NFL season kicks off with Super Bowl rematch

The 2016 NFL season kicks off Thursday, with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos taking the field in Colorado in a rematch of Super Bowl 50. Following Peyton Manning's retirement, the Broncos are debuting a new quarterback under center in Trevor Siemian, a second-year signal caller who's yet to register a single NFL career pass. They'll also have some new faces on the offensive line, which hopes to buy Siemian time in the pocket as he eases into running an NFL offense.

The Panthers, meanwhile, return last year's league MVP Cam Newton at quarterback, and are looking to avenge their championship defeat last February, when they fell to the underdog Broncos 24-10. Newton has started against the Broncos twice in his career, and was sacked a whopping 13 times total in those two games, but he'll have standout receiver Kelvin Benjamin back as a target after Benjamin lost last year to injury.

Week 1 action hits its stride Sunday, with 13 games throughout the day; the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, and New England Patriots all kick their seasons off Sunday, while the Minnesota Vikings will take on the Tennessee Titans with brand-new quarterback Sam Bradford leading the offense.

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Kickoff for Thursday's opener is at 8:30 p.m. ET, and you can catch the action on NBC.