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Editor's note: ESPN senior NFL writer John Clayton's weekly "First And 10" column takes you around the league with a look at the best game of the week followed by primers for 10 other games. Here's his look at Week 1.

The 2004 NFL season started with a bang Thursday night as the Patriots held off the Colts 27-24 for their 16th consecutive victory.

Here's a breakdown of Week 1's other 10 most intriguing matchups:

And 10. Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (Sunday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN): What's happened to the AFC West receiving corps? The Chargers are receiver thin. The Raiders have rookies and unknowns after starters Jerry Rice and Jerry Porter. The Broncos have a struggling Ashley Lelie starting and being backed up by a promising rookie, Darius Watts. Without wide receiver Marc Boerigter and tight end Kris Wilson, the Chiefs have tiny backups coming off the bench such as Dante Hall, Samie Parker and Richard Smith. One injury propels a rookie into the starting lineup. That said, the Chiefs still expect to have a balanced attack. Trent Green plans to have a 4,000-yard season. Priest Holmes decided not to retire for family reasons and wants to add more long plays to his résumé. Tight end Tony Gonzalez is hoping officials will call penalties against defenders because he's tired of getting mugged and grabbed every time he runs down field. The pressure is on the Broncos to win this game more than the Chiefs, however. The Chiefs are the division favorites. The Broncos know they have a playoff-caliber team, but they are thin for pass catchers because of the retirements of Ed McCaffrey and Shannon Sharpe. For the first time in the Mike Shanahan's tenure, the Broncos defense may be its staple more than the offense. Shanahan traded for cornerback Champ Bailey to match up against an opponent's best wide receiver in playoff-caliber type games. The curious part of this game is which outside receiver does he pick. Eddie Kennison is the Chiefs main outside threat, but the Chiefs throw more to their tight ends and halfback. They spread the ball around instead of concentrating on one target. There will be an interesting feeling out process during the first half of this game.

9. Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings: Bill Parcells and the Jets … oops. Just got a little confused. When you see Parcells go into a road game with Vinny Testaverde, Richie Anderson, Keyshawn Johnson and Dedric Ward, it's only natural to assume this is an AFC game involving the Jets. It isn't. These are the new Cowboys even though they are the old Jets. Parcells' old warriors open against one of the most exciting young defenses in football. Mike Tice stressed speed and pass rush during the offseason. His defensive unit is faster with E.J. Henderson developing at middle linebacker and Dontarrious Thomas developing quickly at outside linebacker. Antoine Winfield gives the Vikings a legitimate top cornerback. The defensive line is one of the best young units in the game. Testaverde looked good during the preseason. He completed 65.5 percent of his passes and had a solid 7.55-yard per gain average. He had a 240-yard half against the Titans. But that was against no pass rush and few blitzes. The Vikings have the best chance to show where the Cowboys offense is after all of these dramatic changes. It will be interesting to see how Parcells uses his running backs. Eddie George saw very little action during the preseason. Will he get the 18 carries to get started or will Parcells slip in some plays to Anderson and use more of rookie Julius Jones? The Cowboys defense has to worry about Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who averaged an incredible 10.59 yards per attempt during the preseason and had a 134.4 quarterback rating.

8. Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints: The Seahawks are a trendy Super Bowl pick from the NFC. The Saints may be the most talented team in the NFC South. This could be a playoff preview. A year ago, the Saints opened in Seattle and lost, 27-10. But the Seahawks are worried about their start. They have opening road trips to New Orleans and Tampa Bay. If they can come out with a 1-1 record, then the season should be in good shape. They would have two remaining home games against NFC South teams. They have two NFC West home games after the Bucs game next week. But can they pull off the road win? Last year's 10-win season was padded by an 8-0 record at home. Their only road wins came against the Cardinals and 49ers. For the Seahawks to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender, they have to beat a good team on the road. The offense looks good. Matt Hasselbeck has already gotten into a groove at quarterback. Shaun Alexander plans to continue his level of rushing for 1,400 yards and scoring 15 touchdowns. Receivers Darrell Jackson and Koren Robinson plan to drop fewer passes. But the Saints aren't going to be pushovers. They are better than people believe. This might end up being one of the Seahawks toughest road games.

7. Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins might have found their replacement for Ricky Williams by trading for Rams running back Lamar Gordon. The question is how much he will be able to learn to be ready for the regular season opener. Dave Wannstedt has watched an offense that underwent major changes during the offseason. He has four new starters along the offensive line. After David Boston blew out a knee at receiver, Wannstedt acquired Marty Booker. The team has fought through one hurricane and is worried about another on the way. Just playing a game may be thrilling. Unfortunately, it's against one of the best run-stopping units in football. For the Dolphins to win, they need a running game, which is why they were so quick to offer a third-round draft pick for Gordon. Travis Minor is really just a third-down back. To think they could get through the season with just him was foolish. The pressure is on Jay Fiedler to win this game. Wannstedt stood by Fiedler when the front office went out and acquired A.J. Feeley, who has a stronger arm and seems to be more physically talented. Fiedler knows the only way he keeps his job is by winning.

6. Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers (Monday, 9 p.m. ET, ABC): The Panthers don't seem to be concerned about their offense. But here's a retiring thought. Starting guard Rich Tylski was retired last season. Right tackle Matt Willig spent the beginning of the 2003 offseason thinking about retirement until the Panthers called him and signed him Aug. 1, 2003. Guard Doug Brzezinski is considered a journeyman but he's starting. That's a lot of worry for a Super Bowl line. The big gamble this offseason was letting Todd Steussie go and trying to replace him with Adam Meadows. Meadows retired, leaving the Panthers with a hole on the line. The Panthers can cover some of their blocking holes with schemes. Rarely do the Panthers drop into pass plays without leaving one or two extra blockers behind to protect Jake Delhomme. Their emphasis is running the ball, which is a lot easier for any kind of blocker. The Monday night matchup against the Packers is interesting because the Packers need to find a personality on defense. They play a hybrid defense, borrowed from the blitzing packages of the Eagles and Patriots. They want to apply as much pressure as possible. In other words, they want to challenge an offensive line in transition.

5. Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets: This is a showdown of two teams vying to be the AFC's No. 6 seed or better. Which is more likely to be a playoff team? Some people believe it's the Bengals. Marvin Lewis has done an amazing job updating one of the league's most archaic franchises. He convinced free agents to sign with the Bengals. He drafted a quarterback (Carson Palmer) and groomed him into a starting role instead of rushing him into a no-win situation as a rookie. Lewis has drafted well. But as Palmer goes, so goes the Bengals. Palmer looked good this preseason. His completion percentage needs to be better than the 55.2, but he shows the ability to get the ball down field. His 7.92 yards per attempt was respectable. So was his 88.5 quarterback rating. Lewis' bigger question is his defense. He has a lot of different parts from a lot of different teams, but it needs to establish itself early. The 63.3 completion percentage allowed has to be a concern. The Jets might be the surprise team in the AFC. This team is better than you think. Signing guard Pete Kendall solidified a lot of things along the offensive line. Santana Moss is developing into a star at receiver. Chad Pennington signed a $64 million contract extension and comes into the season with a new receiver, Justin McCareins, to work over the middle. Most impressive is the new speed on defense. A year ago, the Jets were old at linebacker and were pushed around along the defensive line. This Jets defense has been turbo charged.

4. Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers: The Raiders are shifting to a 3-4 defense. The Steelers are established as one of the league's better 3-4s. Will the Steelers have a lesson for the Raiders in this home opener in Heinz Field? In other words, do the Raiders having a lot of catching up to do at the field located near a Ketchup factory? They probably do. The Steelers defense looked pretty good this preseason stopping the run. They only gave up 3.6 yards a carry. Defenders had good speed flowing to the ball. Raiders starting tailback Tyrone Wheatley may have a tough time against this unit. Statistically, the Raiders didn't do poorly this preseason against the run, but this defense will be a work in progress. Their linebackers are banged up. While stopping the run should be easy when Ted Washington is at nose tackle, the Raiders have to worry about their defense when he's not on the field. Of course, they have Washington and other teams don't. Opponents completed 70.2 percent of their passes against the Raiders. That's not good. Tommy Maddox will try to operate a short-passing offense along with a solid running game against the Raiders. The Steelers are solid at receiver and have good runners in Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis. Interesting opener.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins: Talk about tough openers. The return of Joe Gibbs will make the Redskins crowd loud and proud. Why not? Gibbs is coming out of retirement to take this team to the Super Bowl. Sure, this Redskins team doesn't have the great pass rusher. It's to be seen how the changes in the secondary will work. The offensive line took a big blow with the season-ending injury to right tackle Jon Jansen. But Gibbs brings back the memories of the great past of the team. He hired Joe Bugel to teach the old offensive line schemes. It's Trips Right. It's Trips left. It's Clinton Portis following blocks. It's pretty to watch. Mark Brunell looks solid at quarterback. The Bucs defense, minus Warren Sapp, has to find a way to stop the run. Tampa Bay's best strategy is work long possession drives to keep the defense off the field. The Redskins will counter with an aggressive blitzing package directed by new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills: In some circles, these are trendy playoff picks. There would be more chance of the Bills making it than the Jaguars, but the Bills have to show more than they did in the preseason. Their key is quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Coach Mike Mularkey is trying to get Bledsoe to release the ball quicker. He's tried to do that by making Bledsoe more aware of clocks and timing. Still, Bledsoe has a tendency to throw off his back foot. Though he completed 63.4 percent of his passes, he had a low 6.66 yards per attempt and didn't generate much offense during the preseason. The Jaguars are an interesting team, but they might be another year away from the playoffs. The releases of Hugh Douglas and Tony Brackens left them without much of a pass rush. They are vulnerable to passing teams. Quarterback Byron Leftwich seems to be lacking in accuracy because of a right thumb injury. The winner of this game will feel as though they are one of the AFC sleepers. The loser may go into a deep sleep because of worry.

1. Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears: This might be the last chance for the Lions to end their record 24-game road losing streak. The Bears are making the league's most dramatic transition. They are shifting to a Cover 2 defense under Lovie Smith that required defensive starters to lose a lot of weight. The offense is trying to switch to a Kansas City/St. Louis-style offense even though its tall, thick receivers are more suited for the West Coast offense. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher missed training camp with a hamstring injury. First-year starter Rex Grossman completed only 41.7 percent of his passes. If the Lions are ever going to win a road game, it's this one. The loss of linebacker Boss Bailey took away a valuable playmaker for the defense. But the Lions aren't going to win because of their defense. It's the offense that is their staple. Joey Harrington only completed 53.8 percent of his passes during the preseason but he needs to pick up the action with Roy Williams and Charles Rogers and get going against the Bears. The Bears defense will improve as the season goes along. Right now, the unit is vulnerable.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.