Cowboys trade and Buffalo expects - 5 NFL storylines

After seven long months, the NFL returns this week, with the Dallas Cowboys headed to the City of Brotherly Love to face the Philadelphia Eagles during the early hours of Friday morning (1.20 am Irish time).

A historic season awaits for Irish NFL fans, with tens of thousands expected to descend on the capital at the end of the month, when the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Minnesota Vikings in the first NFL Dublin Game at Croke Park.

Let's look at some key storylines as we enter the first week of action.

Packers Expectations

In case you have been living under a rock over the last week or so, you would have seen one of the biggest deals in NFL history struck towards the end of last week, when defensive end Micah Parsons was traded from the Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first-round draft picks and one player, Kenny Clark.

This is a move which propels the Packers into Super Bowl territory. The former Cowboy is prolific - Parsons is one of two NFL players to have at least 12 sacks in each of his first four seasons, alongside Reggie White. He can change the course of a game at any moment, with the highest pressure rate in the league (19.7%) over the last four years.

For many Cowboys fans reading this, the timing of the trade certainly raises eyebrows. Why would Jerry Jones trade one of the best players in the league exactly one week before the season?

For Green Bay, it’s going to be interesting to see how they can elevate their performance in what is one of the best divisions in football. Enniskerry’s Dan Whelan enters his third season as one of the best punters in the league. After a strong pre-season, Whelan will look to become the first Irish player to be selected for the Pro Bowl towards the latter weeks of the 2025 season.

A Fields & Rodgers reunion

Here is an intriguing opening weekend fixture for storylines. The new starting quarterbacks for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers will face each other after swapping clubs during the off season.

Justin Fields joined the Jets in the off season and in his last 17 starts, he has led teams to a 9-8 record. There is a quiet vibe of optimism in New Jersey at the moment and many within the Jets organisation look at the former Bears and Steelers quarterback as a sound option heading into the season.

That being said, it is fever pitch in Pittsburgh. Enter future Hall Of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers into the mix and many expect the Dublin-bound team to be challenging at the end of the season - and to vastly improve on recent play-off performances.

Rodgers returns to Metlife Stadium after a disappointing stint with the Jets. One may remember the infamous Monday Night Football debut, where he injured his achilles on just the fourth offensive snap. Fast forward one season later and Rodgers had a pretty solid year for the Jets under centre, with close to 4,000 passing yards and a 63% completion.

Both teams enter this weekend with question marks, but the influence of Rodgers, who is almost certainly entering the final year of his career, will be one of the most intriguing storylines of the season. With additions such as DK Metcalf to the Steelers offense, it could be a fun ride for fans.

Is this finally the year?

We have been here before.

Yes, we are entering Week 1 - but the mindset and optimism has not changed for either the Buffalo Bills or the Baltimore Ravens as they look to finally get their hands on the Lombardi Trophy.

So the fixture compilers have done the neutrals a favour and pitted the perennial challengers against each other in week one (the Ravens to have two Super Bowl titles to their name, at least, the Bills are still without a title).

End of an era: The exposed Highmark Stadium is entering its final year

For Buffalo, this is a season like no other. Josh Allen is coming fresh off an MVP-calibre season. No matter what happens this year, it is truly the end of an era, with Highmark Stadium scheduled to be replaced in time for next season. There is a world where a fairytale run could result in the final game being the AFC Championship.

That being said, four of Buffalo’s past five postseasons have ended with losses to the Kansas Chiefs, including a 32-29 defeat in the AFC championship game in January this year.

Who knows?

For Baltimore, expectation is always high when Lamar Jackson is on the field. Last season, he threw for 41 touchdowns and nearly 4,200 yards, getting intercepted only on four occasions. On the ground, Jackson rushed for 915 yards with four scores.

The winner of this game on Sunday night will get the first foothold within the battle for the AFC and it really does feel like this could be the year for one of these teams. Finally.

Brazil Bound

The NFL loves to add as much as they can in the first weekend of the season and this year is no different, with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Chiefs meeting in Sao Paulo in the early hours of Saturday morning (1am Irish time).

One of the main storylines this off season for the Chiefs, besides their star tight end getting engaged obviously, was speculation that their reign of dominance is coming to an end.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are coming off a spanking in Super Bowl LIX, when the Philadelphia Eagles put 40 points on the board and while some may write them off, you can never close the door on Patrick Mahomes.

When head coach Andy Reid was asked about this in the preseason, he scoffed.

"We don't listen to all the noise. If you do that, you're gonna go crazy and then you're not gonna have fun, right?", he said.

"I don't care about the noise. Let's go win the game."

There is no doubt that barring injury, the Chiefs will be right in the mix when we get into the final weeks of the season.

Irish Talent

While we have mentioned Dan Whelan, it is important to note that for newer NFL fans, we also have three other players on NFL practice squad rosters as we enter the new season. Mayobridge man Charlie Smyth, Swatragh’s Jude McAtamney and Ballyboden’s Mark McNamee are on the books of the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants and Green Bay Packers, respectively.

It is highly unlikely we will see these players in action this weekend as they need to be elevated to the main roster, if an injury occurs. McAtamney stands out as an interesting prospect as Giants starting kicker Graham Gano has had injury issues over the last season.

In reality, any of Smyth, McAtamney or McNamee could be called upon at any point - it will be exciting to keep track of them this season.

Predictions

NFC Champions: Detroit Lions

AFC Champions: Buffalo Bills

Super Bowl Champions: Buffalo Bills

MVP: Josh Allen

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