On May 15th, over the course of a day, the NFL strategically unveiled its 2024 season schedule. First, fans were treated to the delicious Primetime games, which, even four months before opening day kickoff, appeared as enticing as ever. 

However, what truly excites me is the Week 1 slate. It's the schedule makers' only chance to deliver 16 matchups knowing everything there is to know going into a game, where football is yet to do the talking. 

From marquee rivalries reigniting to intriguing showdowns between the league's rising stars, 2024’s Week 1 schedule promises a thrilling start to the next football season. In this article, I will offer some guttural reactions, comments, concerns, questions, and maybe even a prediction for the second half of the NFL's Week 1 slate. Without further ado…

1pm: Cardinals vs Bills

Around this time last year, everyone and their nan projected the Arizona Cardinals to be the worst team in the league in 2023. It was a foregone conclusion that new Head Coach Jonathan Gannon would move on from Achilles-recovering quarterback Kyler Murray and execute a tank job. Many thought the Cardinals would hold Murray out the entire year to secure the presumed top college signal-caller, Caleb Williams.

The same people were shocked when Murray returned to the lineup in a Week 10 win vs the Falcons, finishing the year 3-4 and without reaggravation. At this point in the season, Gannon’s uniquely devised offensive and defensive schemes were fully in place, allowing for the Cardinals to remain competitive against the objectively more talented Rams, Texans, and 49ers while beating the Eagles. 

Despite never exploding in the box score during this promising stretch, the eye test convinced me Kyler and the Cardinals could be a dark horse playoff contender this upcoming season.

The Buffalo Bills will be doing everything in their power to avoid a repeat of their 2023 opening-day result; a primetime loss to a reeling Rodgerless Jets. For some reason, the media isn’t lambasting the Bills for replacing Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis with Curtis Samuel and Keon Coleman, but I will. Pound for pound is this pass-catching group really better than the New England Patriots, who are consistently ranked as the lowest in the league?

While Josh Allen's hero ball style of play is incredibly effective for fantasy football owners, I believe the Bills will struggle to win nine games in a loaded AFC without a more balanced offense. I anticipate the Bills struggle on offense early this season, scoring less than 22 points against the Cardinals.

1pm: Vikings vs Giants

The fact that these teams met in the playoffs just two seasons ago baffles me. When Brian Daboll and Kevin O'Connell cross paths again in Week 1, they’ll do so with vastly different rosters.

Quarterback Daniel Jones is a cat in his ninth life. Fortunately for him, I’m convinced an offense structured around rookie LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers is exactly what Jones needs to extend his tenure as the Giants franchise quarterback.

Nabers isn’t talked about nearly enough considering the pedigree of WRs drafted 6th overall (Julio Jones, Jaylen Waddle, Malik Nabers). Regardless, I back LSU’s next NFL star to break the Giant's five-year drought without an 800-yard pass catcher. Nabers has 1200-yard potential in his rookie season.

Elsewhere on the offense, the departure of Saquon Barkley and the retirement of tight end Darren Waller means Jalin Hyatt and/or Wan’Dale Robinson need to turn their erratic flashes of talent into consistent production.

The Vikings equally enter a pivotal stretch for their franchise. It's more likely than not we'll see 10th overall pick quarterback JJ McCarthy sometime this year, but barring extreme circumstances, this should be Sam Darnolds' team in Week 1. The former second overall pick accepted a backup role in San Francisco last year, aiming to learn and eventually secure a starting position. His plan succeeded, and now Darnold finds himself surrounded by more talent than ever.

Justin Jefferson, the Vikings' offensive standout, will be without longtime partner Kirk Cousins for the first time in his career. In his only six non-Cousin games, Jefferson has averaged 6.3 catches and 93.3 yards.

Darnold has never thrown to a receiver even half as good as Jefferson, so I expect Jefferson to be targeted early and often. In Week 1, I think this could look something like 8+ catches for 165+ yards and a score for Jefferson.

4:05pm: Raiders vs Chargers

Every year, a handful of NFL front offices dismiss their head coach before the season is even yet to conclude. The Raiders and the Chargers were two of those teams in 2023, appointing interim bosses Antonio Pierce and Giff Smith amidst their respective torrid seasons. While Giff struggled to keep his Chargers competitive, Pierce inspired the Raiders to a strong finish, ultimately convincing management to upgrade his title from interim to head coach.

