Get ready for one of the most unique seasons in NFL history as the 2020 campaign gets underway with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans.
With every stadium set to be somewhere between mostly and completely empty and all sorts of new protocols in place, it will certainly take some getting used to.
There was plenty of roster overhaul over the offseason as well with some big names switching teams and they will be making their official debuts this weekend including Tom Brady in Tampa Bay and Phillip Rivers for the Indianapolis Colts.
All that is setting up for some highly entertaining chaos on the gridiron this season and we’ve got our tips for each NFL Week 1 clash below!
After a one season break, the NFL returns to its traditional kickoff game at the home of the reigning Super Bowl champions.
This would have been a phenomenal occasion were fans allowed in the stadium but you have to think the Chiefs will still find a way to put on a show.
Having addressed the one (very minor) issue of running back in the draft, it seems like 30 points per game is the bare minimum for this team when they are healthy.
Despite flying out to a 24 point lead in the Divisional Playoff in Kansas City last season, Houston just doesn’t have the same firepower to keep up with the Chiefs although a score in the 20’s for them is very possible as they try and match the Patrick Mahomes show.
For a season opening SGM I’ll back the Chiefs to cover the -9 line, over 54.5 points and rookie back Clyde Edwards-Helaire to score a TD.
It’s the first game for the Raiders as the team of Las Vegas and the NFL is sending them to Carolina to take on the Panthers.
The mad scientist Jon Gruden looks like he finally has the offence he desires are shoring up his pass catchers over the offseason and now the pressure is firmly on Derrick Carr to deliver alongside stud running back Josh Jacobs.
For the home side, it’s the first game for head coach Matt Rhule who was plucked from the college ranks and is being given plenty of time to rebuild this side.
New quarterback Teddy Bridgewater gets another chance as a starter after backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans for the last two seasons.
While there is a bit of a concern about a West Coast team heading to the eastern seaboard for an early kickoff, the Raiders have the makings of a much better team than the Panthers who have way too many questions to feel good about.
We haven’t even kicked off the 2020 season but the Jaguars sure look like they’re focused on the 2021 campaign having traded away and cut the bulk of the good players from their AFC Championship appearance in January 2018.
That’s really all you can say about them and they should be nothing more than a speedbump for the Colts.
Every season there’s a major blowout in Week 1 and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Colts put up 40+ here so with this single digit line I’m more than happy to back the visitors by a lot.
For most of the last 20 years you could just chalk the Pats up to 1-0 here and move on but there’s plenty of reason to get up early and watch this one unfold.
The post Tom Brady era in Gillette Stadium begins with a divisional clash against Miami that presents a good early season test for this overhauled team.
Cam Newton will take over as quarterback and the Dolphins will be eager to win back to back games in New England after stunning the Patriots in Week 17 last season.
Newton has won both of his career starts against Miami and has performed very well against the AFC East in general (including the Patriots) and I’ll back him to help guide the Patriots home here.
You really do feel sorry for Ron Rivera considering the absolute mess he has walked into in Washington.
It’s a roster in dire need of an upgrade and the team is spending the season in nickname limbo as they will only be known as the “Washington Football Team” in 2020.
After a flat playoff exit last season, the Eagles will be desperate to defend their NFC East title and they have a great chance to put down an early season marker against a side they are significantly better than.
Carson Wentz is healthy (or at least should be) and if he can steer clear of rookie Chase Young, he could carve up this Washington secondary.
After a very disappointing 2019 season, the Falcons will be desperate to get 2020 off to a strong start as they aim to return to the playoffs.
Largely on the back of Russell Wilson, the Seahawks made it to the Divisional Round and appear to be destined for another playoffs run here, but it would not be at all surprising if they got off to a slow start here.
The Falcons unveiled some horrendously dull new uniforms as the season began but that can be forgiven if they live up to their potential, especially throwing the ball.
This one will go right down to the wire and with the sides so hard to split, the slight underdog Falcons are the play here.
The top notch early games continue in Minnesota as the Vikings and Packers face off in a huge NFC North battle.
Last year the Packers swept the Vikings and won the division title before getting blown off the field in the NFC Championship Game.
Everything about the Packers screams regression this year though, with the team looking to build for the long term future beyond Aaron Rodgers.
Minnesota on the other hand got stronger on defence with the acquisition of star pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue (who you may not have heard of since he played in Jacksonville) and aside from swapping out Stefon Diggs for rookie Justin Jefferson went for continuity on offence.
Overall the Vikings look like the better side and while Rodgers will keep the Packers in it, in Week 1 I have to back the talent to win out.
