If all goes according to tradition, the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will host the NFL’s season-opening game on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014. Without a Seattle Mariners home game to disrupt the process, one of the eight teams on Seattle’s 2014 home schedule is expected to visit CenturyLink Field three nights after Labor Day. For The Win breaks down those teams into various categories.

No shot

Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams

It says a lot about the toughness of Seattle’s home schedule that there are only two games in this category.

Probably no shot, even though they deserve one

Arizona Cardinals

Only one team has defeated Seattle in Seattle over the past two seasons. So why is there next to no shot that team will get the marquee slot in the opener? Because that team is the Arizona Cardinals.

Please resist the urge, NFL

New York Giants

Despite the presence of a marquee team, no one, especially Eli Manning, wants to see this game happen.

A matchup that would draw huge ratings

Dallas Cowboys

No one would be disappointed if Tony Romo and the Cowboys drew the opening slot, especially not NBC, which would do a huge number for the game. But given Dallas’s role as a playoff also-ran, look for the NFL to seek a more competitive option.

The Super Bowl rematch?

Denver Broncos

Did the Super Blow-out kill interest in a Week 1 rematch? I think so. The last thing the NFL would want from a Thursday opener is people speculating about another blowout in the days leading up to the game. Sending Peyton and the Broncos to Seattle is an intriguing possibility for Week 1, but this game feels like a better fit for a midseason primetime affair.

The best possible game

San Francisco 49ers

It’s the game everyone wants to see — a rematch of the NFC championship and a rivalry that’s getting more heated every time the two teams face off. If it happens, it’d be the best Thursday night matchup in history, even better than the 2011 game that featured the 2010 champion Green Bay Packers hosting the 2009 champion New Orleans Saints. There’s a great shot Seahawks-49ers does happen in Week 1, but here’s why it’s not a lock:

1. The 49ers open their new stadium in 2014. Will the NFL want to showcase the new stadium in Week 1 with either a nationally-televised late-afternoon game on Fox or a Sunday night matchup? Still, San Francisco could go to Seattle to open, then open their home schedule with a nationally televised game in Week 2.

2. NBC is almost certain to get one of the Seahawks-49ers games for its Sunday night package. (The other will air on Fox.) Why waste it in a Thursday game everyone is going to watch anyway?

3. There are other great options on the table.

FTW’s pick for the NFL’s 2014 season-opener

Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

Any of the last four teams listed would make for a fantastic game, but we like Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay heading to the Pacific Northwest to open the 2014 season.