Kickoff cheat sheet, with power rankings, predictions, fantasy tips and more

The 2023 NFL season has arrived, kicking off five straight months of football bliss. Here’s everything you need to know for kickoff.

Power Rankings: Team-by-team previews

Last season’s Super Bowl opponents top our Week 1 power rankings, courtesy of Frank Schwab. At the bottom are the Cardinals, who have already been accused of tanking for Caleb Williams (should he decide to leave USC).

Team-by-team previews:

1. Chiefs: The defending champs seek their eighth straight division title, but it may not be smooth sailing with Travis Kelce’s injured knee and Chris Jones’ continued holdout.

2. Eagles: They came maddeningly close to winning it all last season, and should be right back in the mix with an offense led by Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and D’Andre Swift.

3. Bengals: They’ve had the league’s worst pass block win rate since drafting Joe Burrow in 2020, so newly signed four-time Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Brown Jr. is a welcome addition.

4. Bills: Buffalo needs to find a way to turn elite regular-season play into postseason pay dirt. Come on, guys, do it for Bills Mafia!

5. 49ers: Superstar edge Nick Bosa reportedly signed a five-year, $170 million extension on Wednesday, ending his holdout and making him the highest-paid defensive player ever.

6. Cowboys: The Micah Parsons-led defense looks to become the first team since the 1972-74 Steelers to lead the league in takeaways for three straight years.

7. Lions: They’ve gone 29 seasons without winning their division, the NFL’s longest active drought. Could this be the year?

8. Jets: Last season they looked like they were a solid QB away from competing. Enter Aaron Rodgers.

9. Dolphins: Prepare for another track meet in South Beach, where Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle stretch defenses like Silly Putty.

10. Ravens: Sign Lamar Jackson to historic extension? Check. Give him new playmakers in Odell Beckham Jr. and first-rounder Zay Flowers? Check.

11. Seahawks: Geno Smith’s age-32 breakout was astonishing, setting the single-season franchise record for yards and completion percentage. What does age 33 have in store?

12. Jaguars: Best player? Trevor Lawrence, primed for a huge season. Best name? Rookie RB Tank Bigsby.

13. Steelers: Major sleeper potential in Pittsburgh, where Mike Tomlin has gone 16 straight years without a losing record.

14. Chargers: Justin Herbert has thrown for the most yards (14,089) and second-most TDs (94) through any player’s first three NFL seasons.

15. Packers: For the first time since 2004, Aaron Rodgers won’t be on the sideline at Lambeau. It’s time for Jordan Love.

16. Browns: Deshaun Watson didn’t look great in last year’s brief, post-suspension stint, but he told ESPN that he’s better now than ever. For $230 million guaranteed, I should hope so.

17. Saints: Bettors are extremely high on New Orleans, which has attracted 63% of the money bet on NFC South division winners — the highest such share among all divisions.

18. Vikings: The offense should be characteristically solid, so if new defensive coordinator Brian Flores can turn around one of last year’s worst units, Minny could be very exciting.

19. Giants: Which team shows up this year? The one that started last season 7-2, or the one that finished 2-5-1?

20. Patriots: New England is in danger of finishing last in the AFC East for the first time since the NFL split into eight divisions in 2002.

21. Falcons: The good news as Atlanta seeks to end its five-year playoff drought? It has the league’s easiest schedule.

22. Titans: Since Derrick Henry’s 2019 breakout, he’s averaging 110 rush yards per game, 19 more than anyone else.

23. Commanders: They’re already celebrating in D.C., where new owner Josh Harris has the easiest job in sports: be better than Daniel Snyder.

24. Broncos: Sean Payton is getting paid a whopping $18 million this year to do one thing: Make Russell Wilson great again.

25. Panthers: The past 14 QBs who went No. 1 overall in the draft lost their first career start. Can Bryce Young break the streak?

26. Raiders: Nine of their 11 losses last season came by just one score, so they hope an improved defense may be just what the doctor ordered.

27. Bears: Justin Fields needs to become more of a dual threat after Chicago led the league in rushing last season, but finished dead last in passing.

28. Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield takes over for Tom Brady, who’s not in the league for the first time this century.

29. Colts: For the eighth straight season, Indy’s Week 1 starting QB will not be the same as the previous year.

30. Rams: They won just five games last season in a historically bad Super Bowl hangover, and the outlook isn’t much better this year.

31. Texans: They’re trotting out a rookie QB (C.J. Stroud) and a rookie head coach (DeMeco Ryans), which may yield growing pains but should be a solid foundation for the future.

32. Cardinals: With Kyler Murray (ACL) out indefinitely, the QBs room comprises Josh Dobbs and Clayton Tune. This could get ugly.

Yahoo Fantasy: Player rankings

The top 10 fantasy football players entering the season, according to Yahoo’s experts, are a near-even mix of running backs and receivers. You’ve probably already drafted your squad; these are the best guys to help lead your team to victory.

1. Justin Jefferson, WR (Vikings): Jefferson’s career is off to a historically great start in Minnesota. The 23-year-old needs just 688 receiving yards to surpass Michael Thomas (5,512) for the most ever by a player in his first four seasons.

2. Ja’Marr Chase, WR (Bengals): Among the 17 players who saw at least 130 targets last season, only Chase played fewer than 15 games (12, due to injury). With a full season in Year 3 alongside Joe Burrow, he could challenge Jefferson for WR supremacy.

3. Christian McCaffrey, RB (49ers): After playing just 10 games across two injury-riddled years, CMC returned to full force last season with 13 TDs and nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage. His first full year in the Bay Area should be electric.

4. Tyreek Hill, WR (Dolphins): The fastest man in the league saw no ill effects after leaving Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, setting career highs in targets, catches and yards his first year in Miami.

5. Austin Ekeler, RB (Chargers): Ekeler’s 38 scores in the past two seasons are 12 more than any other player. You can hear from him all season long on “Ekeler’s Edge,” his weekly fantasy podcast show with Yahoo’s Matt Harmon.

6. Stefon Diggs, WR (Bills): Since linking up with Josh Allen in 2020, Diggs is one of just four players with over 4,000 receiving yards, joining Jefferson, Hill and Davante Adams.

7. Nick Chubb, RB (Browns): As far as pure running backs go, he’s almost without equal. He and Dalvin Cook are the only players with 1,000+ rushing yards in each of the last four seasons, and his 40 rushing TDs in that time trail only Cook (43) and Derrick Henry (56).

8. Bijan Robinson, RB (Falcons): Atlanta made the rookie out of Texas the highest-drafted running back (No. 8 pick) since Saquon Barkley in 2018 (No. 2 pick). With young Desmond Ridder under center, Robinson could see a massive workload.

9. Garrett Wilson, WR (Jets): He won Offensive Rookie of the Year last season with 1,100 yards and four TDs despite catching passes from Zach Wilson, Mike White and a 37-year-old Joe Flacco. Imagine what he might do this year with Aaron Rodgers.

10. A.J. Brown, WR (Eagles): The move to Philly did wonders for him last season, as he set career highs in targets, catches and yards. Another year alongside Jalen Hurts and an ascendant DeVonta Smith could see Brown level up yet again.

Team names: The 10 most popular team names on Yahoo Fantasy are Hurts So Good, Run CMC, Fields of Dreams, Hot Chubb Time Machine, Judge Jeudy, Olave Garden, Finding Deebo, Bijan Mustard, Baby Got Dak and Slim Pickens.

You can still create or join a league on Yahoo Fantasy, even after Week 1! Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Plus to get an edge on the competition with premium draft, trade and research tools. Try 7 days free.

Betting/Predictions

Five years after the Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize sports gambling, 34 states plus Washington, D.C. have live betting markets, with four more states coming online soon.

The new normal: A record 73.5 million Americans (~28% of U.S. adults) plan to bet on the NFL this season, per the American Gaming Association. The league has fully embraced this new normal, signing lucrative partnerships and opening in-stadium sportsbooks, all while cracking down on players for violating its gambling policy.

