NFL Predictions Week 1: Five Games That Should Be Nail Biters

The NFL season began last night with the Saints’ 14-9 victory over Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. While the first game of the season was a close competitive game, there looks to be a lot more close games in week one and throughout the NFL season.

Falcons @ Steelers:

The Steelers will begin the 2010 season without Santonio Holmes, who has been traded to the Jets and without Ben Roethlisberger who is suspended for the first four games.

The Pittsburgh Steelers season could largely depend upon how Dennis Dixon fares at quarterback. Dixon, who only has one career start, has shown talent and promise, but has also shown he can be erratic and inaccurate.

Falcons will look to third year starter Matt Ryan to lead them into a hostile environment and hopefully come away with a win. The Falcons are favored, but the Steelers are at home.

This game will go down to the wire and when the pressure is on, I trust Ryan more than I trust Dixon.

Colts @ Texans:

Peyton Manning and the Colts have been itching to get back onto the field even since their Super Bowl loss seven months ago. Likewise, Matt Schaub and the Houston Texas are excited to build upon their 9-7 season from a year ago.

Although the Texans are 1-15 all-time against the Colts, they are coming off of the first winning season in franchise history and have all the tools to compete in the AFC South.

Indianapolis in undoubtedly the favorite in this division, but the Texans are talented enough to beat them. The problem with Houston seems to be more mental than physical. They had consistently played the Colts tough and even held big leads, but they always seem to collapse and let the Colts steal the win.

I predict Houston to upset the Colts and finally begin to believe in themselves.

Cowboys @ Redskins:

In what has traditionally been a great rivalry, the NFC East favorite Dallas Cowboys will open their season in Washington against the Redskins.

Dallas appears to have more talent on paper, but their potent offense did not click and was not very impressive during the preseason.

Washington looks to be a sleeper in the division as they have gotten significantly better by bringing in Donovan McNabb and Mike Shanahan.

These games always seem to be close and exciting because of the rivalry. These teams know each other well and they would like nothing more than to beat their rival to begin the 2010 season.

Although I think Washington is drastically improved, I think the Cowboys will come away with the week one win. Tony Romo and the Cowboy offense will begin to click and put up just enough points on a Washington defense that is currently a mess with the Albert Haynesworth scenario 

Bengals @ Patriots:

Welker and Moss. Ochocinco and Owens.

This game features great wide receivers and great quarterbacks. Both these teams have something to prove in 2010 and need a week one victory.

This game looks like it will be a shootout as both teams have talent on offense and questions on defense.

Ochocinco and Owens have gotten along so far, but it has only been the preseason. It will be interesting to see how one reacts when the other gets the ball more in games that truly matter. It will also be interesting to see how they handle losing, and fans may get a chance to see that reaction right away.

I expect Tom Brady and the Patriots offense to win a shootout at home.

Ravens @ Jets:

Don’t expect a lot of fantasy points out of this game as both teams have strong defenses and prefer to win low scoring games.

The Ravens are 5-1 all-time against the Jets and will look to improve to 6-1 as Ray Lewis tries to silence the Jets.

The Jets have been talked about all offseason because of Rex Ryan and their part on HBO’s Hard Knocks.

All the publicity the Jets are getting has upset Lewis, which is something the Jets should be worried about on Monday night.

Rex Ryan recently said he feels Lewis is past his prime and Lewis responded.

“My name should not come out of Rex’s mouth, unless you’re telling somebody to come block me, which is going to be a very hard task come Monday night,” Lewis said. “All this pressure he wants to put on his team, I hope they can cash the check that he writes.”

Rex Ryan has put a lot of pressure on his team and although they are a very good team, they were only 9-7 a year ago and have a weakness at the quarterback position.

With all the talk in New York about a Super Bowl, I expect a disappointing year for the Jets and a week one loss to the Ravens on Monday night.