NFL Betting Tips: Week 1
After almost seven months off, the NFL returns this weekend and the Week 1 slate contains some highly anticipated clashes.
The Kansas City Chiefs begin their bid for a third successive Super Bowl win with a home game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night which is a repeat of last season's AFC Championship match-up.
The first Week 1 Friday night game for 54 years sees the Green Bay Packers taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while there are 13 games on a packed Sunday slate before the first week of action concludes with the New York Jets visiting Super Bowl runners-up the San Francisco 49ers on Monday.
Here are our favourite three bets for the Week 1 action.
Tip 1 - Cincinnati Bengals -8.5 vs New England Patriots @ 10/11
The New England Patriots look up against it in their first game since the departure of long-serving head coach Bill Belichick.
The roster Jerod Mayo inherited bears no resemblance to the powerful Patriots teams of past years and they look set for another season of struggle after going 4-13 last year.
The schedule has done the Patriots few favours either as a road trip to a Bengals team who are hoping to be Super Bowl contenders this season makes for a tough start.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow is back after missing the second half of last season due to injury and the Bengals should be capable of opening their account for the season with a clear-cut home victory.
Tip 2 - Tennessee Titans +4.5 at Chicago Bears @ 10/11
There has been plenty of buzz about the Chicago Bears in the off-season as they look to turn their fortunes around after some lean years, and plenty of talent has been added to their roster, including quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze in the first round of this year's draft.
The Bears may well be capable of getting their new era off to a winning start too, but the handicap start offered to their first visitors, the Tennessee Titans, looks on the generous side.
The Titans have limited ambitions in their first season under new head coach Brian Callahan but the former Bengals offensive coordinator did some strong work in Cincinnati and the visitors have picked up some excellent defensive talent by trading for cornerback L'Jarius Sneed and linebacker Ernest Jones.
They should be capable of at least making it a close game against the Bears at Soldier Field.
Tip 3 - Under 42 points in Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns @ 9/10
There is no shortage of offensive talent on the rosters of the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys but there are still grounds for expecting a relatively low total when they open their seasons in Ohio on Sunday.
The teams have two of the strongest defences in the league, with the Browns unit led by Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and backed up by an elite secondary, while the phenomenal Micah Parsons is the star man for the Cowboys.
It would be no surprise at all if both offences are somewhat rusty as neither quarterback - Deshaun Watson for the Browns and Dak Prescott for the Cowboys - played a single snap in the pre-season games.
The Browns are without star running back Nick Chubb due to injury and have had major injury issues with their offensive tackles, while Dallas's star receiver CeeDee Lamb missed most of his team's preparations due to a contract dispute.
These teams produced 87 points when they last met in 2020 but the defences could have the upper hand this time.