Wednesday, September 6, 2017

NFL - Week One Preview and 2017 Season Predictions

Tom Brady and the Patriots are looking for a 6th Super Bowl title this year.
The 2017 NFL season kicks off on Thursday night as the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs for the opener. The rest of the NFL teams play on Sunday and four teams will play on Monday night.
One exception on the opening week schedule is the game scheduled between Tampa Bay and Miami in Miami is being cancelled due to impending Hurricane Irma. The Buccaneers and Dolphins will play the game in Week 11 (November 19) in Miami as both teams have their bye week at that time.
One never knows what to expect in the opening week around the NFL, but one thing for sure is the defending champion Patriots will be ready to play on Thursday night in the opener after proving all their doubters and detractors wrong last season as they won yet another Super Bowl.
As usual, there will be two Monday night football games in the first week as the Minnesota Vikings host the New Orleans Saints while welcoming back the Vikes' all-time rushing leader Adrian Peterson, who is now playing for the Saints.  The night cap game on Monday features AFC West rivals Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos will be hosting the Chargers as the former San Diego based team starts anew this year in La La Land.
It should be interesting to see what develops all season long, but for now Heftyinfo will attempt to pick the winners of the first weekend of action.

The following offers a capsule style preview of the games and is followed by the predictions for the upcoming season and which team will win the Super Bowl.


Thursday Night Game
Kansas City at New England - Pick against the Patriots in their home opener in prime time? Are you crazy?

Sunday Games
NY Jets at Buffalo - Two teams looking at very long seasons in 2017 kick it off against each other. The good news is one of them will win, barring a tie of course.

Atlanta at Chicago - The Falcons get back to it after squandering away the Super Bowl last year. Bears defense is being touted as a tough one.

Baltimore at Cincinnati - This game could go either way.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland - Steelers should roll, but this is the opening game.

Arizona at Detroit - Another interesting match up in Week One. Take the Lions, only because they are at home.

Jacksonville at Houston - Jags on the road against a city still smarting from Hurricane Harvey. Take the host Texans.

Tampa Bay at Miami - Hurricane Irma forces this game to move to Week 11 (November 19)

Oakland at Tennessee - This game just might go down to the wire . . .  Titans in a squeaker.

Philadelphia at Washington - Redskins looking to avoid a slow start, but the Eagles are no slouch.

Indianapolis at LA Rams - The Colts will be without QB Andrew Luck. Rams looking to rebound after a terrible 2016 season.

Seattle at Green Bay - This is the Game of the Week . . . Packers win a tight one in Lambeau Field.

Carolina at San Francisco - Cam Newton and company eager to avenge last season's disaster. 49ers have too many question marks.

NY Giants at Dallas - The Sunday night prime time game and the Cowboys will have running back Ezekiel Elliott for this game as his six-game suspension mandated by the NFL was put on hold in court. As for the game, Giants are a solid team and could win this one on the road.

Monday Night Games
New Orleans at Minnesota - The Saints could win this one. The Vikings are solid defensively, but have questions on offense.

LA Chargers at Denver - Philip Rivers and company in for a stiff test against familiar rival. Broncos offense out to prove doubters wrong.


The Heftyinfo picks for Week One  -  (Home teams listed in BOLD; Lock of the Week pick is listed in BOLD CAPS)

New England over Kansas City
Buffalo over NY Jets
Atlanta over Chicago
Cincinnati over Baltimore
PITTSBURGH over Cleveland
Detroit over Arizona
Houston over Jacksonville
Tennessee over Oakland
Philadelphia over Washington
LA Rams over Indianapolis  
Green Bay over Seattle
Carolina over San Francisco 
NY Giants over Dallas
New Orleans over Minnesota
LA Chargers over Denver

Last year's SEASON RECORD  - 171-83-2

Lock of the Week Record - 17-0 



2017 NFL SEASON PREDICTIONS                                                              


AFC 
East - 1. Patriots  2. Dolphins (wild card) 3. Bills  4. Jets
North - 1. Steelers  2. Ravens  3. Bengals  4. Browns
South -  1. Titans  2. Texans  3. Colts  4. Jaguars
West -  1. Raiders  2. Chiefs (wild card)  3. Broncos  4. Chargers



NFC
East -  1. Giants  2. Cowboys (wild card)  3. Eagles (wild card) 4. Redskins
North -  1. Packers  2. Lions  3. Vikings  4. Bears
South -  1. Falcons  2. Buccaneers  3. Panthers  4. Saints
West -  1. Seahawks  2. Cardinals  3. Rams  4. 49ers


AFC Playoffs
Wild Card Round -  Raiders over Dolphins; Titans over Chiefs
Divisional Round -  Patriots over Titans; Steelers over Raiders
AFC Championship Game -  Steelers over Patriots


NFC Playoffs
Wild Card Round -  Cowboys over Falcons; Seahawks over Eagles
Divisional Round -  Packers over Seahawks; Giants over Cowboys
NFC Championship Game - Packers over Giants


SUPER BOWL 52
Green Bay Packers over Pittsburgh Steelers































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