Your guide to the 2024 NFL season: Super Bowl favorites, top story lines, rule changes, and more
The Patriots travel to Cincinnati for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Bengals on Sunday.
The NFL season kicks off Thursday night as the Ravens visit the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Kansas City. The game will air on NBC starting at 8:20 p.m.
In a new twist this season, the Packers and Eagles will play a Friday night game in Week 1, the first NFL regular-season game ever played in South America. That game kicks off from Sao Paulo, Brazil, at 8:15 p.m.
New England fans will have to wait until Sunday to see coach Jerod Mayo’s debut, as the Patriots travel to Cincinnati for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Bengals on CBS.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 NFL season.
Early Super Bowl favorites
Chiefs: It comes as little surprise that the reigning champs are the favorites to repeat. Betting site FanDuel has them at +550 to win it all behind three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.
49ers: After losing to the Chiefs in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII, the 49ers clock in at the second spot in the odds to take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy. An offense led by Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey has San Francisco at +600 to win.
Ravens: The Ravens beefed up their Lamar Jackson-led offense with four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry, making the reigning AFC North champions look even more formidable. They open the season at +1100 to win the Super Bowl.
Lions: A dark horse last season, the Lions return as one of the top teams in the league after winning their division and reaching the NFC Championship game. FanDuel has Detroit at +1200 to win the Super Bowl.
Top story lines
Aaron Rodgers is back: Stop me if you’ve heard this before: One of the most anticipated moments of Week 1 will be Rodgers’s first snap with the Jets. The quarterback played just four snaps last year before an Achilles’ tendon injury sidelined him for the season. The Jets hope to get more this year out of their $112.5 million quarterback.
The new face of the Bears: This year’s No. 1 draft pick hopes to usher in a new era in Chicago. Quarterback Caleb Williams will be tasked with leading the Bears out of the NFL’s cellar, where they’ve resided for much of the last three seasons. The Bears went 7-10 last season — up from 3-14 in 2022 — but as they saw under Justin Fields, it will take more than a talented quarterback to finish with a winning record.
The Jim Harbaugh era begins in Los Angeles: After winning an NCAA title with Michigan in 2023, Harbaugh returns to the NFL on a five-year, $80 million contract with the Chargers. He led the Wolverines to unprecedented success, going 86-25 in nine seasons at the helm. While other college coaches have struggled to make the jump, Harbaugh has won at the NFL level before, guiding the 49ers to a 44-19-1 record from 2011-14. He’ll face off against his brother, John, when the Ravens come to town for “Monday Night Football” in Week 12.
Kirk Cousins in Atlanta: The Falcons placed $100 million worth of eggs in the basket of Cousins, a 36-year-old quarterback coming off a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury. They’re hoping the combination of Cousins and new coach Raheem Morris will improve their 7-10 record from each of the last three seasons. If Cousins, whose contract is fully guaranteed, isn’t a fit, the Falcons may turn to rookie Michael Penix Jr., a surprise pick at eighth overall in this year’s draft.
Five new Patriots to watch
Jacoby Brissett: The quarterback played three games with New England in 2016, so he isn’t technically new to the Patriots, but he’s joining an overhauled organization as a veteran starter under a first-year coach — vastly different from his first go-around. At the very least, Brissett should give rookie Drake Maye time to develop, but it may be interesting to see how the journeyman QB fits into the offense.
Joey Slye: Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded up in the 2023 draft to take kicker Chad Ryland in the fourth round at 112th overall, the highest spot he ever drafted a specialist during his tenure. But one year later, the Patriots waived Ryland in favor of Slye, a 28-year-old who outperformed the 24-year-old Ryland by the end of the training camp, particularly on field goals from longer distances. He has five years of NFL experience and boasts an 82.3 field goal percentage and an 88.5 percent extra-point percentage.
Chukwuma Okorafor: One of the Patriots’ splashiest additions of the offseason, Okorafor signed in March to bolster one of their weakest position groups, offensive line. He has six years of NFL experience, all with the Steelers, and earned a starting role in 2020, playing 95.5 percent of the offense’s snaps. He’ll join Mike Onwenu, Vederian Lowe, Zach Thomas, and rookie Caedan Wallace on the depth chart at tackle.