Here are some of the latest betting odds, courtesy of BetMGM …

Super Bowl odds: The defending champion Chiefs are title favorites (+600), followed by the Eagles (+800), Bills (+900), 49ers (+1000) and Bengals (+1100). Rounding out the top 10 are the Cowboys (+1500), Ravens (+1800), Jets (+1800), Lions (+2200), Chargers and Dolphins (both +2500). Our experts like Buffalo’s odds.

More futures:

• MVP: Patrick Mahomes (+600), Joe Burrow (+700), Josh Allen (+750), Jalen Hurts (+1100), Justin Herbert (+1100)

• Offensive Player of the Year: Ja’Marr Chase (+1000), Justin Jefferson (+1300), Christian McCaffrey (+1500), Tyreek Hill (+1800), Nick Chubb (+1800)

• Defensive Player of the Year: Micah Parsons (+450), Myles Garrett (+600), TJ Watt (+750), Nick Bosa (+1200), Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (+1200)

• Coach of the Year: Dan Campbell (+800), Sean Payton (+1100), Matt Eberflus (+1400), Arthur Smith (+1400), Robert Saleh (+1600)

• Offensive Rookie of the Year: Bijan Robinson (+250), Bryce Young (+450), Anthony Richardson (+700), Jahmyr Gibbs (+750), CJ Stroud (+850)

• Defensive Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson (+400), Jalen Carter (+600), Tyree Wilson (+1000), Devon Witherspoon (+1000), Christian Gonzalez (+1400)

• Comeback Player of the Year: Damar Hamlin (-275), Russell Wilson (+1600), Tua Tagovailoa (+2000), Lamar Jackson (+2000), Cooper Kupp (+3000)

Of note: If you find yourself in Las Vegas this season, be sure to visit the new Yahoo Sportsbook on the main floor of The Venetian Resort.

Week 1 schedule

The 104th NFL season kicks off tonight in Kansas City, as the Chiefs host the Lions to open their Super Bowl title defense.

• Lions (+4.5) at Chiefs (Thursday, 8:20pm ET, NBC)

• Panthers (+3.5) at Falcons (1pm, Fox)

• Bengals (-2.5) at Browns (1pm, CBS)

• Jaguars (-5) at Colts (1pm, Fox)

• Buccaneers (+6) at Vikings (1pm, CBS)

• Titans (+3) at Saints (1pm, CBS)

• 49ers (-2.5) at Steelers (1pm, Fox)

• Cardinals (+7) at Commanders (1pm, Fox)

• Texans (+10) at Ravens (1pm, CBS)

• Packers (+1) at Bears (4:25pm, Fox)

• Raiders (+3.5) at Broncos (4:25pm, CBS)

• Eagles (-4) at Patriots (4:25pm, CBS)

• Dolphins (+3) at Chargers (4:25pm, CBS)

• Rams (+5.5) at Seahawks (4:25pm, Fox)

• Cowboys (-3) at Giants (8:20pm, NBC)

• Bills (-2.5) at Jets (Monday, 8:15pm, ESPN/ESPN2/ABC)

How to watch the NFL this season

• NBC: 17 games on “Sunday Night Football,” plus two on Thursdays and one on a Saturday, with coverage led by Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst) and Melissa Stark (sideline).

• ESPN: 22 games on “Monday Night Football,” with a booth comprising Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analyst) and Lisa Salters (sideline).

• Fox: Dozens of games every Sunday afternoon, with coverage led by Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi (sideline).

• CBS: Dozens of games every Sunday afternoon, with coverage led by Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline).

• Prime Video: Amazon will stream 16 “Thursday Night Football” games starting in Week 2, with coverage anchored by Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline).

Plus: Every out-of-market game streams on the NFL’s subscription service, NFL+, which this year also includes NFL Network and NFL RedZone. NFL Sunday Ticket is now available through YouTube after nearly two decades on DirecTV.

More NFL

From feature stories and breaking news to fantasy analysis and podcasts, Yahoo Sports has you covered this NFL season. Here are some resources to get you ready for Week 1.

Features

Quick reads

Useful links

Podcasts

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