Eagles-Browns: Sunday Six Pack

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It's here. The opening of football season for the Philadelphia Eagles kicks off as they take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.

The first game of the season presents a lot of questions for both teams. Both Philadelphia and Cleveland enter with new head coaches. Both enter with new quarterbacks, one making his NFL debut. Both enter after very busy offseasons, which included a trade of first-round draft picks between the two teams, that saw complete remodeling of their respective rosters.

It all commences here, as the offseason and preseason are a thing of the past and the regular season is finally upon.

With that, here are six players to watch in the season opener.

QB Carson Wentz – The second overall pick is an obvious choice here. Making his NFL debut and getting his first game action since the first week of the preseason, there's really no way to know what to expect from Wentz. He says he's ready. The coaches say he's ready. It's time to find out how ready he is for the spotlight on the big stage in Philadelphia.

QB Robert Griffin III – The Browns are starting a new era as well with the addition of RG3 to the lineup. This is a chance for Griffin to revitalize his career. He will be looking to make a good first impression, especially against an Eagles defense that was highly-touted in the preseason.

RB Ryan Mathews – One way the Eagles may look to make Carson Wentz's transition to the NFL game a little easier will be to run the ball more. That may mean a lot more action for Ryan Mathews, who moves up to lead back for the Eagles this season. Mathews health has always been a question mark, so his durability will be put to the test, possibly early in the season.

WR Corey Coleman – The rookie wide receiver was the big offseason addition for Cleveland. Coleman had 20 touchdowns with Baylor last season and is a huge speed threat. Coleman should be a good test for the Eagles secondary early. For a team that barely got scoring production from its wide receivers — just three total touchdowns for wide receivers on the team — expect RG3 to look Coleman's way early and often.

WR Jordan Matthews – Another player with limited preseason action, Matthews will serve as the Eagles lead wide receiver this season. Matthews had trouble with drops last season, but has the ability to gain big yards and score. With Wentz now running the offense, it will be interesting to see how he distributes the ball around the field and if Matthews can take his game to the next level in the process.

CB Joe Haden – The Browns top player defensively, Haden only played in five games last season before being forced to miss the remainder of the season with a series of injuries, including two concussions. As a result of Haden's absence, the Browns secondary allowed 34 touchdown passes last season, the most of any team in football. In addition, Haden had ankle surgery in March, and injuries clearly hampered his play last season when he was able to make it on the field. That said, Haden had 16 career interceptions in 72 games prior to last season. He's good on the ball, so he'll be one to watch when competing with the like of Matthews and Dorial Green-Beckham.