Finally the day has come. The NFL season officially kicks off tonight as the defending Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos host the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football.
The last time these two teams met it was at Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl 50. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 24-10 as Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset, calling it a career after securing his second career Super Bowl victory.
This was a highly anticipated Super Bowl that many expected to be a close affair as both teams had stellar defenses and an explosive offense, but the Panthers fell short.
Now, it’s the perfect rematch to kickoff the season and get NFL fans pumped for Week 1.
This time around the Broncos will be without a cool, calm, and collected Manning. The Mark Sanchez experiment failed, and now it’s Trevor Siemian’s time to lead the Broncos in the very tough AFC West.
While their defense is still in tact and will continue to be one of the most threatening defenses and pass rushes in the league, the offense is a toss up at this point as the rookie has much to learn.
Siemian is the only quarterback with zero career pass attempts to be named starter of a defending Super Bowl team in Week 1. Not only does he have to follow in the footsteps of a future first ballot Hall of Famer, but he has the pressure of leading a defending Super Bowl Championship team with high expectations at a repeat.
He was named starting QB after Week 3 of preseason, so not many know what the kid’s got; here’s his opportunity to come out strong and make a serious statement to not be underestimated.
Again, defensively the Broncos are stacked. Von Miller, Super Bowl 50 MVP, had a great season and is undoubtedly the leader for Denver’s defense. He will look to begin this season just as he ended last; attacking Cam Newton.
Now, Denver will have their hands full with these Panthers. They are a young and hungry team looking for some revenge and redemption following their Super Bowl loss.
The Panthers offense is one of the most explosive in the league with Newton and company. Cam Newton is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and the defending league MVP can both throw downfield and use his legs to gain some yards; a true duel threat.
Defensively, the Panthers will look to get to Denver’s rookie QB early. Although they are now without Josh Norman their defense is still quite good with Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis up front.
Regular season action kicking off with this matchup is so exciting for NFL fans. Carolina looks to make a statement and put the defending champs down to start the season, while the Broncos look to continue dominance over a young Panther team.
Final Score Prediction
Panthers 24 Broncos 17