Offseason defensive addition defensive tackle Christian Wilkins should terrorize O-lines alongside all-pro Max Crosby and rising star Robert Spillane. Keep an eye out for 2023 top-ten pick edge Tyree Wilson, who is disappointed in his injured-plagued rookie year. Once fully healthy, the 6'6 2023 7th overall pick has the range and explosiveness to burst onto the scene on a top-heavy Raiders defense.

On the other side of the ball, the team has more questions than answers. For starters, who’ll be quarterbacking this team? Nobody thought incumbent ‘starter’ Aiden O’Connell would get another chance to play, but I think he might be the better option over free-agent addition journeyman Gardner Minshew. Regardless, odds are both guys will quarterback this fascinating offense at some point next season. Zamir White is better than you think, Davante Adams isn’t going anywhere, and Brock Bowers will give this unit a new dimension.

Expectations shouldn’t be high for the Chargers in Jim Harbaugh's long-awaited return to the league. Think of the 2023 Broncos under Sean Payton; a struggling team secures a franchise-altering coach, who uses the first season to weed out those who won’t buy into their philosophy. This team is being built in the trenches, which doesn't translate to wins in year one.

Even with the mighty Justin Herbert, I expect the Raiders to overpower the Chargers in Week 1, in large part due to a strong 2-touchdown showing from Zamir White.

4:25pm: Broncos vs Seahawks

It's the Drew Lock Bowl, but wait, he doesn’t play for either of these teams? No one believed a Sean Payton and Russell Wilson marriage would work, and sure enough, the team goes into training camp a year later with a new starter at their most important position.

12th overall pick Bo Nix tops the depth chart, followed by returning quarterback Jarrett Stidham and former Jet Zach Wilson. Whoever’s throwing the ball will be doing so to arguably the league's lightest pass-catching group, led by Josh Reynolds and Courtland Sutton.

Any chance this room has at exciting rests in the hands of youthful burners Marvin Mimms Jr. and rookie Troy Franklin. The latter, a teammate of Nix at Oregon, was frequently mocked in the first round merely a week before the draft, yet somehow fell to the 4th round.

The Seahawks went from the oldest coach in the league to the youngest this offseason, replacing franchise legend Pete Carroll with former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. Exciting EDGE rookie Bryon Murphy III should benefit from Macdonald’s coaching, not to mention the youthful cornerback duo of Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen. The team's uncertainty lies more in the offense.

How will year three of the Geno Smith experience look without Dave Canales? Will Jaxon Smith-Njigba justify his status as the first wide receiver selected only a year ago? Jordan Addison, Josh Downs, Rashee Rice, and even Dontavyion Wicks showed more promise in their rookie years.

4:25pm: Cowboys vs Browns

In 2023, the Cowboys' defense performed exceptionally well on the surface, ranking fifth in both fewest points allowed per game and passing yards per game. A closer examination, however, reveals the unit preyed on weaker opposition, playing small when the lights were brightest. This culminated in a devastating blowout loss to the Packers in the Wildcard round, where they allowed a whopping seven touchdown drives.

This offseason, general manager and owner Woody Johnson made no significant additions on offense despite claiming to go ‘all in’. The vicious unit largely underwhelmed last season behind CD Lamb; is a reunion with 28-year-old Zeke Elliot enough to spark the offense?

Dak Prescott's abilities continue to be overlooked, and with a new deal on the horizon, I’m starting to think he will sign it for a team outside of Dallas.

With reports suggesting certain Cowboys personnel want to see star Micah Parsons out the door, Cowboys fans will be hoping there isn't fire behind the smoke.

On the other side of the ball, the Cleveland Browns are in equal flux. Two years into Deshaun Watson's historic contract (the most guaranteed money EVER at the time), the former Texan has looked like a shell of his pocket-passing mobile self. We’re likely one year away from a highly awkward conversation between the Browns and Watson; the soonest the Browns could move on from Watson without losing tens of millions of dollars is 2026.

One positive, the team was active in acquiring offensive talent this offseason. Jerry Jeudy has a real chip on his shoulder and could revive his career as a Brown. There's some level of uncertainty around Nick Chubb; however, the team did excellently recruit pass-catching specialist Nahime Hines and goal-line battering ram D'Onta Foreman while retaining

 Jerome Ford. Cleveland will likely rely on this heavy-run attack next season. The Browns ran the ball the 4th most in the league last year, yet ranked middle of the pack in rushing yards. I believe a healthier, deeper RB room will be the key for the Browns and particularly Watson to start the season strong. Give me the Browns to convincingly eclipse their 120 rush-yard per-game average from last year.

4:25pm: Commanders vs Buccaneers

While both of these teams won eight games in 2022, the Buccaneers and Commanders completed vastly different trajectories during the following 2023 season.