Jaylinn Hawkins: The secondary is stacked, and Hawkins, a free agent signing, adds to the talent. With Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, and Marte Mapu, the safety group looks strong and has a combined 20 years of NFL experience.
Javon Baker: Baker recently got into some hot water after posting a social media rant in which he criticized a police officer for issuing him a traffic ticket. A fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, he earned a spot on the 53-man roster but has been inconsistent in his first NFL training camp and preseason. In three preseason games, he had a team-high 15 targets but finished with just five catches for 56 yards.
New rules
Along with a new season comes a new set of rules and clarifications. Here are the biggest changes:
Outlawing the “hip-drop” tackle: NFL owners unanimously approved a rule that bans players from using a swivel technique to tackle an opponent. The NFL said the technique caused at least one injury per week last season and had an injury rate 20-25 times higher than a typical tackle. It will now draw a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down.
Instant replay changes: If the officials on the field rule that the quarterback was down by contact, and instant replay shows he clearly threw the ball before his knee or other body parts were down, then “the ball will be awarded at the spot of the completion or interception. No advance is permitted. If the pass is incomplete, the down counts.”
Officials also can review and fix roughing the passer, intentional grounding, and unnecessary roughness calls.
Clarifying the pocket: It’s now easier for quarterbacks to throw the ball away. The rule has long been that quarterbacks can throw the ball out of bounds with no penalty for intentional grounding as long as they are outside the pocket, defined as the outside edges of the normal tackle positions. The NFL has now clarified that a quarterback is outside the pocket “if any part of his body or the ball is outside the pocket area.”
Awarding an extra challenge: Under previous rules, a team got a third challenge only if it got its first two challenges correct. Under the new rules, a team will get a third challenge if it is successful on one.
Eliminating surprise onside kicks: The new dynamic kickoff, with players on both teams lining up on the return side of the field, has made onside kicks impossible. So the new rules state that teams may only attempt an onside kick in the fourth quarter, and by notifying the officials before the play.
More expedited reviews: When a ruling on the field is clearly incorrect, the NFL can now use an “expedited” review without consultation of the referee in lieu of the traditional replay process. All replay decisions in 2024 — traditional or expedited — will be made by Mark Butterworth, a 25-year veteran of replay booths who takes over for Walt Anderson.
Making the “cheat motion” a point of emphasis: The league clarified a rule regarding pre-snap motion. It always has been a false start penalty when a receiver headed forward before the snap. But the Dolphins — and other teams in response — took advantage of some gray area by having receivers turn upfield simultaneously with the snap. The league clarified the rule by saying “any eligible backfield player who changes his stance does not have to come to a complete stop prior to the snap, as long as his actions are not abrupt (false start) or forward (illegal motion).”
Read more from Ben Volin here.
Patriots schedule
Sept. 8 at Cincinnati (1 p.m.)
Sept. 15 vs. Seattle (1 p.m.)
Sept. 19 at New York Jets (8:15 p.m.)
Sept. 29 at 49ers (4:05 p.m.)
Oct. 6 vs. Miami (1 p.m.)
Oct. 13 vs. Houston (1 p.m.)
Oct. 20 at Jacksonville (9:30 a.m.; London)
Oct. 27 vs. New York Jets (1 p.m.)
Nov. 3 at Tennessee (1 p.m.)
Nov. 10 at Chicago (1 p.m.)
Nov. 17 vs. LA Rams (1 p.m.)
Nov. 24 at Miami (1 p.m.)
Dec. 1 vs. Indianapolis (1 p.m.)
BYE WEEK
Dec. 15 at Arizona (4:25 p.m.)
Dec. 22 at Buffalo (1 p.m.)
Dec. 29 vs. LA Chargers (TBD)
Jan. 5 vs. Buffalo (TBD)
Reporting by Ben Volin of the Globe staff was used in this report.
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