NFL lines, Week 1 2018: 5 best bets

The Rock is set in San Francisco and Alcatraz Island, in the San Francisco Bay. Sean Connery plays John Mason, a British national serving life in a U.S. federal prison as an enemy of the state and more importantly the only man ever to have escaped from Alcatraz and survived. Even though he’s spent his adult life in prison for stealing government secrets, he makes a deal to join Nick Cage (Stanley Goodspeed) and a team of Navy Seals on a mission to save hostages being held at Alcatraz.

Jimmy G. played for the Patriots his entire career until last season when he was involved in a deal to join the 49ers. Jimmy Garoppolo played the final six games of 2017 and led the Niners to close the season with a five-game win streak to close the season. He completely reinvigorated and breathed new life into the team and the fan base.

I think Jimmy G. will be a really good player for the 49ers, especially paired with Kyle Shanahan, but they beat the Bears, the Texans with T.J. Yates and Tom Savage both seeing time under center, the Titans who fired their coach even if they did win a playoff game, and the Jaguars and the Rams after both had locked up playoff births last season.

The Rams went 11-5 and won the NFC West in 2017. They added as many roster improvements and added as many impact as any team this offseason and should be even better in 2018. Go ahead and pencil them in as the division winners barring major injuries. In the rest of the division, a lot of people are completely writing off the Seahawks. Having Russell Wilson still gives them a chance to win no matter what though, Pete Carroll is one of the best coaches in the league and they’ll be better than people think. I’m obviously higher on the Cardinals than most too. Even if I’m wrong on one of the other NFC West teams, the division will be better than most people think.

The 49ers 2018 schedule includes road games against the Vikings, Chiefs, Chargers, Rams, Packers and Seahawks. They host the Lions, Rams, Seahawks and Broncos. Even if they win three of those games and don’t lose a single other game, they’ll be 9-7 and competing with the NFC South (Saints, Falcons, Panthers), NFC North (Vikings, Packers, Lions) and NFC East (Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins, Giants) for a wild card spot.

The Vikings defense will be fired up after getting lit up by the Eagles the last time we saw them in January. The 49ers offense will struggle on the road, especially given uncertainty in the running game. Kirk Cousins may not be at his best in his first week with a new team. Take the Under on the point total and as a bonus pick, take the Vikings to cover the -6.0 or -6.5 points (I’ve seen the line vary by .5 points from site to site).