NFL Picks Week 1: Predictions And Expert Picks Arrive
NFL picks for Week 1 are starting to come in. Predictions and expert picks begin with the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots game on Thursday night, September 10. A report from CBS Sports and NFL analyst John Breech predicts that the Patriots will easily win a home game against the Steelers, suggesting a score of 37-24 as the final. That sentiment is echoed by most of the panel experts at CBS. It’s not quite unanimous, though, as Pete Prisco is siding with the Steelers.
There are a number of teams receiving unanimous support in Week 1, classifying them as the “sure things” to open the season. They are the Green Bay Packers beating the Chicago Bears, the Miami Dolphins beating the Washington Redskins, the San Diego Chargers beating the Detroit Lions, and the Cincinnati Bengals beating the Oakland Raiders. It’s hard to argue with those game picks, as most of them have guaranteed playoff teams going against struggling franchises.
As mentioned earlier, Pete Prisco is off the charts with his Week 1 NFL picks. He has several predictions that are against the norm, including the Cleveland Browns beating the New York Jets and the St. Louis Rams beating the Seattle Seahawks. Most of the other experts at CBS disagree with him, but there is something to be said for being the contrarian this early in the season.
Regarding that Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams game, a predicted final score of 16-9 in favor of Russell Wilson has been posted. It’s a low-scoring affair, according to CBS, with only one touchdown predicted on the day. That could be a game for fantasy football owners to pay attention to, especially if the two kickers are going to see at least three field goal attempts each. The other game to key in on is the Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants, where defense is expected to take a back seat with a 37-30 outcome predicted in favor of Tony Romo’s squad.
Other Week 1 NFL picks include the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals over New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans over Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos over Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles over Atlanta Falcons, and the Minnesota Vikings over the San Francisco 49ers. Those last two games are the ones taking place on Monday Night Football on September 14. 49ers fans are likely going to be frustrated that the team is predicted to lose at home.
There were also a few games where the experts were split down the middle on who to predict as the winner. Those games were the Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills vs. Indianapolis Colts. If the Colts are going to make it to the Super Bowl, beating the Bills in Week 1 is an important first step to take. The closest game in these NFL picks is Jacksonville vs. Carolina, with an 18-17 final in favor of the Jags predicted.
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