This is my week 1 preview of the NFL season. This article is written for fun and based off of my weekly picks. By no means am I telling you to use these picks and gamble your hard earned money away. This is meant to be fun and give you an idea of the NFL matchups for the week. How you choose to use these picks is at your own risk.
Please vote up my article if you would like to see more of this on a weekly basis as well as possibly some fantasy football players of the week picks.
Chiefs @ Patriots (-9)
Tom Brady against Alex Smith to open the season tonight. The line opened at -8 but action has pushed the Pats down to -9.
Alex Smith and the Chiefs are intriguing as they have a tough defense and play a control the clock type of style on offense. The loss of Spencer Ware in the pre season may cause some trouble or may not. I have trouble believing in the Chiefs in this opener against the GOAT. Travis Kelce is Alex Smiths favorite target and he has never scored more then 5 touchdowns in a season during his career.
Tom Brady also known as father time is ready to start another amazing season. Brady lost Julian Edelman for the year in the preseason. However, Cooks and Dorsett should serve as great targets to go with Hogan and Gronkowski and the ten running backs on the roster.
Brady and Pats cover 9
Jets @ Bills (-9)
Line opened at -6.5 and heavy action has taken it down to -9.
Most fans probably can’t name the Jets starting QB. The Jets sold Sheldon Richardson for a 1 year supply of Gatorade last week.
The Bills return Taylor and McCoy. That’s enough for me.
Bills cover 9
Falcons (-7) @ Bears
Line opened at -6 and action on the Falcons on the road against DA Bears brings it to -7.
Falcons coming off a huge season from QB Matty Ice and the entire offense. Julio Jones has taken over as the premier receiver in the league. I always worry about the Falcons on the road as they seem to need a diaper sometimes.
Bears have Jordan Howard and that’s about it. Maybe they put up a fight at home in week 1.
Falcons cover 7
Jaguars @ Texans (-5.5)
Line moved from -4.5 to -5.5 on the Texans.
Texans Defense overwhelms the Jaguars. Texans get big boost from fans coming together after hurricane Harvey.
Houston covers -5.5
Eagles (-1) @ Redskins
Line opened at -2.5 Redskins and action has moved it the opposite way.
Eagles have tons of weapons on offense for second year quarterback Carson Wentz. The question is will Wentz step up or will he have a sophomore slump.
Redskins Kirk Cousins is on yet another mission to prove he is worth the long term contract and big pay day.
This one is close to me but I will go with the home team. Cousins can’t afford home losses to earn his paycheck.
Redskins +1
Cardinals (-2) @ Lions
Line opened Lions -2.5 and has shifted to the Cardinals -2.
Cardinals are coming off a down year after large expectations last season. Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald continue to drink from the fountain of youth. While young emerging talent tries to stay healthy.
Lions Matthew Stafford became the highest paid player in football last week. Now he looks to prove it on the field against a tough defense.
Lions +2
Raiders @ Titans (-2)
Line opened up Raiders -1 and now sits Titans -2.
Titans are trying to surround Marcus Mariota with as much talent as possible. This will be a run heavy offense as they lean on Murray and Henry. Titans seem to give teams trouble while playing at home.
Raiders return a talented offense and a healthy Derek Carr should continue where he left off last year. The Raiders will go Beast Mode this year and pound the ball behind a very expensive offensive line.
Carr gets it done in the 4th quarter as he has done 12 times in his career already.
Raiders +2
Ravens @ Bengals (-3)
Line opened Bengals -1 and has moved to -3.
Joe Flacco took the entire pre season off and hasn’t done nearly enough throwing since last seasons back injury.
Bengals return Andy Dalton and AJ Green who have great chemistry. The backfield consists of three yards and cloud of dust Jeremy Hill, glass man Giovani Bernard
Steelers (-9) @ Browns
Line opened at -9.5 and is at -9 now.
Browns will start rookie quarterback Deshone Kizer.
Steelers return Big Ben and all of his weapons.
Steelers cover 9
Colts @ Rams (-3.5)
Line opened at -3.5 Colts. Guess Vegas likes the Rams.
Rams added Sammie Watkins to give Jared Goff a chance in his second year to be productive. We will see a heavy dose of Todd Gurley in this one.
Colts are sitting in a nightmare of a situation with franchise quarterback Andrew Luck still sidelined from off season shoulder surgery.
This one is tough, may as well flip a coin. I don’t believe in the Colts without Luck.
Rams cover -3.5
Seahawks @ Packers (-3)
Line hasn’t moved since it opened.
Seahawks return Russell Wilson and a horrific offensive line. If they can figure out a run game and get the ball to Doug Baldwin they will be fine. The defense is still one of the best in football.
Packers and future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers will look to get some revenge on the Seahawks at home. These two teams have had some close games over the years. Rodgers a great set of wide receivers and a solid line to protect him.
This is another close one. Do the history of these games over the years.
Seahawks +3
Panthers (-5.5) @ 49eers
Line opened at -4 for the Panthers.
Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin will be a dynamic duo this year. Add in Olsen and MCCaffrey and the Panthers are a tough team to defend.
Brian Hoyer is the 49ers starting quarterback.
Panthers cover -5.5
Giants @ Cowboys (-4)
Line opened at -6 Cowboys.
Dallas returns Dak Prescott who will look to continue upon his rookie success story. Dez Bryant and Ezekiel Elliot looks to help him take the Cowboys to the promise land. Elliot will play this week but looks to possibly be serving a six game suspension the next 6 weeks.
Giants have a Manning and a Beckham and have added Brandon Marshal. This should give Eli some more help. Running back is kind of up in the air. I like Paul Perkins but the Giants don’t seem to yet.
Giants should keep this interesting with the talent on offense and the poor Cowboys defense.
Giants +4
Saints @ Vikings ( -3)
Line opened -3.5 Vikings. Not much movement.
Vikings looks to breath some new life into the team with new faces.
Saints have Drew Brees and Michael Thomas. Brees always finds ways to keep games close.
Saints +3
Chargers @ Broncos (-3.5)
Line opened -3 Broncos.
Chargers look impressive on paper with Rivers, Gordon, Allen, Williams, Gates and Henry. That is a ton of options for Rivers. Rivers isn’t getting any younger though. Can Los Angeles breath new life into that old shoulder.
Broncos defense is still unbelievably tough. The offense will just be asked to do enough to get the job done.
Broncos cover -3.5
Good stuff here. I think you're wrong about the Chiefs. Too much hype around the Pats and 1st game of the season means last years form is irrelevant. I'm taking the plus on the Chiefs and a bit on them outright to win too.
Nice. I don't mind that. Thursday night football games are tough and the + is a lot of points
That was a nice pay day. Take a tip from me and check out my week 1 picks. Its all about finding value and even blind freddy should have seen that the Pats were too short.
Well lets be honest. I don't think anyone saw Hunt turning into Priest Holmes in game 1. I thought he was going to be good. But he was a stud last night. What odds did you get outright?
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