Week 1 NFL picks: Jets to top the Bills in Aaron Rodgers’ debut; can the Steelers beat the 49ers?
The NFL is back for 2023, and after the Lions stunned the Chiefs in Kansas City on Thursday night, excitement is growing for Sunday and Monday’s games.
With 15 games to look forward, let’s predict what’s going to happen this weekend…
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons -3.5 | Total 39.5
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Two high profile draft picks will suit up for the first time in the NFL proper. Bijan Robinson will lead the backfield for the Atlanta Falcons whilst Bryce Young will take his first snaps under-center for the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers are a team in rebuild with a lot of new pieces that might take time to gel and rookie quarterbacks often need more than preseason to adjust to the ferocity of the NFL, whereas running backs are oftentimes good from the word go.
Pick: Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals -2.5 @ Cleveland Browns | Total 46.5
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland
The Majority of the hopes for Cleveland revolve sound Deshaun Watson refinding the form that made him such a high-priced commodity pre-suspension. The Bengals on the other hand know who Joe Burrow is yet is only 1-4 against the Browns in his career.
This will be a tough road game for Cincinnati against an in-state and in-division rival who will hope to have Nick Chubb smashing his way through the line of scrimmage on offense and Myles Garrett doing the same on defense.
Pick: Cincinnati Bengals
Jacksonville Jaguars -5 @ Indianapolis Colts | Total 43
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
All eyes will be firmly fixed on Anthony Richardson’s first snaps for the Colts after all the hype of the off-season but without running back Jonathan Taylor life is going to be that little bit more difficult for the rookie.
The Jaguars should be even more dynamic on offense this season with the comeback of star receiver Calvin Ridley, and it will start here. Look for a big day from Trevor Lawrence.
Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings -6 | Total 45.5
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
The Vikings will be looking to new defensive coach Brian Flores to make that unit more aggressive and get after the Bucs line and cause quarterback Baker Mayfield a ton of problems.
The Vikings offense will again be led by the passing game and the chemistry between Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson, but Tampa Bay will be better on defense this season. That might keep this one close.
Pick: Minnesota Vikings
Tennessee Titans @ New Orleans Saints -3 | Total 41
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans
This will be Derek Carr’s first start as the quarterback in New Orleans, and I think he will get off to a good one. The crowd inside the dome will be raucous and make life difficult for that Tennessee offense.
Pick: New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers -2.5 @ Pittsburgh Steelers | Total 41
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh
Brock Purdy is back for the 49ers after his elbow injury, which is the good news. But this will be one of the better defenses he will face so far in his career.
The Steelers are hoping for Kenny Pickett to take the next step in his second year which I expect him to do and his partnership with George Pickens should give even the 49ers defense a tough day at the office.
Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers
Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Commanders -7 | Total 40.5
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
The Commanders have a lot of talent on their roster, which puts some pressure on first-time starting quarterback Sam Howell. I think Howell will get off to a good start against a struggling Cardinals team.
Pick: Washington Commanders
Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens -10 | Total 43.5
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
Ravens new offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, is back in the N.F.L. following two national championships in the same role with Georgia and has added receivers Odell Beckham Jr (if fit) and Zay Flowers into the offensive mix.
The Texans will begin the first stage of their rebuild under new head coach DeMeco Ryans but will still be a way off from being competitive over the course of the season.
Pick: Baltimore Ravens
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears -1 | Total 41.5
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Soldier Field, Chicago
The Bears will be improved this season with Justin Fields taking steps forward as a passer and will still cause problems with his running ability. However, this Green Bay defense should be really good and will cause Chicago a big challenge here.
Pick: Green Bay Packers
Las Vegas Raiders @ Denver Broncos -3.5 | Total 44.5
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Empower Field at Mile High, Denver
Can Sean Payton get Russell Wilson to focus less on his brand image and more on being a quarterback?
The Raiders are 4-0 in the past two seasons against the Broncos and have made depth improvements on offense as well as changing the signal-caller to Jimmy Garoppolo.
Pick: Las Vegas Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles -4 @ New England Patriots | Total 45
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
Bill Belichick undoubtedly still has the mind games and strategies to combat the all-around play of a signal-caller like the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, sadly for him, he does not have the personnel to make it happen.
Pick: Philadelphia Eagles
Miami Dolphins @ Los Angeles Chargers -3 | Total 48.5
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
In his first season in Miami, following an off-season trade, Tyreek Hill set career bests with 119 catches for 1,710 yards. And he was hardly a one-man show, with Jaylen Waddle managing 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns as a No. 2 option in his second season.
Even-so, running up the score while failing to make any stops is not a recipe for success against the Chargers, a team that can easily keep up offensively and has defensive players like Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack who make game-changing plays.
Pick: Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks -5 | Total 46.5
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Lumen Field, Seattle
Who even knows what the Rams are at this point, but here is where we begin to find out if any of their 12,000 new faces can actually play football.
The Seahawks are coming off an impressive first season with Geno Smith under-center last season, and are hoping he can do it all again this year.
Pick: Seattle Seahawks
Dallas Cowboys -3.5 @ New York Giants | Total 45.5
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
There is no great reason as to why the Cowboys should lose this game. They have a more explosive offense and, thanks to linebacker Micah Parsons, they have a defense to match. The thing is, this is the Cowboys and they’ve not always been very reliable in a big spot.
Pick: Dallas Cowboys
Buffalo Bills -2.5 @ New York Jets | Total 46.5
Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
The Bills will still be seen as the team to beat in the AFC East, even if the Jets have received most of the preseason hype.
The Jets’ newfound situation has created wild expectations this off-season, and a little caution might be in order, just in case they get off to a slow start. However, Aaron Rodgers, Dalvin Cook, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. Sounds pretty good to me!
Pick: New York Jets
