2023 NFL Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings

After a long, long offseason, we have finally made it to the kickoff of the 2023 NFL season.

Week 1 will for the Minnesota Vikings will kick off in the friendly confines of U.S. Bank Stadium, where the purple will play host to their former NFC Central rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is a matchup of two teams that won division championships in 2022, but did so in very different ways.

As we know, the Vikings went 13-4 last year and went 11-0 in games that were decided by one score. Obviously, that sort of performance isn’t sustainable over the long term, but hopefully with new defensive coordinator Brian Flores bringing some new aggression to that side of the football, the Vikings can actually win a bit more comfortably going forward. There’s still a lot of talent on offense for the Vikings, and they should have no trouble putting up points this season.

The Buccaneers won the mess that was the NFC South last season with a losing record and said goodbye. . .again. . .to Tom Brady this offseason. Brady has stayed retired this time around, so it will be former #1 overall pick Baker Mayfield leading the Buccaneers into Minneapolis in this one.

This game will feature the Vikings wearing throwback jerseys for the first time in over a decade, as the NFL has relaxed some of their uniform rules to make it easier for teams to have alternate options, particularly when it comes to helmets. The team will also be wearing a uniform patch to honor the late Bud Grant, who passed away this offseason.

The opening line for this one has the Vikings as a six-point favorite over Tampa Bay, with the over/under currently sitting at 45.5. It sounds like the sharps are expecting some points to be put up in this one.

Kickoff for this one is slated for noon Central time, with the game being broadcast on CBS (not FOX). We’ll have plenty of coverage of this one for you, so we hope you’ll keep it tuned right here for all the latest developments.