NFL Week 1 Predictions

Football is back! And it’s about time, it seems like an eternity since we saw competitive action in the NFL, but never fear, Kickoff week is here, and we start at the home of the reigning champs, the New York Giants.

(All times given are British Summer Time – BST)

Thursday 1:30am

Dallas Cowboys 17-23 New York Giants

What a great way to start a season, with an NFC East showdown. The Giants have been fairly quiet in the offseason, adding some rookie pieces to their offensive puzzle, while having a bit of an injury crisis in the secondary. The Cowboys on the other hand, have been making some noise, even when Jerry Jones isn’t rapping on pizza adverts. Their defence could be in for a revival under Rob Ryan’s stewardship, with the addition of Brandon Carr from Kansas City and Tony Romo knows that time could be running out for him. However this game will be won and lost in the trenches, specifically the trenches that Dallas’ offensive line can dig. If the Cowboys can protect Romo and open up running lanes for DeMarco Murray, they could have a chance in this one, but it is something that is difficult to do against Jason Pierre Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora.

Sunday 6:00pm

Indianapolis Colts 13–30 Chicago Bears

Andrew Luck’s first regular season game is at Soldier Field, and there aren’t many tougher tasks in the NFL. Especially when your defense will be up against a revitalised Chicago offense with weapons all over the place, the biggest being the addition of Brandon Marshall, and the re-signing of Matt Forte isn’t a small positive either. Luck could well have a good day, but it won’t be enough for his Colts to pull off a win in Chicago.

Philadelphia Eagles 32–6 Cleveland Browns

Another rookie QB, Brandon Weeden, and another one with a tough task. The Eagles’ D is going to be very difficult to play against this year, and their pass rush will have Weeden on the run more often than not. If Trent Richardson is healthy, he could provide a first-class safety valve for Weeden, but he is only a rookie running back, and can’t be relied upon yet. The question for Philadelphia this year is whether they can keep Michael Vick upright and healthy, but they shouldn’t have too many problems with that in this one.

St. Louis Rams 10–30 Detroit Lions

The Rams are in a state of rebuilding, but the trade for Wayne Hunter is still completely confusing me, why you would want a completely inept tackle is beyond me. But in terms of this game, the Rams need a trip to Detroit like I need a hole in the head, Calvin Johnson looks in mid-season form already in the pre-season, and while I believe Janoris Jenkins could become a pro-bowl cornerback, this is a task too much for him. However, the Lions’ offseason preparations haven’t gone completely smoothly, with issues at running back and in the secondary, but this game shouldn’t highlight them too much.

Miami Dolphins 9–27 Houston Texans

The no. 1 receiver on the Dolphins’ depth chart is Davone Bess, so Ryan Tannehill has his work cut out against Wade Phillips’ Texans defense, even if Reggie Bush picks up where he left off last season. The return of Matt Schaub will inevitably help Houston, and if Andre Johnson can stay healthy, it provides them with an offense that can scare anyone, especially with Arian Foster coming off an all-pro season and seemingly in the form of his life. It’ll be another case of ‘hard knocks’ for the Dolphins here.

Atlanta Falcons 24–17 Kansas City Chiefs

I’m really high on the Falcons this year, because they are finally going to hand the reigns of the offense over to Matt Ryan and let him air it out to his targets, Roddy White and Julio Jones. The defense looks stouter and has playmaking ability with the addition of Asante Samuel. The Chiefs are a talented side though, and will prove a tough test for this improved Falcons team. The one-two punch of Jamaal Charles and Peyton Hillis could be one of the league’s best tandems in the backfield, while Dwayne Bowe is a threat all over the field. I think the explosiveness of Atlanta’s offense could be the deciding factor in this one though.

Jacksonville Jaguars 16–13 Minnesota Vikings

This is a battle of two teams who don’t want to have the chance to pick Matt Barkley in the 2013 Draft, but may just end up having that opportunity. Maurice Jones-Drew’s holdout has lost him the starting RB spot to Rashad Jennings, but I can’t imagine that will be the case for long, and it will be MJD who will carry the hopes of the Jags again this year, even if there is some improvement in Blaine Gabbert’s play. The Vikings have a QB in Christian Ponder, who I believe is an NFL starting calibre player, but without a healthy Adrian Peterson, it is difficult to see exactly where this team’s strengths are. They do have a definite weakness in the secondary though, and the Jags could exploit that through their 1st round draft pick Justin Blackmon.

Washington Redskins 20–34 New Orleans Saints

The first assignment for RGIII is a trip to the Superdome in New Orleans, another tough one for a rookie QB. Drew Brees’ offense will do the same as it always does, chip away at the Washington defense and accumulate points and yards, but it is the Saints’ defense where questions still are being asked. If New Orleans can keep RGIII and co. off the field enough, it should be a comfortable game for the Saints, but if not; it could be a surprisingly uncomfortable evening for Brees and his teammates.

Buffalo Bills 16–12 New York Jets

This Bills defensive line could be absolutely monstrous, and even though the Jets managed to ship out Wayne Hunter at tackle, it could still make Mark Sanchez’s life hell come Sunday night. Even Tim Tebow may have trouble running away play after play. The Jets’ D will be cornered around Revis Island as usual, but I have a feeling that this is the year we will see a marked step down in its production, giving Ryan Fitzpatrick enough chance to win this game for Buffalo.

