NFL Week 1 Preview And Predictions
The Armchair Quarterback’s Week One Predictions
Ravens at Broncos
This is the game of the week in my opinion and not just because it is a rematch of the epic playoff game last season, but because I have so many questions about these teams. I have no doubt that both teams will be good, but how good? The Ravens are the defending Super Bowl champs, but because of all of the roster turnover there is an air of “rebuilding” about them. In Denver, Peyton Manning makes them a contender, and the fact that they added Wes Welker makes their passing attack that much more lethal. However, injuries, Von Miller’s suspension, and the great fax mishap of 2013 make this roster a little thinner then it appeared to be a few months ago. In the end, I think the fact that the Broncos will be without both of their great outside pass rushers from last season will catch up with them here. I like what the Ravens did in reloading on defense and think they’ll have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder as the Super Bowl champs that people are having some doubts about. What a great game to kick off the NFL season.
Ravens 31
Broncos 27
Patriots at Bills
I don’t want to short change the fans of these teams, but this game comes down to Tom Brady versus either an injured rookie making his first NFL start or an undrafted rookie making his first NFL start. That’s really all there is to say. I’m not saying that Doug Marrone won’t have success in Buffalo, but it won’t happen in his first game.Bills 20
Patriots 38
Bills 20
Titans at Steelers
I think this one will be a close fought game. I do have some questions about the Steelers offensive line, but that’s better than having questions at quarterback, and I’m not sold on Jake Locker. Locker did complete 67% of his passes in the preseason, but I’m going to need to see that in the regular season before I predict that he’ll go into Pittsburgh and knock off Big Ben and the gang. Plus, for all the talk about Pittsburgh getting older on defense, they were still #1 in the NFL in YPG last season.
Titans 17
Steelers 24
Falcons at Saints
I’m not going to beat around the bush here. I think the Saints defense is BAD. I mean REALLY, REALLY, bad. They gave up 440 yards per game and 28.4 points per game last season. To make matters worse, they have now lost Will Smith for the season and the newly signed Victor Butler may be out for the year too. Rob Ryan was brought in to fix things, but he didn’t exactly turn Dallas into a defensive juggernaut and they at least had DeMarcus Ware. I think Drew Brees is going to have to score a LOT of points this season for the Saints to do well. I think the Falcons are too good of an all around team in this one.
Falcons 34
Saints 27
Buccaneers at Jets
I have a bad feeling about the Jets this season. It feels like they’re trying to milk one more season out of Rex Ryan even though they have no intention of keeping him ong term. That’s a recipe for disaster. Geno Smith looks like he’s not quite ready yet and Mark Sanchez is banged up (and should have been given a change of scenery anyway). I think their defense is still pretty good, but their offense is going to struggle. I’m not in love with the Bucs and Josh Freeman either, but I do really like Doug Martin and think the Bucs did a good job of upgrading their secondary this offseason.
Bucs 20
Jets 13
Chiefs at Jaguars
(Homer Alert) I’m a confessed die-hard Chiefs fan, so take this with a grain of salt. The Chiefs still have holes on their roster, but the Jags are HOPING that Blaine Gabbert is going to start week one. When your team is hoping for Blaine Gabbert to do anything I’m not picking you to upset my favorite team. In all seriousness, new Chiefs defensive coordinaor Bob Sutton is bringing an aggressive blitzing defense to KC and has the firepower in Tamba Hali and Justin Houston to pull it off. Since Gabbert isn’t exactly “Mr. Calm Under Pressure” he may wish he had waited another week to come back from his thumb injury.
Since most people could care less about a matchup of the two worst teams from last season, I’ll pass along this question for entertainment value. Which Jags QB has the better “Real American” tribute video, Gabbert (watch here) or the recently signed Ricky Stanzi (watch here). If you haven’t seen them, do it, they’re hilarious. Not to pile on Gabbert here, but for my money Stanzi’s video is the clear winner.
Chiefs 24
Jaguars 17
Seahawks at Panthers
I’m sorry Seattle, but I can’t watch your team without getting angry. Not because you are so good, not because your stadium has taken the reputation as loudest stadium in the NFL away from my beloved Arrowhead, but because you picked Russell Wilson one pick after my Chiefs took reserve offensive lineman Donald Stevenson. DONALD STEVENSON!!!!!!!!!
I hate you Scott Pioli. I hate you with every fiber of my being.
Anyway, Panthers will be improved this year, but Seattle is better. How’s that for some ground breaking insight?
Seriously, Donald Stephenson?!?!?
