NFL Week 1 early games open thread

It’s Week 1, baby, and while the Detroit Lions aren’t playing on opening Sunday, that doesn’t mean you can’t get your fix of NFL football. Football Sundays are my favorite days of the year, regardless of whether the Lions are playing, and sometimes, it’s actually more enjoyable with the Lions off-schedule.

This week’s early games are full of some interesting matchups that should certainly garner the Lions’ attention. First and foremost, NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings are taking on the San Francisco 49ers in an early game. That game has double the intrigue not just for scouting a division rival, but the Lions are heading to San Francisco next week for a date with the Niners. Is the Jimmy Garoppolo hype for real? An early test against a serious Vikings defense should be a nice measuring stick for one of the highest paid—yet unproven—quarterbacks in the league.

Elsewhere the old, dependable Patriots face off against the new-and-exciting Texans, Andrew Luck will reportedly throw a football, and the 0-16 Browns open up with a divisional rival: the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here’s your full slate of 1 p.m. games:

Steelers at Browns - CBS
Bengals at Colts - CBS
Titans at Dolphins - FOX
49ers at Vikings - FOX
Texans at Patriots - CBS
Buccaneers at Saints - FOX
Jaguars at Giants - FOX
Bills at Ravens - CBS

To see which games are available in your area, check out this distribution map.

What game will you be watching to kick off the first NFL Sunday of the 2018 season?