1:00 PM EST

Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers

The Baker Mayfield Revenge Game is on everyone’s mind coming into this matchup. The Panthers have the better quarterback in this matchup as Baker will be facing Jacoby Brissett instead of Watson who’s suspended. With the Panthers having the better quarterback of the two it comes to the running game next. Christian McCaffrey is a full go against the Browns and he will try to put the Panthers on his back in the backfield. The Browns have Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the backfield. Both backs put up big numbers and if the Browns are going to win it will be with the ground game. The Browns have the better defense of the two teams but something about Baker pissed off has me leaning toward the Panthers. Baker will need to make sure he doesn’t meet Myles Garrett in the backfield if they will be successful.

Score Prediction: Panthers Win (24 – 16)

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are coming off their Super Bowl appearance and they will be facing the Steelers. The Bengals have one of the nastiest offenses in the NFL led by Joe Burrow and will be looking to continue that trend in 2022. Pittsburgh just named Mitchell Trubisky the starter and he will be going against a tough Cincy defense. Both teams love to establish the run as Najee Harris will be looking to punish the defenders. On the flip side, the Steelers love to stack the box and try to make it tough on Joe Mixon. Mixon has been able to pass catching as of last season and will continue to elevate. The Bengals and Steelers will have a slugfest in Cincinnati but I still see the Bengals coming out on top with ease. The Bengal’s wide receiver core will flourish more in this one as Chase, Higgins, and Boyd will outplay Johnson and Claypool for the Steelers.

Score Prediction: Bengals Win (34 – 10)

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

This game is going to be ugly for the Houston Texans who will be hosting the Colts. Jonathan Taylor is coming off a monster year on the ground last season and will punish the Texans. Taylor pretty much owned the Texan’s defense last year and that will continue today. The Colts added Matt Ryan in the offseason and he will be able to get the receivers going especially with his deep ball abilities. Michael Pittman should have a great game against the Texans who have leaks in their secondary. The Texans have surprised people, especially with the play of Davis Mills and Brandin Cooks. The Texans will need to lean on them and also get their explosive rookie running game Dameon Pierce going if they will have any chance in Houston on Sunday. Indy has one of the best defenses in the NFL and took a huge hit with the Leonard injury but still, this should be a walk in the park for the Colts today.

Score Prediction: Colts Win (31-17)

Baltimore Ravens at New York Jets

Welp this is just going to be the Lamar Jackson show as he goes out to prove that Baltimore should have paid him. Expect Jackson to call his own number near the goalline and expect him to have a monster game in the passing/running game. Jackson should have some of his running backs on the way back as they added Mike Davis/Kenyon Drake this offseason as they await Edwards/Dobbins. The Jets are still trying to figure things out about their offense and they could have a good season but this is a tough matchup. Joe Flacco will be under center against the Ravens and he will need Moore and Carter to help on the offensive side. The Ravens have a tough defense that’s ready to dominate this Jets team. The Ravens have a tough defense that will look to stop the run/pass.

Score Prediction: Ravens Win (27-10)

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons

The New Orleans Saints were banged up last year between Winston/Hill. This year the quarterbacks are healthy and they will be getting Michael Thomas back after a season off. Also, the Saints added Jarvis Landry to the mix this offseason, and they sure up this wide receiver group. The Saints have a lethal offense and that offense moves accordingly with Alvin Kamara. Look for Kamara to take over this game as he’s always gone crazy stat-wise against the Falcons. Alvin Kamara can run through tackles and he can catch out the backfield. The Falcons will be entering the season with Marriota under center this season and if the Falcons are going to win this game they need Kyle Pitts to go off. This year Kyle Pitts has a lot of hype around him and the Falcons will try to get him and Drake London their rookie wide receiver involved today. The Falcons still have Patterson in the backfield for them but he will need to put in some work against that front line with Cam Jordan. The Saints added Honey Badger to their defense and they will be looking to make the Falcons pay for any mistakes.

