The Sports Mac: Football Friday Fives: NFL Edition for Week 1

Top Five Games of the Weekend

1.         Ravens (0-0) at Jets (0-0), 7:00 PM Monday, ESPN: Two of the AFC's Super Bowl contenders face off in the New Meadowlands to start the season.

2.         Bengals (0-0) at Patriots (0-0), 1:00 PM Sunday, CBS: Three of the best receivers ever (Owens, Moss, Ochocinco) in the same game is just one of the reasons to watch.

3.         Packers (0-0) at Eagles (0-0), 4:15 PM Sunday, FOX: The new favorite to win the NFC travels east to take on the young Eagles led by Kevin Kolb.

4.         Falcons (0-0) at Steelers (0-0), 1:00 PM Sunday, FOX: A tough test for Pittsburgh to start the season with Dennis Dixon starting under center while Ben Roethlesberger begins his four game suspension.

5.         Colts (0-0) at Texans (0-0), 1:00 PM Sunday, CBS: Will this be the breakthrough win Houston toward their first playoff appearance?

The Five Worst Games of the Weekend

1.         Browns (0-0) at Buccaneers (0-0), 1:00 PM Sunday, CBS: Two franchises who struggled last year (and don’t look much better to start this year) face off in Tampa Bay.

2.         Broncos (0-0) at Jaguars (0-0), 1:00 PM Sunday, CBS: With all of the injury problems in Denver and no real signs of improvement in Jacksonville, there may not be a lot of points scored in this one.

3.         Cardinals (0-0) at Rams (0-0), 4:15 PM Sunday, FOX: Both squads starting new QBs that didn’t look good in the preseason take the field searching for some sort of production.

4.         Dolphins (0-0) at Bills (0-0), 1:00 PM Sunday, CBS: Miami gets their Buffalo trip out of the way as early as possible against a team that seems to need a year or two to build up the talent base again.

5.         49ers (0-0) at Seahawks (0-0), 4:15 PM Sunday, FOX: The favorite in the NFC West heads to the Pacific Northwest with a defense looking to feast on a shaky Seattle offensive line.

5 Storylines to Keep an Eye On

1.         As always with the opening of the season, there are debuts of new faces in new places (McNabb in Washington, Boldin in Baltimore, Campbell in Oakland) worth watching.

2.         With three big matchups this weekend, teams will try to get a quick start on the competition for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

3.         Three head coaches make debuts with new teams as Chan Gailey in Buffalo, Mike Shanahan in Washington and Pete Carroll in Seattle and try to get wins for their new employers.

4.         How will the Steelers respond to Dennis Dixon being the opening game starter for a team that has a tough first month of the 2010 season?

5.         With all of the pressure of having the Super Bowl in their home stadium, how do the Cowboys respond after a less than stellar preseason?

5 Players to Watch this Weekend

1.         Mark Sanchez, Jets QB vs. Baltimore: Will the rookie who took his team to the AFC Championship Game last season suffer the beginnings of a sophomore slump?

2.         Kevin Kolb, Eagles QB vs. Green Bay: Philadelphia is his team now after they traded away Donovan McNabb in the offseason and Eagles fans will want to see production right away.

3.         Chris Johnson, Titans RB vs. Oakland: The leading rusher in the NFL last year looks to continue his streak of 100-yard games and start a quest for another 2,000-yard season.

4.         Terrell Owens, Bengals WR vs. New England: What might be T.O.’s last shot at finally winning a championship starts against one of the powers in the AFC.

5.         Sam Bradford, Rams QB vs. Arizona: The No. 1 draft pick in the 2010 Draft gets thrown into the fire as St. Louis learns if they have a franchise QB for the next dozen years.

Five Teams that Must Have a Big Week 1

1.         Houston: This is almost a case of if not now, when?  This might be the best team in franchise history and if they want a first playoff berth, a win over Indianapolis would be a huge first step.

2.         New York Jets: After the target was placed on them by their head coach, the Jets can expect everyone’s best shot this season to try and knock them off. Baltimore may be as tough as they come.

3.         Pittsburgh: With three tough games in the first four weeks, the Steelers have to win at least one to give themselves a chance in what is going to be a tough division. This week might be the best opportunity against Atlanta.

4.         Washington: With the turmoil over Albert Haynesworth and Donovan McNabb getting banged up during training camp, the Redskins could have big wins over their biggest rivals to quiet their critics.

5.         San Diego: Even though they might be less talented than last year, this is still the best team in the AFC West, on paper anyway. They have to show they still have a lock on the division with a win over the Chiefs Monday night.