NFL Picks Week 1: Teams That Will Start Season with Home Loss

The 2012 NFL season’s opening weekend will feature a few disappointing losses by home teams.

There will be plenty of excitement to start the game as home crowds welcome back pro football, but by the fourth quarter, defeat will be imminent. 

Playing in front of a supportive crowd can often be an equalizer, but for certain franchises, no decibel level at the stadium will be loud enough to disrupt the visitor's offense from dooming them to an 0-1 record. 

Here are the home teams that will go down in Week 1.

Philadelphia Eagles over Cleveland Browns

Cleveland fans have certainly suffered enough, but the pain will continue for at least one more week. 

The Browns are hoping for a revamped offense behind rookies Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden. Richardson appears to be healthy after undergoing knee surgery earlier this summer, but Weeden will likely struggle against an aggressive Philadelphia defense.

The Eagles are a better team than they showed this past season, and they will be playing with a chip on their shoulder against the Browns.

This will lead to a big win for Philadelphia as the Browns have significantly less talent on both sides of the ball.

New England Patriots over Tennessee Titans

Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense will have another spectacular season.

Brandon Lloyd joins Wes Welker in the teams’ corps of wide receiver, while tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski have the security of long-term contracts as motivation.

The defense was upgraded by high draft picks Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower, and this unit will be improved in 2012. 

The Titans will trot out Jake Locker to start the season, and even if star running back Chris Johnson returns to his form of two years ago, Tennessee will still disappoint its fans by losing.

Buffalo Bills over New York Jets

The New York Jets face significant concerns along the offensive line, and they start the season against a team that spent the summer upgrading its pass rush.

Mario Williams and Mark Anderson will be the Bills’ primary edge rushers, and the Jets must also deal with Marcell Dareus firing up the gut. The New York linemen have little hope of containing these players.

Even when the blockers are able to successfully do their jobs, the Jets’ skill-position players are not especially dangerous. The Buffalo offense does not have the talent to run up the score either, but with Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller in the backfield, the Bills can move the ball.

An adequate performance from the ground game and few mistakes will give Buffalo a victory at the New Meadowlands.

Seattle Seahawks over Arizona Cardinals

Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson was not given the starting job after getting picked in the first round. He earned it after no one expected him to be more than a backup during his career.

Now the former Wisconsin standout will lead the Seahawks’ offense into Arizona for an NFC West battle. 

The Cardinals also had a quarterback competition this offseason, with John Skelton beating out Kevin Kolb. Skelton too defied odds and expectations to win the starting job. 

The season will begin where it ended for these two teams, as Arizona beat Seattle in overtime in the last game of the 2011 season. Now, Wilson will prove why he is the starting QB and will start his NFL career off with a win on the road.