 The first one, featuring the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants, was held on September 5, 2002 largely to celebrate New York City's resilience in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.Since 2004, the NFL has indicated that the opening game will normally be hosted by the defending Super Bowl champions as the official start of their title defense.Under this scheduling system, the earliest the regular season could begin is September 4, as it was in the and seasons, due to September 1 falling on a Monday, while the latest possible is September 10, as it was in the and seasons, due to September 1 falling on a Tuesday.