NFL Kickoff Week: Which are the most (and least) intriguing games of Week 1?

Welcome to the Yardbarker NFL Roundtable, a place where our most fervent football contributors can kick back, relax and look at the fun (and sometimes not-so-fun) parts of the biggest league in America, the massive behemoth that is the National Football League. Don't forget to check out Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V and Part VI.

The NFL kickoff is finally here! Everyone’s favorite, Thursday Night Football! The mighty Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton take on the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos and… Trevor Siemian? [F/X sounds of party horns going flat and a lone trombone waaahhh.]

Let’s face it, Week 1 is rough. We don’t have Tom Brady. We don’t have Le’Veon Bell. Tony Romo is out with an injury sooner than usual. We’re going to see Peyton Manning in every other commercial instead of on the field. It’s tough to get excited about Cleveland-Philadelphia even in the middle of the season. This doesn’t mean we aren’t happy football is back, though, because we all have just a little bit of a homer in us all.

So we asked our panelists:

Game you’re looking forward to the most in Week 1 and the least intriguing game on the schedule?

Daniel Tran: If you want to watch a game with more playmakers than disgraced ESPN show "Playmakers," Sunday's matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers has plenty of firepower. Blake Bortles has a three-pack of receivers to throw to, and Aaron Rodgers has Jordy Nelson back to complement Randall Cobb and Eddie Lacy.

If you want to avoid mediocre-at-best football, shut down your TV before the Week 1 finale on Monday night between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers will stack eight in the box to battle Todd Gurley to a draw, and Blaine Gabbert will help you yawn your way into Week 2.

Sam Greszes: I'm really looking forward to Raiders-Saints. There's a lot of intrigue surrounding the Raiders this season, and their Week 1 matchup with the Saints should shine a light on whether or not the team can live up to the hype. I mean, the defense is legitimately scary this year, and Amari Cooper moves like he's in a video game. If Derek Carr has improved this offseason, the Raiders will be a great team to watch.

The least interesting game on the schedule for Week 1 is Bears-Texans. Personally, I don't want to watch J.J. Watt storm through an offensive line made of yellow traffic cones and sack Jay Cutler 17 times, but that's just me

Joe Boland: Well, since I'm going and since I'm allowed to be a homer, I'm going to say the Browns at the Eagles. The main reason is obvious — the quarterbacks. We get to see the first stage of RG3's reclamation project vs. the No. 2 overall pick, who up until the Labor Day weekend bombshell was thought to be riding the pine for most of — if not all — of the season. That's intriguing enough. Now throw in two new head coaches, with Hue Jackson in Cleveland and Doug Pederson in Philadelphia, and we get to see entire new eras of both franchises.
In the grand scheme of things, this game won't mean much, but it's all so fresh and new in so many ways that'll it be exciting.

The same cannot be said for the second Monday night game of the year. "Hard Knocks" proved that the Rams are the most boring team in the NFL. The most exciting thing about them this season, minus Todd Gurley, will be watching Jeff Fisher chase the all-time coaching losses record. As for the 49ers, they do embark on the Chip Kelly experience, but the team is so bad no one is even pretending to talk about on-field play. It's all Colin Kaepernick all the time.

Mike Tunison: Patriots-Cardinals, because it's between two Super Bowl favorites and I want to see how Jimmy Garoppolo fares in his first career start against a decent defense.

Chargers-Chiefs only intrigues me if the Chargers win, which they most likely will not.

Demetrius Bell: The team of people and machines who are in charge of creating the NFL's schedule is pretty clever. Not only did these folks give us a Super Bowl "rematch" to kick off the season, but they gave us what will probably end up being a better game anyway — a matchup of the two bridesmaids from last year's championship games.

The Cardinals figure to still be pretty good (despite getting absolutely demolished in Charlotte last January), and everybody will want to see just how the Patriots look now that Tom Brady is finally going to do his time for Deflategate. It's as good of a litmus test as you'll get in Week 1 for two teams who have extremely high hopes heading into the season.

Vincent Frank: If they weren't taking on the lowly San Francisco 49ers, the Los Angeles Rams returning to football in Southern California would be the game this week. Then again, the NFL decided against allowing Los Angeles to host its first game since returning to the city after a 20-year hiatus. That makes no sense.

Instead, let's go with the Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints. This game should tell us a lot about where the former is at as it relates to a potential playoff appearance. And in reality, Derek Carr should have a field day against the league's worst defense. On the other hand, one has to expect Drew Brees and Co. to put up points against the Raiders. At the very least, this could be the most entertaining game on the Week 1 docket.

On the other hand, this one scribe really isn't liking the idea of the season opening up with a rematch of what was a pretty dull Super Bowl. Why not give us something new? There just doesn't seem to be much intrigue in watching Trevor Siemian toss the rock around the field to open up a season.

Shiloh Carder: As a Redskins fan, I'm obviously looking forward to the Monday Night opener against the Steelers. Pittsburgh has Super Bowl aspirations and will be a tough test at home. No one saw the Redskins winning the NFC East last season, and it will be a long road to get back to the postseason with a tricky schedule. Is Kirk Cousins really the franchise QB? I mean, the last time Washington felt that way was after the last NFC East title, and that guy is now in Cleveland.

Speaking of Cleveland, as for weak game, can it get any get weaker than Browns vs. Eagles? Cleveland has been a mess for nearly 20 years now, and the Eagles essentially threw in the towel on this season with the Sam Bradford trade. Nothing is expected from either team so whomever wins in Week 1 should celebrate like they reached the Super Bowl.  

Jamie Neal: Looking forward to most? Arizona Cardinals vs. New England Patriots. I want to see what Bill Belichick and the Pats are able to do with a full off season of game planning against one of the league’s better defenses and teams in general. The Pats have known Brady is going to be out for a while now, so what does Jimmy Garoppolo have in the tank? What is he capable of? What will "The Hoodie" ask him to do? And will Arizona have an answer for all the things the best coach in the history of the NFL has in store for it? Can Bruce Arians throw counter punches to Belichick and keep his team in it?

And looking forward to the least, San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams. This is going to be a snooze fest. Blaine Gabbert vs. Case Keenum!! Wow, NFL!! You sure know how to pick 'em!

As a lifelong 49ers fan, I hope San Francisco is able to beat up on Los Angeles, but to be honest, I'll be watching with no anticipation of anything amazing happening. That said, I went into Week 1 last year thinking the same thing, and Carlos Hyde put on a show with a dirty spin move and Jim Tomsula started the roughest 49ers season in about a decade with a W.

David Matthews: Panthers-Broncos will probably be tight as hell, but I've got to lean toward Carrie Underwood and pick Cardinals-Patriots. I love watching the Patriots lose, and I think that Jimmy Garoppolo is overwhelmed. It's not a matter of when Tyrann Mathieu runs something back for six, it's how many times he does it.

Phillip Barnett: Week 1 is kind of boring all the way around. The Super Bowl rematch will be without Peyton Manning, Cowboys vs. Giants will be without Tony Romo and Patriots vs. Cardinals will be without Tom Brady. All of the marquee games we expected when the NFL schedule was released have lost a bit of luster.

Instead, I'll be watching Week 1 for the jokes, and no game has the most potential for hilarity than Browns vs. Eagles. Both teams ranked in the bottom five in total defense last season and feature "interesting" quarterback situations. Carson Wentz vs. Robert Griffin III is the only must-see matchup for me for the opening weekend.