After all the schedule-release pomp and circumstance Thursday night, the wide world of sports knows the 2016 NFL season will kick off with a Super Bowl rematch in the Mile High City.
And that Sept. 8 clash between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers also represents a true NFL rarity.
In the last 49 seasons, the teams which played in the previous Super Bowl only have met six times, making the 2016 tilt at Sports Authority Field only the seventh Super Bowl rematch in 50 years. It’s the second Big Game redux in three years, though, as you might recall the last one: The Seahawks’ 26-20 overtime win over the visiting Broncos in Week 3 of the 2014 season.