After taking a chance on former first-overall pick Baker Mayfield, the Buccaneers secured their 4th consecutive playoff berth and their third straight division title. Perhaps Head Coach Todd Bowles doesn't get enough credit for the job he's doing down in Tampa Bay.

Committing to Mayfield for at least another year guarantees a level of stability for this offense, which will retain all of its significant contributors despite genuine fear that both the quarterback and Mike Evans would depart this offseason. When firing, Evans and slot wideout Chris Godwin are as good a pair as any, however, I fear for the passing game should one of them get injured.

For the first time in many years, the Commanders should entertain. Second overall pick Jayden Daniels is surgically accurate with a cheetah-quick ability to escape the pocket, a skillset that will surely wind up NFL defenses. Streaking downfield, Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, rookie Luke McCaffrey, and Dyami Brown will keep secondaries occupied. Between Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler, new Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has the ability to manipulate the tempo of his offense.

Keep an eye out for a Brandon Aiyuk x Commanders trade; Aiyuk and Daniels played college ball together at Arizona State University back in 2019.

Despite both these teams ranking in the bottom half of the league for points last season, I expect this game to be a shootout. Gimme the over on Vegas's early 41.5 points total.

SNF 8:20pm: Rams vs Lions

Not often do teams play back-to-back games against each other, and especially not this far apart.

Unfortunately for NFL defenses, 40-year-old Matthew Stafford is playing in his prime surrounded by a star-studded offense and play caller. In Chris Simms's top 40 QBs for 2024, the former NFL quarterback and current talent evaluator ranked Stafford 5th, above the likes of Herbert, Stroud, Prescott, and Hurts. Turn on the tape and watch for yourself; Stafford's 2023 game resembled that of 2021 Mahomes, deploying an arsenal of slingshot throws and sidearm passes.

Behind Stafford, 23-year-old superstar pair Kyren Williams and Puka Nukua set the league on fire last year and should only get better in their years two and three respectively. Nakua dropped a cool 9 for 180 and a TD in his playoff debut and will be licking his chops facing off against these Lion defensive backs.

I’ll tell you who he won’t be facing: former Lions Cornerback Jeff Okudah, who busted more impressively than anyone before him. Already on his third team in three years after being picked third overall by the Lions in 2020, the team has struggled to find secondary talent since.

The team's second-round pick in 2023, cornerback Brian Branch, showed glimpses of starting potential in his rookie campaign. Joining him in the secondary is the Lion's 2024 first-round pick, Ohio State cornerback Terrion Arnold, and second-round pick, Missouri’s cornerback/safety Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Can you spot the trend?

Fans should be ready for another high-scoring affair between the NFL's most innovative offensive minds. After a full offseason of preparation, I’m backing both offenses to score more points than they did when these teams met in the playoffs back in January (Rams 23-Lions 24).

MNF 8:15pm: Jets vs 49ers

The Jets land the Monday Night Football slot for the second year running, reinforcing the idea the team is its most exciting package before they’ve played a single game. Arguably the two most star-studded, robust rosters in the league, fans are finally privy to the Super Bowl matchup predicted by mentalist Oz Pearlman last offseason on Hard Knocks. A year later, these teams have only added more talent in their bid to challenge for Super Bowl 59.

I watched more wide receiver draft tape than ever this year and came away enthralled by Ricky Pearsall's contortionist act. The former Florida Gator reminded me of Justin Jefferson in how Jefferson can defy all odds to make a catch on the most crucial down of a game. Without a Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk trade, however, I fear there isn’t enough volume for Pearsall in this 49ers offense. The team maintained 7 out of 8 of its 2023 yardage leaders. The one departure: Ray-Ray McCloud III,12 catches for 120 yards.

The Jets are hoping Head Coach Robert Saleh remembers the formula to slow down his former employer. Last season, almost every offense that came into contact with the Jets buzzsaw of a defense got shredded. Most notably, cornerback Sauce Gardner, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, and EDGE Jermaine Johnson made CJ Stroud, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Josh Allen look pedestrian.

On offense, we’re still yet to see Aaron Rodgers complete a pass as a Jet. It should come against the 49ers, the team who passed on Rogers 20 years ago, whom he’s gone 6-3 against in the regular season, and 0-4 in the playoffs.

If the Jets are to succeed in Week 1, I’m betting it comes off the back of a monster Breece Hall game. If he can elude mammoth 49ers acquisition Javon Hargrave when they come face to face in the trenches, I believe Hall will easily eclipse his 94 yards per game in 2023 to the tune of 140 total yards and a score.