5 key storylines to watch as first Sunday of NFL season arrives

Last season, on the most popular reality show around, the NFL:

The boyfriend of the world’s biggest pop star helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to their second consecutive championship. Earth somehow kept spinning without Tom Brady in the league. And a future Hall of Famer lasted four plays before his season ended, freeing him up to be mentioned as a vice-presidential candidate.

As with most shows, it helps to know a little of what happened before in the NFL, but what really matters is what will happen next … especially if your team hasn’t won three of the past five titles.

The 2024 season is full of fascinating storylines both for those of us who rapturously followed every moment of the offseason and for the sane among you who only now will pay attention because we’ve finally arrived at the first Sunday that’s mattered since Super Bowl LVIII in February.

Just like with the rest of the prestige TV world, you’ll need a mix of the old networks, ESPN, Prime and Peacock to see most things; plus, of course, Sunday Ticket is essential for those who want to see it all. Now try to pass off that package as a present for your spouse’s upcoming birthday.

Then settle in for the five NFL shows you must watch this season.

Succession

Who takes over and how does a team move on when the best player in franchise history retires?

Aaron Donald was a Rams institution, one of their last remaining players from their St. Louis sojourn and their unquestioned leader since their return to Southern California. When they needed one final brilliant play to lock up their only L.A. Super Bowl title, of course, it was Donald who delivered.

But now the lock for the Hall of Fame has retired, and he leaves a massive hole in their defensive line and locker room. Quarterbacks across the NFL are breathing a bit easier, but the Rams could struggle to replace all he did.

That might mean the offense has to deliver a little more starting Sunday night at Super Bowl contender Detroit. With quarterback Matthew Stafford throwing to Cooper Kupp and last season’s surprise, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams running the ball, they could be in pretty good shape.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

New coach arrives and brings hope for improvement, but nothing’s as easy as it seems.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh arrives fresh off a national championship at Michigan followed by a four-year “show-cause order” from the NCAA that could keep him from coaching in college until 2028. Of course, he probably plans to stick around awhile in his return to the NFL.

Harbaugh can flat-out coach, and there’s plenty of optimism that the Chargers will be better off under him than with the confounding Brandon Staley. But they lost a lot of offensive talent with the departures of receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams and running back Austin Ekeler, so quarterback Justin Herbert might need some time to develop rapport with the new faces around him.

The Chargers, who open at home Sunday against the Raiders, also have to deal with having the Chiefs in their division.

The Bear

The No. 1 draft pick, a former Heisman Trophy winner out of USC, lands with a team that last found glory in the 1985 season.

The Chicago Bears are the only NFL team that never has had a 4,000-yard passer. Expect that to change with the arrival of Caleb Williams, the supremely talented former USC quarterback who won the Heisman in 2023.

Williams is in a far better situation than most top picks find when they reach the NFL because the Bears have been loading up on talent to accompany him. At USC, he often tried to do too much on his own, perhaps because he had to; he should be able to rely on his teammates far more in Chicago.

His biggest hurdle could be that he and the Bears are in a division where two of the NFC favorites reside, but Williams will get started Sunday with some home cooking against the Tennessee Titans.

Breaking Bad

Eventually, all the things we thought would stay good forever will change.

No more Bill Belichick in the NFL. Pete Carroll is going to teach at USC instead of chomping his gum in Seattle.

Old stars such as Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, 40, and Russell Wilson, 35, are trying to remain relevant. (If Rodgers lasts more than four plays this season, he’s a big favorite to have a much better season with the Jets than Wilson will with the Steelers.)

And the winningest franchise of this century is the consensus pick to be the worst team in the league, though that might not be so bad depending on your feelings about the New England Patriots.

Heck, even kickoffs are no longer what we always knew.

The NFL, of course, is in a constant state of change. Some of the things work out; others most definitely do not. And new faces will replace the ones that show even a hint of their age.

Game of Thrones

You come at the king, you best not miss.

Ignore the classic HBO mixed references and focus on the point: The Kansas City Chiefs are the kings in the NFL. It’s going to take a beast of a team to dethrone them.

Case in point: The Baltimore Ravens had their shot in the season opener Thursday, but they lost when tight end Isaiah Likely’s big toe was out of bounds on what first looked like a touchdown catch.

Several teams will pose a threat to the Chiefs, most notably these four contenders to watch: Baltimore (yes, even after a close loss) and Buffalo in the AFC; Detroit and San Francisco in the NFC.

And, yes, the Chiefs will lose at some point. No team has gone undefeated since the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ perfect season.

But when quarterback Patrick Mahomes is at the top of his game, well, he wins Super Bowls.