NFL Predictions Week 1: Odds, Picks and Projections for Opening Schedule

In just a few short days, the 2016-17 NFL season will officially begin with the kickoff of the Carolina Panthers-Denver Broncos game on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET. 

The NFL draft, free agency, training camps and the preseason have all been appetizers that have kept us going, but regular-season football is finally here to satiate our appetites. 

NFL picks and predictions for the first week of the regular season are always somewhat of a guessing game, as no one has yet seen these teams play their starting lineups in meaningful game action. The preseason can only tell us so much. 

Still, using what we've seen on the field these last four weeks and with the help of Odds Shark's handicappers, we can make some predictions for which teams will start their seasons off 1-0. 

Take a look below to find odds, picks and projections for all 16 teams heading into Week 1. 

Date	Away	Home	Point Spread	Prediction
Sept. 8	Carolina Panthers	Denver Broncos	DEN -1	Panthers
Sept. 11	Minnesota Vikings	Tennessee Titans	MIN -1.5	Vikings
Sept. 11	San Diego Chargers	Kansas City Chiefs	KC -7.5	Chiefs
Sept. 11	Chicago Bears	Houston Texans	HOU -4.5	Texans
Sept. 11	Oakland Raiders	New Orleans Saints	NO -1.5	Raiders
Sept. 11	Green Bay Packers	Jacksonville Jaguars	GB -3.5	Packers
Sept. 11	Cincinnati Bengals	New York Jets	NYJ -1.5	Bengals
Sept. 11	Cleveland Browns	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -7	Eagles
Sept. 11	Buffalo Bills	Baltimore Ravens	BAL -3	Ravens
Sept. 11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Atlanta Falcons	ATL -3	Falcons
Sept. 11	Miami Dolphins	Seattle Seahawks	SEA -7.5	Seahawks
Sept. 11	New York Giants	Dallas Cowboys	DAL -4	Giants
Sept. 11	Detroit Lions	Indianapolis Colts	IND -6	Colts
Sept. 11	New England Patriots	Arizona Cardinals	NE -1	Cardinals
Sept. 12	Pittsburgh Steelers	Washington Redskins	PIT -2.5	Steelers
Sept. 12	Los Angeles Rams	San Francisco 49ers	LA -2.5	49ers

Safest Bets 

Green Bay Packers (-3.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

It's somewhat surprising the Packers aren't opening as bigger favorites at EverBank Field, even accounting for a home-field advantage for Jacksonville. 

The Jaguars are coming off a 5-11 season in 2015, and while expectations are healthy for their 2016 season given the young talent they've added on both sides of the ball, opening the season with a win against a Super Bowl favorite in Green Bay would be a tall order. 

In the secondary, first-round pick Jalen Ramsey will join former Packer Davon House in trying to quash the reunion between Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his favorite target, Jordy Nelson, who will make his return to the field after missing the entire 2015 season with a torn ACL. 

While trying to prevent the deep completions to Nelson, the Jaguars will also have to gauge just how much of a problem new Green Bay tight end Jared Cook poses in the Packers' short-to-intermediate game. 

Meanwhile, Jaguars passer Blake Bortles will have his work cut out for him against the Packers defensive front, which features a monstrous pass rush bookended by Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers and an interior rush led by defensive lineman Mike Daniels. 

Needless to say, Bortles will be under duress any time he is on the field, and while tight end Julius Thomas is bound to get him out of trouble a few times, Bortles may find it difficult to stay on his feet long enough to connect with downfield weapons Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson. 

The Jaguars are poised to improve upon their sub-.500 season in 2015, but don't expect the winning to begin against the Packers. 

Philadelphia Eagles (-7) vs. Cleveland Browns

This matchup is somewhat tricky to prognosticate, mostly due to the fact that on one side, the Browns have a quarterback in Robert Griffin III who hasn't seen significant game action since 2014, and on the other, the Philadelphia Eagles are preparing to start first-round draft pick Carson Wentz, as head coach Doug Pederson confirmed on Monday, per the team's official Twitter account: 

How can you predict how those two players will perform with such little film to analyze? 

Still, Wentz enjoys the benefit of extreme upside, given his inexperience, whereas RGIII has to excise the demons of the less-than-stellar games that continue to haunt him (and his reputation as a signal-caller). 

Plus, there's the fact that in Philadelphia, Wentz is surrounded by weapons Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews, Brent Celek and new acquisition Dorial Green-Beckham, while for RGIII, the talent level of his weapons falls off after the unproven but talented Corey Coleman. 

The Browns don't have far to go to improve upon their 3-13 mark in 2015, but it's hard to see how they will rack up wins when they just don't have the talent. Add to the fact the uncertainty of Hue Jackson's new scheme, and, even though the Eagles have tons of question marks themselves, this one feels like a safe bet in Philadelphia's favor. 

Seattle Seahawks (-7.5) vs. Miami Dolphins

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

The Dolphins are in rough shape as they head to one of the NFL's toughest stadiums in CenturyLink Field to take on the Seahawks in Week 1. 

As the Dolphins practice for their season opener, they do so without several key starters in center Mike Pouncey, linebacker Jelani Jenkins and receiver DeVante Parker, all of whom missed practice Monday due to injuries suffered during the preseason, as Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel reported Monday. 

"While it is possible each starter could be cleared to practice and play by Sunday’s 4 p.m. game, Dolphins coaches are preparing to play the Seahawks without them," Kelly reported. 

Meanwhile, the Seahawks added a new element to their offense at the end of the 2015 season, as they began utilizing their passing game and weapons Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and Tyler Lockett more rather than relying so much on the run game and on Russell Wilson's legs. 

The move was in part necessitated by injuries, but now the Seahawks have a healthy backfield that can supplement Wilson's newfound passing prowess. 

Meanwhile, the Dolphins offense, led by Ryan Tannehill and supplemented by new acquisition Arian Foster in the backfield, will face a potent Seattle defense that still consists of Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril and Bobby Wagner, which almost doesn't seem fair.

All of this means it could be a poor result for the Dolphins. 

All odds current as of Sept. 5.