Associated PressTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, right, and tight end Rob Gronkowski celebrate after winning Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7.

Football season is finally here.

High schools have been playing for at least a couple of weeks over much of the country, and the major college season gets underway on a grand scale this week.

The NFL, as always, will be the last out of the gate. The regular season begins Sept. 9 with a showdown between the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys, and most teams open Sept. 12.

Roughly a dozen teams can lay legitimate claims to championship hopes this season, but COVID-19 again could be a factor. The Bucs became the most recent team to announce a 100% roster vaccination rate, reducing their risk of negative impacts from the virus. But some expected contenders – including the Indianapolis Colts – remain at the low end of the league in terms of vaccination percentage.

Indianapolis spent much of this week practicing without its starting quarterback and center and one of its top wide receivers because they were designated as high-risk close contacts.

But, unique variables aside, it figures to be another competitive chase for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

With the season nearing its dawn, here’s a quick look at the top five teams in Super Bowl contention:

TAMPA BAY

How does this list not start with the Bucs? All 22 starters return from the team that won Super Bowl LV, and the NFC South seems like an easier path to navigate than it did a year ago.

It remains to be seen how Drew Brees’ retirement will affect the defending division champion New Orleans Saints, and both the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons are in rebuilding mode.

With Tom Brady still playing like one of the top quarterbacks in the world and a ferocious defensive line making life miserable for opponents, Tampa Bay remains the favorite until proven otherwise.

KANSAS CITY

The Chiefs responded to the blowout loss in the Super Bowl by revamping the offensive line. In are left tackle Orlando Brown and left guard Joe Thuney as the team attempts to avoid the type of meltdown that made quarterback Patrick Mahomes look mortal against the Bucs.

If Mahomes is in fact better protected, the biggest question marks will come on defense. If Kansas City can figure out a way to consistently slow down opposing offenses, there’s no reason they can’t return to the NFL’s title game for the third consecutive season.

BUFFALO

The Bills took a major step forward in 2020 with quarterback Josh Allen developing into an MVP candidate. The defense has been strong for years and remains among the league’s more underrated units.

The biggest question for Buffalo now could be how well it handles success. The journey from non-contention into the playoffs tends to be the easy part in the NFL. The more difficult leap is from good to great.

If Allen continues his rapid development and the defense keeps making big plays, the Bills project as the biggest threat to Kansas City’s recent dominance in the AFC.

GREEN BAY

No team has more urgency this season than the Packers. Aaron Rodgers has been granted permission to seek a trade if he remains unhappy with the organization after this year.

The quarterback gave a peek into his current mindset by posting a picture of former Chicago Bulls stars Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen from “The Last Dance” documentary that featured Jordan’s final championship run with the franchise in 1998 to social media.

The unrest with Rodgers dominated the offseason storyline, helping people forget this was the No. 1 seed in the NFC a year ago and went down to the wire with Tampa Bay in the conference title game. Green Bay remains the biggest threat to the Bucs within the conference.

L.A. RAMS

As always, this is the boom-or-bust team for the 2021 season. Los Angeles took a big swing by trading for former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and has surrounded him with the best collection of talent in his career.

The questions now are how quickly it all can come together and how Stafford responds in the face of championship-level expectations for the first time. Still, the marriage between head coach Sean McVay’s offensive genius and Stafford’s undeniable skills is one of the most intriguing storylines to follow over the next few months.