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Brady-Prescott kicks off NFL season plus a return to London

By The Associated Press - | May 15, 2021

The NFL is returning to London in October and Tom Brady begins his pursuit of an eighth Super Bowl title against Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys when Tampa Bay hosts the league’s annual kickoff game on Sept. 9.

The first game in London since the coronavirus pandemic will be played on Oct. 10 as the Atlanta Falcons face the New York Jets. A week later, the Jacksonville Jaguars meet the Miami Dolphins. Both games will be played at the stadium of Premier League soccer team Tottenham. The Falcons and the Jaguars will be the home teams.

The NFL’s first 17-game season opens on the same field where the Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs to become the first team to win a Super Bowl at home. It’ll be Prescott’s first game since sustaining a gruesome ankle injury last October.

Brady returns to New England to face Bill Belichick and the Patriots in a Sunday night game on Oct. 3.

Other highlights from opening weekend include Matthew Stafford playing his first game for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night against the Chicago Bears with SoFi Stadium welcoming fans for the first time.

Most teams are expected to be at full capacity following a season played before limited crowds because of COVID-19.

“We are excited our fans get to experience a couple of home prime-time games and our players certainly feed off the fans’ energy,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “We will be opening at home for the first time since I became head coach and I am happy our fans will be there to kick off the season with us.”

Reigning AFC champion Kansas City hosts the Cleveland Browns in a playoff rematch in Week 1. The Chiefs eliminated the Browns in the divisional round last season despite losing Patrick Mahomes to a concussion.

“Every year stands on its own merit. For us, the focus is on the 2021 season,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Now, I realize that last game last year ended in Kansas City, so that certainly is something we have to learn from. It will truly be a matchup that is unique to 2021. The game won’t start in the fifth quarter from last year’s game.”

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