Who You Got?! Week One

And so starts another new series, Who You Got?! This series will be every Thursday before kickoff and will basically give you an idea of how each game of the week will go down. I refuse to do final score projections because a) it is impossible to predict a majority of the time and b) it's silly. The teams I project to win will be in bold. Along with my prediction of the winner of every game, I give a brief look at why I am picking each team to win. That's about all the explanation this needs. Let's get started (p.s. I obviously hate your team if I pick them to lose).

Thursday Night Football (5:30 pm AZ time):

Carolina Panthers @ Denver Broncos

A Super Bowl 50 rematch to open the regular season?! How kind of you, NFL. This game will be intense and I wish I could watch it live (stupid education getting in the way). Regardless, I’ll pay plenty of attention to what happens and how everyone played. For my money, the Panthers should be pretty pissed off going into this game. The Broncos lost some key contributors on defense and count me in as a non-believer in Trevor Siemian. Panthers will walk in and should win a close game.

Sunday Morning Football (10:00 am AZ time):

Oakland Raiders @ New Orleans Saints

The Raiders are a hot, young team on the rise and the Saints are an older team that looks to be regressing. The Saints defense should also be one of the worst, if not the worst, the NFL will see this season. The Raiders offense, featuring Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, should put up points with ease. While the Saints should be able to put up points, their defense will get them into a shootout. Quite frankly, I don’t believe the Saints offense can muster more than 20 points against this Raiders defense.

Cleveland Browns @ Philadelphia Eagles

The Browns are bad. Bad enough that an Eagles team featuring rookie Carson Wentz at quarterback should walk in and win a game that may look close on the box score but won’t be in reality. Ryan Mathews has to love this match-up against a mediocre Browns run defense. The Browns defense in general should be bad. If RGIII can return to his rookie season form, this game could go to the Browns. I’m just not a believer.

Minnesota Vikings @ Tennessee Titans

If Teddy Bridgewater was playing quarterback for the Vikings, I would take them in a heartbeat. This game, however, I lean towards a young and talented Titans team. The Vikings just simply won’t have the chemistry at quarterback no matter if Shaun Hill or Sam Bradford is the starter. The Vikings defense will have to win this game, but unless they can score two touchdowns and get a couple field goals, I don’t think the Vikings can take the beating of the Titans power run game right now. They certainly aren’t helped by the fact they are on the road in Tennessee.

San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs were the hottest team in the NFL last season, winning 11 straight games before losing to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Chargers are coming off a four-win season and will be without their number one pick Joey Bosa. Keenan Allen is back, so that’s good news. But Rivers, behind a porous offensive line, will be under duress all day long. Meanwhile, the Chiefs will be without Jamaal Charles. Spencer Ware will likely get the start, but the Chiefs will through mistake free football led by Alex Smith.

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets

I so badly want to pick the Bengals in this game. But without Tyler Eifert and with an inconsistent ground game, the Bengals might lose a shootout. I am banking on the Jets offense to pick up where the left off last season, but A.J. Green could have fits going up against Darrelle Revis. On the other side of things, the Jets wide receivers (Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker) should have a field day against an average secondary that lost interceptions leader Reggie Nelson this offseason. A stout defensive front seven led by Muhammad Wilkerson will help the Jets turn the Bengals into a one-dimensional offense.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons

The Buccaneers a young team with a bright future. I don’t think they are playoff bound just yet, but this is a great opportunity to show the world who they are this season. The Falcons have a great offense matched with a below average defense. The Falcons should struggle to get any pressure on Winston as he fires bombs to Mike Evans (provided he catches them). All the Buccaneers need to do is slow down Julio Jones… good luck with that. Even in a hostile environment, I think the Bucs have a better defense that wins them the game in the long run.

