NFL Begins Thursday Night in Green Bay

The NFL begins its new season Thursday night. The first game will be New Orleans at Green Bay, matching the last two Super Bowl winners at Lambeau Field. It's certainly got the makings of a great game, and that's why it will receive national attention on NBC. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. EDT and nonfootball fans are probably going to be frustrated with how it alters television viewing that night.

In the rest of the schedule for Week 1, there will be 13 games on Sept. 11 and two on Sept. 12. There some interesting games that should set the bar for divisional play, likely giving some teams a great chance to jump out in front of the division. Sunday starts with games like Cincinnati at Cleveland, Indianapolis at Houston and Atlanta at Chicago. The most competitive of the early games has to be Pittsburgh at Baltimore because this is a grudge match to decide which team holds first place in the AFC North to begin the year.

Later in the afternoon, the New York Giants will play at Washington, Minnesota plays at San Diego and Carolina plays at Arizona. Then on Sunday night, NBC will air the Dallas at the New York Jets. The winner will accrue some early-season bragging rights, and the losing team will be showcased on every NFL talk show as an underperforming team that has already disappointed this year.

There are two Monday night games, and both could be intriguing. The first game is at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN and pits the New England Patriots against the Miami Dolphins. It's an intriguing divisional matchup, and because the game is in Miami it gives the Dolphins a good chance at winning. It's also much more exciting than the nightcap game of Oakland at Denver. The Raiders and Broncos might have a lot of struggles in the season, so this is a game that is intended to appease fans rather than typical Monday night football viewers.

It's great that lockout talk is over, the preseason is coming to an end, and that the regular season NFL schedule is about to begin. Now everyone finds out which teams improved the most this offseason.