Exactly 100 days from the start of the 2020 NFL season (Sep. 10th), COVID-19 is still a massive issue in America and it’s looking more and more likely that Week 1 games will be played in front of empty seats, if at all.
But that hasn’t stopped online sportsbooks from posting NFL odds for all 16 tilts on tap for the opening weekend. Heading into the season, the major storyline is obviously Tom Brady trading Patriot blue for Buccaneer gold.
The six-time Super Bowl champion will start his career in Tampa Bay with one of the toughest matchups the league has to offer: a road date with the New Orleans Saints, who are 19-5 at the Superdome over the past three seasons.
Tom Brady will begin his Buccaneers career against Drew Brees when the Bucs visit the Saints in Week 1.
Brees & Brady are 1st & 2nd, respectively, in passing yards in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/uw1c4P4Pwx
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 8, 2020
The Saints will host the Buccaneers at 4:25 PM ET on Sunday, Sep. 13th, and New Orleans is currently a four-point favorite. It’s pretty obvious oddsmakers consider Brady, even at age 42, a significant upgrade on Jameis Winston. When the Saintsvisitedthe Bucs in November 2019, they closed as 5.5-point chalk.
The other game that has much of the nation waiting with bated breath is Brady’s old team – New England – hosting the Miami Dolphins, a.k.a. the team that finished with the worst point differential in the NFL last year (-188) but still managed to upset the Pats at home in Week 1, knocking them out of the #2 seed the AFC playoff picture.
The Dolphins may, yet again, be one of the NFL’s worst teams. The curiosity here mainly centers around how New England boss Bill Belichick will fare without his future Hall-of-Fame QB. Once again, oddsmakers are putting faith in the name they trust (Belichick), opening the Pats as 6.5-point favorites, despite the fact that they will likely have to start Jarret Stidham or Brian Hoyer under center.
Stidham has four career pass attempts on his resume. This was one of them …
Yet, only three teams are bigger favorites than the Patriots in Week 1, and they are the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (10-point home favorites over Houston), the runner-up 49ers (7.5-point home favorites over the Cardinals), and the 14-2 Ravens (8.5-point home favorites over the Browns).
Here’s hoping that, 100 days from now, we start to find out how Belichick and Brady will perform without each other to lean on.