Score Prediction: Saints Win (27-10)

San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears

This will be a toss-up kind of game in Chicago today. Justin Fields will be looking to take that next step in his game and he will be leaning on Mooney big time. Losing Allen Robinson to the Rams will hurt this team on the offensive end. David Montgomery will be looking to get in the end zone as well but this 49ers defense is stout. The Bears have a good defense as well but they lost Mack and have some players that aren’t pleased with the organization. The 49ers have entered the Trey Lance era and they will be looking to get their 2nd-year player some good looks. Lance will be looking for Deebo Samuels with every snap as they were able to take care of the wide receiver this offseason. The 49ers have always had a carousel at the running back position and they will help Lance with pass protection and runs. The 49ers defense still has Bosa and as long as he’s healthy it will be a long day for the opposing offenses. Overall both teams have quarterbacks trying to find themselves so it will come down to the defense in this matchup.

Score Prediction: 49ers Win (24-21)

Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions

The hype around the Philadelphia Eagles this season is REAL. Jalen Hurts is due for a big season and all the Eagles did this offseason is add AJ Brown from the Titans. This offense will be a scary one especially if those two are on the same page plus Devonta Smith. The only issue that the Eagles have is the fact they don’t have a pure runner that can be the bell cow back. The eagles have been waiting for Sanders to break out and they hope this will be his year. On the flip side, the Lions have their every down back in Swift and the offense will move to the beat of his drum. Swift is a one-of-a-kind talent his only issue has been his injury status. The Lions have Goff who had a decent year last year but he will be trying to fight off the Eagles defenders coming at him today. His number 1 target in the wide receiver group is Armon St Brown. If Armon can create some separation from Slay on the Eagles it could be a good afternoon for the Lions fans. The Lions have Aidan who will be trying to slow down Hurts but it will be a tough task as Philly has a lot of weapons.

Score Prediction: Eagles Win (27-17)

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

The New England Patriots are coming off a playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. This season they will be looking to make it back to the playoffs but change that outcome. Mac Jones has done nothing but improve since coming into camp this year and he now has another weapon in Devante Parker who came from Miami. Parker should be able to open some things up for Mac in the offense and open the top for the deep ball. The Patriots have some great tight ends in Henry/Smith who will also help this offense grow too. The Dolphins this offseason improved in a big time by bringing over Tyreek Hill to help Tua in the passing game. Tyreek Hill can change the outcome of a game in one play and the Dolphins will look to use him against the Patriot’s secondary. The Dolphins added Edmonds and Mosert to their backfield as they look to compete deep in the season. The Pats have Harris/Stevenson in the backfield and will be looking to make the best of the opportunities given to them. Both teams have defenses that create turnovers and both teams will need to execute with no flaws to win.

Score Prediction: Patriots Win (23-20)

Jacksonville Jaguars at Washington Commanders

The Jaguars have a new head coach Doug Pederson with Superbowl experience. Doug will bring out the best in Trevor Lawrence as this will be the first game where we get to see his takeover. Trevor will be able to use his arm and legs to his advantage against the Commanders. Trevor has Christian Kirk who came over from Arizona and he got back his bell cow running back Travis Etienne. Look for Travis to take over this game on the ground as the Commanders don’t have a stacked defense that can slow him down. When Travis runs that will open the play-action game up for Jacksonville. The Commanders resigned Scary Terry and made sure that he was on the same page as new quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz will be a great addition to this team and will bring that toughness that they lacked on the offensive side in the past years. Wentz can keep a play intact with his legs and that will factor in today. The Commanders can have a big chance to win if they get Gibson going and if they don’t it could be a long day in Washington. The Jags will have the youth and the swag on both sides overall to get the job done today.

