Patriots & Steelers Kick Off NFL 2015 Season

Patriots & Steelers Kick Off NFL 2015 Season

It's time to get "Back to Football!"

The 2015 season begins with the NFL's annual primetime kickoff game. The opener on Thursday, September 10 on NBC features the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium.

Since 1978 when the NFL went to the 16-game schedule, and excluding the abbreviated season of 1982, teams that are victorious in their season openers are more than twice as likely to reach the playoffs than losers of an opening game:

Of the 538 teams which won openers &ellips;281 went to the playoffs (168 won division titles).

Of the 539 teams which lost openers &ellips;129 went to the playoffs (74 won division titles).

In 2014, seven of the 12 playoff teams -- Arizona, Carolina, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Seattle -- were victorious on Kickoff Weekend.

Some clubs have excelled in openers. Here is a sampling of notable active NFL Kickoff streaks:

The Super Bowl XLIX-champion NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, who host Pittsburgh in the spotlight Kickoff 2015 game on Thursday night, have a 15-1 record at Gillette Stadium over the past two seasons. The Patriots have the fifth-most Kickoff Weekend wins among AFC teams (30).

The AFC North champion PITTSBURGH STEELERS, who travel to New England on Thursday night of Kickoff Weekend, have the most wins (41) among AFC teams on Kickoff Weekend.

The NFC North champion GREEN BAY PACKERS, who travel to Chicago on Kickoff Weekend, hold the record for the most wins in road openers (53) in the NFL and the fourth-best winning percentage in openers on the road (.576, 53-39-2).

The AFC West champion DENVER BRONCOS, who start the season at home against Baltimore, have posted a 41-13-1 (.759) record in home openers, the top mark in the NFL. Denver has won 18 of its past 20 home openers.

The NFC East champion DALLAS COWBOYS begin the year by hosting the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football with a 37-17-1 (.685) record in openers at home, the fourth-best winning percentage in NFL history.

The AFC South champion INDIANAPOLIS COLTS start the season at Buffalo with a 33-29-0 (.532) record in road openers, the second-best winning percentage in the AFC.

The ARIZONA CARDINALS, who host New Orleans on Kickoff Weekend, have the third-longest current winning streak among NFC teams in home openers (five).

The ATLANTA FALCONS and SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS start the season at home against Philadelphia and Minnesota, respectively, during a Monday Night Football doubleheader. Atlanta has won its past seven home openers -- the longest active streak in the league -- while San Francisco has won 14 of its past 20 home openers.

The PHILADELPHIA EAGLES, who visit Atlanta to open the 2015 campaign, have won six consecutive road openers, the longest active streak among NFC teams.

Home Sweet Home

The CHICAGO BEARS (65-26-4), who host the Green Bay Packers on Kickoff Weekend, have a .714 winning percentage in home openers, the second-best mark in the NFL &ellips; the NEW YORK GIANTS, who host the Falcons in Week 2, have won 49 openers at home, the fourth-most wins in home openers in the NFL &ellips; the HOUSTON TEXANS, who host Kansas City on Kickoff Weekend, have won their past five home openers, the longest current streak in the AFC &ellips; and the NFC champion SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, who host Chicago in Week 3, have won six consecutive home openers, the second longest streak in the league.

Head Coaches

New England's BILL BELICHICK is 13-7 (.650) on Kickoff Weekend and his 13 wins are the most among active head coaches &ellips; Belichick, St. Louis' JEFF FISHER (11-8; .579) and the New York Giants' TOM COUGHLIN (10-9; .526) are the only active head coaches who have won at least 10 Kickoff Weekend games and own an opening weekend winning percentage above .500 &ellips; Denver's GARY KUBIAK (5-3), Buffalo's REX RYAN (5-1) and Tennessee's KEN WHISENHUNT (5-2) each has a four-game winning streak on Kickoff Weekend, the longest current streak among active head coaches &ellips; CHIP KELLY (2-0) of the Eagles, BILL O'BRIEN (1-0) of the Texans and MIKE ZIMMER (1-0) of the Vikings are the only active head coaches with perfect records on Kickoff Weekend &ellips; and three head coaches -- the New York Jets' TODD BOWLES, Atlanta's DAN QUINN and San Francisco's JIM TOMSULA -- make their Kickoff Weekend debuts in 2015.

A rundown of the NFL primetime kickoff games since 2002:

 

 

NFL Kickoff 2015 Schedule
(All times local)

Pittsburgh at New England, 8:30 PM (Thurs., NBC)
New Orleans at Arizona, 1:05 PM
Indianapolis at Buffalo, 1:00 PM
Detroit at San Diego, 1:05 PM
Green Bay at Chicago, 12:00 PM
Baltimore at Denver, 2:25 PM
Kansas City at Houston, 12:00 PM
Cincinnati at Oakland, 1:25 PM
Carolina at Jacksonville, 1:00 PM
Tennessee at Tampa Bay, 4:25 PM
Cleveland at New York Jets, 1:00 PM
New York Giants at Dallas, 7:30 PM (NBC)
Seattle at St. Louis, 12:00 PM
Miami at Washington, 1:00 PM
Philadelphia at Atlanta, 7:10 PM (Mon., ESPN)
Minnesota at San Francisco, 7:20 PM (Mon., ESPN)

 

Kickoff Weekend Records of NFL Teams

 

AFC

 

NFC

 

NFL Super Bowl History

NFL Super Bowl History, Scores, Summaries & Super Bowl MVP Articles

 

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