Week 1 NFL Predictions: Teams That Will Stutter out of the Gates

The start of the NFL regular season is upon us and all fans are hopeful. There's a renewed sense of "this is our year" throughout the league.

However, with the surprise teams of the year, also comes the teams that unexpectedly struggle. Here are four teams that are bound to stumble in Week 1.

New England Patriots

The Patriots are coming off of one of their most tumultuous offseasons in their history.

Though the Pats had many key additions, such as wide receiver Danny Amendola, they lost a lot more.

Slot receiver and long-time Brady favorite Wes Welker left for Denver. Tight end Aaron Hernandez was waived for obvious reasons and running back Danny Woodhead, who had recent success as a Patriot, is now in San Diego.

The Patriots are bound to struggle in Buffalo on Sunday while trying to hit their stride.

A rejuvenated Bills offense, led by rookie E.J. Manuel and running back C.J. Spiller, has looked like they are headed in the right direction under new head coach Doug Marrone.

Bill Belichick had this to say about Spiller, according to NESN.com's Jamie Erdahl:

I expect Spiller to have a big day early on while the Patriots defense finds their groove.

For the offense, it will just be a matter of Brady and company getting the timing down. While Buffalo will lead early, I expect the second half to be a different ball game once New England is meshing.

New England 31, Buffalo 21

Chicago Bears

It's not often that a team finishes 10-6, only to fire their head coach.

Well the Chicago Bears did just that last season, firing Lovie Smith. Filling the head coaching vacancy is former Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman, a coach who has worked previously with quarterback Jay Cutler.

The Bears, too, have had some losses. But with Chicago, it's not the quantity, but rather the quality of their offseason losses. Linebacker and vital leader Brian Urlacher announced his retirement this offseason following a refusal on the Bears' part to re-sign him.

Fast forward to this weekend, the Bears will be taking on a young and talented Cincinnati Bengals roster that has shown signs of only getting better this preseason.

Cutler's history of inconsistency and wide receiver Brandon Marshall's hip problem, combined with the lack of a true leader on defense, doesn't help Chicago's case.

Cincinnati 24, Chicago 14

Dallas Cowboys

Every year, it seems we get a new wave of believers in Tony Romo. And every year, whether it's because of injury, or just inconsistent play, that wave turns into doubters by the end of the season.

This year will be no different.

Romo has shown nothing that truly constitutes a belief that he can be an elite quarterback. All Dallas Cowboy fans are hopeful, and have been patient, which makes it somewhat sad that they are due for another down year. 

As long as owner Jerry Jones refuses to hand the general manager reins over, it will be a long time before the Cowboys are relevant in Super Bowl talks again.

Eli Manning will not waste any time going to the air in this game. Expect Victor Cruz to put up big numbers, as he is now the undisputed number one receiver.

NY Giants 27, Dallas 13

New York Jets

Oh, dear. The New York Jets are a mess.

Between Mark Sanchez's injury, Geno Smith's starting role, Rex Ryan's mouth.. this sentence could go on and on. But the fact of the matter is the Jets are not good, as seen by last year's "buttfumble" in the above video.

New York traded away their best defensive player this offseason, cornerback Darrelle Revis, for a draft pick which turned into defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson out of Missouri. This was in addition to their original first-round pick of Dee Milliner, a talented cornerback from Alabama. Though I like the two picks, I don't think either was worth giving away Revis.

And I think the veteran will make that mistake known when he verses his former team this Sunday.

Geno Smith could potentially be the answer, but more than likely he will be just as reckless on the field as Sanchez is. Which leaves who else, Matt Simms? 

I don't see how this season ends without Rex Ryan losing his job, unless the Jets really surprise some people.

Hey, Woody. Tebow is a free agent. Mind trying that circus again?

Tampa Bay 28, New York 10