Buccaneers will set sail on title defense Sept. 9 versus Cowboys

The Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kick off the 2021 NFL regular season and hoist their banners at 8:20 p.m. ET Thursday, Sept. 9, while hosting the Dallas Cowboys on NBC.

That game also is expected to represent Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott’s return from the gruesome ankle injury that ended his 2020 season on Oct. 11.

The “Sunday Night Football” game will feature the Bears visiting the Rams. And the Raiders will host the Ravens on “Monday Night Football” to cap off the Week 1 slate.

NFL broadcast partner CBS released the following rundown of Week 1 games: Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills; New York Jets at Carolina Panthers; Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans; Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans; Los Angeles Chargers at Washington Football Team; Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs; and Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots.

Fox announced the Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons; Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals; San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions;

Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts; Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints; and Denver Broncos at New York Giants.

Other games of note:

• That matchup between the Jets and Panthers will represent a revenge game for quarterback Sam Darnold, whom New York traded to Carolina to clear the way for the drafting of Zach Wilson.

• Top overall pick Trevor Lawrence will make his NFL debut at Houston, which has a muddled quarterback situation given Deshaun Watson’s dissatisfaction with the franchise and ongoing legal battle with 22 women alleging sexual misconduct.

• The Saints kick off a new era with Drew Brees now retired. Will Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill be their starting quarterback? Will their opponent, Green Bay, have Aaron Rodgers under center?

• The “Sunday Night Football” game marks Matthew Stafford’s debut as the Rams’ quarterback, while former Rams starter Jared Goff makes his Lions debut against San Francisco.

The NFL unveiled the rest of its regular-season schedule Wednesday evening.