a close conference title game. For the first time since both Quarterbacks were drafted into the NFL, the two former Bama Quarterbacks will face each other as professionals. This is another game I could see the football flying all over the field. Tyreek Hill facing that Philly secondary and the tandem of Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey against DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown.
–Tears: January 2nd, 2023, is a day many across the football community will never forget. That was the day of a much-anticipated showdown in the AFC between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately, Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest. The game ended up being canceled. 19 days later, the two teams met up for the first time since that emotional night in Cincinnati. This season, Buffalo and Cincinnati will do battle again in Ohio for the first time since the scare to Damar. I already envision an emotional scene just as I did when they met in the playoffs back in January. The Bills will be looking for revenge in this game.
–Once Again: Last season ended with a thrilling Super Bowl. The Chiefs and Eagles were the two best teams in the league, and it came down to a few plays. This was also the first ever Super Bowl between two African American Quarterbacks. Months later, the Eagles and Chiefs are set to do battle in a Super Bowl rematch on a Monday night at Arrowhead. If this battle is anything that we saw in the Super Bowl, we should be in for another treat. This will be just the second-ever meeting between Mahomes and Hurts.
–A First!: Thanksgiving and football just go hand in hand with each other, right? How about Black Friday and the NFL? You see where I’m going with this? For the first time ever, a regular-season NFL game will be played on Black Friday! The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets will face one another in what could be a big game in the AFC playoff picture. I could see this becoming normal if the fans respond well to this. The Jets will be in the spotlight a bit more this year. Isn’t it something how one player can just come in and change everything?
–EastSide: We are experiencing a new wave of Quarterbacks in this league now. Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts are a part of that new chapter that I mentioned. The Buffalo Bills will travel to South Philadelphia for a showdown with the defending NFC Champs in a battle between two of the five best Quarterbacks in our league. I look at this matchup and the star power at Wide Receiver stands out with Stefon Diggs, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. Do you see a shootout happening here? Because I can see one taking place. Is this also a potential Super Bowl preview?
–Run It Back: All last season, I kept saying if there was one team that could challenge the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC, it’s the San Francisco 49ers because their style of football travels. They can run the ball; play downhill football and they have one of the best defenses in the league. They did end up meeting in the NFC Title Game and the Eagles just had their way with a San Francisco team who ended up being decimated by the injury bug. The Eagles dominated them to advance to the Super Bowl and they will face off once again for the first time since. Deebo Samuel said himself that he hates the Eagles. Talk about being bitter, but do you blame him?
–The Sixth Sense: Remember all those years ago when I said the NFL blessed us with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning every single year? I’m getting that same vibe with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. Since 2020, we’ve seen these two elite passers face off, including an AFC title game and a very memorable divisional round playoff game in 2022. This year, we get Buffalo and Kansas City once again and I have a feeling this will have a huge impact on the AFC playoff picture at the time. In their last two regular season meetings, Josh defeated Patrick, but Patrick has beat Josh each time they’ve met in the playoffs. It’s always a close game when these two meet and I see the same thing once again.
–Another Again: I still remember the first game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals. This was the game when Ja’Marr Chase made the Chiefs secondary look silly as he hung 266 yards en route to a victory over the Chiefs. Since then, they’ve played a total of four times, including the last two AFC Championship games. The NFL is blessing us with another showdown between Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, the two best Quarterbacks in the league. I don’t think this will be the only time they play. Don’t be surprised if homefield advantage, the MVP race and playoff seeding are all on the line here in this one. Each game between these two has been close and I expect nothing less in this one.
