One game is in the books in the 2013 NFL season, but the action will really get going with 13 more games on opening weekend followed by a Monday Night Football double-header.
Each Friday, sportsnet.ca looks at the top five matchups to watch on the “weekend” — here’s our first installment for Week 1.
1. The Eagles and Redskins in Washington D.C.
What better way to kick off another season of Monday Night Football than a battle between Robert Griffin III and Michael Vick? Redskins fans have been waiting for this day ever since RG3 hobbled off the field with a serious knee injury in their playoff loss to the Seahawks. While hard-bitten Eagles fans are excited about the possibilities of what Vick can do in Chip Kelly’s offence, there is concern surrounding their defence. To stop the Redskins you have to stop RG3 AND Alfred Morris. The Redskins ran the ball better than any other team in the NFL last year and they are more than capable of making the Eagles 23rd-ranked run defence look silly.
Nobody doubts that the Eagles will be able to move the ball and score their share of points. What is greatly in doubt is whether or not the Eagles can stop the Redskins offence. In their two meetings last year, both won by the Redskins, RG3 threw six touchdowns, one interception and ran for 88 yards. When Mike Shanahan spoke to the media Wednesday he shot down any speculation that RG3 would be rusty after not playing since January.
“He’s been practising for the last few weeks at game-type speed. He’s had more reps in this 2013 training camp than he did from the year before. He’s had about 50 more passes. So he’s ready to go.”
2. The Falcons and the Saints in New Orleans
One of these two teams will lay claim to the NFC South title at the end of the year. Unlike last season the Saints will have their head coach, Sean Payton, back where he belongs, on the sideline calling plays for Drew Brees. This matchup will be a good measuring stick for Rob Ryan and the rebuilt Saints defence. Not only do the Saints have to contain Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ aerial attack, they also have to stop Steven Jackson and Atlanta’s running game. With linebacker Jonathan Vilma out of the lineup with a knee injury the Saints challenge of stopping the Falcons just got tougher. The Saints were ranked dead last in team defence last year. It won’t really matter what Brees does on Sunday if the Saints defence can’t stop anyone.
Having said that, one of the Saints’ seven wins last year came at the expense of the Falcons and since the 2010 season the Saints have a 4-2 record against their division rivals. Prior to last year’s tumultuous season the Saints proved to be nearly unbeatable at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome and were a perfect 8-0 at home in 2011. Needless to say, dealing with the deafening crowd noise that the Superdome has become famous for will be a major challenge for Ryan and the Falcons.
3. The Bengals and the Bears in Chicago
The Bears are facing a damn tough opponent for the first game of the Marc Trestman era in Chicago. Led by the outstanding Geno Atkins the Bengals defence will test the Bears much-maligned offensive line early and often. If they can find a way to give Jay Cutler time to execute Trestman’s offence, then this game has the makings of being a true Slobberknocker (Thank you Jim Ross) of a game.
This game will also be a test for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Led by Charles Tillman, the Bears defence led the NFC with 44 takeaways (interceptions and fumbles) last year. Trestman’s greatest challenge all year will be getting the most out of Cutler. When Cutler is on he can look like one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
But when he is off his game, he looks brutal. Trestman has to call a game that keeps the Bengals’ excellent defence off-balance and puts Cutler in the best position to succeed. Marvin Lewis and the Bengals begin the season on a quest for their third straight trip to the playoffs. A lot of people, including myself, feel the Bengals are the team to beat the AFC North. A win on the road in Chicago would go a long way to convincing any doubters that the Bengals are for real.
4. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton vs. Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner.
In Week Five last season, Wagner, then a rookie, played a magnificent game against Newton. Wagner ended up with three tackles and one and a half sacks as the Seahawks beat the Panthers 16-12. As Newton goes, so go the Panthers. That means the Seahawks will need another stellar effort from Wagner to contain Newton and slow down the Panthers offence. If Wagner can keep Newton hemmed in the pocket and then deny him from using his legs, then the Seahawks will be able to shut-down the Panthers offence.
Because the Seahawks have such an excellent secondary, throwing shorter passes would be a smarter game plan for the Panthers. According to ProFootballFocus.com Newton completed 72.7 per cent of his passes (56 of 77) less than 10 yards in the middle of the field. So not only does Wagner have to make tackles all over the field and put pressure on Newton, he also has to be disciplined in his pass coverage.
5. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy vs. 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Every head coach prides himself on the amount of time he spends planning for a game. But something tells me that Packers coach Mike McCarthy didn’t sleep much this week as he got his team ready to face the 49ers for the first time since their crushing loss in the playoffs. Green Bay’s defence got exposed time and time again by Colin Kaepernick in that game and you can be sure McCarthy and his staff are doing everything possible to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Harbaugh is aware of that and is sure to come up with some different wrinkles on offence to try to confuse the Packers.
One of the ways the Packers can keep Kaepernick from hurting them is keeping him off the field. With the addition of rookie running back Eddie Lacy, the Packers are no longer a pass-happy one-dimensional team. If the Packers can run the ball effectively they can control the clock better and keep the 49ers offence stuck on the sideline. That also means extra preparation for the 49ers defence as they have to come up with a game plan to deal with both Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ prized rookie out of Alabama. Harbaugh and his coaching staff came up with a brilliant game plan to defeat the Packers in the playoffs last year. You can be sure he will have his team equally prepared for their much-anticipated showdown at Candlestick Park.