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

The last time the Kansas City Chiefs took the field for a game, they played in front of 62,417 fans at Hard Rock Stadium in February and defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. For their next game, there will be no more than 15,000 fans at Arrowhead Stadium for the 2020 season opener.

Like much of the sports world, the NFL is going to look different this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nonetheless, a new season gets underway Thursday, when the Chiefs host the Houston Texans to kick off the 2020 campaign. They'll be allowing a limited number of fans to attend, but many stadiums will be empty for at least the first few weeks of the season.

After Thursday's opener, there will be 13 Sunday contests and a pair of Monday night matchups this week.

Here are picks for all 16 Week 1 games, followed by predictions for some of the top storylines that could play out during the opening week of the season.

Week 1 Picks

Thursday, Sept. 10

Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs: Chiefs 35-24

Sunday, Sept. 13

Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons: Seahawks 27-20

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills: Bills 17-10

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions: Bears 21-17

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: Vikings 34-31

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots: Patriots 21-13

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Football Team: Eagles 28-10

Las Vegas Raiders at Carolina Panthers: Panthers 24-21

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars: Colts 31-21

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens: Ravens 31-28

Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals: Chargers 27-21

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints: Buccaneers 40-34

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers: 49ers 24-18

Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams: Cowboys 30-21

Monday, Sept. 14

Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants: Steelers 19-14

Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos: Titans 21-18

Predictions

Chiefs Begin Super Bowl Title Defense With Win

Last season, the Chiefs' run through the playoffs began with a comeback victory over the Texans. After Houston scored 24 straight points to open the game, Kansas City still led by halftime after scoring four second-quarter touchdowns. The Chiefs went on to win 51-31, marking the start of their path to the Super Bowl title.

Don't expect Kansas City to start the 2020 season as slow, particularly as its offense may be even better this year.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is back to lead the offense (and he will be for a long time after signing a 10-year, $503 million extension earlier this summer). He still has wide receivers Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman and tight end Travis Kelce to throw to.

And rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City's first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, is now in the backfield to help boost the running game and provide Mahomes with yet another weapon.

The Chiefs are again going to be a Super Bowl contender this season, and they've already proved they're a better team than the Texans, who traded wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins—one of their best offensive players—during the offseason.

Houston will still be a good team, but Kansas City will show it's on a higher level with a convincing victory in the season opener.

Brady's Bucs Win Shootout Against Brees' Saints

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

There's been a lot of hype surrounding the Buccaneers after their big offseason. Now, it's time for them to make a statement on the field against top NFC South rival, the New Orleans Saints.

Tampa Bay is set to debut its new-look offense that features quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who have joined a unit that already included a pair of top-tier receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The Bucs also signed running back Leonard Fournette last week, adding to a backfield mix that had Ronald Jones and LeSean McCoy.

New Orleans' offense is still strong, though. Quarterback Drew Brees, running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Michael Thomas will look to lead the Saints to another successful regular season and better results in the playoffs. Plus, they signed wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to give their veteran signal-caller another strong target to throw to.

This season opener at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome should feature plenty of offense from both sides. And don't be surprised if it turns into a shootout late with the teams trading touchdowns.

However, Brady will start this new chapter of his career with an impressive victory to prove he's still a strong quarterback at age 43.

Cowboys Spoil Rams' SoFi Stadium Debut

LM Otero/Associated Press

There won't be any fans in the seats, but SoFi Stadium, the new home for the Rams and Chargers, is set and ready to go. And what better way to debut this new complex than with a prime-time Sunday Night Football game?

The Rams will play the first game at SoFi Stadium when it hosts the Cowboys in the season opener. However, the contest won't end the way they're hoping it will.

Dallas will spoil Los Angeles' inaugural contest in its new home by pulling out a victory. It will use its high-powered offense to pull away from the Rams late and get off to a strong start in what could end up being an impressive season.

Although quarterback Dak Prescott will be playing this season on the franchise tag, the Cowboys have added more talented players around him. In addition to running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, Dallas' offense now also features rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb, its first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

Prescott should have a big season, and a strong opener for him and the Cowboys will leave the Rams 0-1 at their new home.