Buffalo Bills @ Baltimore Ravens

OH NO, I TOOK THE RAVENS. I AM SUCH A HOMER! Hold up one second and let me explain before you attack me. Of course the fan in me will take the Ravens every week, but I am objective and not afraid to say what needs to be said. Therefore, the Bills are playing without their top two draft choices due to injury. The Ravens will roll out a unit that is completely healthy and stable thanks to Mark Trestman returning as the offensive coordinator. Both defenses are young with talented play makers, and the Ravens should have trouble with Sammy Watkins. In the end, the Ravens speed at receiver and dynamic backfield prove too much for the Bills defense that struggled to rush the passer last year.

Chicago Bears @ Houston Texans

The Bears will be a very fun team to watch this season, as they could either be 9-7 or 6-10. The defense appears to be much improved and could wind up a nice sleeper for this season. The offense has Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White at wide receiver, two big bodied, big play targets for Jay Cutler. The Texans have a J.J. Watt… oops. The Texans defense will harass Cutler all day long and bait Cutler into some bad interceptions. The Texans new and improved offense needs some time to gel, but some extra possessions courtesy of the defense will help with that problem.

Green Bay Packers @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Oh man, I want to take the Jaguars so badly… I just can’t bring myself to do it just yet. Aaron Rodgers gets Jordy Nelson and an in-shape Eddie Lacy back. Against a young Jaguars defense, these vets should move the ball well. Rodgers will take a few sacks, but it won’t be enough to stop him. The Jaguars offense should be able to keep themselves in the game for a while before a costly turnover proves to be the biggest difference maker. This is the Jags season! I can feel it! Just not this week…

Sunday Afternoon Football (1:05 and 1:25 pm AZ time):

Miami Dolphins @ Seattle Seahawks

I don’t have much to say about this game at all. Brand new head coach in Miami travels to face the 12^th man and one of the best teams in the NFL. Ryan Tannehill struggles. Russell Wilson throws darts while running for his life. The Seahawks win by at least two possessions.

Detroit Lions @ Indianapolis Colts

I may be alone in believing in the Lions to be a decent team this season, but Andrew Luck is back. With Luck back, the Colt’s offense could be hard to stop, against the pass at least. Ziggy Ansah will live in the Colt’s backfield, but it won’t be enough to stop T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief’s after the catch abilities. Not to mention, we have to see how the Lions handle life after Calvin Johnson. The Lions do have some nice options at receiver, but now we will truly see just how important Megatron was to this offense.

New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott was electric in the preseason. Now let’s see how he handles first team defenses that will run complicated blitzes and zones. I think Dak will struggle in his first game while the Giants offense can’t be stopped against this terrible Dallas defense. The Cowboys will have to manufacture a pass rush, thanks to suspensions to pass rushers Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence, and that will lead to some big plays by the Giants offense. Oh, and I didn’t even mention Odell Beckham, did I? even in Jerry’s World, the Giants should come out on top with a crucial division win.

Sunday Night Football (5:30 pm AZ time):

New England Patriots @ Arizona Cardinals

Oh man, I can’t wait for this game. Put this down as my game of the week, because this will be a classic smash mouth football game. Two Super Bowl contenders go head to head after both teams lost in their respective conference championship back in January. For what it’s worth, I would take the Cardinals even if Tom Brady were playing. But take Brady out of the equation and throw in Jimmy Garoppolo behind a bad offensive line and this could get ugly. I think the Pats keep it close, but I take the Cardinals with ease.

Monday Night Football (4:10 and 7:20 pm AZ time):

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Washington:

This Steelers offense will be high flying, even without Martavis Bryant. I believe in Josh Norman this year, but Antonio Brown will definitely get his dues. This Washington offense could end up being one of the better units in the NFL if Kirk Cousins can pick up where he left off and the team can get some semblance of a run game going. Both teams will feature average at best secondaries with great front sevens. The Steelers just have better talent offensively than Washington, and win in a shootout.

Los Angeles Rams @ San Francisco 49ers:

The 49ers are bad. They will lose a lot of games this year. I promise. The Rams have a great defense and Todd Gurley to power the offense. The 49ers have Torrey Smith and not much else offensively. This will likely be a lopsided game. Give me LA by two possessions. Sorry, San Fran… it’s gonna be a long season…

Richard Bradshaw is available to follow on Twitter @RichieBradz36. Thank you for the read.