The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers will kick off the 2014 National Football League’s regular season, the league announced.
Thursday’s Seahawks and Packers contest is the lone game on September 4. The majority of the teams will begin their season three days later when 13 games are scheduled for September 7.
That includes the first Sunday marquee matchup which sees Peyton Manning against a familiar foe as he leads the reigning AFC-champion Denver Broncos against the Indianapolis Colts at Sports Authority Field in Denver.
Manning was Indianapolis’ starting quarterback for 13 years before neck surgery and the arrival of Andrew Luck ended his brilliant tenure with the Colts in 2012.
The American Thanksgiving Day contests pit three division rivals against each other for the first time.
The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions get things started with an NFC North clash, the reigning NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles visit the Dallas Cowboys and the Seahawks battle the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of last year’s NFC title game.
All week 17 games will include divisional opponents against one another, with all games to be held on Sunday, December 28.
London will get three contests this season with Miami-Oakland on September 28, Detroit-Atlanta on October 26 and Dallas-Jacksonville on November 9.
The Super Bowl is scheduled for February 1, 2015 in Phoenix.