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NFL Week 1: Trends which will decide each game

By Russell S. Baxter

TAMPA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 02: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers handles the ball during training camp at AdventHealth Training Center on September 02, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 02: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers handles the ball during training camp at AdventHealth Training Center on September 02, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 17: Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a tackle during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium on November 17, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 36-26. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 17: Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a tackle during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium on November 17, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 36-26. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints, 4:25 pm

Buccaneers: Tom Brady begins his 21st NFL season with a new team for the first time in his career. He figures to do a much better job of taking care of the football than Buccaneers’ predecessor Jameis Winston, who turned over the ball 35 times in 2019. Meanwhile, Brady has a total of 33 turnovers in his last 48 regular-season appearances.

Saints: The club have been notoriously slow starters and are just 2-7 in their last nine season-openers dating back to 2011. A year ago, Sean Payton’s team rallied late on a Monday night to defeat the visiting Texans on a Monday night in Week 1, 30-28. That ended a five-game losing streak for the Saints in their first game of the season.

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers, 4:25 pm

Cardinals: Last season, the Cardinals allowed gave up 38 touchdown passes and 21 of those scores were via players other than wide receivers. There’s a reason the club used the eight overall pick on Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons, whose versatility should help Vance Joseph’s much-maligned unit with its underneath coverage.

49ers: In 2019, only the Patriots allowed fewer total yards per game and no team gave up fewer yards through the air. But coordinator Robert Saleh’s unit was a mediocre 17th vs. the run, although some of that had to do with injuries. So can the Niners slow down Cardinals’ running back Kenyan Drake and elusive quarterback Kyler Murray?

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