As we await the official release of the 2021 NFL schedule, we already have a base knowledge of who will face who come fall; and now with an added week, there'll be plenty of marquee performances littered throughout the regular season schedule to cause fits of celebration or panic.

Rookie debuts will highlight a handful of games and, of course, the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will mark the official start to the new season once play resumes.

Remember: The added 17th game now pushes the postseason schedule back a week with the Super Bowl slated for Feb. 13. Each team will have an additional AFC versus NFC game. Here are the five games we can’t wait to watch this season:

1. Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 9 (November 7)

The additional week in the 2021 schedule will give us exciting matchups; this is the first that made the list and arguably the most notable. The Aaron Rodgers drama in Green Bay has been far more entertaining than even his energized performance last season. It remains to be seen if he’ll continue under center for the Packers in 2021. If Rodgers does remain on the roster, the matchup against the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City team should be one of the best games of the season. Many were hoping this would have been last year’s Super Bowl matchup and has the potential to be this year’s Super Bowl preview; now, two of the best quarterbacks to grace an NFL field will be able to go toe-to-toe with a lot more on the line than just the outcome of this particular game.

2. Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 5 (October 10): Sunday Night Football

If you’re sensing a theme here, you’re right. Kansas City is currently the favorite to win this year’s Super Bowl, barely surpassing the Buccaneers, according to BetOnline. And anytime Mahomes takes the fields, you’re bound to see a jaw-dropping play or five. In this matchup, Kansas City will face the budding Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen, who was contending for the NFL’s MVP award last season. When Allen’s on, he’s on; and facing the best, in Mahomes, could be extra motivation to show out. The Bills are quietly getting better and better and seem to be a couple of big wins (and one long postseason run) away from making a lot of noise in the league. This is also a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New England Patriots

Week 4 (October 3): Sunday Night Football

This list couldn’t be complete without this matchup. Whatever sorcery Tom Brady is tapped into has to come to an end at some point, but for now, this will once again be a game everybody has their eyes on as Brady faces his previous head coach, Bill Belichick, and a rebuilding New England Patriots squad. While we shouldn’t look too far ahead, there will be a day (sooner rather than later) when these particular football mammoths are no longer manning their respective offenses/teams in one way or another. This will give fans of both teams a chance to relish in a familiar pairing.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Jets

Week 16 (December 26)

This is strictly a quarterback matchup; neither team is likely to offer more than that this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars will be sporting their No. 1 pick, Trevor Lawrence, and new head coach, Urban Meyer; while the New York Jets will have their second-overall pick Zach Wilson under center. This is a classic 1-2 battle that will now include another former passer after Tim Tebow and the Jaguars are reportedly working on a one-year deal. Tebow will play tight end in Jacksonville if both parties agree to terms; this could reunite Tebow with his college coach and give Jacksonville a Taysom Hill-esque player to use for trick plays and other offensive schemes if Tebow makes the final roster. Tuning into the mess this could become will be entertaining, to say the least.

5. Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 6 (October 17): Sunday Night Football

This is a very biased selection and gives us—er, me—a Super Bowl 40 rematch over a decade in the making. There’s still a bitter taste in Seahawks fans’ mouths. While the matchup will feature a much older Ben Roethlisberger and Seattle’s Russell Wilson—who wasn’t in the NFL at the time—the stolen Super Bowl championship will be at the forefront of Seahawks fans’ minds as a storyline threaded through the added week.