The moment all football fans were waiting for is finally here. Week 1 of the 2020-21 NFL season has finally arrived and with it the excitement of the greatest, most competitive league on the planet. Here, you’ll find the list of games and predictions for the first week of football.
It’s been a long time since we last saw the best players on earth take the gridiron. With the cancellation of the preseason, teams won’t have that much time to make adjustments and shake off the rust.
That may be key in a week that features great rivalry games like Packers at Vikings, Bears at Lions, and Eagles at Washington. In the following paragraphs, you’ll find our score prediction for every single one of thesegames.
2020-21 NFL Season Week 1: List Of Games And Predictions
Thursday, September 10
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs – 8:20 PM (ET)
The Chiefs will host the Texans for the official kickoff of the season. The reigning Champions torched them 51-31 the last time they met after capping a humiliating 51-7 run. The Chiefs have actually gotten better this year with te addition of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, while Bill O’Brien’s team traded away DeAndre Hopkins.
Odds:(Chiefs -9, o/u 54)
Prediction: Chiefs 42-20 Texans
Sunday, September 13
Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons– 1:00 PM (ET)
The Seattle Seahawks enter this season back at full strength and as one of the strongest contenders but will face a reinforced Falcons’ defense amid new coordinator Raheem Morris. Seattle’s rushing attack will certainly have a tough time getting it done, yet Russell Wilson is capable of leading them to a tight victory here.
Odds:(Seahawks -2, o/u 49)
Prediction: Seahawks 24-20 Falcons
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills – 1:00 PM (ET)
The New York Jets aren’t going to be as bad as last season but they just couldn’t ask for a tougher matchup to start the year. The Bills obliterated Sam Darnold in Week 17 and the additions of Mario Addison and A.J. Epenesa will only make their already impressive defense even scarier.
Odds:(Bills -6.5, o/u 39.5)
Prediction: Bills 24-10 Jets
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions – 1:00 PM (ET)
The Chicago Bears spent a lot of money and draft capital to trade for Nick Foles, yet they announced Mitch Trubisky as their starter for week 1. Mitch will be under a lot of pressure, both literally and figuratively when his team visits Ford Field. Matt Patricia’s defense should significantly improve this season and we expect them to show up right out of the gate.
Odds:(Lions -3, o/u 43)
Prediction: Lions 21-14 Bears
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – 1:00 PM (ET)
The Minnesota Vikings enter the year as the top candidate out of the NFC North and beating the Packers at home will certainly make a statement. The Packers suffered a major loss in Bryan Bulaga and didn’t do much to add more talent around Aaron Rodgers. Then again, AR12 has dominated division rivals for years and we just can’t say the same about Kirk Cousins.
Odds:(Vikings -2.5, o/u 45.5)
Prediction: Packers 27-24 Vikings
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots – 1:00 PM (ET)
The Miami Dolphins will start Ryan Fitzpatrick and take it slow with standout prospect Tua Tagovailoa. ‘Fitzmagic’ already lit up New England at the end of last season but the Dolphins will now feature a lot of new personnel, so it may take some time before they click – if they click. Bill Belichick will have a highly-motivated Cam Newton playing with a chip on his shoulder, so there’s not much to think about here.
Odds:(Patriots -6.5, o/u 42)
Prediction: Patriots 23-7 Dolphins
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Football Team – 1:00 PM (ET)
Washington got a major boost on their defense by the addition of Chase Young and Ron Rivera has proven to be a defensive mastermind. However, Dwayne Haskins has been suboptimal – to say the least – and they lack the offensive firepower to keep up with the Eagles, as inconsistent as they may be.
Odds:(Eagles -5.5, o/u 42.5)
Prediction: Eagles 24-14 Washington
Las Vegas Raiders at Carolina Panthers – 1:00 PM (ET)
It’s the dawn of the Teddy Bridgewater era at Carolina but we know little-to-nothing from this team right now. Will we see Teddy B from Minnesota? A scrambler who took risks out in the open? Or will he be the slant, handoff master he was with the Saints? The Raiders will play their first game after leaving Oakland for good and while there are still some serious doubts about Derek Carr, he has enough talent around him to take a win in the road here.
