NFL Week 1 Picks: Predicting Teams That Will Cover the Spread

Week 1 of the 2013 NFL season is on the cusp of starting, meaning it’s time for bettors to identify their locks and make some wagers.

The early season is one of the best times to try and beat the spread, as the bookmakers have just as much of an idea as the general public about how each team will fare in the coming year.

If you aren’t sure of which way to lean just yet, keep reading to find out our top picks of the NFL’s opening weekend.

Seattle Seahawks (-4) at Carolina Panthers

The Seahawks don’t receive much credit when traveling away from Seattle, and it’s clearly evident in this line.

Although they are receiving some preseason hype as a Super Bowl contender, many still feel this is a team to back only at home. However, as the Baltimore Ravens most recently proved, you need to be able to win on the road in order to win championships.

Head coach Pete Carroll has likely spent the spring and summer drilling that into his players and should have them more than ready to dominate a mediocre Panthers team that has yet to prove anything.

The Panthers may have finished 5-1 to close the 2012 season, but hot stretches from the previous season rarely carry over. Even if streaks from eight months ago were relevant, four of those wins came against opponents with losing records.

Young, leaderless Carolina is getting too much respect and will get thoroughly trounced by a superior Seattle squad on Sunday.

 

Green Bay Packers (+5) at San Francisco 49ers

New England bucked the trend last year, but Super Bowl losers had failed to cover in the opener for 12 seasons in a row prior to that according to Jason Logan of Covers.com.

It would be wise to bet that the Niners start that trend up again by failing to cover—and possibly outright losing—against the Packers.

These two NFC powerhouses met twice last year, once to start the season at Lambeau Field and then at Candlestick Park in the divisional round of the playoffs.

San Francisco took each matchup by over a touchdown, but things should be much different in 2013.

The 49ers lost a number of top options from last year’s passing game and will have to rely heavily on the aging veteran they acquired in the offseason, Anquan Boldin.

Colin Kaepernick could be in line for a letdown as a first-time starter going into the season, especially with his weapons cut short. San Fran is going to need to run the ball early and often to get ahead and keep a lead here, but it may not be able to slow the Packers’ passing attack.

Aaron Rodgers is eyeing up another MVP season and could get that started on the right foot by shredding the 49ers’ secondary. It’s one of the best units in the league, but the Packers have a handful of elite wideouts that can create mismatches all over the field.

Don’t be surprised if this one is quite close at the end of the day, and there’s even a chance that Green Bay wins on the moneyline.

 

New England Patriots (-11) at Buffalo Bills

The Patriots are simply going to destroy the AFC East rival Bills on Sunday.

After an offseason of questions and turmoil, coach Bill Belichick will be eager to bust out all the tricks and show that he’s still a mad genius by running up the score on this downtrodden opponent.

Jeff Tuel will be starting under center for Buffalo as an undrafted rookie that no one ever expected would be thrust into the limelight like this.

Considering New England boasts one of the more complex and difficult defenses in the league to decipher, Tuel is going to get destroyed by the pass rush, panic and turn the ball over in a variety of ways.

On offense, signal-caller Tom Brady will show that losing an entire slate of top receivers from last year will have little impact on his ability to drop precision passes all over the field.

Rookies such as Kenbrell Thompkins and Zach Sudfeld will step up, while newcomers to the team like Danny Amendola will prove their worth.

When all is said and done, the Patriots will walk out of Ralph Wilson Stadium with a two-touchdown or greater margin of victory.