What to watch for the first Sunday of 2018 the NFL season.

The 2018 NFL season kicked off Thursday night as the Phildelphia Eagles were able to escape with a victory at home against the Atlanta Falcons. Sunday there will be 13 matchups taking place and here is to what to watch for on the first Sunday of the 2018 NFL season.

ANDREW LUCK’S RETURN

Andrew Luck is back with the Indianapolis Colts, after missing the entire 2017 season due to a season ending shoulder surgrey. Now after two years, Luck will be back on the field as the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have not made the postseason since Luck took them to the AFC title game back in 2014, the Colts made some changes as they fired head coach Chick Pagano and hired former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich after Josh McDaniels elected to stay in New England. Luck established himself as an elite quarterback as a thtee time pro bowl and lead the league in touchdowns in 2014. Can Luck bring himself back to the elite level after missing two years of playing football, he will have a chance against the Cincinnati Bengals.

ODELL BECKHAM JR VS JALEN RAMSEY

The Giants vs the Jaguars should be an exciting matchup to watch, one of the league’s best wide receiver going up against arguably the league‘s best cornerback. Beckham just received a $95 million extension while Ramsey is been shooting his mouth off on a magazine article. Beckham claims he will not snap at Ramsey but do not be surprised if you see any trash taking or a tussel between the two. Plus no matter who wins or losses, Ramsey is going to give Odell a tough game.

DESHAUN WATSON VS TOM BRADY

The Houston Texans will travel to foxbrough to take on the Patriots, the Texans will have JJ Watt back but they will also have DeShaun Watson back. last season Watson had breakout campaign in which he threw for 1,699 yards for 19 touchdowns in his six out of seven starts in his rookie season before missing the rest due to an ACL injury. Watson returns to face off against one of the all time greats in Tom Brad. Brady entreating his 19th season at 41 as a five time Super Bowl Champion. This will be an exciting game as two generations will collide and I expect Brady to emerge as the victor in this one.

THE BEGINNING OF THE PATRICK MAHOMES ERA IN KANSAS CITY

This past offseason after getting bounced out in the first round of the playoffs by the Tennessee Titan, the Chiefs traded away Alex Smith and going with Patrick Mahomes as the new starting quarterback. Last season on week 17, Mahomes started for the Chiefs against the Broncos in which he completed 22 of his 35 passes for 284 yards. Mahomes played a couple of preseason games, In one game against the Falcons he threw for 138 yards and the very next game against the Chicago Bears he threw for 196 yards. Mahomes has a very sting arm and can throw very far down the field and It will be exciting to watch and see what he does when the Chiefs travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers.

SHAQUEM GRIFFIN FIRST START

The Seattle Seahawks are set to face the Denver Broncos, the two teams faced off once in the Super Bowl when Peyton Manning was the starting quarterback for the Broncos. Now neither teams are super bowl nor playoff contenders, Manning is retired and the legion of boom defense that dominated Denver in the Super Bowl no longer exsist. But why am I curious about this matchup, a guy who is on the Seahawks named Shaquem Griffin. Shaquem was drafted in the fifth round by the Seahawks and is now on the same team and will start alongside his twin brother Shaquill Griffin . Shaquem I believe was a draft steal and should have been drafted in the first round if not second, during his career at the Unversity of central Florida, he had 17 total sacks and 30 tackles for loss and he is that player you should keep you eyes on during the Seahawks/Broncos game.

AARON RODGERS VS KHALIL MACK

By writing this part, I hope Khali Mack is playing Sunday night. The Bears acquired Khalil Mack in a trade a week ago from the Oakland Raiders and handed Mack a $141 million extension and making him the highest paid defensive players NFL history. Three days before, the Greem Bay Packers handed quarterback Aaron Rodgera a $134 million extension, making him the highest paid player in the NFL. Sunday night will be an exciting game as the one of the best defensive player in the NFL goes up against one of the NFL’s top three quarterbacks and the Packers offensive line better be ready be cause Khalil Mack is going to give them a tough night. I see Rodgers and the Packers winning this one but me may see a renew rivalry between the Packers and the Bears