NFL Predictions Week 1: Rams over Eagles and 4 Other Bold Upset Picks

The temperature is dropping.

The leaves are falling.

It's autumn and it's time for some football!

This also means the bookies in Vegas will be busy. Betting on football is one of the most entertaining options to do on a Sunday and it's always wise to find a few underdogs who will help fatten your wallet.

Here are five bold underdog predictions in Week 1. 

Saints (+4) at Packers

Thursday night will be an emotional atmosphere at Lambeau Field. There will be a pregame championship celebration ceremony where Packer Nation will relive some of the great moments from last year's championship run. They will unveil a championship banner or flag. 

After all of these emotions they will be forced to strap on their helmets and play a real football game. Not just any football game, but one against a powerhouse NFC rival who exited last year's playoff in disappointing fashion.

The New Orleans Saints are no slouch. They still have one of the best gun slingers in the league in Drew Brees and they want to put the demons from that loss to Seattle away for good. The best way to do that is to beat up on the defending champions to give them a wake up call to show that this ain't last year.

The Saints don't care about the championship ceremony. In fact, they might use that as their own fuel. They could use it as a reminder of what it felt like winning two seasons ago. 

Four points is way too much. The Saints are very hungry and they can definitely win this game. If not, it will be a close one. 

And here's an interesting stat. In games decided by four or less, Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay is 2-11 lifetime. 

Rams (+5) vs. Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are one of the most overhyped teams of the offseason. With hype, comes a huge fat target on your back. 

The Rams will be at home with their ace quarterback, Sam Bradford. Last season, Bradford single-handedly carried the Rams out of hell and turned them into a respectable team. This season, he'll be looking for a division crown.

The Rams have flown under the radar even with Bradford all summer. Many people are putting down the Arizona Cardinals as the NFC West champions already because of their acquisition of Kevin Kolb. 

An early season against a team many believe will make a run for the Super Bowl will put the Rams on the map. The Rams have a great running attack with Steven Jackson and an even better air attack with Bradford. Their defense has improved mightily over the last two seasons and they're not the league's joke anymore. 

If anything, the Rams can make this a close game and they should be able to cover the five point spread. 

Redskins (+3) vs. Giants

September 11, 2011 marks the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. This shocking event put life into perspective for everyone.

The NFL will be remembering its victims that day and as everyone knows Washington, D.C. was one of the places that was struck on 9/11. Because of this, it will be an extra emotional day in D.C. The Redskins will be pumped and ready to go. 

Like the country that they love, they won't go down easy. They've been berated by the media all summer long. Their quarterback situation is a mess. The prospects of the Redskins making the playoffs are slim to none so this is their Super Bowl. It's against a divisional rival whom they hate. 

The Giants on the other side have had a summer full of questions and no answers. Eli Manning has been inconsistent for the last few years. The Giants' receivers haven't really been dominating and their late season collapse still haunts them. 

Don't be surprised if the Redskins pull away quickly and win this one. 

Seahawks (+6) at 49ers

Generally speaking, when two divisional rivals meet, numbers are tossed aside. It's all about who wants it more.

This game will probably make one's eyes bleed; it's that bad. However, six points is a little too much. The 49ers aren't that much better than the Seahawks. It'll be a close game and the Seahawks can possibly even win the game.

And don't forget what happened in last year's playoffs. When people doubt the Seahawks, they respond in a big way.

Raiders (+3) at Broncos

The Oakland Raiders have improved over the past season. They actually have a starting quarterback who has played in some big games in the NFC East. Jason Campbell, although he's no Aaron Rodgers, is a huge improvement over Jamarcus Russell and Bruce Gradkowski.

With stability at quarterback, the Raiders will also be able to effectively run the ball with Darren McFadden. They have electrifying receivers in Jacoby Ford and Darius Heyward-Bey. They also added Kevin Boss as a tight end.

The Raiders defense, even when the team was atrocious, has always been above average. 

They're not going to make a run for the Super Bowl but they can easily beat the Broncos in this game.

The Broncos are in for a scare. They will be starting Kyle Orton, who easily won the starting QB position over Tim Tebow. But really how hard was it to win the job? Not too difficult. 

The Broncos defense was one of the the worst last season, too. The Raiders won't have any difficulty moving the ball and they'll take this one easily.