Once again, the NFL regular season begins with two games on Monday Night Football. The Pittsburgh Steelers visit the New York Giants in the early evening game, and then the Tennessee Titans head to Denver to face the Broncos in the nightcap. The Steelers are excited to have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back in the lineup; the stout Steeler defense almost got the Steelers a wild card last year despite having Mason Rudolph and Devlin “Duck” Hodges at quarterback, until teams figured out how to shut down the Pittsburgh offense altogether. The Giants have quarterback Daniel Jones entering his second season and are looking for improvement as they continue their rebuild. The Tennessee Titans rolled all the way to the AFC Championship last year despite not even winning their own division, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill got a big extension — and tailback Derrick Henry is back. Can they continue their winning ways? They’ll see when they face a Denver team that has a promising young quarterback in Drew Lock.
Check out our NFL betting thoughts on each MNF game.
NFL Betting News:
Monday Night Football Picks for Week 1of the 2020 Season
Pittsburgh (-4.5) at N.Y. Giants (7:15 pm ET, ESPN)
The Pittsburgh Steelers have strengths at basically every point of weakness on the Giants roster. For example, Daniel Jones fumbled the ball 18 times in his 12 appearances in 2019. The Steeler defense led the NFL in recovering fumbles a year ago. Pittsburgh’s best level on defense is their line. The Giants’ left offensive tackle opted out due to COVID-19 concerns, and a rookie is taking his place. Jones took 3.17 sacks per start last year, third-most in the league. Pittsburgh led the league in sacks.
The Giants have a new head coach coming into 2020 — Joe Judge, who has never been a head coach before. The team has had five weeks of time on the field to come together and learn Judge’s system. One question, of course, is how much rust Roethlisberger will have after missing all of that time in 2019. However, given the ways in which the Steelers should be able to manhandle the New York offense, Roethlisberger should have a quarter, or perhaps even a half, to settle into a rhythm and start moving the ball.
Pittsburgh to win and cover | Check the Odds
Tennessee (+3) at Denver (10:10 pm ET, ESPN)
Tennessee started the 2019 season 4-5 but then went 5-2 down the stretch to grab that wild card. Had they been able to win one more game against the Texans, they would have won the AFC South. Then they amazed the pro football world, ending Tom Brady’s New England run by beating the Patriots in the wild card game and shutting down the high-octane Baltimore offense in the divisional playoff. They even built a double-digit lead over the Chiefs at Arrowhead, but then the Chiefs came back to win. The expectations are sky-high in coach Mike Vrabel’s third season. Quarterback Marcus Mariota and cornerback Logan Ryan moved on, but they added Vic Beasley to the pass rush and drafted Isaiah Wilson to fill a hole at offensive tackle.
The Broncos started 0-4 but then won three of their next seven. They flipped a switch down the stretch, with four wins in their last five games. Vic Fangio returns for his second year as head coach. Key losses for the Broncos in free agency included Adam Gotsis, Brandon Allen, Theo Riddick and Devontae Booker. The team is bringing in quarterback Jeff Driskel to add depth, along with linebacker Mark Barron and offensive tackle Demar Dotson. I really don’t get having the Broncos as a favorite here, as the Titans return ten starters on offense and have excellent ball security.
Tennessee to cover | Check the Odds
