2024 finished with a winning record, and another Super Bowl successful Pick, and that keeps the positives going from this sport.
A look back twelve months also saw the likes of the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs identified very early on as potential Champions, and you have to believe both are going to be there or thereabouts even after contrasting fortunes from Week 1.
They meet in a Super Bowl rematch in Week 2, which could go a long way to telling us where each team stands in 2025.
As stated in the Week 2 thread from the 2024 season, overreactions and avoiding those after a single week of NFL action is so very important.
With that in mind, you do have to like the chances of the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens to have deep runs in the post-season, even after the Ravens had an epic collapse in the Week 1 meeting on Sunday Night Football. The Bills will believe there is much more to come from themselves too, but both teams are looking amongst the elite of the AFC along with the Kansas City Chiefs.
This time last year I did mention that the Los Angeles Chargers may need a season under the guidance of Jim Harbaugh before they were really ready to compete with the top teams in the Conference and the win over the Chiefs in Brazil will certainly have fans believing that this could be a special year.
Teams like the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals could be dangerous, although the latter still have significant problems Defensively and Bo Nix is yet to convince for the former at Quarter Back.
Over in the NFC, the Eagles looked solid enough and will only get better as the season moves forward.
They are expected to be challenged by the Washington Commanders within the NFC East, a Division that seemingly cannot find a repeat Champion, and the two teams that made the NFC Championship will feel disappointed if they are not to match that run at the very least.
You can only be impressed with the trade that the Green Bay Packers made to bring in Micah Parsons and this is a young roster with plenty of experience that may be ready to take the next step. Beating the Detroit Lions in Week 1 can only give them more confidence having struggled so much against the best teams in 2024, although the Packers have another significant test this Thursday that will offer more reasons to believe, or perhaps not.
Detroit will need to respond to what was a poor effort in Week 1, but this is still a roster filled with quality and they'll have plenty of motivation to get back into the Playoffs and try to attempt to reach the Super Bowl for the first time.
And you can never count out the Los Angeles Rams if they can keep Matthew Stafford healthy- this is a roster ready to win another Championship under Sean McVay and they were certainly the closest to upsetting the Philadelphia Eagles in the post-season last time around.
Both Conferences have a number of good looking teams, but the Eagles look like they are ready to repeat as long as they can keep the team healthy.
This time they may have to get through a different opponent though and the early lean is with the Baltimore Ravens, despite that disappointing defeat in Buffalo. The Fourth Quarter capitulation is a concern after Week 1, but that was the lean before the season began and the Ravens are still very capable.
Finally, before getting onto the NFL Week 2 Picks, a few words about the Miami Dolphins- in the lead up to the opener, this felt like a transitional season for the team and some even tabbed them up as being one of the worst teams in the NFL.
That wasn't really my thought, but the manner of the Week 1 loss to a pretty average Indianapolis Colts team is hugely concerning and there will be wholesale changes made it things do not improve, beginning with Week 2 and the home game against the New England Patriots.
It was a poor Week 1 for the NFL Picks with two selections made and both going down, but this is very early in the season and expect more selections to be made as we move into Week 2 and beyond.
Thursday Night Football looks a cracker this week and the first selection comes from that game with further Picks added in the coming days.
Washington Commanders @ Green Bay Packers Pick: You should never overreact to Week 1 of the NFL season, but there will be a few Green Bay Packers (1-0) fans feeling pretty good after the crushing win over NFC North rivals Detroit Lions last Sunday.
One of the big criticisms faced by this young Packers team in the 2024 season was an inability to beat the best teams in the NFL and so that opening win is going to feel pretty good.
They are facing another contender for a place in the Super Bowl, which is how Green Bay will feel about themselves, and Thursday Night Football sees the visit of the Washington Commanders (1-0). The 2024 season was one of the best in recent years as far as the Commanders were concerned, even if they were beaten pretty handily by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.
Expectations have been raised and there is a feeling around Washington that the team have a window behind Quarter Back Jayden Daniels in which to win a Super Bowl. They have made decent moves in the off-season to strengthen the team and the Commanders will be very pleased with the way the Defensive unit operated in limiting the New York Giants to just 6 points in Week 1.
However, Head Coach Dan Quinn and the rest of those staff members will be aware that the Green Bay Packers are a much more significant test for all involved.