This season is the Bills best chance to win the division for the first time since 1995 and have back to back playoff appearances for the first time 1998/1999.
The Jets somehow won seven games last year but as long as they are pinning their offensive hopes on Sam Darnold, LeVeon Bell and head coach Adam Gase, there’s not a lot of reason for optimism.
I’m that confident on the Bills (in spite of Josh Allen playing quarterback) that I’ll dip into the alternative line market and back the Bills to win by double digits.
It’s the old and the new as the franchise that was once known as the Cleveland Browns takes on the franchise now known as the Cleveland Browns (look it up).
The reigning MVP Lamar Jackson will look to continue his hot hand in 2020 and this will be his first test on dealing with the target that is firmly on his back again.
While many defensive coordinators will have spent their time in lockdown trying to find ways to slow him down, I question whether or not the Browns can actually do that.
While the Browns can’t be any more of a disappointment than they were in 2019, they don’t have the look of a side that will be ready to compete right out of the gate.
There is no need to overcomplicate the play for this game, Detroit has the firepower to get by Chicago here.
For starters they will welcome back Matthew Stafford after his strong start to 2019 was cut short by a back injury.
Chicago for reasons unbeknownst to those blessed with logic, opted for the least desirable option of Mitch/Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles and just about any animal from the Chicago Zoo to lead the offence when they visit the Lions.
Detroit at the line and don’t bother thinking twice about it.
Traditionally the top overall pick loses their first start in large part because they are joining a flat out awful team that was picking first for a reason.
Joe Burrow might be a good quarterback down the line but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him have a rough debut against a decent Chargers defence.
The thing is though, the visitors offence appears to be in flux as well with Tyrod Taylor tabbed to start this game.
There’s a reason he’s only there to keep the seat warm until Justin Herbert is ready to go and expectations for the Chargers should be tailored as such.
If either team reaches a score of 20 here I’ll be stunned.
Here is your upset special for the weekend, the Cardinals are going to hit the ground running with their high-powered offence.
The 49ers have spent the last seven months getting reminded that they blew a fourth quarter lead in the Super Bowl and will continue to have that in the back of their minds.
If this turns into a shootout, I’ll back Kyler Murray and Kyle Shannahan to go up and down the field as many times as needed and pick on the 49ers secondary.
Both of these sides enter the season with Super Bowl aspirations and will be neck and neck as they try to reach the big game in Tampa in February.
New Orleans is very much in the last chance saloon trying to get another title for Drew Brees while the Buccaneers went all in on 2020 by signing Tom Brady.
The total for this game looks too low considering the firepower on both teams but the value here is in Tampa head to head.
Everything about these teams suggests this should be a pick at the line so the Bucs are the value selection.
It’s not quite the grand opening of the LA Rams new Southern California palace they might have been hoping for but Rams-Cowboys in the NBC feature match will still be a sight to behold.
Dallas, now coached by Mike McCarthy, will be eager to start their new era on a winning note with no player more motivated to prove his worth than quarterback Dak Prescott who is auditioning for a long term deal.
The Rams on the other side had a Super Bowl loser’s hangover in 2019 as injuries dropped their record to 9-7 and caused them to miss the playoffs by a single game.
Historically these teams tend to play in fairly high scoring games with three of the last four games having 60 or more points and that fourth game (the Rams playoff victory in 2019) finished 30-22.
With this game liable to go either way, I’ll stay out of the head to head and back the high scoring trend to continue.
The fact Pittsburgh managed to even reach 8-8 last year after spending most of the season rotating through their backup quarterbacks is a testament to how much they overachieved.
With Ben Roethlisberger back from an arm injury, their offence should improve from a bottom third unit as long as the two time Super Bowl champion can stay healthy.
The Giants have moved on from Eli Manning and this is definitely Daniel Jones’ team going into 2020 with new coach Joe Judge seemingly set to be the best or worst hire of the offseason with no room in between.
Even though the Steelers had one of the top five defences in the NFL last season, they were vulnerable on the ground and that is where the Giants will look to attack them through Saquon Barkley.
They might not get the job done but I’m not ruling out the Giants keeping this close.
You never want to celebrate an injury, but the Titans got a huge break in the build up to this game with the Broncos best player Von Miller lost for the season with a practice injury.
It has swung the market in favour of the road team which does make it a slightly less appealing play but with such a small line you can make up the value by throwing the under into the play as well.
That will open up a lot more running lanes for Derrick Henry as the Titans look to get their workhorse back going again in 2020.