NFL Picks Week 1: Tips and Predictions for Prop Bets, Over-Under Lines and Odds

While all eyes will be focused on the NFL season opener in Foxboro, Massachusetts when the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots raise their latest banner and take on the Kansas City Chiefs, two rising teams in the AFC will open the season Sunday in Nashville.

The Tennessee Titans will host the Oakland Raiders, and the game will feature two of the best young quarterbacks in the game in Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr.

Both quarterbacks are returning after season-ending injuries in 2016, and both players will be facing the pressure of great expectations.

The Raiders were rolling last year and actually had an edge on the Patriots for the No. 1 seed in the AFC before the Carr injury. However, they ended up as a wild-card team and lost to the Houston Texans in the postseason.

The team has much greater aspirations this year, and in addition to Carr and wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, the Raiders have power running back Marshawn Lynch. Beast Mode has returned from a one-year absence to play with his hometown team, and his timing appears to be excellent.

The Raiders have to do a better job on defense this year, and they have one of the game's best defensive players in hybrid DE-OLB Khalil Mack. If he can put significant pressure on Mariota, the Raiders should have an excellent chance of starting the season with a road win.

However, if the Tennessee offensive line can keep Mack away from Mariota, the Titans could put on an offensive show.

The Titans are two-point favorites in this game, according to OddsShark, with the total listed at 50.5 points. Look for the Raiders to get the road win in a high-scoring game that goes over by the midway point of the third quarter.

The Detroit Lions open the season as 1.5-point home underdogs against the Arizona Cardinals. The Lions are leaning heavily on quarterback Matthew Stafford, who signed a five-year, $135 million contract last week.

While Stafford has been an asset for the Lions, they are paying him for future performance since he has not been among the NFL's most elite quarterbacks to this point in his career. He has two good receivers in Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, while Theo Riddick is one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league.

Carson Palmer is getting close to retirement at age 37, but he has returned for at least one more year with the hope of making a deep run in the playoffs and getting to the Super Bowl. Arizona running back David Johnson is one of the best all-around offensive players in the league. He has tremendous breakaway speed, can run inside or outside and is a fine receiver.

Veteran Larry Fitzgerald also appears to be getting close to retirement age at 33, but he still runs excellent patterns and has dependable hands.

Look for the Lions to outlast the visitors in another high-scoring game. The total is listed at 48 points.

Steven Senne

Matchup, Point Spread, Over-Under, Prediction

Kansas City at New England, NE -8.5, 48, New England/Over

Atlanta at Chicago, Atl. -7, 49.5,  Atlanta/Under

Jacksonville at Houston, Hou. -5.5, 39.5, Houston/Under

Oakland at Tennessee, Tenn. -2, 50.5, Oakland/Over

New York Jets at Buffalo, Buff. -9.5, 40.5, NYJ*/Under

Baltimore at Cincinnati, Cin. -3, 42.5, Baltimore/Over

Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Pitt. -8, 47, Cleveland*/Under

Arizona at Detroit, Ariz. -1.5, 48, Detroit/Over

Tampa Bay at Miami, TB -2.5, 42, Tampa Bay/Over

Philadelphia at Washington, Even, 47.5, Philadelphia/Over

Indianapolis at Los Angeles Rams, Ind. -3, 41.5, Los Angeles/Under

Carolina at San Francisco, Car. -5.5, 48, San Francisco*/Under

Seattle at Green Bay, GB -3, 51, Green Bay/Over

New York Giants at Dallas, Dall. -3.5, 47.5, NYG/Over

New Orleans at Minnesota, Minn. -3.5, 48, New Orleans/Under

Los Angeles Chargers at Denver, Den. -3.5, 43.5, Los Angeles/Over

*Will cover the spread but fail to win

Rick Osentoski

Prop Bet

Prop bets seem to grow in popularity in the postseason, but bettors can also find regular-season opportunities if they do some searching.

One of the prop bets available in Week 1 is which player will score the first touchdowns in the Kansas City-New England opener.

According to Oddschecker, Kansas City running back Kareem Hunt is the favorite to get into the end zone first at odds of 6-1. He figures to get many of Kansas City's rushing attempts following the preseason injury suffered by Spencer Ware. Still, it seems unlikely Hunt will score the first touchdown of the game.

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is the second choice at 13-2, while running back Mike Gillislee is third at 15-2.

Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce follows at 17-2, followed by New England wideout Brandin Cooks at 9-1, Patriots RB James White at 10-1 and Kansas City wideout Tyreek Hill at 10-1.

It seems most likely that the high-scoring Pats will get the jump on the Chiefs and score the first touchdown. As a result, we are going with White at 10-1 as our choice to score the first touchdown.