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The NFL is back! We made it through the long summer and we have finally reached Week 1 of the regular season.
Everyone likes to make money, right? So before you sit down and take in the action this weekend, take a look at our gambling preview for Week 1. (All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Let us know your best bet for this week’s action in the comments section.
Week 1 Straight Picks
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Baltimore Ravens (-6.5) at New York Jets 2 UNITS
In the year 2022, a team with 37-year-old Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback should not be less than a touchdown underdog to any team, especially one as talented as the Baltimore Ravens. Under John Harbaugh, the Ravens are 10-4 in season openers and have won by 30+ in three of the last four seasons. The Jets may end up taking a step forward this season, but it isn’t happening in Week 1. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens get off to another hot start, beating the Jets by double digits.
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Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers (ML -110) 3.5 UNITS ***Best Bet
This is going to be one of the more entertaining matchups of Week 1, as Baker Mayfield faces his former team for the first time. Mayfield probably won’t have long-term success in Carolina, but he should show up in a big way on Sunday. The former number-one overall pick has always had a flair for the dramatic, and we’ll see it once again this Sunday. The Panthers’ defense holds a Jacoby Brissett-led Browns offense to under 20 points, and Mayfield makes just enough plays to beat his former team.
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Jacksonville Jaguars at Washington Commanders OVER 43.5 (-110) 1 UNIT
This won’t end up being one of the better games in Week 1, but it will feature plenty of offense. Say what you want about Carson Wentz, but he is a big-time upgrade over what Washington had at quarterback last season. Wentz has some nice weapons around him in Tery McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Logan Thomas, so if he’s able to limit turnovers he could have success. Both Washington and Jacksonville gave up 24 or more points in over half of their games last season. You can’t trust Trevor Lawrence, or the Jaguars as a whole for that matter, to win this game, but they’ll score some points and give up some as well. This one ends up somewhere around 28-23, comfortably going over 43.5.
Three-Team ML Parlay Of The Week
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Kansas City Chiefs/Indianapolis Colts/New Orleans Saints (+167) 0.5 UNIT
Both the Colts and Saints should have no problem coming out of Sunday with a victory. Indy squares off against the Texans, who may be the worst team in football, and the Saints go up against the division-rival Falcons who may not be much better. The Chiefs have a much tougher matchup traveling on the road to face the Arizona Cardinals, but the line movement here all the way up to -6 in favor of KC has led me to take the Chiefs. At +167 this parlay is worth throwing a unit or two on.
Cowboys Corner
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers AT Dallas Cowboys (+2.5) 0.5 UNIT
The Pick: Tony Pollard anytime TD scorer (+200)
It might be drinking the Kool-Aid again, but this is the year the Cowboys fully involve Tony Pollard in their offense. It’s tough to read this game, so stick with an anytime TD scorer as a safer bet. Pollard has the ninth-best odds to score a touchdown, which sits him at +200 to find the end zone. This is a great value for a guy who hopefully is going to touch the ball a ton.