The NFL schedule was released this week to the joy of football fans all over the country. The league office has done a tremendous job in making the schedule release a must see event. Below I will dive into a few of the games I’ll have some action on.
1. Green Packers at Chicago Bears – Thursday, Sept 5th
This is the opening game of the football season and has two teams that expect to be in the playoffs come January. Aaron Rodgers should be back healthy and has a new offensive system with head coach Matt LaFluer. The Bears have a nasty defense and were 7-2 ATS at home last season. Expectations are high in Chicago after winning the division last season.
2. New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams – Sunday, Sept 15th
The 2018 playoffs will forever be remembered for the blown call in the SuperDome. New Orleans will be looking for some payback as they travel to the west coast to face the Rams. Drew Brees will lock to bounce back after an inconsistent post season. The Saints were 6-2 ATS on the road last year and were 3-0 ATS as underdogs.
3. Baltimore Ravens at Seattle Seahawks – Sunday, Oct 20th
In 2018, these teams were both in the top five in rushing yards per game. An intriguing aspect about this game is the return of safety Earl Thomas to Seattle. Thomas who became an All Pro with the Seahawks, signed a free agent deal with Baltimore this off-season. It will be interesting to see how teams scheme against Lamar Jackson in year two. Seattle has traditionally been dominate at home, and last season they finished up 5-2-1 ATS in front of the home crowd.
4. Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs – Sunday, Oct 27th
Rodgers and Mahomes in prime- time… it doesn’t get much better then this. Both have been MVP’s and have explosive play makers at their disposal. The Chiefs had the number one scoring offense in the league last year as they averaged 35 points per game. I expect a shootout in this matchup especially when you consider both defenses struggled last season. KC ended up 11-6-1 to the over last season and were 8-2 SU at Arrowhead.
5. New England Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles – Sunday, Nov 17th
When these teams met in Super Bowl 52, Philly was led by Nick Foles and it turned out to be one of the greatest games in Super Bowl history. Foles is now leading the Jaguars and Carson Wentz is back in control of the Eagles offense. Not much has changed with the Pats and they are shooting for their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance. If Wentz can get back to playing to his potential, and can stay healthy we could have an epic rematch come February.
6. Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots – Sunday, Dec, 8th
In last season’s post season, New England defeated the Chiefs in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl. It was a defensive struggle until the fourth quarter when 38 total points were scored and neither offense could be contained. In the past two meetings, they have scored a combined 151 points. We can only hope for another duel between Brady and Mahomes. This game will be played in New England where the Pats were a perfect 9-0 SU last season.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets – Sunday, Dec, 22nd
This is all about Le’Veon Bell facing his former team. I’ll still never understand Bell’s decision to sit out last season and give up 14 million dollars. He gets a chance to show Pittsburgh they made a mistake by not signing him to a long term deal. With Sam Darnold and Bell in the backfield, the Jets should have a much improved offense. After losing Bell and trading Antonio Brown this off-season, it’s a new beginning for the Steelers. An interesting Pittsburgh stat (who badly underachieved last season) is they did finish up 5-0 ATS as an underdog. They’ll start out as the underdog in the AFC North as the Browns and Ravens are the favorites.
