The 2017-18 NFL season kicks off this weekend. All 32 teams are in action over the weekend and we take a look at some of the best value games in our NFL Week 1 Betting Tips below.
There’s still time to jump on some of the great season long markets and you can view our season preview and betting tips here.
NFL Week 1 Betting Tips
Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots (Friday 10.30am AEST)
The reigning NFL Champions kick off the regular season at Foxboro against the Kansas City Chiefs Friday morning. Expectations are high for the Patriots, with many tipping them to go back to back and some even predicting the perfect season. Tom Brady returns for 18th season and has opened as the early favourite for this season’s MVP.
The Patriots will also be bolstered by the return of Rob Gronkowski. Arguably the greatest tight end of all time, Gronkowski missed most of the Patriots championship season, including the Super Bowl itself. They will however, be hindered by the loss of star slot receiver Julian Eldeman, who tore his ACL in the preseason. The Patriots did recruit some great deep fast, deep threat receivers which Brady has had limited supply of over his career, so expect him to be airing it out more than we are used to.
We like the Chiefs chances this year, however, the Patriots rarely lose at home. Tom Brady has a 4-2 record against KC and 3-0 at home. They have a ridiculous 72-21 record at Foxboro since the start of the Brady/Belichick era. They were also 13-3 against the spread and undefeated against the spread at home last year. We like the Pats to cover here.
TIP: New England -8.5 - $1.91 at Ladbrokes
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers (Monday 6.25am AEST)
Arguably the game of the round sees the Packers hosting the Seahawks early Monday morning. Green Bay and Seattle are two of the favourites to take out the NFC this season and both will be looking to get off to a solid start. It might be too early to say but this could be a crucial game in determining who has home field advantage when it comes to the NFC playoffs.
The key matchup in the game will be the Seahawks secondary against the dynamic Green Bay receiving core in Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson and Martellus Bennet and of course their star QB Aaron Rodgers. The Seahawks offence generally do enough to allow them a chance to win the game but it’s their ridiculous defence that ultimately decide if they win or not.
The lethal secondary consisting of Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman will likely give Rodgers his hardest test of the year but if there is one player who is capable of picking apart the Seattle defence, it’s Rodgers. Really tough game to predict in week one. Green Bay have opened as 3-point favourites at home which we think is about right. They were 7th best team in the league against the spread last season with a 9-6-1 record and had a 6-2 record at home. The additions of Bennet and Lance Kendricks at the tight end position will give Rodgers some great weapons in the middle of the ground and we think he can put up enough points to cover here, especially if that line drifts in to 2.5.
TIP: Green Bay Packers -3 - $1.91 at Palmerbet
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys (Monday 10.30am AEST)
Huge NFC East rivals in the Cowboys and Giants will go head to head in the marquee Sunday night game (American time). The game will kick off at 10.30am on Monday morning and will be televised on 7mate and ESPN. The Giants, whose defence was their Achilles heel over the past few seasons, have had a complete revamp and it now looks to be their strength.
It should be a massive test for the Dallas offence, who are slated to go deep into the playoffs this season with rising stars Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot leading the offence. The two teams have played against each other in the season opener in five of the last six seasons with the Cowboys winning the last four of those meetings.
Once again it’s a tough one to pick, the Giants have made serious improvements over the off-season but will most likely be without their star receiver Odell Beckham due to injury. The Cowboys rely a lot on running the ball through Elliot but struggled to do so effectively against a solid Giants front line last season. The Cowboys have opened as four-point favourites but we think New York can cover on the road here.
TIP: New York Giants +4 - $1.92 at Ladbrokes
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos (Tuesday 12.20pm AEST)
The debut of the Los Angeles Chargers will be in the marquee Monday night time slot for the U.S. The West Coast game means that we get to watch it at 12.20pm over here on 7mate and ESPN. The Broncos welcomed back quarterback Brock Osweiler after a failed one-year stint in Houston, hoping he can carry them back to the Super Bowl as he did just two years ago.
However, it’s the defence that the Broncos will be heavily relying upon again this year. All pro linebacker Von Miller will lead the charge again in what will be a very similar defence to the one that ranked number four in the league last year. They also have a revamped offensive line which will give Osweiler the time he desperately needs to make decisions.
The Chargers will be heavily focused on scoring again this season, with Phillip Rivers welcoming his number one weapon, Keenan Allen, back into the team from injury. Antonio Gates and Melvin Gordon provide Rivers with even more weapons so don’t be surprised if they are one of the higher scoring teams this season. Playing in Denver against the Broncos is always a tough ask though, we think the Denver defence can hold them to a respectable score here and cover the 3 point line.
TIP: Denver Broncos -3 - $1.96 at Sportsbet
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