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Writer's pictureJustin Frazier

WEEK ONE NFL PREDICTIONS

Record last season 160-91-1



Thursday, September 8, 2022 - 7:20 PM CT

Buffalo Bills 0-0 @ Los Angeles Rams 0-0

Football is back, and our first matchup of the year comes this Thursday, as the Buffalo Bills face the reigning Super Bowl Champion Rams. Two of the more explosive offenses in the game today with several matchups to be interested in. Jalen Ramsey vs Stefon Diggs headlines them, and how will Buffalo try to negate Cooper Kupp? The Rams also added Allen Robinson, who is looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2021 in Chicago. Buffalo had the #1 pass defense in football last year, but they will be without their star cornerback Tre White, who is still recovering from a torn ACL. Oh yeah and then there’s Von Miller who helped the Rams win the Super Bowl last February. The Rams, under Sean McVay, are 5-0 in week 1 averaging 32.6 points per game with a +83-point differential, so safe to say, I don’t agree with the Rams being underdogs in this game. I think the Super Bowl champs start 1-0.

Bills 27 - Rams 28


Sunday, September 11, 2022 - 12:00 PM CT Games


San Francisco 49ers 0-0 @ Chicago Bears 0-0

A matchup between two first round quarterbacks from the 2021 NFL draft, Trey Lance and the 49ers travel to Chicago to play Justin Fields and the Bears. Lance starts the season against a Bears defense that was horrible against the pass last season, they were 32nd in passer rating allowed and 26th in yards per attempt. The Niners have a ton of weapons to take advantage of that matchup with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle. Robert Quinn, who had 18.5 sacks last year for the Bears going up against future Hall of Fame Left Tackle Trent Williams, will be a treat. It’ll be interesting to see if the Bears offensive line can hold up against Nick Bosa and the Niners pass rush. I don’t expect the Bears to get blown out, but I do have the Niners leading from start to finish.

49ers 24 - Bears 14


Cleveland Browns 0-0 @ Carolina Panthers 0-0

The Baker Mayfield revenge game this week as he faces his former team the Cleveland Browns. Baker is an emotional player sometimes that leads to amazing games, and other times it’ll lead to well, not so amazing games. The Panthers start the season with a healthy Christian McCaffrey who has only played in 10 games the past two seasons. The Browns will rely on Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt heavily, and easily can run their way to victory. The Browns have a defense I think can be a top-10 unit in 2022, and it’ll be fun to see D.J. Moore vs Denzel Ward. The Panthers have offensive line issues and that’s the last thing you want against Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. I think the Baker revenge game goes his way and the Panthers start out 1-0.

Browns 17 - Panthers 20


Indianapolis Colts 0-0 @ Houston Texans 0-0

An AFC South rivalry, the Colts and new quarterback Matt Ryan start the season against the Texans. The Colts offense isn’t hiding what they want to do, and that’s hand the ball off to Jonathon Taylor. Taylor was a First Team All-Pro in 2021 and led the league in yards with

1,811 and touchdowns with 18. The Colts also have Michael Pittman Jr. who was a breakout player last year, and will look to build on that in 2022. The Texans have an underrated defensive line led by guys like Jonathon Greenard, who had eight sacks in 2021, but it’ll be up to their offense to be able to put up points if they want to pull off the upset. The Texans scored three points in two games against the Colts last season. Brandin Cooks is the main Texans receiving threat and he’ll see a lot of Stephon Gilmore. I have the Colts getting the W in Houston.

Colts 27 - Texans 13



Philadelphia Eagles 0-0 @ Detroit Lions 0-0

This is a game I’m fascinated by, as the Eagles have a Super Bowl roster, but can Jalen Hurts take that step? Then I’m expecting the Lions to not make the playoffs, but be a competitive team this season. These two teams played last season and the Eagles destroyed them 44-6. The Eagles led the league in rushing last season averaging 159.7 yards per game and the Lions didn’t make any moves to improve their run defense. The Lions number two overall pick Aidan Hutchinson, makes his debut looking to give Jalen Hurts trouble. I think this will be a fun game to watch, but I have Philly going on the road and coming out with the W. Eagles 23 - Lions 17



Jacksonville Jaguars 0-0 @ Washington Commanders 0-0

Trevor Lawrence comes into his second season with a lot of hype, with new head coach Doug Pederson, and moves Jacksonville made over the offseason. Carson Wentz makes his Commanders debut, and well in his last game, he was embarrassed by the Jaguars, so it’ll be interesting to see if he has better success Sunday. Wentz has great weapons like Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Jahan Dotson, and more, but this Jaguars defense has potential to be very good. Washington has an impressive defense, even without Chase Young. This game could go either way, but I’m leaning towards Washington getting the victory at home. Jags 22 - Commanders 24



New England Patriots 0-0 @ Miami Dolphins 0-0

An AFC East showdown, the Patriots face one of the more fascinating teams coming into the season, the Miami Dolphins. Tyreek Hill makes his Dolphins debut and it’ll be interesting to see if Tua and Tyreek have chemistry right away. Jaylen Waddle also creates matchup nightmares and the New England secondary could very well be in for a long day especially, after losing J.C. Jackson. Mac Jones will have to deal with this Dolphins defense that has great players at all levels. I have Miami in this game.