Last year, the Commanders disappointed when it came to defending the run, but they have looked to make sure that is not the case in 2025 and the Week 1 performance was encouraging. They will take some heart out of the fact that the Packers Offensive Line were not able to really establish the run in the win over the Detroit Lions and the Commanders will be keen to see if Quarter Back Jordan Love can put this Green Bay team on his back.
The Secondary didn't allow Russell Wilson to do much in the Week 1 win, but again this is going to be a much stiffer test with the Packers having a deep core of Receivers to call upon.
Stopping the Packers will be challenging throughout, especially on the road, but the Commanders impressed with their Offensive Line last week and that will give them some confidence heading into this early opportunity to make a statement around the League.
However, there will have been plenty of people taking note of the way the Packers Defensive Line were able to shut down the Detroit Lions in Week 1, although one nuance here is that Jayden Daniels is very capable of tucking the ball and picking up big yards with his legs from the Quarter Back position. Jared Goff isn't a slouch, but Washington can game-plan for Daniels to make running plays and that could keep the Commanders in front of the chains, which will be very important considering an 'old enemy' is now playing for the Green Bay Packers.
Micah Parsons might not be on a full snap count, but showed the impact he can have on a game last week and the Washington Offensive Line were not able to offer a lot of time for Jayden Daniels last season. There were signs that the improvements have yet to kick in for the Commanders in the win over the New York Giants in Week 1 and so you have to feel some drives could be stalled.
Both teams are playing after home wins over Divisional rivals, but there has to have been more intensity for the Green Bay Packers as they looked to show everyone that they can beat good teams.
That may leave them a little short of the energy needed on Thursday Night Football with this being a short week and getting the hook over a key number is important.
Green Bay will be expecting to win, but the Washington Commanders come into this contest with plenty of belief too and it could come down to a late Field Goal, either way, to decide the winner and so the points on offer for the road team look worth picking up.
Los Angeles Rams @ Tennessee Titans Pick: The first thing you have to say is that this feels like a very 'square' kind of pick in backing the Los Angeles Rams (1-0) to extend their unbeaten start to the season. This is a team that have made some slow starts to new campaigns in each of the last couple of years, and the scheduling spot sees the Rams take on the Philadelphia Eagles following this non-Conference game.
However, the Rams should have the qualities needed to get the better of the Tennessee Titans (0-1) even in the early kick off time on Sunday.
Everything is not perfect- the Rams Offensive Line is a little banged up and they will need to make some adjustments up front with Steve Avila potentially missing out. They were not able to make consistent plays on the ground against the Houston Texans in Week 1, but the Titans Defensive Line may not be as strong as the one that their Divisional rivals are running out.
Denver were able to move the ball pretty well against the Titans on the ground and the Los Angeles Rams are expected to have more successes than last week, which can only be positive news for veteran Quarter Back Matthew Stafford.
He did enough to help the Rams win last week, but it is important for Los Angeles to keep Stafford upright and they can do that for a little longer if the team is playing in front of the chains. There are Receivers on this roster that can step up and make some big plays for Los Angeles and they can have more success than they did overall in the victory over the Texans.
The bigger question regarding this spread is whether the Tennessee Titans can be more efficient Offensively.
Cam Ward, the Number 1 Overall Pick in the last Draft, may not have had the best statistical game, but that was not down to poor Quarter Back play. Instead he was given very little consistent support by the players around him and Ward and the Titans will need to find a way to put him in a position to succeed.
Establishing the run against the Rams Defensive Line may be the plan, but Tennessee struggled against the Broncos and this Los Angeles team largely contained the Texans.
The bigger issue for Cam Ward was the lack of protection offered to him when he stepped back to throw and he could be under pressure from this Los Angeles pass rush. He will be throwing into a Secondary that just played CJ Stroud very effectively and it may be tough for Ward and his skill players to really get things going on this side of the ball.
Last season Tennessee were a really poor team to back against the spread, although they did cover in Week 1.
They are facing a Rams team that are 7-1 against the spread when set as the road favourite over the last three seasons and they were solid road winners in New England, New Orleans and New York last season.
As long as they are not thinking ahead to the revenge game against the Philadelphia Eagles, which does make this an obvious schedule spot, the Rams should be keen for a much stronger start to 2025 compared with twelve months ago and they can secure a victory here by around a Touchdown mark.
Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets Pick: These two teams were involved in the best two games in Week 1 of the NFL season, but with contrasting results.
Somehow, someway, the Buffalo Bills (1-0) were able to recover from a big Fourth Quarter deficit to edge past the Baltimore Ravens and ensure that the entire AFC East were not beaten in the opening week of the season.
Earlier in the day, the New York Jets (0-1) gave up a 60 yard Field Goal inside the final two minutes of the home game with the Pittsburgh Steelers and ultimately fell to a 2 point loss to former Quarter Back Aaron Rodgers.
Disappointment of losing aside, Head Coach Aaron Glenn will have been very happy with what he saw from his new team and especially Quarter Back Justin Fields. Doing the right things in one game is all well and good, but Glenn will be looking to see if that is the kind of standard the Jets will set for themselves all season.
They are back at home for the second week in a row and Justin Fields and the Jets Running Backs have to be pretty excited by what they may have seen on the film tape. The Jets Offensive Line ripped open some big holes against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they will have seen Derrick Henry doing the same for the Baltimore Ravens before his Fumble turned the game on its head.
Now the Jets don't have a Running Back as good as Henry, but Breece Hall is very effective and can have a big game, while Justin Fields offers plenty of threat with his legs too.
Most impressive from Fields was the fact he looked pretty confident as a passer last week and he does have a couple of weapons on the outside that can help expose a banged up Buffalo Secondary.
The Jets will feel they can have successes with the ball in hand, but slowing down Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will not be easy.
It had been a tough three Quarters for the Bills before Josh Allen and company found their feet, but this could be another test for them.
The Bills Offensive Line struggled to run the ball last week and the Jets opened the season looking pretty strong up front- James Cook could still be a big factor in the passing game, but he may not have a lot of room up front, although Buffalo will bring in the additional factor of having a Quarter Back that can move the ball with his legs.
Josh Allen was well protected in the win over Baltimore and he will need the Offensive Line to stand up to the pressure Aaron Glenn's New York Jets brought to Aaron Rodgers. If the team are struggling to establish the run, Josh Allen is still capable of throwing with success, but could be trying to do so under pressure even if he does seem to have a number of Receivers in which he keeps faith.
You do have to expect Buffalo to find a way to win this game, as they did in Week 1, but covering may be a different matter.
For starters the Bills are playing on a short week in Week 3 when opening up against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football, while you cannot ignore the emotions they would have put into turning things around in the win over Baltimore. With a banged up Secondary, the New York Jets may have just enough from Justin Fields and his Offensive unit to keep up on the scoreboard and this looks a lot of points to be giving to the home underdog.
It may need a late Offensive score to get within the number, but the Jets showed enough last week to believe they can keep the scoreboard ticking for long enough to ensure they earn the cover even if they are not able to win the game.
San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints Pick: Injuries, off-field issues and other factors meant the San Francisco 49ers (1-0) finished with the fewest wins in the NFC West last season and never threatened to make the post-season.
The Super Bowl window feels like it is closing for this group of players, but finishing in 4th place in the NFC West means the 49ers have been 'rewarded' with a very manageable schedule. Once you get into the Playoffs, anything is possible, and so the ambition remains for the San Francisco 49ers to make use of the the drop in standards from last season.
However, they will certainly need more luck with injuries and losing Quarter Back Brock Purdy and Tight End George Kittle at the end of Week 1 is a serious blow.
The 49ers earned the win over the Seattle Seahawks on the road, despite the poor misses from Kicker Jake Moody.
He has since been cut, but San Francisco will need backup Quarter Back Mac Jones to guide through the next month and keep the team competitive. With that change at the most important position in sports, the advanced line has dropped significantly, but the 49ers will have faith in Jones and the system he will be working within.
It also feels like the 49ers are benefiting from having to travel to the New Orleans Saints (0-1) who were beaten by NFC West rivals Arizona last week and with the Saints looking like a team that will be picking pretty highly in the next NFL Draft.
Derek Carr had to make a snap retirement decision and that has left New Orleans looking very short in that department and they struggled to compete with the Cardinals in Week 1.
Spencer Rattler earned the start at Quarter Back last week, but he is going to need plenty of help if the New Orleans Saints are going to earn the upset.
It is clear that Alvin Kamara remains a key player for the team, but he may not find it as easy to run the ball against this San Francisco Defensive Line and that is going to put a lot more pressure on the young Quarter Back.
