NFL Week 1 picks against the spread
By Nick Villano
San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings (-6)
The Minnesota Vikings come into this season as one of the favorites to come out of the NFC. They have one of the best defenses in the NFL, and added Kirk Cousins to a high-flying offense.
On the other side, you have the Jimmy Garoppolo show. The 49ers will follow Jimmy G into the depths or to the promise land, wherever he decides to take them. They did just lose Jerrick McKinnon for the season on the last preseason practice. That will hurt.
Six points is a lot for a Week 1 matchup, but this Vikings team is deep. The 49ers are on the right track, but this is the wrong matchup at the wrong time. The Vikings defense will force Garoppolo to throw interceptions after throwing one per start last year. Those interceptions (yes, plural) will sink them this game.
Minnesota 31, San Francisco 14
Buffalo Bills @ Baltimore Ravens (-7)
So, the Buffalo Bills made the playoffs then immediately sent off all of their good players. Tyrod Taylor leads them to the postseason for the first time in over a decade, and they immediately ship him off the Cleveland of all places. Then, they decided to go with Nathan Peterman to start the season. He of five interceptions in one start.
He’s going up against the Baltimore Ravens. Now, the Ravens aren’t the defense they were 10 years ago, but this team is still well coached and has talent. They are going to be a playoff contender, and Peterman hasn’t shown us anything special since the worst performance in QB history.
We could go into the rest of the stats, but besides LeSean McCoy (who has some offseason issues he’s dealing with) and Kelvin Benjamin (who has some Cam Newton issues he’s dealing with), there isn’t much here. Seven is a lot of points, but this could be over early.
Baltimore 24, Buffalo 3