Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was named Super Bowl LII MVP and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was the 2016 AP NFL Most Valuable Player. In the Super Bowl era, a Super Bowl MVP quarterback and an NFL MVP quarterback have faced off in Week 1 eight times. With Foles starting in Week 1, it will mark the first time this has happened since 2015, when the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning went up against the Baltimore Ravens' Joe Flacco.

How big is quarterback Deshaun Watson's return for the Houston Texans? With Watson as the starting QB from Weeks 2-8 last season, the Texans had the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL at 34.7 points per game. In the weeks Watson did not start, the Texans ranked last in scoring offense, averaging 13.0 PPG.

The good news for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning: Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is back. Since 2014, Manning has averaged almost 50 more passing yards per game when Beckham plays (271.9) compared to when he doesn't (222.4).

The bad news for Eli Manning: cornerback Jalen Ramsey and the Jacksonville Jaguars ranked first in pass defense in 2017 (169.9 YPG). Manning is 11-14 in his career against teams to finish with a top-five pass defense, with 25 pass TD and 29 INT in those games.

The Kansas City Chiefs ranked fifth in the NFL in total offense in 2017 and will turn to Patrick Mahomes to start at quarterback after trading Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins. Mahomes will become the first QB with fewer than five career starts to take over as the starter for a team with a top-five total offense in the previous season since Aaron Rodgers replaced Brett Favre in 2008 for the Packers.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's teams have averaged 28.3 points per game in his seven career starts, the most by a starting QB with more than seven starts in the last 25 seasons.

With 15.9 points per game allowed, the Minnesota Vikings ranked first in scoring defense in 2017.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees should be happy to be facing the Buccaneers in Week 1. Brees has the most passing yards in the NFL over the last two seasons (9,542) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranked last in pass defense in 2017 (260.6 pass YPG allowed). Brees has 48 career passing touchdowns against the Buccaneers, his most against any opponent.

Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald were Cardinals teammates for part of last season. Peterson has 99 rushing touchdowns, which ranks ninth all-time while Fitzgerald has 110 receiving touchdowns, which ranks eighth all-time. The last time a player in the top 10 all-time in rushing TDs played against a player in the top 10 all-time in receiving TDs was in Week 12 of 2010, when LaDainian Tomlinson's Jets beat Terrell Owens' Bengals on Thanksgiving Day.

Jon Gruden returns as Raiders head coach in 2018 after 16 seasons away from the team. That is the largest gap of any head coach returning to his former team in NFL history. History is not on Gruden's side, however, as none of the seven previous coaches to return to a team after a 10+ season gap had a winning record in their second stint.