Just over seven months after winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history, the Philadelphia Eagles will get the 2018 NFL season underway at home to the Atlanta Falcons this week.

The Eagles prevailed in a classic Super Bowl showdown against the New England Patriots in February, and both teams are among the favourites to challenge for another outing in the showpiece event, which this season takes place in Atlanta.

However, with some of the league's biggest names returning from injury and surprise packages from 2017 looking to prove they were not one-season wonders, there are many questions which remain unanswered ahead of the new campaign.

Here, Sports Mole assesses three of the favourites to climb to the top of the mountain this season, according to the NFL betting odds.

New England Patriots

Perennial playoff participants and serial winners, the New England Patriots go into the new campaign as the bookmakers' favourites to win a record-equalling sixth Super Bowl, the previous five of which have all come in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era.

Logic suggests that age will one day catch up with Brady in particular, but the now-41-year-old shows no signs of slowing down and, while his side ended up losing the Super Bowl in February, the five-time NFL champion still managed to break records.

Off-field issues have plagued the Patriots during the off-season, but that is certainly not the first time that has happened and, as long as Brady and Belichick remain in place, it is impossible to rule them out of the running.

The return of Julian Edelman from an ACL injury will boost an already-intimidating offense which still includes Rob Gronkowski despite the speculation over his future, and they may need to rely on that to outscore opposition due to concerns over their defensive line.

The Patriots tightened up their defence significantly during the final weeks of the 2017 regular season, but some lingering issues were laid bare in the Super Bowl defeat.

For the first time since 2010, they will also be without Danny Amendola, Malcolm Butler, Dion Lewis and Nate Solder, and for all of the experience still in the team, it remains to be seen how they cope with the loss of such an influential bunch.

Brady's current bunch are still more than capable of success, though, as they look to become only the third team in NFL history to reach three Super Bowls in a row.

Philadelphia Eagles

The fact that no team has retained the Vince Lombardi trophy since the Patriots 14 years ago is proof of just how difficult an achievement it is.

Being defending champions is an experience the Eagles have never had before, but they do boast very recent experience of upsetting the odds, having overcome the loss of their starting quarterback towards the latter stages of last season and still winning the Super Bowl.

It is far to say that even most Eagles fans may have doubted Nick Foles's ability after he came in for the final two regular-season games, but the quarterback's MVP performance in the Super Bowl - when he became the first player to throw and catch for a touchdown in the showpiece event - proves how quickly things can change in the NFL.

The Eagles will, of course, be hoping for more of the same, and should Foles begin the season as strongly as he ended last, Carson Wentz may have a job on his hands even getting back into the team once he is back up to full speed.

Zach Ertz and Jay Ajayi are the stars in the receiving and running corps respectively, while the defence has only been strengthened from their Super Bowl-winning team, so the Eagles appear to have the tools to challenge once again.

Philadelphia were something of a surprise package last season, though, and the NFL will now be well aware of the threat they pose; just another of the new challenges that await teams at the top of the mountain.

Los Angeles Rams

Not a name many would have expected prior to last season, but one that has certainly earned its place in the conversation of potential Super Bowl participants.

Sean McVay's first season in charge saw him transform the Rams from a 4-12 team into an 11-5 one, and while last season ended in the Wild Card playoffs, the 2018 campaign looks hugely promising.

The additions of three former All-Pros in Ndamukong Suh, Marcos Peters and Aqib Talib will help to shore up the defence, while Brandin Cooks has also arrived to offer another option on offense.

Much still relies on Jared Goff continuing to improve in his embryonic NFL career, but with Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald also in their ranks, the Rams have match-winning contributors on both sides of the ball.

As with the Eagles, there will be a new level of expectation to contend with this time around, but the Rams certainly seem to be a franchise heading in the right direction as they bid to end a 19-year wait for the Vince Lombardi trophy.