PICK: Chicago Bears
Ideally, the Kickoff Game is a rip-roaring barnburner that keeps everyone buzzing until Sunday. In that light, the Bears might seem like an odd match, coming off a five-win 2024. But as tempting as the Rams, Lions and Commanders might be, we won’t actually know the shape of each team’s season — and their ability to push the Eagles — until long after the first Thursday night of play. So let’s zero in on one of the questions I’m most eager to see answered: Can Ben Johnson and Chicago’s remade offensive line unlock Caleb Williams? As litmus tests go, this would be a doozy for the Bears, with none of the cover provided by a 1 p.m. ET start on Sunday against, say, the Browns or Raiders. But that’s part of the appeal. If they can hang with Philly, the hype that’s been building in Chicago will be at least partially realized — and if they can’t, the amount of work Johnson and Co. have left will be brutally revealed. To this offseason-addled brain, either outcome feels compelling. (Plus, we could get a shadow version of one of the clashes — the offense of ex-Detroit coordinator Johnson vs. Vic Fangio’s defense — that the Lions’ early exit denied us in the postseason.)