NFL week one picks: Can Tua Tagovailoa beat his former teammate?

Football is officially back! The season kicked off on Thursday night when the defending champs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Dallas Cowboys. It was one of the best season opening games in awhile, as the game came down to a field goal from Tampa which was a drive led by Tom Brady.

It was a great game to get us back into the swing of things and now we move onto Sunday that is full of action. The Browns and Chiefs get a rematch from their Divisional playoff game last year, former Alabama teammates Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones face off against each other, 3 rookie quarterbacks make their debut, their are just so many storylines for Week 1 so let’s get to to the games.

Eagles at Falcons  ; Sunday 1:00

The Falcons just lost Julio Jones, but they feel confident enough that Calvin Ridley can takeover that role. They also just added Kyle Pitts as well to continue to have good options for Matt Ryan. The Eagles are very young, especially on offense which is led by Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith. This is one of the Week 1 games that I think can go either way. But I think that the veteran Matt Ryan will lead the Falcons to a win at home.

Pick: Falcons 31, Eagles 24

Steelers at Bills ; Sunday 1:00 

The Bills are coming off of their best season in years. They made it to the AFC Championship but ended up losing to the Chiefs in the end. The Bills look to make it even farther this year and it starts here. They get a tough matchup as they are up against that Steelers defense. Although they did lose a couple people, the Steelers defense can still cause problems and they are they key if the Steelers want to keep it close. I just think that Josh Allen and the Bills offense will be too much, and they pull away during the 4th quarter.

Pick: Bills 34, Steelers 27

Vikings at Bengals ; Sunday 1:00 

Joe Burrow gets back on the field Sunday for the first time since he suffered a torn ACL last year. This is a big step forward for Burrow. He will have his hands full though as he has to go up against the Vikings defense. It does not look good for Burrow behind his offensive line, but luckily for him he has some weapons around him to make it better. On the other hand, the Vikings offense is weapons galore for Kirk Cousins as he has Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, and Justin Jefferson. I think the Bengals have the potential to keep it close, but I think Burrow is going to need a little bit of time to get back into the swing of things.

Pick: Vikings 30, Bengals 20

49ers at Lions ; Sunday 1:00 

The Lions do not have much going for them this year after trading Matthew Stafford to the Rams. The 49ers are coming off of an injury filled season so they are more than ready for this Sunday. It might take some time for the starting unit to get back to normal again but I have a lot of hope that the 49ers will be close to the team they were back in 2019. 49ers cover this one.

Pick: 49ers 34, Lions 23

Cardinals at Titans  ; Sunday 1:00

The Cardinals and Titans is arguably the best game of the 1:00 games. Both offenses are absolutely loaded. The Titans are led by Ryan Tannehill, AJ Brown, Julio Jones, and Derrick Henry. While the Cardinals are led by Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, AJ Green, and Chase Edmunds. It will be interesting to see how much either defense has improved since last season. But I think this will be a classic shootout that comes down to the end, but I think Kyler Murray and the Cardinals come away with the upset.

Pick: Cardinals 34, Titans 31

Seahawks  at Colts ; Sunday 1:00 

The Seahawks defense continues to regress from what was once called the “legion of boom”. Although the Seahawks offense may be the real deal and cause problems, how much could they really do without a good defense. The Colts on the other hand arguably have the best offensive lines in football. They are now led by Carson Wentz who looks to prove himself as a starting quarterback. I think Jonathan Taylor has a heck of a day behind the Colts offensive line, and they get the upset over the Seahawks who are off to a sluggish start.

Pick: Colts 27, Seahawks 26

Chargers at Washington  ; Sunday 1;00 

Justin Herbert is coming off of his rookie season that nobody suspected. Supported by Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen, the Chargers have the potential to make the playoffs. They go up against Washington who arguably has a top 5 defense in the NFL. Last season, Antonio Gibson became the lead back and surprised a lot of people. Along with Terry McLaurin, they should make an offense that opposing teams should watch for after the addition of Ryan FItzpatrick. The Washington defense is the difference in this once against the young quarterback.

