National Football League

NFL Week 1: Who plays Sunday night?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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NFL week 1 is up on us. Here we take a look at the first Sunday Night Football game of the season: the New England Patriots at the Arizona Cardinals.

Sunday Night Football is back in just five days and it’s going to be a good one. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will make the start at quarterback for the Patriots against Carson Palmer and the Cardinals:

While the Patriots have never before played the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium, they’re far from unfamiliar with the location. They have played two Super Bowls in the stadium, one in 2008 and another in 2015.

As mentioned earlier, Jimmy Garoppolo will get the start for the Patriots as Tom Brady serves a four-game suspension to open the season. Garoppolo will be tested both mentally and physically right from the start with the game being in primetime on NBC. As if that wasn’t enough for the Eastern Illinois product, he will be up against Pro Football Focus’ second ranked secondary.

While all the hype will surround Garoppolo, don’t think the Patriots have forgotten about their savior, Brady. The team recently placed a banner inside Gillette Stadium with the quarterbacks picture on it.

Though they will be without their quarterback, they Patriots will have the best tight end in all of football, Rob Gronkowski. Gronk pulled up lame in practice a few weeks ago, causing some concern for his week one status, but it seems he will be fine:

Video: Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (87), back at practice, works with Martellus Bennett (88). pic.twitter.com/CLpXOsH0jH

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 6, 2016

The Cardinals secondary is manned by Tyrann Mathieu who will make his return from an ACL tear, along with All-Pro cornerback, Patrick Peterson.

Offensively, the Cardinals are no slouch either. Carson Palmer returns after a solid season in 2015 and will be joined by running back David Johnson, who many have pegged as a star-in-the-making due to his abilities as a runner and receiver.

When: Sunday, Sept. 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium
TV: NBC
Radio: Westwood One Sports

Arizona also has one of the best groupings of wide receivers in the NFL with Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Michael Floyd and J.J. Nelson. The combination of size and speed within these receivers will prove to be a difficult task for the Patriots.

The first Sunday Night Football matchup of 2016 is shaping up to be a good one. Who knows, we could have a potential Super Bowl LI preview.