Week 1 began with the Kansas City Chiefs replicating their come from behind playoff victory over the Texans, this time spotting Houston a 7-0 lead on their way to a 34-20 win in front of about 17,000 fans. Only one other game will played with spectators in attendance, with the other 14 stadiums empty this weekend and for the foreseeable future. There is still a possibility that one or more stadiums, including AT&T Stadium in Dallas, will host some fans in Week 2. With no preseason and a lot of uncertainty surrounding the NFL and other sports, I present my Week 1 predictions.
Miami 14 @ New England (-6.5 spread) 23 (42 over/under): The Patriots begin a season without quarterback Tom Brady for the first time since 2000 after parting ways with the future Hall of Famer. He’ll be replaced by former Carolina Panther Cam Newton, who will give offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels a new dimension to his attack. These teams ended the 2019 regular season in Miami, where the Dolphins came away 27-24 victors to complete a dismal 5-11 season. The Dolphins will start journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick behind center, with rookie Tua Tagovailoa waiting in the wings. The Pats will again rely on their defense as they made minimal changes at the offensive skill positions.
Cleveland 17 @Baltimore (-7.5) 31 (47.5): The Ravens ended a great 2019 campaign with a disappointing 28-12 loss to Tennessee in the divisional round of the playoffs. After a 14-2 season, much more was expected from Baltimore in the postseason. They should be able to feast on a Cleveland team that will be playing its first game under new coach Kevin Stefanski, who hasn’t had chance to work with his staff under game conditions due to the cancellation of the preseason.
New York Jets 16 @ Buffalo (-6.5) 20 (39.0): Neither of these teams were able to generate much offense last season but the Bills’ defense led them to a spot in the playoffs, where they lost to the Texans 22-19 in overtime. Third year quarterback Sam Darnold is looking to continue making progress for the Jets after leading them to a less than satisfying 7-9 season in 2019. Don’t look for many touchdowns in this one so the Jets should be able to keep it close.
Las Vegas (3.0) 27 @ Carolina 17 (48.0): The Raiders’ move to Sin City is now complete, but they open the 2020 season on the road against a Panthers team with a new coaching staff headed by former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule, who inherits a team coming off a 5-11 season. Las Vegas, despite much speculation about the future of quarterback Derek Carr, will begin the season with him as their starter. It’s tough for west coast teams to head east for an early game, but the Raiders are a couple of years into a rebuilding effort that should begin to show results this season.
Seattle 21 (-2.5) @ Atlanta 24 (48.5): Another team from the west heads east as the Seahawks travel to Atlanta. The Falcons are coming off a disappointing 7-9 season, but the offense still has Matt Ryan at quarterback, Julio Jones at wide receiver and added Todd Gurley at running back. A healthy and effective Gurley could give Atlanta hope of contending in the NFC South. The Seahawks were an 11-5 playoff team last year and should again contend for a playoff spot, but I just have a feeling about this one.
Philadelphia (-5.5) 20 @ Washington 17 (42.5): This game will most likely look a lot like a large number of Washington’s games last season, where they played very good defense, but lacked enough offense to get a victory. Judging from the depth chart, it doesn’t look like they made enough moves to make any significant improvement except hoping that second year quarterback Dwayne Haskins will somehow suddenly take big strides forward. Washington also has a new head coach, Ron Rivera, late of the Carolina Panthers. The Eagles were gifted a division crown by the inept Cowboys last year and will once again depend on the Carson Wentz remaining healthy at quarterback, although they have rookie Jalen Hurts on the roster.
Chicago 27 @ Detroit (-3.0) 23 (42.5): Despite just three wins in 2019 and losing their final nine games including two against Chicago, the Lions are three point favorites against the Bears, who went 8-8 last season. Perhaps there is a lack of confidence in Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky, but he is now backed up by the very capable and former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.
Indianapolis (-7.5) 24 @ Jacksonville 20 (45.0): In one of only two games that will be played in front of fans, Jacksonville will be looking to provide a good start to head coach Doug Marrone’s fourth season which will likely be his last unless they improve on last season’s 6-10 record. Quarterback Garner Minshew performed well enough in his rookie season to get him the starting nod for 2020. Former Chargers signal caller Philip Rivers arrived in Indianapolis after 16 years in San Diego, giving Colts’ fans hope that he can lead the team to the playoffs.