Pick: Washington 20, LA Chargers 13

Jets at Panthers ; Sunday 1:00 

Sam Darnold gets a fresh start as the Pantherts quarterback. He is in a much better situation than he was in New York. As for the Jets, they enter the Robert Saleh and Zach Wilson era. They did make some moves in the offseason but not enough to make a huge difference. Sam Darnold gets his revenge on the former team who drafted him.

Pick; Panthers 24, Jets 14

Jaguars at Texans ; Sunday 1:00

Trevor Lawrence makes his first start against the Houston Texans. The Jaguars look to get their first win against the dysfunctional Texans. Deshaun Watson seems to be out for who knows how long, so Tyrod Taylor steps in as starter. Don’t expect much from Taylor, especially with this current Texans team. I see Lawrence and head coach Urban Meyer getting their first win here.

Pick : Jaguars 23, Texans 16

Broncos at Giants ;  Sunday 4:25

The Broncos may be a sleeper to some people but not to me. Sure, they have a really good defense, but their playoffs rely on the quarterback play and I don’t trust either of them. I think that Daniel Jones and the Giants have a lot to prove. With the addition of Kenny Golladay and getting Saquon Barkley back healthy, the Giants potentially have something starting. Nevertheless, I have the Giants winning at home on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Pick: Giants 28, Broncos 24

Packers at Saints ; Sunday 4:25

Aaron Rodgers does indeed enter the season as the Packers starting quarterback. He is also joined with wide receiver DeVante Adams as an apparent “last dance” just like the Michael Jordan documentary. We will find out if it is the last dance for the pair but they have an interesting matchup on Sunday. It will be Jameis Winston’s first start for the Saints and Rodgers has just a 3-4 record while playing in Florida. Give me the Saints in a surprise upset here. Winston does just enough to push the Saints to victory.

Pick: Saints 31, Packers 28

Browns at Chiefs; Sunday 4:25

I love it , AFC Divisional rematch of 2020 right off the bat. The Browns come

into this year having the defense been their main area to upgrade in the off season. For the Chiefs, it was clearly the offensive line after that horrible performance in the Super Bowl. I like the Browns a lot this year and they are actually my AFC pick to go to the Super Bowl. But I like Mahomes and this offense overpowering the Browns defense which will take some time to get used to each other.

Pick: Chiefs 35, Browns 27

Dolphins at Patriots ; Sunday 4:25 

This is arguably one of the biggest headlines for Sunday. Tua vs Jones. The former Alabama teammates face off against each other to star the season. The Dolphins are coming off of a 10-6 season and just missed the AFC playoffs. The Patriots made many moves in the offseason to improve in the offseason and also have returning players who opted out last season. This will be a tightly contested matchup but I think Tua and the offense will get hot late and pull us away.

Pick: Dolphins 34, Patriots 28 OT

Bears at Rams ; 8:20 

Andy Dalton gets the job to start the season for the Bears. Although be prepared to see Justin FIelds in the 2nd half of the season. Dalton will face a Rams defense that did lose a few places in the offseason but are still one of the top units in the league. The Rams traded for Matthew Stafford in the offseason and he arguable makes the Rams a Super Bowl contender. I like the Rams in this matchup as they will benefit from Dalton’s play.

Pick: Rams 31, Bears 13

Ravens at Raiders ; MNF 

The Raiders finally open up Allegiant Stadium with fans on Monday night when they take on the Ravens. The Ravens have had to unfortunately deal with a ton of key injuries including JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Marcus Peters. The Raiders pretty much have the same team as last year besides the edition of Kenyan Drake.  I think the Ravens injuries will eventually catch up to them, but I think that they still take the season opener. I think Lamar and the dynamic offense will be just too much for the Raiders defense to handle.

Pick: Ravens 33, Raiders 28