NFL Week 1 Picks: Predicting the Winners and Final Scores for All Season Openers

The Dallas Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl, and the road to the big game begins Sunday night, when Tony Romo and Co. host the rival New York Giants. From top to bottom and on both sides of the ball, this is the best team Dallas has built with Romo under center.

The offensive line will prove that the success DeMarco Murray experienced in 2014 had more to do with it than with the ball-carrier, and Romo will have a nice complement of targets to throw to in Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and the underrated Terrance Williams.

The Cowboys defense will face a major test in the season opener.

Eli Manning and the Giants have two of the more dynamic receivers in the game in Victor Cruz and 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odell Beckham Jr. With Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick lost for the year after suffering a knee injury, Morris Claiborne will have to step up to give Brandon Carr a capable running mate in the secondary.

Claiborne has seen ups and downs throughout his career, but he fits the 4-3 defense the team employs now as opposed to the 3-4 it ran when he first got to Big D. The last two years have been a struggle, with injuries limiting him to four games in 2014.

However, Scandrick's injury will give Claiborne a chance to show what he can do. After all, he is only 25 years old. The Cowboys haven't given up on him, either. Though they declined his fifth-year option, owner Jerry Jones voiced his faith in the fourth-year pro in June.

"I think Claiborne has a real good chance to surprise," Jones said, per Mickey Spagnola of DallasCowboys.com.

Without question, Dallas will need Claiborne to step up Sunday night and beyond. Healthy and motivated, his play will be vital to slowing down the Giants offense. Romo and the offensive line will do the rest.

Dallas will control the time of possession and force a couple of key turnovers en route to a statement-making 32-20 win. Here are the rest of my picks for the season openers:

Away	Home	Time (ET)	National TV	Prediction
Pittsburgh	New England	8:30 p.m.	NBC	New England 40-31
Green Bay	Chicago	1:00 p.m.	Fox	Green Bay 21-14
Kansas City	Houston	1:00 p.m.	CBS	Houston 20-6
Cleveland	New York	1:00 p.m.	CBS	New York 16-7
Indianapolis	Buffalo	1:00 p.m.	CBS	Buffalo 20-13
Miami	Washington	1:00 p.m.	CBS	Miami 30-10
Carolina	Jacksonville	1:00 p.m.	Fox	Carolina 9-7
Seattle	St. Louis	1:00 p.m.	Fox	St. Louis 24-19
New Orleans	Arizona	4:05 p.m.	Fox	Arizona 20-14
Detroit	San Diego	4:05 p.m.	Fox	Detroit 35-29
Tennessee	Tampa Bay	4:25 p.m.	CBS	Tennessee 20-17
Cincinnati	Oakland	4:25 p.m.	CBS	Cincinnati 32-28
Baltimore	Denver	4:25 p.m.	CBS	Baltimore 27-24
New York	Dallas	4:30 p.m.	NBC	Dallas 32-20
Philadelphia	Atlanta	6:55 p.m.	ESPN	Philadelphia 27-20
Minnesota	San Francisco	10:15 p.m.	ESPN	Minnesota 23-10

The Packers Will Nip the Bears

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It'll be close, but the Green Bay Packers will extend their dominance over their NFC North rivals Sunday. Frankly, the Chicago Bears didn't have the pass rush up front for the Cover 2 scheme they ran for most of the last five years. That was especially the case against a quarterback with an arm as strong and accurate as Aaron Rodgers'.

That's a big reason why Green Bay has shred the Bears defense in recent meetings. Over the last two seasons (not counting the Week 8 meeting in 2013, when Rodgers was injured and threw two passes), the Packers have averaged 42 points per game against the Bears.

Rodgers is 11-3 against the Bears with 31 touchdown passes and eight interceptions in his career. Packerpedia dished out more painful details on Rodgers' recent history against Chicago:

Even without injured wide receiver Jordy Nelson (knee), Rodgers will be great in Chicago. However, the Bears defense will be better than people expect.

Pernell McPhee is a legitimate pass-rusher, and Jared Allen will show he can still be a force in spurts as a 3-4 outside linebacker. The issue for Chicago will be moving the ball consistently. The Bears receiving corps is short-handed because of injuries.

Rookie Kevin White is out with a shin injury, per NFL.com. Alshon Jeffery has battled a calf injury throughout the preseason. He didn't play in any of the team's exhibition games, and he is questionable for Week 1. Per ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson, Jeffery was absent from Monday's practice session.

Asking Jay Cutler to make second- and third-string receivers better is a bad idea. Chicago's defense will keep the Bears in it, but they will lose 21-14.

Tom Brady Will Push Pats Past Steelers

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He's back, fresh and ready to stick it to his haters. Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.

While both offenses can put points on the board, these teams have question marks on defense. The Steelers secondary is young and inexperienced. Heading into a game against Brady, that could be problematic. While the Patriots won't have the stability of Vince Wilfork up front, it's hard not to trust head coach Bill Belichick to prepare his team for an emotional season opener.

A key matchup will feature Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier against Patriots all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski. Shazier has the speed to run with Gronk—which is a rarity for a linebacker—but that doesn't account for the advantage in size. Gronk is 6'6", and Shazier is 6'1". So Brady should be able to utilize his key weapon.

Expect a high-scoring game, but the Pats defense will come up with enough stops to facilitate a 40-31 victory Thursday night.

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