Nobody is Talking About This NFL Week 1 Game...

Every year in August, as we get closer and closer to Kickoff Weekend of an upcoming NFL season, you can always feel excitement in the air, and especially when the league gives us such juicy matchups to begin the football season, and this year is no different.

Aaron Rodgers in his Steelers debut, returning to MetLife Stadium to take on his former team, the New York Jets, in the early window? That’s a story in itself. In the afternoon slate, we get an NFC North battle between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers from Lambeau Field in a game that could have division title implications right out of the gate. Then there’s the primetime showdown on Sunday night as last year's top two MVP candidates, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, face off in a playoff rematch where Allen's Bills took down Jackson's Ravens in the Divisional Round of last year's playoffs.

While all of these matchups are worthy of the hype, there is one game that I believe is completely flying under the radar that I think is just so fascinating, and I would not be shocked if it had playoff implications come the end of the year: the Las Vegas Raiders visiting the New England Patriots.

Maybe I’m more invested in this one than most. As a Seahawks fan whose dad is a Patriots fan, I naturally will have my eyes on both of these teams going into the new season. The Raiders have become intriguing to me ever since they brought in two familiar faces from Seattle this off-season by hiring former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll as head coach and trading for Geno Smith to be their new starting quarterback.

While in New England, there are few young players in the NFL I am more bullish on than Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, and I love what they are attempting to build around him after hiring former coach of the year Mike Vrabel.

So aside from my personal interests, you might be asking "why are you so excitied to watch this game? They were both two of the worst teams in the NFL last year". Well, these game has so many layers I don't think enough people are talking about.

For the Raiders, I expect them to be a pain in the behind for opposing teams all year long as they enter a new era under Carroll. Say what you will about how his time in Seattle ended, the man knows how to change a culture quickly. With Geno Smith, I truly believe over the last three years in Seattle he developed himself into at the very least a top-15 quarterback in the NFL. Because of that, I fully expect the Raiders to be competing for a playoff spot into December. Not to mention, we get to see the debut of their new dynamic rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, who is currently the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year after the Raiders drafted Jeanty sixth overall in this past year's draft after he came second in Heisman voting last season while he played at Boise State.

On the other sideline, you have the Patriots, whose fans for the first time in years feel a true sense of hope. After an awful 4-13 season last year where rookie head coach Jerod Mayo ended up being one-and-done, Mike Vrabel is back in Foxborough, this time as head coach, and the fit just feels right. Vrabel takes over a team that definitely needed a culture change or spark after a few years of losing. That spark, in my opinion, comes in the form of second-year quarterback Drake Maye.

Despite almost having nothing to work with in terms of personnel or coaching in his rookie season, Maye impressed me a ton. Maye showed he is the kind of QB who can extend plays with his legs and push the ball downfield. In a way, he kind of reminds me of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who he has similar measurables to. The Patriots made it a goal this off-season to protect Maye by improving the offensive line, and they did that by spending a ton of resources on that unit, including drafting tackle Will Campbell out of LSU. That new-look line going up against a defensive-minded coach like Carroll, who has a star player in Maxx Crosby to work with, should be a good early test.

Not to mention, there are plenty of other storylines or subplots that make this Week 1 game matchup even more fascinating. How about Josh McDaniels making his return to the NFL? After a year and a half away, McDaniels returns to the Patriots as the offensive coordinator—and his first game back is against the very team that fired him as head coach midway through the 2023 season.

Speaking of coaches going up against their former teams, how about Pete Carroll making his return to New England for only the second time since the team fired him in 1999? You also just know Patriots fans will always be thankful for Carroll ever since he decided to pass the ball at the one-yard line instead of running it in the dying seconds of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, which resulted in the Patriots breaking the hearts of Carroll and his Seahawks after Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson to clinch a Patriots championship.

Additionally, you have two teams that have the potential to make a run at a postseason appearance this season. The Patriots have a solid defence that you know Vrabel will get the most out of and a quarterback in Maye who has shown flashes that one day he could be considered one of the best in the NFL.

For the Raiders, Geno Smith has recently played the best football of his career over the last three years, and Pete Carroll brings them credibility. They also have one of the league's most exciting rookie running backs in Jeanty. 

Even though both teams were selecting in the top six of last year's draft and sure do still have their flaws, I just wouldn't be shocked if one of them found a way to make the playoffs as soon as this season.

So while everyone else will be locked in on Rodgers and the Steelers or Jayden Daniels and the Commanders taking on the Giants in a divisional battle, my screen will likely be on this game in the early window. Because I have a feeling that when the Raiders and Patriots kick off, we’re going to get a first glimpse at two teams that are a lot better than people think.