New England Patriots 30–24 Tennessee Titans

If New England’s defense makes a step up this year, then there is no reason why they won’t be huge Superbowl contenders once again. Rookies Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower look like making a big difference in the front seven, while safeties Tavon Wilson and Steve Gregory could be the reliable deep men the Pats have needed. The offense will be as potent as usual, but against the Titans, it may need to be. The Tennessee defense looks a very solid unit, capable of causing Brady’s reshaped offensive line problems, while there are weapons on offense, now handled by highly rated second year QB Jake Locker and including a possibly revitalised Chris Johnson. This could be a tighter game than many would envision, but you can usually count on Tom Brady to pull out a result.

Sunday 9:25pm

Seattle Seahawks 20–17 Arizona Cardinals

An NFC West face-off with two teams balanced on the edge. One in the Seahawks who look to be moving up to challenge the 49’ers at the top of the division, and one in the Cardinals who, with their QB dilemma, look to be wasting an opportunity to become a good team, as the talent is there in both teams to be decent. Russell Wilson will start as signal caller for Seattle, which is a brave decision by Pete Carroll, but one true to his ‘always compete’ mantra, and one that could pay off both in the short and long term. The Cards will start John Skelton in the hope that he can link up better with Larry Fitzgerald than Kevin Kolb. Both teams have injury prone yet talented running backs and defenses on the up, so this game will most likely be decided on which QB makes fewer mistakes, and I’m going for the rookie Wilson.

San Francisco 49’ers 19–20 Green Bay Packers

A possible dress rehearsal for the NFC Championship in a few months’ time? Or is it too early to be talking like that? Well the Packers’ offense could well be the best in the NFL and the Niners’ defense could hold the same title, so this game will be all about how they match up. San Francisco will be able to move the ball on Green Bay, so it is imperative that Aaron Rodgers finds a way to move the ball on the 49’ers, and at the helm of the most tooled-up offense in the league, I think they find a way to get the job done at Lambeau Field, but only just. It will be interesting to see how Cedric Benson affects the Green Bay gameplan, will they run the ball against this San Francisco front seven?

Carolina Panthers 27–26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Looking at this game, I think it could be one of the most entertaining matchups of the weekend. Two young, dynamic QB’s with weapons on offense and excellent running back tandems to keep opposing defenses on their toes. The addition of Vincent Jackson to Josh Freeman’s arsenal makes the Bucs a team to watch, and Cam Newton excites everyone in this league, but if either team can’t defend the run, as was the problem last year, they will struggle to keep their offenses on the field long enough to show how good they are. The addition of Luke Kuechly to the Panthers at LB sways this game for me, the rookie tackling machine could make a really huge difference to this team.

Monday 1:20am

Pittsburgh Steelers 24–20 Denver Broncos

Peyton’s first game back in the NFL after neck surgery is a home draw against Pittsburgh. Now normally this would have him trembling in his cleats, but age has not been kind to the Steelers, and their defense is no longer something to be feared, more something to be exploited. The real scary thing about the Steelers lies in their offense, with a WR tandem of Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, not to mention Rashard Mendenhall or Isaac Redman in the backfield, Ben Roethlisberger has a young, athletic, talented cast to work with. The Broncos however, haven’t really done much to help Peyton Manning weapons-wise, but their offensive line play in the pre-season has been impressive, which it will have to be to keep Manning healthy. I’ll take Big Ben to upset Peyton come Sunday Night Football, that offense is just too explosive for the Denver defense.

Tuesday 12:00am

Cincinnati Bengals 17–30 Baltimore Ravens

A lot of people are talking about the Ravens as potential champions this year, and it’s not hard to see why. The base of a rock-solid defence with Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith putting the points on the board is a tasty proposition; however, no Ed Reed, no Ray Lewis and no Terrell Suggs for any period of time could spell problems for the Ravens. Suggs is already out for a while which is a blow, but with Reed and Lewis ageing, it’s last chance saloon for them, and we could see a final effort from them to win it all. The Bengals will look to build on last year’s promise, with a superstar in AJ Green at WR and an old head on young shoulders in Andy Dalton at Quarterback. Injuries on defense will do for the Bengals in this one, but they could contend with Baltimore in time and given a bit of luck.

Tuesday 3:15am

San Diego Chargers 23–16 Oakland Raiders

A classic AFC West matchup for the second match of the first Monday Night Football of the new NFL season, and Philip Rivers will once again be looking to live up to the hype that surrounds the Chargers, but this time it is not an astronomical, unrealistic hype. This hype is just that they can play good, consistent football for a whole year, because they have good players… not much to ask? The Raiders however, well I don’t know what to expect from Oakland. Carson Palmer just doesn’t look the player he used to be, and they seem to have a lot of young players who just can’t stay healthy. Darren McFadden is a world beater when he’s on the field, but he’s just not there enough, maybe this will be his first full year at the top. But I don’t think he will be enough to help the Raiders to a win here, Rivers and the Chargers to start the season on a high, just so the ridiculous hype can build again.

Football is back. Feels good to say doesn’t it?