Sunday Late Afternoon Games Open Thread: Week One

Well, we’ve already watched the Texans host the Jaguars, but we’re football fan(atic)s so, since there’s more football on tv, we’re gonna watch that, too.

This is the first week of the 2017 NFL Season, and the football scheduling gurus that be have given us three pretty-interesting games to watch.

The first game pits the Colts against the Rams. As a member of the AFC South division, this game matters to the Texans. The Colts will be without Andrew Luck as he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury suffered last season. That should doom the Colts, who struggle even with their first-round quarterback under center, but they are facing the Rams, a team that manages to waste a d@mn solid defense game after game after game. The teams are playing on the same field that was used last night by USC, so that should be interesting to see how torn up it is. This is a game that Texans fans should be watching if it’s available to them, but I understand how some of us still haven’t recovered from watching Case Keenum stink up the joint here and can’t stomach the idea of it again.

The second game has the Seahawks traveling to the land of cheese, Green Bay, so that this newfound rivalry can continue with its recent fierceness. Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers are two of the best quarterbacks in the league today, and both teams have a recent history of dominating their divisions (though the Packers’ hold on the AFC North has become tenuous lately). This game is a marquee matchup that should catch most casual fans’ interest simply because the players’ names will be somewhat familiar to them.

Our third game this afternoon has the once-proud San Francisco 49ers hosting the Panthers. On the face of it, this is a game that the Panthers are expected to win, but Cam Newton’s shoulder has given some cause for worry. The question of how Riverboat Ron will address Newton being his team’s second leading rusher and putting his body on the line should be answered sometime this season, since I think most of us recognize that Cam’s playing style means he’s always at risk of serious injury and the Panthers rise and fall with his availability.

Which game is available where you are? Anything that excites you about these matchups? Chat here about these three games. Please confine discussions about the Texans to the post-game wrap up thread.