Green Bay 27 @ Minnesota (-2.5) 28 (45.0): The Packers are coming off a 13-3 season that ended with a 37-20 loss at San Francisco in the NFC Championship game. Despite still being led Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, many experts feel that Green Bay could take a significant step backwards this season due to the front office bungling the offseason, including the draft. The Vikings are also coming off some postseason success, also getting eliminated by the 49ers after upsetting the Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. With a drop off by the Packers, Minnesota is expected to challenge for the NFC North title.
Los Angeles Chargers (-3.0) 23 @ Cincinnati 21 (41.0): The Chargers turn to veteran Tyrod Taylor to replace the departed Philip Rivers at quarterback. Rookie quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow takes over at quarterback for the Bengals, so both teams will be breaking in new leaders as they try to rebound from poor finishes in 2019. They combined for a just seven wins, so a victory for either one would be a welcome beginning to 2020.
Arizona 27 @ San Francisco (-7.0) 24 (48.0): Former Patriot backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo led the resurgent Niners to the Super Bowl, where they fell short against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite being big underdogs on the road, the Cardinals are my big upset pick of the week as they began to show some promise late in 2019. Second year quarterback Kyler Murray should be ready to take the next step in development and the 49ers might be a little hungover from that Super Bowl beat down.
Tampa Bay 27 @ New Orleans (-3.5) 30 (48.0): The total age of the starting quarterbacks in this game is 84 years old and they’ve combined for 151,987 yards and 1088 touchdown passes in their careers. Tom Brady, the older of the two at 43, will be starting his first game for the Bucs after spending 20 seasons in New England, where he won six Super Bowls in nine appearances. For the Saints, 41 year old Drew Brees has intimated that he is nearing the end of his career after signing a two-year contract extension. The two legends have met five times, with Brees coming out on top in the first three and Brady prevailing in the two most recent matchups. If they both play the next couple of seasons and stay healthy, this will be the first of at least four more NFC South meetings on the field. Even with the reunion of Brady and his tight end from New England, Rob Gronkowski, the home Saints probably have too much for the Bucs.
Dallas (-2.5) 34 @ Los Angeles Rams 27 (51.5): This Sunday night gem was supposed to showcase the opening of the $5 billion SoFi Stadium, home to the Rams and the Chargers. Of course, the new venue will still get its debut, but without the benefit of the fans and the atmosphere that comes with them. Neither of these teams made the playoffs in 2019 but have expectations of making the postseason in 2020. The Cowboys lost six of seven of their one-possession games last season, so they’ll need to turn that statistic around in what is expected to be a close game on Sunday. With quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper in place for 2020, it’s not surprising for a Dallas team that was fourth in the conference in scoring in 2019 to be expected to put up some big offensive numbers for new coach Mike McCarthy. Behind quarterback Jared Goff, the Rams are looking to return to their 2018 form that resulted in a Super Bowl appearance.
Pittsburgh (-6.0) 31 New York Giants 20 (46.0): The big question for the Steelers, who are coming off an atypical 8-8 season, at least for one of the most consistent franchises in the last 25 years, is whether quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can fully recover from the elbow injury that shortened his 2019 season. This first game of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader will feature the third NFC East team with a new head coach, the Giants’ Joe Judge. Second year quarterback Daniel Jones will try to build on his decent rookie campaign which ultimately resulted in the retirement of Eli Manning. With Giants Stadium empty, the home team coming off a four win season and a new head coach, it’s hard to see a stunning upset over the Steelers.
Tennessee (-2.5) 27 @ Denver 23 (41.5): Week 1 concludes in Denver as the Broncos try to work their way back to being a playoff team. After leading the Titans to a great playoff run, Ryan Tannehill is entrenched as the starting quarterback, resulting in the departure of Marcus Mariota. Tennessee is hoping to build on the end to their 2019 season when they defeated the Patriots and Ravens on the road before falling to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. Now they go back on the road to what would ordinarily be a very hostile environment, but will be far more benign with the absence of fans.
The latest novel in the PK Frazier series is now available. "Unplayable Lie" as well as the first three installments can be found at PK Frazier novels
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