Patriots 16 - Dolphins 24


Baltimore Ravens 0-0 @ New York Jets 0-0

This one is easy work for the Ravens who are as healthy as they’ve been since July 2021. The Jets will start former Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco as Zach Wilson continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in the preseason. The Jets have the potential to be a good team, but I don’t think without Zach Wilson they’ll show their potential. Lamar Jackson is a popular pick for MVP this season and what better way than lighting up the big apple in week one. Ravens 24 Jets 10



New Orleans Saints 0-0 @ Atlanta Falcons 0-0

This NFC South rivalry heats up as the Saints start their season against the Falcons. Jameis Winston is healthy and has a nice group of wideouts to throw to. He also has Alvin Kamara making this Saints offense potentially explosive, to go along with one of the more elite defenses in football. This Falcons team doesn’t have much, but A.J. Terrell and Casey Heyward make for a nice cornerback duo. The Falcons have Kyle Pitts and Drake London who are both massive options for new starting quarterback, Marcus Mariota to throw the ball to. A matchup I’m excited to see is Tyrann Mathieu vs Kyle Pitts. I’m feeling a big year from this Saints team and that starts week one in Atlanta.

Saints 27 - Falcons 17



Pittsburgh Steelers 0-0 @ Cincinnati Bengals 0-0

The Steelers are always a threat in games like these where they are the underdog yet somehow, they pull off the upset. You can look back to week one last year when the Steelers upset the Bills in Buffalo week one. The Bengals look to show they weren’t a one-year wonder. Joe Burrow has a solid offensive line now, so keeping Burrow upright more often could lead to an even bigger year for this Bengals offense. Pittsburgh has a great pass rush, but it’ll be fun to see if they can disrupt the Bengals pass attack that has three options that can go off any given Sunday with Ja’marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. The Bengals may use more of Joe Mixon this week as the Steelers struggled against the run in 2021. The Steelers have their own nice group of weapons with running back Najee Harris as well as a wide receiver trio with Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and rookie George Pickens. Mitch Trubisky gets the start at quarterback for the Steelers. I am intrigued to see how long of a leash they give him. My prediction for this game is a Cincy W. Steelers 20 - Bengals 27



Sunday, September 11, 2022 - 3:25 PM CT

Kansas City Chiefs 0-0 @ Arizona Cardinals 0-0

Patrick Mahomes vs Kyler Murray calls for fireworks . The Chiefs new offense without Tyreek Hill will be the story, but if Mahomes spreads it around the way he did in the preseason, we could see this as the best version we’ve seen of Pat yet. Kyler Murray will be without Deandre Hopkins for the first six games of the season, but he has old college teammate Hollywood Brown, who can take the top off any defense. The Chiefs offensive line was fantastic last season, but they face J.J. Watt and Markus Golden this week. The Chiefs added speed to this defense, and although they won’t be elite by any means, they won’t be as bad as they were to start last season. A game between two explosive offenses and average defenses calls for a shootout in the desert. I have this saying never bet against Patrick Mahomes. That remains true this week.

Chiefs 31 - Cardinals 28



New York Giants 0-0 @ Tennessee Titans 0-0

The Giants and Titans go head-to-head in Nashville in a game featuring two of the NFL’s premiere running backs. Saquon Barkley for the Giants and Derrick Henry for the Titans. The Giants struggled mightily against the run last season, and don’t expect that to change this week. Ryan Tannehill is without A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, but now has a duo of Robert Woods and first round pick Treylon Burks. The Giants head coach Brian Daboll hopes to fix

the struggles of Daniel Jones. I believe Derrick Henry will have a King Henry type of day leading to a Titans home opener victory. Giants 17 - Titans 21



Green Bay Packers 0-0 @ Minnesota Vikings 0-0

The Vikings are a popular pick to dethrone the Packers in the NFC North, and week one we get to see where these two teams stand. The Packers secondary vs the Vikings receivers more specifically, Justin Jefferson vs Jaire Alexander, will be a great matchup. I think both teams make the playoffs and it’ll be a fun game between two foes. I just feel like this Green Bay defense is special, and if Green Bay can run the ball, that makes Aaron Rodgers job easier. I believe the Packers remain the top dog in the North.

Packers 27 - Vikings 24





Las Vegas Raiders 0-0 @ Los Angeles Chargers 0-0

An AFC West showdown the Raiders and Chargers start their season the way they ended last regular season...against each other. They had a classic in week 18 last year, and now with both teams making huge moves in the offseason, this game could be even better. Davante Adams makes his Raiders debut, but the Chargers will be without cornerback J.C. Jackson, their highly coveted free agency signing, who will be out the first week after ankle surgery a couple weeks ago. Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa should feast on this poor Raiders offensive line. This game will produce a lot of points, but in the end, I think my Super Bowl pick, the Chargers, get the job done.

Raiders 28 - Chargers 30



Sunday, September 11, 2022 - 7:20 PM CT

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-0 @ Dallas Cowboys 0-0

Last year, these two teams played week one in Tampa Bay, and it was fantastic. This year, it could be just as fun under the bright lights of Jerry’s world. The Bucs come out looking to bounce back from last year’s divisional loss to the Rams, as Tom Brady unretired in the hopes of making one more run at a Super Bowl. The Cowboys had an early exit in the playoffs as well, suffering a wild card defeat to the 49ers. Both these teams have great offenses and opportunistic defenses, but when it comes down to it, I trust Todd Bowles more than Mike McCarthy. I have Tampa getting the road win in week one.

Bucs 31 - Cowboys 27


Monday, September 12, 2022 - 7:15 PM CT

Denver Broncos 0-0 @ Seattle Seahawks 0-0

Russell Wilson makes his debut for the Broncos, and his first game is to face his former team, the Seahawks. Besides the emotional pregame stuff, this game should be slight work. The Seahawks have Geno Smith, that's all that needs to be said. Denver will be more explosive on offense than they’ve been since 2014, while the defense is still very good. Denver rolls into Seattle and although the first half may be close due to emotion. I expect the Broncos to pull away in the second half.

Broncos 31 - Seahawks 17


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