If Spencer Rattler is left in third and long spots, it will be tough for the Saints to keep the chains moving against a 49ers Secondary that played well last week. San Francisco clearly have something to prove after the 6-11 finish last season and this is a unit that will take it upon themselves to try and give their team the best chance to win without the starting Quarter Back.
Mac Jones may not have lived up to his First Round selection, but he is experienced enough to believe he can lead the San Francisco 49ers while they wait for Brock Purdy to return. Forty-nine NFL starts are not to be ignored, even if Jones has not managed to reach the level of his rookie season in New England, and the game plan that will be put together will look to make the best of the situation for Jones.
Losing George Kittle is a blow, but the 49ers may feel they can have more success handing the ball to Christian McCaffrey against a New Orleans Defensive Line allowing 5.4 yards per carry last week.
Being in front of the chains should make things more comfortable for Mac Jones and he should be afforded the protection to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of the playmakers that are still on the roster.
An early Sunday kick off for the San Francisco 49ers is going to make things tougher, but the line has dropped significantly and the road team are perhaps not given enough credit, even as the road favourite.
Both teams could have some issues scoring, but the feeling is that the 49ers can control the Line of Scrimmage on both sides of the ball and ultimately Mac Jones is surrounded by more help than Spencer Rattler. That should show up in this game and the 49ers can came through with a win and a cover of the shorter line following Brock Purdy's injury.
Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions Pick: Two NFC North rivals will be looking to bounce back from opening defeats when the Detroit Lions (0-1) host the Chicago Bears (0-1). Making this game perhaps even more important is the fact that both the Lions and Bears were beaten by the other two teams that make up the Division and so there is a fear of falling considerably behind already.
0-2 is no longer fatal when it comes to teams making the Playoffs, but also being 0-2 within a Division would make things all the tougher.
The Lions looked really poor Offensively in the defeat to the Packers and they will be going up against former Offensive Co-Ordinator Ben Johnson, who will know what to expect from his former team. However, the Lions may also feel that they are not playing a Defensive unit nearly as good as Green Bay have looked through the first two games of the season.
Jared Goff will be hoping the Detroit Offensive Line can bounce back from what was a poor opening game.
Losing Frank Ragnow in the off-season is clearly a blow, but there is still a lot to like about this Detroit Offensive Line and they can bounce back after the last outing. Opening up the running lanes for two very good Running Backs will only help Jared Goff, while the Lions will have taken note of how effective JJ McCarthy was in the second half as he helped the Minnesota Vikings turn things around at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football.
Chicago struggled to contain the run last week and the Detroit Lions can show a lot more on this side of the ball in this game.
If they can get back to what they have done best under Head Coach Dan Campbell, Detroit should establish the run and that should only make things easier for Jared Goff. He was under immense pressure in the defeat to the Green Bay Packers, and the Bears showed they have a decent pass rush in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but Jared Goff will not have to hold onto the ball for too long if his team are in third and manageable spots as expected.
Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears will also be hoping for better having struggled to move the ball with consistency, despite having a lead against the Vikings.
The Head Coach will know that this Lions Defensive unit is expected to be better after injuries decimated them last season and Detroit played pretty well on this side of the ball in the defeat to the Packers.
Caleb Williams was given time to make plays, but his Offensive Line will have to try and help the team establish the run with more consistency than what was seen on Monday Night Football. If the Quarter Back is behind the chains, Williams will have to make the right decisions when throwing against this healthier Secondary and to avoid turnovers, which could be fatal.
The Bears do have a decent record when visiting the Detroit Lions in recent seasons, at least when it comes to the spread, but they are facing an angry host.
Dan Campbell's record against the spread following a defeat is very impressive in his time with Detroit and his team have covered in the next game after a defeat ten straight times. They do have a big game coming up against the Baltimore Ravens, but this is a much more important game for the Lions and they should be able to get the better of their former Offensive Co-Ordinator with a win and cover of the line set for this Week 2 game.
MY PICKS: Washington Commanders + 3.5 Points @ 1.86 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Los Angeles Rams - 5.5 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
New York Jets + 6.5 Points @ 1.91 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)
San Francisco 49ers - 3 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Detroit Lions - 5.5 Points @ 1.85 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Week 1: 0-2, - 2 Units (2 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)
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