NFL Picks Week 1: Predicting Final Scores for Every Game Based on Vegas Lines

Given all of the off-field drama littering the offseason, it feels like a lifetime ago that Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson's pass to win Super Bowl XLIX. Finally, we can get back to the games that matter again and remember why we fell in love with football in the first place.

Fans have no shortage of entertaining matchups ahead to kick off the 2015 regular season. The Week 1 slate features a great mixture of intra-division and intra-conference clashes that could in retrospect have serious playoff ramifications as the rest of the year plays itself out.

Below, you can read quick previews for four of the most interesting games to come this week.

NFL Schedule

Time (ET)	Away	Home	Line	Prediction
Thursday, Sept. 10
8:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh Steelers	New England Patriots	NE (-6.5)	NE, 30-17
Sunday, Sept. 13
1 p.m.	Green Bay Packers	Chicago Bears	GB (-3.5)	GB, 28-20
1 p.m.	Kansas City Chiefs	Houston Texans	HOU (-2.5)	HOU, 20-14
1 p.m.	Cleveland Browns	New York Jets	NYJ (-2.5)	CLE, 17-15
1 p.m.	Indianapolis Colts	Buffalo Bills	IND (-2.5)	IND, 24-21
1 p.m.	Miami Dolphins	Washington Redskins	MIA (-1.5)	MIA, 20-14
1 p.m.	Carolina Panthers	Jacksonville Jaguars	CAR (-2.5)	JAX, 21-13
1 p.m.	Seattle Seahawks	St. Louis Rams	SEA (-4.5)	SEA, 31-18
4:05 p.m.	New Orleans Saints	Arizona Cardinals	ARI (-3)	ARI, 21-14
4:05 p.m.	Detroit Lions	San Diego Chargers	SD (-2)	SD, 30-28
4:25 p.m.	Tennessee Titans	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB (-2.5)	TB, 20-17
4:25 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals	Oakland Raiders	CIN (-3)	CIN, 30-20
4:25 p.m.	Baltimore Ravens	Denver Broncos	DEN (-4)	DEN, 28-23
8:30 p.m.	New York Giants	Dallas Cowboys	DAL (-5)	DAL, 31-20
Monday, Sept. 14
7:10 p.m.	Philadelphia Eagles	Atlanta Falcons	PHI (-1)	PHI, 24-19
10:20 p.m.	Minnesota Vikings	San Francisco 49ers	SF (-4.5)	MIN, 14-10

Games to Watch

Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The number of off-field storylines at work heading into this game is almost too much to handle.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without both Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant, two of their best playmakers, while the New England Patriots are playing their first game at home since winning the Super Bowl. It's also Tom Brady's first regular-season appearance since the successful appeal of his four-game suspension following Deflategate.

Also part of the discussion will be the report from Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham for ESPN's Outside the Lines, which detailed the lengths the Patriots went to in the past to gain an edge on the competition.

Between the two stories, you almost forget the Patriots have a game to play this week. As if Gillette Stadium wasn't going to be enough of a madhouse following the Pats' championship, the fanbase will rally even more so around the team after this crazy offseason/preseason.

Even at full strength, the Steelers would face an uphill battle against New England with their defense a major question mark this season. Take Bryant and Bell out of the mix, and Pittsburgh stands little chance.

Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Remember when Houston Texans fans freaked out after Vince Young's game-winning touchdown run in 2006? That fed into the debate the Texans should've drafted Young instead of Mario Williams in the 2006 draft.

In retrospect, maybe everybody got a little ahead of themselves.

Now imagine if Marcus Mariota goes into Tampa, Florida, and thoroughly outplays Jameis Winston on Sunday. Nobody would make a big deal of that, right?

Mariota attempted to be reasonable and discuss how his individual battle with Winston isn't bigger than the result itself.

"It is about us, it is about the Tennessee Titans and that's all that matters to me," he said Monday, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. "People will obviously try and make debates and opinions about what is going on, but I am focused on what our team has to do and on Sunday."

Try as he might, however, Mariota can't take the spotlight away from the head-to-head clash between himself and Winston. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller provided a Week 1 breakdown of the two players:

As reductive as it sounds, this game could come down to quarterback play, specifically the performance of Winston.

The Buccaneers are stronger defensively than Tennessee, and Tampa Bay has more offensive weapons than the Titans with Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Doug Martin. On paper, Tampa Bay is the marginally better team.

But Winston will negate all of that if he turns the ball over multiple times, which could very well happen. The former Florida State star is a gunslinger, and he'll likely be more Jay Cutler than Brett Favre on the gunslinger scale in his rookie season.

Plus, Tampa Bay's offensive line was a major concern during the preseason. If Winston doesn't have time in the pocket, he'll rush his throws, further increasing the chance he makes a catastrophic mistake.

But as long as Winston avoids costly interceptions, he should get his NFL career off to a winning start.

Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

Could the Philadelphia Eagles have received a better opponent against whom Sam Bradford could begin his time with the team?

According to Football Outsiders, the Falcons ranked 31st in pass defense DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average). Atlanta should have some natural improvement in 2015, but it's not as if general manager Thomas Dimitroff did a whole lot to radically strengthen the secondary.

The amount of hype surrounding Bradford entering this year is somewhat surprising given he only really had one great half-season with the St. Louis Rams. Troy Aikman was a guest on The Herd with Colin Cowherd and mentioned the former Heisman Trophy winner as a possible MVP candidate:

In Chip Kelly's offense, Bradford could post crazy numbers if he stays healthy for all 16 regular-season games.

The departure of Jeremy Maclin undoubtedly causes a bit of a vacuum in the Eagles' passing game, but Nelson Agholor should emerge the second-best wideout in the 2015 draft class behind Amari Cooper. Jordan Matthews should also take a step forward in his second season. They should combine to cover for Maclin's lost production.

As if the aerial attack isn't enough to scare the Falcons, they'll also have to deal with DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews on the ground.

Dan Quinn should eventually turn Atlanta's defense around if he's given enough time. But you're not going to see a ton of progress in Week 1.

Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The trade for Jimmy Graham gave the Seattle Seahawks the aerial target they had sorely missed in past seasons, but it also turned their offensive line into a major unknown heading into this year. How can Seattle compensate for the absence of Max Unger?

Aside from Russell Okung, nobody on that O-line inspires a wealth of confidence. Pro Football Focus' Mike Renner is particularly concerned with left guard Justin Britt:

"

A second-round pick last year, Britt moved from right tackle to left guard for today’s practice. As a rookie he was our lowest-graded right tackle in pass protection, and he didn’t do much to disprove that notion in Friday night’s preseason game versus the Broncos. On the second play from scrimmage Britt was wiped away by Von Miller in just under two seconds for a strip sack. He didn’t allow another pressure in his other four pass-blocking snaps, but the clean beats against Britt have obviously become a sore spot with the coaching staff.

"

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they're matched up against a team that boasts three good to great pass-rushers in Aaron Donald, Chris Long and Robert Quinn. Any deficiencies along the Seattle front could be exposed in a big way on Sunday.

With that said, should Donald, Long and Quinn continually get pressure on Russell Wilson, you still like Seattle's chances of winning in Week 1. The Seahawks defense will have little trouble handling Nick Foles and the Rams offense.

Foles was below-average last year, and he could decline even further without Kelly's offense inflating his passing numbers. Even taking Kam Chancellor out of the equation with his holdout, per ESPN's Ed Werder, Seattle's secondary should stifle Foles enough to keep St. Louis out of the end zone.

The Rams could very well be a wild-card contender in the NFC, but they're not yet at the Seahawks' level.