NFL Picks Week 1: Favorites That Will Destroy the Spread

Week 1 of the NFL is ripe for point-spread exploitation. With the clean slate of the season there are a lot of unknowns hanging around. 

This makes it tough to get the right spread, and it can make it hard to identify a winner. However, with a little inspection, we can find some tidbits that the rest of the general public are missing, and take advantage of the faulty lines. 

Here are three lines that are just asking to hand you money.

New York Giants -3.5

Opponent: Dallas Cowboys

The New York Giants will not just kick off the NFL season on Wednesday, but they will destroy their bitter rival the Dallas Cowboys in the process. 

The Giants ended the Cowboys' season last year by destroying them in New York 31-14 in Week 17. 

The Cowboys' new corners, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne, are not enough to make up this difference. While these two should be able to make life more difficult for Eli Manning, the Giants' passing game proved last year that they can beat teams no matter how good the coverage was. 

On the other side of the ball, with Jason Pierre-Paul. Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora all healthy and ready to go, the Giants still figure to have an excellent pass rush that should be able to victimize the Cowboys' young offensive line like they did for six sacks in the Week 17 game. 

This is a rough way for the Cowboys to open the season. 

Prediction: Giants 24, Cowboys 13

New England Patriots -6

Opponent: at Tennessee Titans

The Patriots are loaded and ready to make another Super-Bowl run. They made improvements to their receiving corps and to their defense. 

This is a lot for the Titans to handle. While they have solid corners to deal with the improved receiving corps, they are going to have a hard time containing the Patriots' amazing tight ends. 

Defensively, the Patriots should be better than last year, and Bill Belichick will certainly put in some complex looks to confuse Jake Locker into making mistakes. 

Prediction: Patriots 31, Titans 17

Philadelphia Eagles -9

Opponent: at Cleveland Browns

The Eagles' multiple blitz packages are a lot for anyone QB to try and handle, when that QB is a rookie making his first start, it is particularly daunting. 

That is exactly what Browns rookie QB Brandon Weeden is facing. In other words, if the Browns are going to keep this one close, they are going to have to do so with their defense. 

The Eagles have too much firepower, which is relatively healthy, to be contained. 

Prediction: Eagles 27, Browns 10