With the NFL’s regular season starting one week later than previous years, football feels a touch out of reach as the sports calendar hits the dog days of summer. But it’s never too early to talk football, and focus on some of the best Week 1 matchups the league has to offer.
The matchups picked below are based on the most expensive average ticket prices on the secondary market with information provided by TiqIQ.com. The average ticket price on the secondary market is a good barometer of judging a game’s popularity, taking into account factors of demand and availability.
Most Expensive: 9/13/2015 | Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers | Soldier Field | Average Ticket Price: $605.22 | Get-in Price: $201
Neither of these two NFC North division teams can ease their way into the regular season, as the rivals waste no time squaring off during the 2015 season. Aaron Rodgers has cemented himself as a top all-around quarterback in the NFL, and a Super Bowl contender that is probably still having nightmares about their NFC Championship game collapse against the Seattle Seahawks. Instead of talking about back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, the season narrative is the Packers quest to reach where they probably should’ve been last season. The Bears are under a new regime with a new general manager and head coach, and will try to remake their identify on the fly under John Fox.
9/10/2015 | New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | Gillette Stadium | Average Ticket Price: $491.51 | Get-in Price: $226
The game with the most uncertainty is the opening game of the NFL season when the New England Patriots are set to defend their Super Bowl championship against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Foxborough. Tom Brady’s status is still up in the air as of now, as Deflategate is dragging on way longer than anyone had imagined. The very first action of the NFL season can be seen with the help of a guide to hotel deals on Hipmunk.com to create the shortest distance between the bedroom and the stadium.
9/13/2015 | Denver Broncos vs. Baltimore Ravens | Sports Authority Field At Mile High | Average Ticket Price: $439.90 | Get-in Price: $158
The Baltimore Ravens will trot out their usual cast of characters, with Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh look for Super Bowl No. 2 for the 2015 season. The Broncos have moved on from head coach John Fox, and are letting Gary Kubiak imply his run-heavy offense to in theory take some of the load off Peyton Manning. As with a usual NFL season, much of the spotlight will shine on Manning, as it is rumored to possible be his final season suiting up. Manning and the Broncos will be a must watch team this season, and cheap airline tickets on Hipmunk can get fans from anywhere to any of their 16-plus games this season.
