Thanks for checking out my game picks for week one of the 2011 NFL season. My NFL game predictions are suitable for your office football pool as I don’t do point spreads. These week one NFL game predictions are for entertainment purposes only and you use them at your own risk! As you can see here I was 155 and 91 in my NFL game predictions last year. To see how I do in my free weekly NFL game predictions this year follow this link.
Week One NFL Game Picks
Thursday Night Game
New Orleans at Green Bay
The Saints head north to play on the not so frozen tundra of Green Bay. The Packers won the last Super Bowl and may be a better team this year due to having their injured players back. I like the Saints but not in Green Bay. My week one NFL game pick is the Packers win 21 to 17.
Sunday Game Predictions for Week One
Pittsburgh at Baltimore
This heated rivalry fires up again on September 11th in Baltimore as the Ravens take another shot at knocking the Steelers down a peg. The Steelers as always have a bad offensive line but the Ravens have an aging defense so it evens out. I like the Steelers to win this one 17 to 10.
Cincinnati at Cleveland
I like how the Browns are improving but the Bengals are going in the crapper this season. Cleveland wins 17 to 3.
Indianapolis at Houston
Gary Kubiack has to improve this team or get out of town. Indianapolis may not have Peyton Manning and if they do it won’t matter due to rust. Houston wins 21 to 10.
Tennessee at Jacksonville
Chris Johnson is rich but probably not in football shape and he is about all the Titans have. Jacksonville is not much better but my free week one NFL game pick is the Jags win 20 to 10.
Buffalo at Kansas City
If Coach Haley can avoid some kind of meltdown the Chiefs should handle the hapless Bills easily. Kansas City 24 Buffalo 10.
Atlanta at Chicago
Many people are picking the Falcons to go to the Super Bowl. They do have a great offense but their defense is pedestrian at best. Chicago can play as hot or cold as any team in the league. Chicago needs a wide receiver to step up and I don’t see it happening this week. Atlanta wins in Chicago 24 to 20.
Detroit at Tampa Bay
The Lions missed out on having a potential dominating pair of defensive tackles when Fairly was injured but they can still do well. Tampa has a young superstar quarterback in Josh Freeman but little else. I like Detroit to win by the score of 17 to 14.
Philadelphia at St. Louis
Like Tampa the Rams have a good quarterback and little else. I am not buying into the Dream Team crap with the Eagles due to their bad offensive line. However I do pick the Eagles to beat the Rams 21 to 10.
Minnesota at San Diego
Donovan McNabb makes his Vikings debut against a recharged (pun intended) San Diego team. I like the Chargers at home to win 17 to 10.
New York Giants at Washington
Not impressed with either team’s offseason moves, and I think the Giants will be coach hunting next year. But this is still a decent team and the Giants will knock off the Redskins 17 to 7.
Carolina at Arizona
I blog about the Panthers here and know this team better than any other in the NFL. Carolina has a rookie quarterback in Cam Newton and a rookie coach in Ron Rivera. The short offseason hurt both of them too badly. Arizona wins 24 to 10 and will run wild on a bad run defense for Carolina.
Seattle at San Francisco
The Seahawks just suck and the 49ers are not much better. But when in doubt go with the home team as San Francisco knocks off Seattle by the score of 14 to 3.
Dallas at New York Jets
The Cowboys new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will be taking on his twin brother, Jets Coach Rex Ryan. The Cowboys purged their roster to make the salary cap but I think they may be decent this year. The Jets are old school and win with running on offense and a great defense. This limb won’t be crowded I just went out on; Cowboys upset the Jets 14 to 10.
Monday Night Game Predictions
New England at Miami
Reggie Bush makes his Miami debut and tries to prove he is a feature back. New England brings their best team (on paper anyway) in several years. New England 20, Miami 10.
Oakland at Denver
The Raiders used to own Monday Night Football but not these days. Denver is not a good team but new coach John Fox is solid. I like Denver to win at home 14 to 10.
Thanks for checking out my free week one office football pool picks for the 2011 NFL season. Feel free to heap praise or insults on me in the comments below and check back next week.