With the NFL season set to kick off tonight before the first NFL Sunday of the season this weekend, GiveMeSport looks at the five biggest things to keep an eye on over the next couple of days as the 2022 season begins. 

So, here we are, it has been 207 days since we last saw an NFL football game that counted for something, when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI to claim their second Vince Lombardi Trophy in the franchise’s history. 

As the league’s defending champions, as has become tradition ever since the 2004 season, they get the honour of starting off the season at home when the trophy will be on display and they will get to raise their championship banner, the first to be lifted in their home at SoFi Stadium as they take on the Buffalo Bills.

But once that is out the way, the serious stuff begins and we can actually start to look forward to NFL football once again. But whilst there are games being played, it’s important to look at the stories that are going on behind the game itself.

So as you settle in to watch the games, be on the lookout for these 5 things, as we give you our Top 5 storylines heading into Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season:

A Super Bowl preview

It only makes sense that we start this list with the start of the season, and the NFL could not have given us a better game to start the season. The Rams this season host; the Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Falcons, Cowboys, Panthers, Raiders and Broncos, so there were a few decent options to choose from, but they gave us a matchup that could very well be played out again in February in Arizona for Super Bowl LVII.

The Rams obviously won it all and have a large portion of the same team returning, whilst the Bills have also kept a large number of the core group that saw them reach the playoffs last season, whilst also adding Von Miller (ironically from the Rams) in free agency. And it’s that Bills group that many believe to be the favourites heading into the year, so this could well just be a taster of this year’s Super Bowl.

Teams that lost the meeting in the regular season are 8-6 when it comes to Super Bowl rematches, so a loss on the opening week might not necessarily be a bad omen for whoever comes out on the losing side on Thursday night. 

Same faces, new places

As a result of free agency as well as trades, a number of players will be pulling up for new teams this season, with many of them hoping to make a big impact for their new sides and propel them forwards. Will Davante Adams be able to push the Las Vegas Raiders over the line in a stacked AFC West for instance, or will Khalil Mack’s move to the Los Angeles Chargers keep them in check?

Meanwhile in the NFC, Tom Brady, having lost Rob Gronkowski will be hoping that another veteran wide receiver will be able to help him out in the form of Julio Jones as the former Atlanta Falcon returns to the NFC South with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There are plenty more that we could mention, but if we had to limit it to one more, it will have to be Myles Jack of the Pittsburgh Steelers who have struggled at middle linebacker for some time, but with him on board could take their defence to the next level by helping stop the run.

Looking for payback?

Whilst we have to thank the NFL scheduling gods for giving us a great game to start the season, that praise also needs to go out for what they gave us in the opening week, as they have given us two quarterbacks going up against their former teams as Baker Mayfield’s Carolina Panthers welcome the Cleveland Browns and Russell Wilson takes his Denver Broncos to take on the Seattle Seahawks.

Now given their personalities and how both trades were handled, one of them brings a lot more intrigue than the other (the Mayfield one, in case you were still wondering) and it will be interesting to see whether or not their trades give them any extra motivation when it comes to how they prepare and ultimately play when their season starts, and if that energy and passion can be maintained throughout the season.

The first big step for some

After making their way through the preseason, this will be the first time that the NFL rookies will get the chance to showcase their skills in games that actually matter. It’s all well and good doing your stuff when the games don’t count and you can find yourself playing against 2nd and 3rd string players, but now is their time to really shine.

Obviously, we can’t list all of the rookies that can make an impact, so for this, we’re going to narrow our attention down to just two, one on each side of the ball. Defensive end George Karlaftis of the Kansas City Chiefs who looks like he is going to make a big difference for their pass rush and hopefully give the ball to Patrick Mahomes a few more times to strut his stuff, and also Chris Olave for the New Orleans Saints who might be set for a stellar debut year if most of the attention, quite rightly, is paid to Michael Thomas in the same offence.

And whilst not a rookie as such, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travis Etienne will be playing this week after missing his debut year through injury, and in our eyes he has the ability to really take the Jags’ offence to the next level this year both as a runner and in the passing game. 

Start of bad news for others

Whilst some players might be looking forward to the first game of the season, in reality, it might just be the start of the end of the road for them, but specifically we’re referring to quarterbacks, as they have people waiting in the shadows for them to make a mistake and they’ll be ready to pounce.

The Pittsburgh Steelers for instance have Kenny Pickett who had an incredible preseason and will be waiting behind Mitch Trubisky to see when he is going to get his chance to lead the team, and you can’t ignore the controversy going on between Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo with the San Francisco 49ers.

They might be on a ticking clock before their possible replacements take their spot, and a bad start this week might just speed up that process a little bit more.