Seahawks 27
Panthers 17
Bengals at Bears
This is a pick’em game to me. I like the Bengals more this season than the Bears, but the Bears are a good enough team that it won’t be easy to walk into Soldier Field and beat them. I’m really curious to see what the Jay Cutler/Marc Trestman partnership brings. It could be boom or bust. Despite the fact that I think the Bengals are the better overall team, I’m going with the Bears here. Their defense was still top 5 in the NFL last season in yards and points allowed. Plus, I’m going to Soldier Field in a couple of weeks and I don’t want anyone there to be mad at me.
Bengals 20
Bears 23
Dolphins at Browns
This is another tough one. A lot of people are picking Miami to compete for a playoff spot this year. I’m not 100% sold yet. I think Ryan Tannehill will be a solid, but not spectacular NFL QB. I think they’ll miss Reggie Bush and I’m not a big fan of Joe Philbin as a head coach. I also think that the Browns will be a better team than their final record at season’s end will show because of the tough division that they are in. If this game was in Miami I’d take the Dolphins, but I’m going with the Browns led by Trent Richardson here.
Dolphins 17
Browns 20
Vikings at Lions
I think the most underrated addition to any team this season may be Reggie Bush to Detroit. That offense was already a handful with Matt Stafford throwing the ball to Calvin Johnson. Detroit had almost no run game last season, and adding a back like Bush that can run the ball and catch passes out of the backfield will make them all the harder to defend. Meanwhile, Minnesota is relying on Matt Cassel to help push Christian Ponder to take a step forward. I’ve seen a LOT of Matt Cassel the past couple seasons. When you want him to push your starter, your starter isn’t very good. I LOVE Adrian Peterson, and think he’ll have a good game, but I’ll take the Lions at home in this one.
Vikings 24
Lions 27
Raiders at Colts
I feel REALLY bad for Dennis Allen and it takes a lot for a Chiefs fan to feel sorry for the coach of the Oakland Raiders. Allen is trying to make the most out of a salary cap strapped roster that just doesn’t have enough NFL talent on it. I think GM Reggie McKenzie will eventually get them back on track. I just think this year may be where they hit bottom before they start climbing back up. Andrew Luck is the real deal and he and his teammates will be able to handle the Raiders in Indy.
Raiders 17
Colts 31
Packers at 49ers
This is right up there with Baltimore at Denver, for game of the week. I know SF is a great team and think they’ll have a shot at another Super Bowl run this year. However, I’m not so sure that Colin Kaepernick doesn’t come back down to earth a little bit after his amazing 2012. Meanwhile, Green Bay seems to be playing second fiddle to the Seattle vs. SF NFC hype this offseason. I still think Aaron Rodgers is the best QB on the planet. I’ll take the Packers in a mild upset.
Packers 30
49ers 27
Cardinals at Rams
I have mixed feeling about the Rams. On one hand, I’m a big Jeff Fisher fan. On the other, I’m not 100% sold on Sam Bradford. In Arizona, although I don’t think Carson Palmer is the long-term answer, I think he’ll be a HUGE improvement over their QB play last season if his offensive line can keep him upright. For all the talk about the St. Louis defense, their yards and points per game were almost identical to Arizona’s last year. I’ll give the edge to the home team here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Arizona pulled the mild upset here.
Cardinals 23
Rams 24
Giants at Cowboys
I think the Dallas passing game is going to be prolific this season with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant leading the way. On the other side of the field, the Giants have secondary issues. They let Kenny Phillips leave in free agency and now starter Stevie Brown is out for the season. This could be an issue for a team that allowed 8.1 yards per pass attempt last season (one of the worst averages in the league). I’ll take the Cowboys in this one.
Giants 24
Cowboys 34
Eagles at Redskins
The premiere of the much hyped Chip Kelly as a NFL head coach AND the return of RG3 from his injury/melodrama with head coach Mike Shanahan. No wonder they put this on ESPN for the opening Monday Night Football game. All we need is for Tim Tebow to get picked up by one of these teams and they could fill every Sports Center for a week on just this game. If you put all they hype aside, the Redskins are a playoff team and the Eagles are a team in transition. I’ll take the proven team at home until Chip Kelly shows me that he can translate what he did at Oregon to the NFL.
Eagles 17
Redskins 27
Texans at Chargers
Bottom line, the Chargers have serious offensive line questions and the Texans have JJ Watt. I know there is a lot more to the game than that, but sometimes its best not to overthink things. I’ll take the Texans on the road.
Texans 30
Chargers 17
(Wait, did I just pick the Chiefs to win and all three of the other AFC West teams to lose? Surely that wasn’t me being biased? That would be REALLY unprofessional. No, I know I was completely objective. I’m sure of it…..gulp)