As the confetti falls at the conclusion of every Super Bowl, one of the assembled PFT writers posts an item on the potential candidates to face the NFL champion for the opening Thursday of the season. This year, that post ultimately may be moot.

Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports the the first game of the NFL’s 100th season “likely” will be the Packers at the Bears. The Packers completed their 100th season in 2018, and the Bears will celebrate theirs contemporaneously with the NFL’s centennial celebration.

Duncan adds the the Saints and Rams likely will have a rematch in prime time, on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, if the Rams win the Super Bowl. If the Patriots win, New England presumably would open the season on Sunday night, hosting the Dolphins, Bills, Jets, Cowboys, Giants, Steelers, Browns, or Chiefs.

The NFL began scheduling the Super Bowl champion for the first game of the season more than a decade ago.