NFL Week 1 Picks: Odds, Over/Under Predictions for Every Game Before Thursday

The start of the 2020 NFL season is finally here, football fans! The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs are set to kick things off on Thursday night when they host the Houston Texans. And there are plenty of intriguing storylines to follow in the opener and throughout the rest of the NFL's opening slate.

Of course, for some, the storylines aren't nearly as important as the final outcomes. For some fans, the Texans' efforts to forge a new offensive identity without wideout DeAndre Hopkins will be intriguing; others will only care about the fact that they are nine-point road underdogs in a game that's expected to produce more than 54 total points.

Nine points is a lot, even on the road. However, the Chiefs have all the necessary pieces to pull away late in this one.

No, Kansas City won't feature a massive home-field advantage—crowd capacity is being limited to just 17,000 fans. However, they still have the buzz of hanging the championship banner before kickoff and a whole lot of team chemistry.

Of the team's key contributors in 2019, only Damien Williams and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif are not returning. The lack of a preseason could lead to a slow start for Patrick Mahomes and Co., but they should get into a rhythm before halftime.

Things could be a bit trickier for the Texans. They parted with Hopkins and starting running back Carlos Hyde while bringing in the likes of David Johnson, Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb. There isn't a year's worth of chemistry between these players, and Houston still has a pass defense that ranked 29th in yards allowed last season.

Like last year's divisional-round matchup, this one will be close early but expect the Chiefs to pull away significantly late in the game.

NFL Week 1 Lines and Picks

Thursday, September 10

Houston Texans (+9, 54.5) at Kansas City Chiefs: 31-21 Kansas City

Sunday, September 13

Cleveland Browns (+8, 48.5) at Baltimore Ravens: 24-20 Baltimore

Philadelphia Eagles (-5.5, 43) at Washington Football Team: 23-16 Philadelphia

Indianapolis Colts (-8, 45) at Jacksonville Jaguars: 30-17 Indianapolis

New York Jets (+6.5, 39.5) at Buffalo Bills: 28-20 Buffalo

Miami Dolphins (+6.5, 43) at New England Patriots: 23-16 New England

Seattle Seahawks (-1.5, 49) at Atlanta Falcons: 26-24 Atlanta

Chicago Bears (+3, 44.5) at Detroit Lions: 20-16 Detroit

Green Bay Packers (+2.5, 46) at Minnesota Vikings: 23-21 Minnesota

Las Vegas Raiders (-3.5, 47.5) at Carolina Panthers: 21-20 Carolina

Los Angeles Chargers (-3, 43) at Cincinnati Bengals: 30-28 Los Angeles

Arizona Cardinals (+7, 48) at San Francisco 49ers: 28-26 San Francisco

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3.5, 49) at New Orleans Saints: 27-24 New Orleans

Dallas Cowboys (-3, 52) at Los Angeles Rams: 30-17 Dallas

Monday, September 14

Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5, 47.5) at New York Giants: 20-16 Pittsburgh

Tennessee Titans (-2.5, 41) at Denver Broncos: 26-24 Tennessee

Philadelphia Eagles (-5.5, 43) at Washington Football Team

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

The Sunday afternoon game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Football Team doesn't carry as much drama as Thursday night's opener, but it could be even more unpredictable.

On paper, the Eagles are by far the better team. They have a proven quarterback in Carson Wentz and the bulk of a roster that went 9-7 and won the NFC East a year ago. Washington has an inexperienced second-year quarterback in Dwayne Haskins and the majority of a roster that won three games in 2019.

However, the Eagles are going to be without two of their projected top receivers. Alshon Jeffery is still recovering from Lisfranc surgery, while rookie wideout Jalen Reagor is dealing with a shoulder injury. Philadelphia should still win, but it isn't at 100 percent and may not win in a blowout.

The good news is that Reagor may still be able to play. According to Reuben Frank and Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia, he was seen running routes and fielding punts at Wednesday's practice.

The lack of a preseason and live game reps means that several offenses are likely to be out of rhythm in Week 1, which should lead to some sloppy games that are closer than they should be and don't feature a ton of scoring.

Expect Philadelphia to squeak by the six-point line but for this game to stay on the underside of 43 total points.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5, 47.5) at New York Giants

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Another game that could be closer than some expect is the Monday night contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants. On paper, Pittsburgh has the far better roster and a defense that ranked fifth in yards and points allowed.

However, the Steelers also have an offense that was putrid in 2019, ranking just 30th in yards and 31st in passing. While the return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should theoretically provide a massive boost, he is coming back from elbow surgery and hasn't played football in nearly a year.

It's likely going to take some time for the 38-year-old to round into form and for the Steelers offense to be the explosive unit it was a couple of years ago.

Meanwhile, the Giants have an offense loaded in talent, with guys such as Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Golden Tate, Evan Engram and Darius Slayton leading the charge.

"We have a lot of guys who can make plays," Jones said, per Matt Lombardo of NJ.com.

While Pittsburgh should still escape with the win, expect New York to make enough plays to keep this one close.

*All odds and over/unders from DraftKings Sportsbook.