When is the first NFL game? Details to know about Week 1 football
The long dark is over. The new NFL season, its 104th if you're counting, kicks off Thursday night with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the trendy darkhorse Detroit Lions in one of the biggest games of the week.
Here's is what you need to know for Week 1.
More: Who is playing in NFL Week 1? Here's the complete schedule for Sept. 7-11 games
Where are the Cowboys?
Dallas opens at the New York Giants in the Sunday night game. The 6:20 p.m. Mountain time kick will be televised on NBC.
That's a problem for DirecTV viewers in El Paso, as they are in a dispute with the local affiliate's (KTSM) parent company Nexstar that has NBC pulled from DirecTV. DirecTV viewers wanting to watch can flip off the satellite, hook up bunny-ear antennas and watch free over the air, or head to a sports bar who will have that figured out.
How is Dallas supposed to do?
The Cowboys are favored by 3.5 points in a battle between teams that made the playoffs last season. As for how they look, that's a mystery as their best players sat out the preseason games. Coach Mike McCarthy is taking over play-calling duties, though he handed that off to quarterback Dak Prescott for the final preseason game against the Raiders.
The general consensus is that Dallas is as talented as anyone in the league but has some recent history to overcome to contend for a Super Bowl. The Cowboys are supposed to be a run-heavy team with Tony Pollard, but there is also a consensus that that may be overstated.
As for the Giants, they are an up-and-coming team coming off a playoff year with an elite running back in Saquon Barkley and a solid quarterback in Daniel Jones.
What are the other games to watch this week?
As always, the Monday Night opener is a big game, in this case the Buffalo Bills at the New York Jets in Aaron Rogers' Jets debut. This game is on ESPN at 6:15 p.m. Mountain Time, and that too is a problem because El Paso's primary cable carrier, Spectrum, is in a dispute with the entire ESPN set of networks.
The good news is that the Manning cast will be streamed on ESPN+, so at least the game will be consumable from the couch in some way for Spectrum viewers.
Other marquee games include the San Francisco 49ers traveling to the Pittsburgh Steelers (11 a.m. Mountain on FOX) and Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots (2:25 p.m. as CBS's game of the week).
And of course the Thursday opener with a pair of teams expected to make the playoffs.
Who do I take in my loser/winner pool?
The biggest favorite of the week is the Baltimore Ravens hosting the Houston Texans. They are pegged to win by 10, the only double-digit favorite of the week.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What to know in Week 1 of the NFL season: Cowboys open with Giants