Odds:(Raiders -3, o/u 47.5)
Prediction: Raiders 27-16 Panthers
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars – 1:00 PM (ET)
Most people argue that Philip Rivers is too old and the Colts’ offensive line is too bad for them to actually compete. The Jaguars are most likely planning ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft and next season and they’re not supposed to be very good this year. The Colts enter the game as huge favorites thanks to all of the weapons at Rivers’ disposal but are still a huge question mark.
Odds:(Colts -8, o/u 45)
Prediction: Colts 27-14 Jaguars
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens – 1:00 PM (ET)
Baker Mayfield has raved about his new offense and we know how much Kevin Stefanski loves to get their tight ends involved in the game, which may take a lot of pressure off of him. Odell Beckham Jr is back at full strength and the Browns promise to finally be a solid team this season. Then again, the Ravens are a far superior team in every aspect of the game and the reigning MVP is thirsty for revenge.
Odds:(Ravens -7.5, o/u 48.5)
Prediction: Ravens 33-25 Browns
Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals – 4:05 PM (ET)
The Los Angeles Chargers will turn to Tyrod Taylor as a fill-in starter until Justin Herbert gets the green light. The Bengals will give the keys of the offense to standout rookie Joe Burrow right away, while also getting the boost of AJ Green’s return. Some growing pains are normalfor all rookie quarterbacks but we expect the Joe Cool legend to start with an upset win at home.
Odds:(Chargers -3, o/u 42)
Prediction: Bengals 24-20 Chargers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints – 4:25 PM (ET)
This is obviously the must-watch game for football fans all over the world. Tom Brady will take the pitch for the much-hyped Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a couple of solid additions. However, it’ll be far from an easy debut for Tom Terrific, as he’ll have to go toe-to-toe with Drew Brees, Mike Thomas, and the Saints’ scary secondary. I guess that first W will have to wait.
Odds:(Saints -3.5, o/u 48)
Prediction: Saints 30-27 Buccaneers
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – 4:25 PM (ET)
The 49ers are a bit banged up at wide receiver to enter the year but then again, Jimmy Garoppolo was more of a handoff specialist than a deep-threat kind of quarterback so they should be fine. Kyle Murray proved to be special right away and has now an elite weapon in DeAndre Hopkins so we expect them to get an upset at Levi’s Stadium.
Odds:(49ers -7, o/u 48)
Prediction: Cardinals 23-21 49ers
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams – 8:20 PM (ET)
There has been a lot of hype surrounding the Cowboys this year – as usual. However, they may be for real this time. They feature a balanced offense reeking of talent and a solid defensive unit with a much betterhead coach in Mike McCarthy. The Rams have an explosive offense and top-tier cornerback Jalen Ramsey but with Dak Prescott determined to prove his worth, we give the Cowboys the edge in this potential shootout.
Odds:(Cowboys -3, o/u 51.5)
Prediction: Cowboys 33-30 Rams
Monday, September 14
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants – 7:15 PM (ET)
The New York Giants have little to look forward to this season. Daniel Jones will be under a lot of pressure when Mike Tomlin’s Steelers take MetLife stadium for assault on Monday night. The Steelers were surprisingly able to stay in contention to make the playoffs despite not getting anything from their quarterbacks. Now, Ben Roethlisberger will be back under center with a fully healthy James Conner. Bad news for the G-Men.
Odds: (Steelers -6, o/u 46.5)
Predictions: Steelers 30 – 17 Giants
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos – 10:10 PM (ET)
The Denver Broncos got a major blow as they’ll likely be without Von Miller for most of the season. They were supposed to be one of the dark horses of the year with Drew Lockready to breakout. The Ryan Tannehill-led Titans surprised a lot of people last year and enter this game as 2.5-point favorites, which is understandable considering how much of a hard time Denver will have defending the run against Derrick Henry without Bradley Chubb at 100%.
Odds:(Titans -2.5, o/u 41)
Prediction: Titans 20-17 Broncos
