Must-Bet Games for NFL Week 1

Must-Bet Games for NFL Week 1

The 2019 regular season in the National Football League begins with a Thursday-night prime-time matchup going back to the earliest days of the league, as the Green Bay Packers will renew their NFC North rivalry with the Chicago Bears. The New England Patriots will start their title defense the following Sunday, and an intriguing season will unfold for all 32 of the league’s franchises. We have put together a list of articles for you to consider as you put together your sports betting decisions for NFL Week 1.

Must-Bet Games for NFL Week 1

Sunday, September 8

Baltimore at Miami (1:00pm ET, CBS)

The Baltimore Ravens rolled to a 10-6 record in 2018, despite the fact that Lamar Jackson has to run what is basically an expanded option offense for the team. That is a testament to the Ravens’ defense — as well as to Jackson’s explosive speed. The Miami Dolphins finished 7-9 but will feature a new coach this year in Brian Flores…and a new quarterback, as Ryan Fitzpatrick has shown up in camp, looking to convince another team that he has what it takes to lead an NFL franchise for a full season. Baltimore added Earl Thomas and Mark Ingram in the off-season, and Jackson comes in with the advantage of a full training camp of preparation for the starting role, instead of coming in off the bench as he did last year. The Ravens could shut the Dolphins’ offense down completely, so even if Baltimore cannot get past 20 points, they could still cover this line fairly easily. NFL Week 1 Prediction: Baltimore 17, Miami 9

Kansas City at Jacksonville (1:00pm ET, CBS)

The Kansas City Chiefs rolled to a 12-4 record last year, although their last four games in the regular season were not as impressive, and the fact that they could not solve the New England defense for the first half of the AFC Championship left them out of the Super Bowl. They still have Patrick Mahomes II at quarterback, and their tailback duo of Carlos Hyde and Damien Williams should be impressive. They travel to face a Jacksonville team that has a stout defense and that has replaced Blake Bortles with Nick Foles a quarterback. However, their tailback situation is Leonard Fournette — talented but inconsistent — and Foles has never produced anywhere but Philadelphia. I think Jacksonville is better in 2019, but I’m not sure they can stay within a field goal of Kansas City. I don’t see Kansas City turning this game into a track meet, but the Jaguars’ offense did not really produce last year against anyone of note, and the Chiefs have also made a number of improvements on defense that should help them slow opponents down more in 2019. NFL Week 1 Prediction: Kansas City 24, Jacksonville 17

Cincinnati at Seattle (4:05pm ET, CBS)

The last time we saw Seattle, they were doing something exceedingly rare — losing to Dallas in a playoff game. In the off-season, they added D.J. Fluker and Mike Iupati — and they inked Russell Wilson to a four-year extension. So I see the Seahawks coming into this opener with a ton of motivation. What about those Bengals? They finished last year 6-10 — but they had Jeff Driskel at quarterback for the last six weeks of the season, with Andy Dalton suffering a thumb injury. A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert had already gone down for the season before Dalton went down in Week 12. However, Cincinnati covered in five of their seven games as road underdogs last year. Could they pull off a sneaky cover in the opener this year? It’s hard to see them going in impressively in such a tough road environment as Seattle. NFL Week 1 Prediction: Seattle 24, Cincinnati 13