The 2025/26 National Football League (NFL) regular season kicked off last night, with the Dallas Cowboys visiting the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, and there is a full slate of games on the schedule for this weekend, including the most recent beaten Super Bowl combatant, the Kansas City Chiefs, tackling the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this evening.

There are 15 NFL games to play between now and Monday, for which JustBet offers over 120 betting options for every contest, and every game is laced with plots and subplots. The anticipation is high for the new NFL season, and every team is out to make their very best first impression this weekend. That said, here is a look at a few of the more intriguing storylines this weekend.

The Pittsburgh Steelers open their season on Sunday afternoon, with a very interesting matchup against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, and more subplots than a soap opera. Pittsburgh’s quarterback (QB) Aaron Rodgers, who was the QB for the Jets last season, will square off with New York’s QB Justin Fields, who played the first six games for the Steelers last season, going 4-2. Rodgers will be making his return to New York after two failed seasons; he got injured on the opening series in his first season and had to sit out the year, then went 5-12 last season. Fields had an optimistic start in Pittsburgh last year but was replaced for the remainder of the season by Russell Wilson, who himself is now with the New York Giants. Both Rodgers and Fields have downplayed the revenge angle, but it’s impossible to think that, particularly Fields, isn’t hell-bent on sticking it to his old team.

The Steelers are hoping to milk one last big season out of Rogers, who will be 42 years old in December, and the Jets are hoping that Fields will have a bigger chip on his shoulder than his counterpart. Rodgers will have former Seattle Seahawks’ receiver DK Metcalf to target while the dual-threat capabilities of Fields will be fully tested by the pass defence of TJ Watt and Jalen Ramsey. Pittsburgh hammered New York (37-15) in their meeting last season, with Rodgers throwing for the Jets and Wilson for the Steelers, but that is history. There is no telling what the result will be this time around, but the Steelers are three-point favourites by JustBet, and the impending battle promises to be tasty.

The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers will meet mid-afternoon on Sunday, in a game that features two teams that made the play-offs from the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division last season and is undoubtedly one of the highlight games of Week 1. The Lions, who went 15-2 last season, have maintained a strong core and are favoured to win the NFC North again. They ranked first in points per game at 33.2 last season and they were second in the league in yards per game at 409.5. Detroit’s balanced attack, with QB Jared Goff ranking second in passing yards per game and per attempt, and their rushing attack ranking sixth in yards per game and ninth in yards per attempt, have them fifth on the JustBet depth chart to claim the championship this year. However, due mostly to injuries, they were unimpressive on defence last season, finishing fifth against the run but 30th against the pass.

The Packers made a headline splash earlier this week with the signing of Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys, making him the highest paying non-QB ever in the NFL. This move significantly improved their defence as Parsons is only the second player in NFL history to register at least 12 sacks in his first four seasons, since 1982, the other being Green Bay legend Reggie White. Parsons has had very little time with this team and very little preseason fieldwork, so he may take some time to get up to speed but look out for when he does.

The Packers have won each of their last 12 home openers, but the Lions have been very competitive on the road over the past few seasons. That said, Detroit narrowly won both games between these teams last season but enter this contest as three-point JustBet underdogs, despite winning the last three meetings at Lambeau Field, and Head Coach Dan Campbell having a 6-2 record against the Packers. This division rivalry is getting more intense each season, and this could be one for the books.

One of the best possible matchups for the entire NFL season will take place on Sunday Night Football when QB Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens head to Buffalo to take on QB Josh Allen and the Bills as JustBet underdogs. Jackson and Allen were the top two Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidates last season (won by Allen), and both teams enter the 2025 campaign as the JustBet favourites to win Super Bowl LX. The Bills got the better of the Ravens in the Divisional Round last season, 27-25, despite being outgained 416-273 yards, and revenge is on the card. Buffalo became the first team to win a play-off game while gaining under 300 total yards and allowing 400 or more total yards since the 2015 Carolina Panthers (Divisional Round versus the Seattle Seahawks).

The Bills will take the field Sunday night with 10 of 11 starters back from a 2024 offence that set the franchise scoring record with 525 points. However, the defence struggled last year, finishing 29th in third-down defense and gave up the most passing yards (3,843). They added Joey Bosa and some defensive rookies but there is no guarantee that this will be a significant defensive upgrade. The Ravens led the NFL in rushing last season with a whopping 188 yards per game as Derrick Henry gained 1,921 and Jackson added 915. It will be an interesting dynamic as Baltimore hammers away at a spotty Buffalo run defence.

Jackson has gone 1-3 against the Bills, committing six turnovers during those contests, but has averaged 50 rushing yards over those games. He is coming off a 12-5 regular season and is aiming to build on last year, where he threw for 4,172 yards, with 41 touchdowns, and the addition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will provide another reliable target. Allen was no slouch last season, registering 3,731 passing yards, for 28 touchdowns, with six interceptions, along with 531 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. However, the Achille’s heel for Buffalo was their defense and some steps have been taken to hopefully close that gap.

This could be a preview of another January rematch as both clubs have performed creditably in the regular season for the past few years but never seem to have the last push to get over the postseason hump. The Bills (84) and Ravens (81) each have 80-plus wins over the last seven seasons, including play-offs, joining the 1999-2005 Indianapolis Colts (80) as the only teams in NFL history with 80-plus wins in a seven-season span without reaching a Super Bowl.

The NFL is back with every promise to deliver. Are you ready for some football?

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