Score Prediction: Jaguars Win (17-10)

4:25 PM EST

Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals

The Kansas City Chiefs will be playing in their first game without Tyreek Hill on the roster. In the offseason, the Chiefs brought in Juju from Pittsburgh as they look to bring some of that speed they lost with Hill back. This team will be in a great position to win as long as Patrick Mahomes is on the field. The Chiefs still have the best tight end in Travis Kelce and he will get a lot of opportunities to shine against the Cardinal’s defense. The Cheifs running back situation hasn’t been the same since Kareem Hunt left but as long as they continue to air it out with Patrick it doesn’t matter what they do. The Cardinals had a busy offseason as they were able to extend Kyler Murray to a big contract and they also brought in Hollywood Brown from the Ravens. Murray will be able to make it happen on the ground or with his arm but either way he does it with ease. Murray unlike Mahomes has a bell cow in James Connor who put the Cardinal’s offense on his back last season. So this game should be a shootout but it will come down to the defenses and who makes the mistake first in Arizona.

Score Prediction: Chiefs Win (38-34)

Las Vegas Raiders at LA Chargers

The AFC West Division is STACKED…This will be a great game between two teams that know each other very well personal wise. The Chargers have one of the best offenses in the NFL and they will have the Raiders on their heels all day. Justin Herbert has a lot of weapons surrounding him and it doesn’t look fair at all. Herbert should be on pace for an MVP season and he will try to start that against the Raiders. The Chargers brought back Mike Williams and they still have Allen/Ekler in this offense still. The Raiders made a lot of changes as they now have Josh McDaniels as their head coach in Las Vegas. Derek Carr’s still doing his thing but now he has his college running mate Devante Adams with him now. Both Adams/Carr have amazing chemistry and they both should be making it tough on the Charger’s defense if Carr gets the ball out. The Raiders have a decent running game with Jacobs but they need it to be consistent if they will go as far as they would like to this season. The Charger’s defense got better as they added Kahlil Mack to this intense defense already. You still have Bosa and James coming for you so it could be a long day for Carr really quick.

Score Prediction: Chargers Win (30-23)

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

The Green Bay Packers were able to pay Aaron Rodgers to keep him in Wisconsin this off-season. The only thing that hurts is the fact that Devante Adams was traded to Las Vegas. Today, when Rodgers goes against the Vikings his number 1 receiver, will be Romeo Doubs or Randall Cobb. The Packers are banged up at the wide receiver position as Allen Lazard will be out today. The Vikings are coming into the season healthy and ready to take the league by storm with the Jefferson/Thielen combo. Both of those wide receivers are going to make it easier for Kirk Cousins and we didn’t even get into the running game with Dalvin Cook. Cook will be on pace to have a big season as well but his health is always a factor. If he stays healthy Cook can bring the Vikings to the promised land with how impressive this offense is in Minnesota. The Packers have some running back of their own that Rodgers will be depending on in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillion. Both of those backs will be helping Rodgers keep this offense afloat and they will need the defense to slow down the Vikings. These division rivals will have a close game and both teams will be depending on their defenses to make a play to get them in the win column today.

Score Prediction: Vikings Win (27-21)

New York Giants at Tennessee Titans

This game will come down to the play of the running backs in my opinion. The Titans have arguably the best running back in the NFL in Derrick Henry. The crazy thing is with Henry even with him getting hurt last year he was still near the top in rushing yards in the league. Derrick Henry added some pass-catching to his game last year and he will have to do some more of that with AJ Brown gone. The Titans brought in Robert Woods and have the electrifying Treylon Burks who they got to replace AJ Brown so anything is possible with this receiving core. The Giants have Saquon Barkley and if he can get loose against these Titans then it could be a long day for the Titans. Barkley can dominate a game by himself but he hasn’t been able to over the last couple of years because of injury. Barkley’s the whole Giants offense and the Titans will be looking to stack that box today. If I’m going with a quarterback in this matchup it would be Ryan Tannehill as he has more weapons that are healthy and ready. This should be easy work for the Titans as they try to start the season off 1-0.

Score Prediction: Titans Win (27-10)