Everything means something.
Few things in the National Football League mean more than how a team starts a season. Only one of the 57 Super Bowl winners started their championship campaign with a home loss. This year, for only the fourth time, a defending Super Bowl champion hosting the season opener on a Thursday night lost that contest. The tradition started in 2004, and twice the defending champ didn’t start at home, but in the other 18 openers hosted by the current Super Bowl champion the home team won 14 times.
Last year, the Los Angeles Rams lost at home in the opener and went on to record the worst record in history for a defending champion, 5-12. The first defending title holder to lose their home opener on a Thursday night was the New York Giants in 2013, and they completed that year with seven wins against nine losses.
There is an exception to the rule that a defending champ that loses their opener is destined for a disappointing season. In 2017, the New Patriots opened defense of their title that they won the prior February in the comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons, with a setback to the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-27. Then Belichick, Brady and company had another great season and returned to the Super Bowl, which resulted in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
If you are going to find an exception to a rule in the NFL it is a good bet that Tom Brady and his merry men are the culprits.
So, while everything matters, nothing is for sure.