3 must-see games on NFL's opening weekend
We've made it 30 Sundays without meaningful NFL football. Now it's time to indulge in a full course of games.
The league made sure to front-load the 2017 schedule with compelling matchups, after having to deal with sagging ratings at the outset of the 2016 season. As a result, there are three particularly juicy must-see games in Week 1.
Seahawks at Packers, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
Seattle and Green Bay enter 2017 as favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LII. As such, Sunday's game could very well be an NFC Championship Game preview.
It's always fun when these two get together, highlighted by their memorable overtime conference title game in 2014. However, since that crushing loss, the Packers have won the last two meetings between the two. Both of those games were played at Lambeau Field, as Sunday's game will be.
Need a secondary storyline? How about Packers tight end Martellus Bennett against his older brother, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett.
Raiders at Titans, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Points will be scored in this one. Raiders-Titans features a matchup between two of the league's most entertaining offenses and they'll be lined up against defenses with plenty of questions that need to be answered.
It will also be the first regular-season game for two quarterbacks who suffered broken legs at the end of last season. Both Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr had promising years cut agonizingly short. How will they look in their return from injury?
And how will Marshawn Lynch look after a year away from football?
Speaking of retirement, recently retired quarterback Tony Romo will be calling the game for CBS.
Giants at Cowboys, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC
Where to start?
Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott was granted a temporary restraining order from a six-game suspension Friday, paving the way for him to play the entire 2017 season. Sunday's game against the rival Giants provides the first true glimpse of Elliott on the field since Dallas was eliminated in the divisional round of last year's playoffs.
The NFC East again figures to be a two-horse race between the Giants and Cowboys. While Dallas took the division crown last season, New York won both head-to-head matchups.
The Cowboys will have their full complement of stars Sunday, will the Giants? Odell Beckham Jr. hopes to play despite suffering an ankle injury in the second week of the preseason.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)