So, here we are. The NFL's 99th season is upon us. In a lot of ways, it seems like it's been forever since the Eagles upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And in a lot of ways, it seems like last season just ended. Yet here we go again, as my Sundays and Thursday nights will be accounted for from now until the first week of February.
And the return of the NFL means, of course, the return of my weekly picks. For those of you who are new to this exercise, a few rules first. The big one is that I only pick the winner. The spread has no bearing on who actually wins and loses the game, thus it's irrelevant to me. The second is that while I will pick the Thursday night game each week, the pick blog normally won't be posted until before the Sunday games. The only exceptions to this rule are Week 1 and Thanksgiving.
With that, here we go with the first installment of the Joe Brackets NFL picks for the 2018 season...
Falcons at Eagles: Philadelphia-The Eagles take the Super Bowl winner's accustomed role as the home team in the Thursday night opener, against the NFC champion from two years ago and a favorite by many to be the conference's representative this season. Philadelphia will start Nick Foles, which only seems right for the Super Bowl MVP on the night the banner is raised. This is a tough matchup for the opener--it usually is--but I don't think the Eagles let the occasion get the better of them.
Steelers at Browns: Pittsburgh-Ready for my first bold prediction of the season? Here it is...the Browns will win more games this season than the last two years combined! I realize this isn't hard, but for a team that's 1-31 over the last two seasons, those two (or dare I say three?) wins will feel like progress. Unfortunately one won't come in the opener. The Steelers extend their rivals' losing streak to 18 consecutive games, one shy of Cleveland's 0-16 brethren, the 2007-09 Lions.
Bengals at Colts: Cincinnati-Two of the biggest underachievers in football square off, meaning one of them has to not lose! Andrew Luck will evidently actually make a start for the Colts. How much of a difference will that make in Frank Reich's first game as Indy's coach? Probably not much. Even though Marvin Lewis has overstayed his welcome in Cincinnati, his 16th season will begin with a win.
Titans at Dolphins: Tennessee-Speaking of new head coaches, Mike Vrabel takes over in Nashville. How will the Titans follow up on their playoff run from a season ago? Very well, I think. The Titans absolutely look capable of making a return to the postseason. As for the Dolphins, they don't. Tennessee gets the road win to start the year.
49ers at Vikings: Minnesota-Last season, everything went right for the Vikings until it all fell apart in the NFC Championship Game. They did this with three different starting quarterbacks, mind you, none of whom are still on the roster. Instead, it's Kirk Cousins under center in Minnesota now. San Francisco knows the difference a quarterback can make. When they got Brady Jr. last December, they were 1-10. Then they won their final five games. They're a team to watch out for this season. They're not winning the opener in Minnesota, though.
Texans at Patriots: New England-There will eventually come a time when the New England Patriots don't win 12 games every season and automatically make the AFC Championship Game. Who knows? It might even be this year (although probably not). Houston is actually a tough matchup for the Patriots when all of the Texans' key players are healthy, which, amazingly, they currently are! It'll be a game, but Bradicheck will find a way, giving themselves an early potential playoff tiebreaker.
Buccaneers at Saints: New Orleans-What?! An NFC South division game in September?! I didn't know such a thing existed! I feel for the Bucs. They're not a bad team. They're just overmatched in a division that had three playoff teams last season. The NFC South should be just as competitive this season. The Saints came a miracle play away from last year's NFC title game. They want to show that they belong there. And that'll start with a win over Tampa Bay.
Jaguars at Giants: Giants-Good news regarding both of these teams! The Giants have a running game now! And it's not possible for them to be as bad as they were in 2017, is it? Meanwhile, the most exciting news in the entire NFL this offseason is that the Jaguars finally ditched those stupid two-tone helmets! Now they look like an actual professional football team. And coming off an AFC Championship Game appearance, it happened just in time. It also means that they're not gonna sneak up on anyone anymore, though. They'll get everybody's best week in and week out. And a Giants team that has something to prove is a dangerous opener for them.
Bills at Ravens: Baltimore-Last season, an Andy Dalton touchdown pass with like 30 seconds left in the Bengals-Ravens season finale put Buffalo in the playoffs at Baltimore's expense. The NFL clearly has a sense of humor, because who do they schedule against each other in the opener? Why it's the Bills and Ravens of course! Baltimore has had six months to think about missing the playoffs. They'll take it out on the team that got in instead of them.
Chiefs at Chargers: Chargers-Kansas City has been the top dog in the AFC West for a few seasons, but a lot of people are picking the Chargers this year. And I can see why. That's a good team down there in SoCal. They'll get a chance to make an early statement by taking on Kansas City in the opener. Expect that statement to be made, as new Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes struggles in his debut.
Seahawks at Broncos: Denver-Believe it or not, it's been five years since these former division rivals met in the Super Bowl. A lot has changed for both teams since then. Seattle missed the playoffs last season and is just about in a full-fledged rebuild. Denver, meanwhile, hasn't made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50. The Broncos still have the defense. They just haven't had the offense to go with it since Peyton Manning retired. Enter former Bronco Case Keenum, one of the 2017 Vikings QBs who's now starting somewhere else. I have a feeling his first game in an orange jersey will be a good one.
Redskins at Cardinals: Washington-Much like the Seahawks, Arizona is entering a full-blown rebuild mode. This is going to be a long season in the desert. I'm not saying things will be much better in DC. The Redskins are in much better shape than the Cardinals, though. Alex Smith couldn't have picked a better team for his reintroduction to the NFC. He played the Cardinals twice a year with the 49ers, and the familiar opponent will make the cross-country trip well worth it.
Cowboys at Panthers: Dallas-Dallas lost its two biggest receiving weapons in Jason Witten and Dez Bryant, yet I have faith that the Cowboys will rebound after missing the playoffs last season. Carolina's whirlwind of an offseason is finally over, and the Panthers can finally take the field for the first time under their new ownership. It's sounds silly to say in Week 1, but this game could have big playoff implications. And I just have a feeling Dallas will come out on top.
Bears at Packers: Green Bay-NFC moved its traditional Giants at Cowboys Sunday night opener to Week 2 so that they could showcase the NFL's oldest rivalry instead. In fact, this is the Packers' 100th season, so it's only fitting that they open it at Lambeau against Chicago. It's also odd that Green Bay missed the playoffs last season. Aaron Rodgers sure remembers that. And I can see him going off in the opener, his first game since December, as a result.
Jets at Lions: Detroit-For some reason, Jets-Lions is the first half of the Monday night doubleheader (hey, I don't make the schedule). It is Sam Darnold's NFL debut and the Lions are kinda fun to watch, but is this really a marquee game? Anyway. A bit of a coin flip here. With the game taking place at Ford Field, I'm going with the Lions.
Rams at Raiders: Rams-Jon Gruden on Monday Night Football. That's nothing new. Where he'll be during the game is a little different, though. For the first time in 10 years, he's roaming an NFL sideline. And for the first time in 17 years, that sideline is in Oakland. The Raiders open what could be their final season by the Bay against the team they shared Hollywood with for 13 years. The Rams are a really good team. Better than the Raiders. Gruden's probably got something in his back of tricks, but I still say the Rams end up on top.
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