The new season begins in the NFL – seven months after the Super Bowl. The most important information about favorites, TV broadcasts – and Taylor Swift.
The long break is over: The NFL season begins on Friday night (2:20 a.m. German time/RTL). The Kansas City Chiefs, with stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, host the Baltimore Ravens in the first game and begin their attempt to become the first team in history to win the Super Bowl three times in a row.
When does it start?
The best months of the year begin for all football fans on Friday night. RTL will broadcast live from 1:50 a.m. German time, with kickoff at 2:20 a.m. The match will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
How can you watch the games on TV?
RTL shows around 80 live broadcasts per season on the free-to-air channels RTL and Nitro as well as on the paid channel. There will be up to three live games per week on free TV and one exclusive game on RTL+.
If you want to watch all the games live, you have to book the paid streaming service “NFL Game Pass” from DAZN.
Who is the favorite?
Kansas won the Super Bowl in 2023 and 2024. They haven’t won two games in a row for 19 years, the last time being the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005. There have never been three Super Bowl victories in a row – the Chiefs now want to be the first team to do this and have a squad as strong as last season. The San Francisco 49ers, who were defeated in the Super Bowl last season and also have all of their key players still on board, are also high on the betting market ahead of the start of the season. The extended circle of title candidates also includes the Detroit Lions with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Baltimore with quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost to the Chiefs in 2023.
How many Germans are active in the NFL?
Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions, Brandon Coleman of the Washington Commanders and Jakob Johnson of the New York Giants have made it into their teams’ 53-man squad. Other professionals with German passports still have a chance of playing this season. Equanimeous St. Brown (New Orleans Saints), Marcel Dabo (Indianapolis Colts) and Kilian Zierer (Houston Texans) all signed contracts for the training squads of their respective teams and can be promoted from there to the matchday squads relatively easily, for example if teammates are injured.
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Who should we watch out for this season?
St. Brown had an outstanding third season with the Detroit Lions and is now one of the best pass receivers in the league. He was even one of the protagonists in the Netflix documentary “Receiver” alongside Deebo Samuel and George Kittle (both San Francisco 49ers), Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders) and Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings). For Aaron Rodgers, the eagerly awaited time with the New York Jets is now really beginning – last season he was injured in the first game of the season and could no longer help the team. It will also be exciting to see how quarterback Russell Wilson does with the Pittsburgh Steelers after his disappointing time with the Denver Broncos and whether he can defend his starting spot ahead of Justin Fields.
Is the NFL coming back to Germany?
Yes, the NFL is coming to Germany for the third year in a row. On November 10, the New York Giants will play against the Carolina Panthers in Munich. It is therefore quite possible that Jakob Johnson will be the first German professional to take to the field at an NFL game in Germany. “That would be a cool moment. But right now it is important that I get used to the organization and find my way into the team over the next few weeks. When the time comes in November, then so be it,” Johnson told the DPA news agency. The game is already sold out, but returns could come back onto the market.
When do the playoffs start?
The playoffs begin on January 12th with the wild card games.
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Where is the Super Bowl?
Super Bowl LIX will be held in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. It will be the eleventh time that the Louisiana city will host the mega spectacle and the eighth time that the game will be played in the New Orleans Saints’ current stadium, the Ceasers Superdome. The last Super Bowl in New Orleans was the 34:31 victory between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers in February 2013.
And what about Taylor Swift?
Pop superstar and Chiefs professional Travis Kelce are still in a relationship. The singer attended numerous Kansas City Chiefs games last season and flew from Tokyo to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. In the summer, it was Kelce who attended many concerts and even performed on stage in London. US media have long since compared the Chiefs’ schedule with the dates of Swift’s Eras tour and found that only three Chiefs games clash with concert dates. So for the opening match against the Ravens, Swifties could also see new pictures of the singer in the stadium.
Transparency note: Der stern is part of RTL Deutschland.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
