Week one of the NFL season is upon us and although these opening games are always intriguing, this year virtually all of them have a little something extra to enjoy. Be it the last chance saloon season for certain QBs to players returning home with something to prove (or a big chip on their shoulders in Baker Mayfield’s case).
The week kicks off with the defending champions The Rams taking on this year’s favourites. Here Matt Stafford will have to watch out for last season’s teammate Von Miller coming after him. This could be a preview of this year’s Super Bowl, and in our all too early prediction, we have the Bills making it.
The Sunday early games include Baker Mayfield’s return to Cleveland. He was cast aside in favour of the suspended Deshaun Watson and he will be keen to show them they erred in this decision. Cleveland has one of the best overall squads in the AFC and although Jacoby Brissett is viewed as a stop-gap he has passable career numbers.
In Chicago, we will be treated to a clash of highly regarded young QBs. Both teams gave up significant portions of their future drafts to get them but that doesn’t guarantee success. The 49ers will be starting Trey Lance while Chicago will be hoping that Justin Fields makes a huge leap in year two. Lance at least had the luxury of not being thrown straight in spending most of his rookie year on the bench. He might end up back there though if he doesn’t hit the ground running.
Last Chance Saloon
In Detroit, it’s a slightly different QB story with both Jalen Hurts & Jared Goff only a few bad games away from becoming backups in 2023. Goff in particular has had a rough time of it since being transferred as part of the Matt Stafford trade. He improved massively towards the end of the season though and at least has some decent weapons this season.
Continuing the theme of QB changes The Colts will be hoping that Matt Ryan can go one better than they did with Carson Wentz and get them into the postseason. The AFC South is considered to be one of the weaker divisions, however, given the depth in the AFC they might need to win the division to get there. If he doesn’t expect to see the Colts addressing the issue in the 2023 draft.
Late Game Drama
Speaking of Carson Wentz, he looks set to start for his third team in three years when the Commanders take on the Jaguars. He will be slightly overshadowed interest wise though by Trevor Lawrence who is expected to be much better this year. The Jags have invested heavily in free agency and with a decent supporting cast finally, they could surprise a few this time around.
The big late game though is in Arizona where the Cardinals entertain the Chiefs. Kyler Murray seems to have been pacified with all that money and his favourite college WR being added to the roster. He will be expected to step up big time in 2022. The Chiefs have a new look receiving corp, but that shouldn’t bother Patrick Mahomes too much. The Super Bowl is being played in Arizona this year and the last two winners both lifted the trophy in their own stadiums. This should be a high-scoring affair.
Finally, we will get to see how Aaron Rodgers gets on with his new WR unit. This year’s likely WR1 was last year’s WR3! Still, they have a couple of promising rookies and Rodgers has a habit of making receivers better. The Vikings are much improved in 2022 so this is no gimmie for the Pack.
The night is rounded off with the Buccs heading for Texas to take on the Cowboys. Tom Brady is back in search of his eighth ring and the result here will give us a bit of an indication as to the prospects of that happening.
Image: Steve Jacobson/Shutterstock.com
Monday Night Football
The Broncos have already shown they can win a Super Bowl with a veteran QB and they will hope for a repeat with Russell Wilson under centre. They head back to his old stomping ground to face a Seahawks team that looks to be in a full-on rebuild. Were the Broncos only ever a QB away from competing?
Anyway the full week one schedule is below together with our predictions…
Thursday Night
Buffalo @ Los Angeles Rams
Prediction Bills 27 Rams 24
You can check our preview here
Sunday Early Games
New Orleans @ Atlanta
Prediction Saints 31 Falcons 14
San Francisco @ Chicago
Prediction 49ers 21 Bears 10
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati
Bengals 28 Steelers 24
Philadelphia @ Detroit
Eagles 23 Lions 20
New England @ Miami
Dolphins 27 Patriots 20
Baltimore @ New York Jets
Ravens 31 Jets 14
Jacksonville @ Washington
jaguars 20 Commanders 17
Cleveland @ Carolina
Panthers 17 Browns 14
Indianapolis @ Houston
Colts 28 Texans 10
Late Games
New York Giants @ Tennessee
Titans 16 Giants 7
Green Bay @ Minnesota
Packers 24 Vikings 21
Kansas City @ Arizona
Cardinals 33 Chiefs 31
LV Raiders @ LA Chargers
Chargers 24 Raiders 20
Night Game
Tampa Bay @ Dallas
Buccaneers 31 Cowboys 28
Monday Night
Denver @ Seattle
Broncos 28 Seahawks 10
Check back next week to see how we got on.
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