Well, it's finally here.The NFL kicks off the 101st season on Thursday night in Kansas City where the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs will host the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.
Unfortunately, the real story all year since the last Super Bowl in early February has been the COVID-19 virus pandemic that has made America a sad place to be along with pretty much the rest of the world. But sports is supposed to be a great escape from the doldrums of the real world and the NFL is trying to do their collective part as the players and coaches and team staff members attempt to go through the next 17 weeks without any infections or interruptions to the schedule.
A big challenge no doubt about it, because we have seen what Major League Baseball has been going through the last couple of months since their return to the playing fields. The NBA and NHL Playoffs have had the luxury of playing in "bubbles" so they have been going along without a hitch. The NFL will have a somewhat better situation (we think) than baseball because the teams only have to travel and play once a week as opposed to six or seven days a week.
Here is hoping for the best for all 32 NFL teams and their loved ones involved to good health and a great season in what has been a very uneventful year known as 2020.
Thursday, September 10
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs - This game is a re-match of the blowout win for the Chiefs in the divisional round of the 2019 playoffs. The Chiefs fell behind early and then steam rolled the Texans, 51-31 before marching onto the Super Bowl title three weeks later.
But that was last year and this is now . . .
The Chiefs appear to be just as strong on offense with Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes leading the way. Their defense got better as the 2019 season went along and they have a lot of the same people back in the fold as the 2020 season gets started.
Meanwhile, the Texans just inked QB Deshaun Watson to a big contract extension (but not nearly as big as the one Mahomes got in K.C.) and he will lead the offense again. However, he no longer has wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (now with Arizona via trade) but running back David Johnson is now in H-Town (from the Hopkins trade) and looking to rebound from injuries that have limited him in recent years. That is not how you want to go into a game against Kansas City, the defending champions of the NFL.
The Texans defense will attempt to limit the Chiefs high powered attack and with the lack of real training camp activities and NO pre-season games this year due to the COVID-19 virus concerns, the Chiefs should be able to use that to their advantage. The same could be true with Houston's offense for this one.
So . . . get ready for what could be a very unusual NFL season.
All bets are off for Week One, but in the spirit of picking a winner, take the Chiefs in this game.
The rest of the action will be played on Sunday and Monday night and the games are previewed in the capsule style format with the Heftyinfo predictions following up. Finally, the division races will be forecast as well as playoffs and eventual Super Bowl champion in a separate post. And remember, the playoffs will have two additional teams added this year in a new format.
Sunday, September 13
Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons - Seahawks QB Russell Wilson will look to run and gun against a suspect Atlanta defense. Meanwhile, Falcons QB Matt Ryan and the high flying offense will look to do the same against the Seattle defense. Toss up in this one.
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens - 2019 NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson is ready for another magic carpet ride in Baltimore again and should get things started in this one. Browns are a work in progress with new coaching staff and QB Baker Mayfield looking to bounce back from a bad season.
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - The Bills should roll in this one, but then again this was not a normal off-season around the league, including training camps.
Las Vegas Raiders at Carolina Panthers - It still seems strange to be calling them the Las Vegas Raiders. Regardless, they should put a decent enough game together to get a win against Carolina.
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions - Can the Lions restore the roar this season? Will Bears starting QB Mitch Trubisky put together a winning performance? Good questions . . . take the Bears in a close game.
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jags are rebuilding and the Colts have a new quarterback as Philip Rivers takes over in Indy for the 2020 season.
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots - Cam Newton in as the Patriots starting quarterback. The Dolphins go with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has had success against New England in the past. This game should be a close one.
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings - September in the Twin Cities and the hated Packers in for the season opener. Classic.
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington - The Eagles taking on the team from Washington, D.C. . . . Philly should emerge from this one with the win.
Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals - The Joe Burrow era begins for the Bengals as they host a banged up (what else is new?) Chargers team in the opener. Take the Bengals.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints - This IS the NFL Game of the Week for sure. Legendary quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Brees go at it in what should be a shootout.
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers - Can the 49ers avoid the Super Bowl loser hangover that usually plagues teams? Arizona has a lot of weapons on offense and a savvy young QB in Kyler Murray. Should be a great game.
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams - Two under achieving teams in the 2019 season go at it and help open up the brand new SoFi Stadium in L.A. Take Dallas in a close game.
Monday, September 14
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants - Big Ben (Roethlisberger) is back at QB for the Steelers. The Giants are a team looking to prove their doubters wrong this year.
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos - The Titans and their ground and pound offensive attack with running back Derrick Henry will prove to be a little too much for Denver, which is without defensive star Von Miller (ankle surgery) this season.
The Heftyinfo predictions for Week One . . . . . (Home teams are listed in BOLD; Lock of the Week pick is listed in BOLD CAPS)
Kansas City over Houston
Seattle over Atlanta
BALTIMORE over Cleveland
Buffalo over N.Y. Jets
Las Vegas over Carolina
Chicago over Detroit
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
New England over Miami
Minnesota over Green Bay
Philadelphia over Washington
Cincinnati over L.A. Chargers
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
San Francisco over Arizona
Dallas over L.A. Rams
Pittsburgh over N.Y. Giants
Tennessee over Denver
Last Year's Record - 171-84-1
Last Year's Lock of the Week Record - 14-3-0
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