The NFL’s Week 1 schedule is packed with high-profile matchups, including four games between teams that made the playoffs last season and three games between division rivals. The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers are both looking to take a step forward in a crowded NFC South. The teams meet in the season opener, with the Saints listed as 4.5x home favorites in the latest Week 1 NFL odds, the largest NFL spread this week.
Bryce Young struggled as a rookie, but the Panthers have added depth to their roster overall. Can they pull off an upset in Week 1 in the NFL? These are questions you’ll want to know the answers to before finalizing your Week 1 NFL score predictions. Before making any Week 1 NFL predictions, be sure to check out SportsLine expert Eric Cohen’s accurate score predictions.
Cohen, SportsLine’s NFL expert and host of Friday’s NFL Prop Show on SportsLine’s YouTube page, will be rating every NFL game in Week 1 and providing score predictions and analysis for each matchup. Cohen earned profits for bettors last season with his NFL predictions, going 39-28. Cohen’s accurate score predictions were a hit on social media last year, and he also got the right score in the playoffs, when Kansas City upset Buffalo, 27-24, in the AFC Divisional Round. Anyone who followed Cohen’s NFL predictions has earned a profit. Cohen’s accurate NFL score predictions for Week 1 can only be found on SportsLine.
NFL Week 1 Top Picks
Cohen, who watched all 16 games in the NFL’s opening weekend, highly recommends the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans 29-26 as one of the biggest upsets at home in Week 1. The Texans were one of the NFL’s biggest surprises last season, rising from last to first in the AFC South and improving from 3-13-1 in Lovie Smith’s final season to 10-7 under DeMeco Ryans. The offense, in particular, was a surprise, with CJ Stroud winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and lifting Houston from 30th to 13th in scoring.
But there were concerns down the stretch. Houston failed to produce more than 356 scrimmage yards in its final nine games, including the postseason, proving that progression in the NFL isn’t always linear. Meanwhile, the Colts return Anthony Richardson, who played a key role in last season’s 31-20 road win over the Texans. Cohen sees Richardson as a difference-maker here and expects the Colts to compete for a division title as soon as 2024. Check out his other Week 1 football score predictions at SportsLine.
How to make Week 1 NFL score predictions
Additionally, Cohen expects the AFC championship favorite to crush their Week 1 opponent by at least three touchdowns, and predicting this outcome will be key to winning NFL games in Week 1, only at SportsLine.
Who will win each NFL Week 1 game, and which AFC teams will dominate their opponents? Visit SportsLine now to get NFL Week 1 score predictions from NFL expert Eric Cohen, who finished 39-28 last season.