NFL Week 1 picks against the spread

It’s been a long and daunting offseason where it feels like every single team made wholesale changes. Now, we try to decipher who we think is a good bet, and who are the teams to steer clear of in Week 1 of the NFL season.

This offseason just felt different in the NFL. Every year, star players are moved and drama builds, but there was nothing like we saw this offseason. A Super Bowl MVP went to a new team that was in the Championship Game just two seasons ago, and it barely made a blip on the bottom line. Two star receivers were traded in the middle of their contracts.

The Miami Dolphins made two quarterback moves to bring in Josh Rosen and Ryan Fitzpatrick, but then made corresponding moves to completely tank. Up in New York, the Giants drafted Daniel Jones to cause major drama the next time Eli Manning throws an interception.

With all these storylines and many, many more including a former number-one overall pick getting traded days before the season starts, we finally get to watch actual football. The insanity of the offseason ends and the craziness of the regular season begins.

With football starting, so does betting. More and more states are allowing sports betting, which makes football even more interesting. Following teams to the point of playing the point spread puts a little extra on the NFL.

Week 1 every season is incredibly hard to bet. We have no idea how these teams are going to gel, and some take two to three weeks to figure themselves out, no matter how talented. Still, we have to make bets. It’s been seven months seen we’ve seen football that counted. Now that it’s here, we have to put some money on these games.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (-3)

This one is an interesting matchup. The Chicago Bears took on the Green Bay Packers on national television in Week 1 last season too, and everything looked great to start. Khalil Mack looked like a dominant force in his first game in the Windy City. Aaron Rodgers got injured. Things were all Chicago. That is, until Rodgers returned.

We all know how it ended there. Rodgers is now as motivated as ever, but Chicago is playing at home. Both these teams have something to prove (Packers want to play well with a new coach after a lost season. Bears want to prove they’re true contenders.) so this could be a slugfest. It isn’t quite the elements we expect from Soldier Field, but it will be fun nonetheless.

We just don’t trust Mitch Trubisky yet. He could be really good, but we need to see him do it against Rodgers. Yes, they beat them at home last year, but that was like 50 percent of Rodgers barely hanging on to the season. We will take the Packers and the points.

Pick: Packers (+3)