Editor's note: ESPN senior NFL writer John Clayton's weekly "First And 10" column takes you around the league with a look at the best game of the week followed by primers for 10 other games. Here's his look at Week 1.

First ... Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots: The NFL season opens as it finished in the AFC last season with the Patriots playing the Steelers in a new stadium. The location has switched. Instead of playing in Pittsburgh, the location has switched to New England where the Patriots are playing in their plush new home.

The Patriots won the last meeting, 24-17, and odds favor them winning again to start this season. For whatever reason, the Steelers, under Bill Cowher, traditionally struggle in their opener. Now, they head to New England before a crazy crowd and a lot of emotion. That's hard to beat any time, but in the opener, it's even tougher.

Of the two teams, though, the Steelers have the best chance of getting to the AFC title game. Their schedule is easier than the Patriots, who play in a rough division in which the Jets and Dolphins are equal if not better in terms of talent.

	Troy Brown returned this punt 55 yards for a touchdown in New England's AFC championship victory.

Look at the Steelers schedule. They open on the road against the Patriots and come home for a Sunday night game against the Raiders. Then they take a break to reflect. The only team that the Steelers face until a trip to Tampa in Week 16 with a winning record from last season is Baltimore, a team that revamped its roster with young players because of the salary cap.

The Patriots have a much tougher road. In fact, their first two AFC East games against the Dolphins and Jets are on the road. While the Steelers know that they could start the season with a 1-1 record and be in good shape, the Patriots know that they have no choice but to get off to a good start. Three of their first five games are on the road, including two against their division rivals. A road trip to San Diego Sept. 29 could be tricky. The Chiefs could also be an improved team in Dick Vermeil's second season.

In many ways, that puts more pressure on the Patriots to win this opener. The Patriots didn't make significant upgrades to their roster, but that's not Bill Belichick's game. He brought in 15 new players, including nine new veterans to fill roles.

If there is a change in the Patriots, it's on offense where Belichick tried to find bigger targets for quarterback Tom Brady. Wide receiver Donald Hayes is a tall receiver who will help Brady on passing downs. Tight ends Christian Fauria, Cam Cleeland and Daniel Graham offer nice mixes of size, blocking and pass-catching.

The Steelers made only 12 changes to their roster, but they continue to add exciting parts at receiver. Antwaan Randle El may not get much action at wide receiver but all he did in the preseason was make exciting plays. Figuring it would take time for Randle El to make the adjustment from college quarterback to pro receiver, the Steelers brought in dependable Terance Mathis, a 35-year-old with 666-career catches.

And 10. St. Louis Rams at Denver Broncos: The Rams came out of the preseason with a lot of injuries. Many of the players should be ready for the opener, but the lost time in practice may put the Rams behind where Mike Martz wants them to be. Terrence Wilkins' rib problems kept him out of valuable practice time that he needed to learn the offense. Ricky Proehl has had leg problems. The defensive line has had to be juggled because of injuries throughout the camp. One thing that can't be forgotten is that the Rams are the best team on paper and the best team when all the players are available. The biggest question mark hanging over the team is how well John St. Clair plays at right tackle. Sunday's game in Mile High will be his first regular season action. The coaches are confident that he can handle the job, but fans and maybe even some teammates may be holding their breath. The Broncos look stronger on defense. They are bigger on the defensive line now that Trevor Pryce has moved from tackle to end and Lional Dalton to tackle. On offense, coach Mike Shanahan isn't saying until game time whether Olandis Gary or rookie Clinton Portis will start at halfback, but most people figure it's going to be Gary. Portis fumbled four times during the exhibition season including three times in one game. Fumble against the Rams and you lose seven points. Portis may gain more yards, but in the tough opener, the Broncos can't afford losing points.

9. New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Bucs: Only because of the fact that these are two new division rivals in the NFC South that the significance of this game is ignored. This is a big game. With Carolina and Atlanta rebuilding, this is the battle for the new division. The Bucs enter as the top dogs, but the Saints aren't bad. Coach Jim Haslett believes the Saints are good enough to win 11 games. Halfback Deuce McAllister overpowered defenders during the preseason. Aaron Brooks is throwing to great speed in wide receivers Joe Horn, Donté Stallworth and Jerome Pathon. The Bucs have significantly improved on offense under first-year coach Jon Gruden. The Bucs have professionals at receiver. Keenan McCardell is the ideal flanker for Gruden's offense, and his addition allows Keyshawn Johnson to move to split end. Ken Dilger is a dependable tight end. Though they lost the elusiveness of Warrick Dunn, Gruden loves the power running of Michael Pittman. Gruden's biggest worry is the offensive line. It's been a problem throughout camp. Things were so bad that Kenyatta Walker, last year's first-rounder, was benched in favor of Cornell Green, who came from the Dolphins bench in a late summer trade.

8. Philadelphia Eagles at Tennessee Titans: The Eagles ranked No. 18 in the league stopping the run last season, and they took some significant hits to that unit this year, one was self-imposed. Management elected not to pay big dollars to middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. They hoped Barry Gardner could handle to load, but the Eagles hedged their bet by signing 290-pound plus Levon Kirkland after the Seahawks released him. Another hole was created on the defensive line when tackle Hollis Thomas, their best run-stopper, was lost for the season. Facing Eddie George of the Titans is a tough opening test. George worked with Jerry Rice this offseason to regain the stride that was temporary lost by last year's toe injury. He looks great. So does quarterback Steve McNair. The Titans are ready to bounce back from last year's 7-9 season. Fisher doesn't want a repeat of last year's 31st finish for pass defense, and he goes into the regular season with a much healthier secondary than a year ago.

7. Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders: Once, this was a pretty good rivalry. But the Seahawks have struggled of late, and the Raiders became good and have held the physical edge in this series. The Seahawks move to the NFC West takes away the rivalry part of this showdown, and the timing of this game couldn't be worse for the Seahawks. Mike Holmgren heads into Oakland without quarterback Trent Dilfer and Pro Bowl defensive tackle John Randle. If that wasn't bad enough, left tackle Walter Jones is a holdout, so the team is playing with two new tackles, Pork Chop Womack on the left and Jerry Wunsch on the right. Matt Hasselbeck starts this game, but he has lot confidence over the past year. He was 5-7 as a starter, but his biggest enemy at the moment is himself. Figuring he will be under intense pressure from the Raiders defense, Hasselbeck could be in for an ugly game. For the Raiders, this is the perfect way to get into the season as long as they play well enough to win. They had some horrible preseason performances, but coach Bill Callahan needs a good start to set his Raiders coaching career in motion. He has a tough assignment next week against the Steelers. Going into that game with an 0-1 record would have started the Callahan Era in a panic. There will be extra motivation on the defensive line because of the addition of defensive tackle Sam Adams. The former Seahawk lives in Seattle, but the Seahawks didn't meet his demand for $2 million to help their line. Adams will be playing with a mission.

6. San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants: This could be a dangerous game for the 49ers. Clearly, they are the better team. They have come together on defense after three years of solid drafting and free-agent moves. Though they ranked No. 13 statistically, the 49ers play better than their numbers. They are young. They have speed. They are good. The Giants, though, have weapons and big play makers even though they aren't particularly deep. Still, home openers are emotional. A home-opener looking over the New York skyline will also be high on emotion. The 49ers offensively can't make mistakes or turnovers. They have to run an efficient offense and now allow the emotions of the Giants to consume them and cost them this game. The Giants probably won't have their most explosive halfback threat, Tiki Barber, and that will hurt.

5. New York Jets at Buffalo Bills: The Jets have been one of the best looking teams in the preseason and they should have defensive end John Abraham back from his injury. They made six changes in their starting defense, and that may take a few weeks to settle in. But overall, this is a good looking team on offense. Offensive coordinator Paul Hackett is opening things up in his second season. Players love it. Plus, owner Woody Johnson is making everyone on offense feel good by giving lucrative contract extensions to Curtis Martin and Wayne Chrebet. They are trying to get center Kevin Mawae done before Sunday. The Bills come in with a potent offense themselves. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe may have more explosive weapons than he had in New England on offense. If he can produce touchdowns early, this could be a tough start for the Jets. Bills fans hope to see another Jim Kelly in Bledsoe.

4. Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears: Any division game has a major impact. The Bears are loaded. Jim Miller comes limping into this start with a sore ankle that will limit his mobility. What's new? Miller doesn't have a lot of mobility to lose, but he wins games with his game management and leadership. The Vikings are explosive, and their defense got significantly better with the addition of middle linebacker Greg Biekert. No one knows how many games the Vikings will win, but they will be exciting. Randy Moss will have a monster year. Daunte Culpepper should put up Pro Bowl numbers. Michael Bennett should have a good year at halfback. This is a good showdown of an exciting offense going against a hard-hitting defense.

3. Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns: Maybe it's me, but at this early stage, I don't get the feeling quarterback Tim Couch will start. Kelly Holcomb will probably be the starter because the Couch injury appears to be a little more than a bruise. We'll see how the next few days of practice goes. It's interesting that these two teams open against each other. Both have chances to be one of the league's surprise teams. For the Browns to challenge the Steelers, they need an upgraded offense. For talent, they have that as long as rookie William Green comes through in the backfield. Couch has been starving for a consistent running attack. The Chiefs need a big season from quarterback Trent Green. Coach Dick Vermeil believes in him, and the Chiefs made a good move in acquiring Johnnie Morton as the go-to receiver. Morton should catch 80 passes for 1,200 yards and score 10 or more touchdowns. Whichever team wins will come out of this game with great optimism.

2. San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals: This is the second pairing of potential surprise teams. The Chargers are a sleeper. They have great players on defense. Drew Brees looks capable of being a winning quarterback. LaDainian Tomlinson should put up big numbers in the backfield as long as he stays healthy. And coach Marty Schottenheimer preaches discipline that usually produces victories. The Bengals are always an enigma. They haven't had a winning season since 1990, but teams that have played them talk about them having a winning season this year. We'll see. If the Bengals can't win this game, the skeptics will be back. That puts a lot of pressure on quarterback Gus Frerotte, who won the starting job over Jon Kitna. Kitna found out that it's hard for a quarterback to change a team's winning ways. Frerotte has more arm strength than Kitna, which may open up some big plays.

1. Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans: How can you not include a battle of the two Texans teams. The Cowboys believe they have a shot at the playoffs, so it is important for them and quarterback Quincy Carter to establish a good start. The schedule gets much tougher the next few weeks. They Cowboys play the Titans, Eagles and Rams following the Texans game. Like any expansion team, though, the Texans will have a tough time winning an opener, but they have some hope with coach Dom Capers. In Carolina, Capers was the only coach who won an opening game as an expansion team. Quarterback David Carr, despite a scare with a knee injury, gets his first start. His big worry is playing without starting tackles Tony Boselli and Ryan Young.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.