NFL 2016 Game of the Week Preview, Week 1: Broncos vs Panthers

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Football is back, folks, and NFL fans will be given a treat in the very first game of the new season. The Carolina Panthers will travel to Denver, to take on the Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. This game is a rematch of Super Bowl 50, as the Broncos will celebrate their title on Thursday evening. Denver enters this game with a very different roster, with the biggest difference being at the quarterback position. Peyton Manning has retired, meaning he will hand the keys over to Trevor Siemian. Siemian won the job in the preseason over Mark Sanchez, who was cut, and he wound up signing with the Dallas Cowboys. 

Siemian was drafted by Denver in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft, and the Northwestern alum has only taken one regular season snap. Siemian threw for 5,391 yards and 27 touchdowns in his four seasons with the Wildcats. Siemian might be inexperienced, but he has a plethora of weapons to throw to. Demaryius Thomas caught 105 passes for 1,304 yards and six touchdowns, as he expects to be the number one wide receiver. Another viable weapon is Emmanuel Sanders, who had 1,135 yards and six touchdowns last season. Peyton Manning had the worst season of any starting quarterback in Super Bowl history, but he has a ring because of the Bronco’s defense, a unit that flustered Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. 

Denver’s stingy defense forced the NFL MVP into three turnovers in Super Bowl 50. The Broncos defense is led by Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller. Miller recorded 30 tackles and 11 sacks last season. Denver’s defense is similar to the defense that shut down the Panthers last year, but they lost key pieces in Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan to free agency. Despite the losses, the 2015 NFL MVP will have to be at his best in order to solve the Broncos defense. Newton threw for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns last year, while also rushing for 10 touchdowns.

 It’s a scary thought that Newton had this phenomenal statistics without his best receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, who he’ll have for the 2016 season. Benjamin is returning from a torn ACL, and he clearly clicked with Newton in his rookie season. Benjamin had 1,008 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 2014. 

Carolina lost two key members of their secondary, as Josh Norman left for Washington, while Charles Tillman retired. Bene Benwikere is expected to be the number one cornerback. Carolina still has a frightening defense, especially since they have Luke Keuchly hunting down quarterbacks. Kuechly recorded 76 tackles last year. This game will begin at 8:30 ET on NBC.