The 2024 NFL season begins Thursday and there is no shortage of narratives to satiate the biggest of fans.
A new campaign means a clean slate for every team, with the opportunities that come with it. However, the cream will quickly rise to the top as it always does, and Week 1 should provide a glimpse of how things will unfold for all 32 teams in the league.
It all begins with a spectacular opening game on Thursday night as the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens meet in a rematch of last season's AFC Championship.
In no particular order, here are the five things to look out for this weekend.
1. Anthony Richardson's return
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The Indianapolis Colts quarterback hit the ground running, literally and figuratively, last season. Richardson looked to be the locked-in favourite for the NFL Rookie of the Year Award in the first few weeks of the 2023 campaign as he scored a rushing touchdown in each of his first three starts (a rookie record) and generally caused havoc for opposing defenses with his high-octane style.
That all came to a screeching halt when he was injured in Week 5 and missed the remainder of the season recovering from shoulder surgery.
All healed up now, the big question mark is whether Richardson can recapture the magic from the first few weeks of the 2023 season and continue to polish his game from the raw bundle of energy he was in his rookie year into something more.
2. The new era in New England
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Not much is expected of the New England Patriots this season, but they'll continue to draw attention as the most successful NFL franchise of the 21st century.
A big reason for that success is former head coach Bill Belichick, who is no longer with the organization after the team's worst season in three decades. Stepping in to replace him is former Pats player Jerod Mayo, who served as inside linebackers coach under Belichick for the past five seasons.
It remains to be seen how much longer the Patriots will be considered one of the league's flagship teams, but for now they will still command the kind of scrutiny that can undo a rookie coach.
Will Mayo be able to stand the pressure? A good showing in Week 1 will buy a lot of leeway.
3. Will the Ravens actually carry the ball against the Chiefs?
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The Baltimore Ravens boasted the top rushing offense in the league in 2023 and they just added Derrick Henry. Logic dictates that they will run the ball as much as possible in order to keep Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce off the field for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Of course, that logic did not prevail in the most recent AFC Championship Game, when the Ravens inexplicably decided to abandon their rushing superiority and asked Lamar Jackson to get into a shootout with Mahomes instead.
Obviously that strategy did not work out, and with even more firepower at their disposal the Ravens wouldn't ignore their running backs again in the season opener. Would they?
4. Can the Eagles contain Jordan Love?
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The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles will contest the first-ever NFL game to be played in Brazil on Friday, and the Packers will be looking to Jordan Love to continue his red-hot form from the back half of last season into the new campaign.
Love earned his massive contract extension by racking up 4,159 passing yards in 2023 — good for seventh in the league. Combine that with an Eagles defense that was second-worst in the NFL last season for passing yards allowed and it could add up to a long night in São Paulo for Nick Sirianni's men.
5. The Caleb Williams Show begins
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Most No. 1 overall picks are expected to lose in Week 1, but Caleb Williams is not like most other picks.
Arguably the most hyped rookie in recent memory, Williams will look to reverse the current trend of quarterbacks who were taken first overall going 0-14-1 in their NFL debuts since 2003.
The 22-year-old has the good fortune of not being drafted by an awful team, as the Chicago Bears earned the No. 1 spot in the 2024 draft from a trade with the woeful Carolina Panthers. That means Williams will benefit from some real quality around him right off the bat, and the Bears will aim to make some noise with their star rookie leading the charge.
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