The NFL regular season is finally underway and what a wild week it was. The first game of the NFL season was held on Thursday, Sept. 5, when the Denver Broncos hosted the 2013 Super Bowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens. The Broncos won the opener 49-27 after Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning threw an NFL record-tying 7 touchdowns. Manning also threw for 462 yards and completed 27 of his 42 pass attempts.

The Minnesota Vikings began their regular season on the road against the Detroit Lions. Despite a 78 yard TD run by Adrian Peterson on the first offensive play, Minnesota lost to Detroit 34-24. The Lions’ defense managed to make a few adjustments after Peterson’s big run and held him to just 15 rushing yards for the rest of the game. Peterson finished the game with 93 total rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.

The big question surrounding the Vikings leading up to this season was how Christian Ponder would perform in his now second year as the Vikings’ starting quarterback. Sunday’s game left many Vikings fans shaking their heads after what was an inconsistent performance by Ponder. The three year veteran finished with 236 yards on 18 completed passes along with 1 touchdown pass and 3 interceptions. Ponder’s struggles weren’t the only factor that played a part in the Vikings’ loss as the defense had a difficult time trying to stop the Lions’  offense. The Lions’ newly acquired running back, Reggie Bush, had a sensational debut on Sunday against the Vikings. Bush finished with 90 yards rushing and 101 yards receiving along with 1 TD.

The Vikings will be on the road again this week as they take on the Chicago Bears, who won their first game of the season, 24-21. Kickoff is set for noon on Sunday, Sept. 15.

There were many great games in the first week of the NFL season. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers, 34-28, in what was nominated as week 1’s game of the week. The Sunday night game on NBC featured an NFC East rivalry game as the Dallas Cowboys hosted the New York Giants. The Cowboys won, 36-31, in a game that saw the Giants turn the ball over 6 times.

Week 1 of the NFL season concluded Monday night with two games on ESPN. The Houston Texans pulled off a 21 point comeback and finished with a 31-28 victory against the San Diego Chargers. However, the biggest game of the night was the battle between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. There were two big stories surrounding this NFC East matchup. The first was the return of Redskins’ quarterback, Robert Griffin III, who spent the offseason recovering from a serious knee injury. “RGIII” finished the game with 329 passing yards on 30 completed passes along with 2 TD’s, making for an impressive debut.

The second was the debut of the New Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach, Chip Kelly. Fans eagerly watched Kelly’s new team, and were amazed at the speed of the new Eagle offense. The game ended in a shootout with the Eagles winning, 33-27.

On another NFL related note, Bruno Mars was also announced this week as the performer for the 2014 Super Bowl half-time show, which will be held at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Feb. 2, 2014. If there’s anything to take away from Week 1 of the NFL season, it’s that this year’s season will surely be a great one, leading up to what should be an epic showdown at Super Bowl XLVIII.

The second week of the NFL is looking to be another great week of football. The NBC Sunday night game will be an NFC West showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams are coming off of great seasons and are easy picks for possible Super Bowl contenders. Other games to watch will be the Washington Redskins versus the Green Bay Packers, the Denver Broncos versus the New York Giants, and the Pittsburg Steelers versus the Cincinnati Bengals, which will be on ESPN for Monday Night Football.

While it may be too early to begin predicting this season’s Super Bowl, there have been two teams that have stood out so far. The San Francisco 49ers or the Seattle Seahawks are the two teams from the NFC whom I believe will be competing for the chance to go to the Super Bowl. Both teams have fast offenses and great defenses. In the end, I predict the 49ers to make it to the big game for the second year straight. As for the team to make it from the AFC, my prediction is a no-brainer. The team I anticipate to be in the Super Bowl this year from the AFC is the Denver Broncos. If there’s one thing that was obvious from Thursday’s showdown against the Ravens, it’s that the Broncos’ offense is more dangerous this year than last season. Broncos’ quarterback Peyton Manning has more targets than ever before, along with a great defense who has the ability to be one of the top 5 defenses in the NFL. Overall, I predict this year’s Super Bowl to be one of the best football games we have seen in a long time.