It’s been nearly seven months since the Kansas City Chiefs lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas, Nevada. An exciting season was concluded with a nail-biting Super Bowl matchup between the Chiefs and 49ers, which ended with Kansas City defending their title and winning back-to-back Super Bowls.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will attempt to be the first team in NFL history to win back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls, but it won’t be easy in 2024-2025.
The landscape of the NFL has changed a lot in 7 months with new faces in new cities, and the fight to the Super Bowl begins tomorrow. The Baltimore Ravens travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the first game of the year, so before that game kicks off, let’s dive into our NFL Week 1 preview with storylines and a few picks for this weekend’s games.
2024-2025 Storylines
The plethora of offseason moves has created several storylines for this upcoming season. Let’s go over a few of the most important ones.
Is this boom or bust for the 49ers?
Can Brock Purdy continue his unexpected success or will this season be his fall back to reality? The Niners nearly lost Brandon Aiyuk since he was holding out for a bigger contract, but now that he’s back, the 49ers have nearly the same pieces from last season’s Super Bowl run. In other words, there’s no reason San Francisco can’t win the last game of the season and be the one holding the Lombardi Trophy in February. If they don’t succeed, is the season a bust?
The start of a new era in Buffalo?
The Josh Allen-Stefon Diggs era is over in Buffalo. The two used to be one of the best duos in football, but a down year in 2023 combined with Diggs’ struggles was the last straw in Buffalo. Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans, which means Allen no longer has a true WR1 on the team. The Bills did draft Keon Coleman, but is he ready to step into the role of a star receiver in his first season? This season will be a true test of Josh Allen’s ability to win without Diggs.
Is Caleb Williams ready for Week 1?
The #1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was unsurprisingly named the starting quarterback of the Bears before Week 1. It’s the beginning of a new era in Chicago since Justin Fields is gone and the Bears added Keenan Allen to pair with D.J. Moore on offense. Williams will have the tools needed to be successful, but is he ready for the NFL? The former USC quarterback had a controversial end to his college career and had some questioning if he’s truly ready for this challenge. Chicago is ready, the team is ready, but is Williams ready?
NFL Week 1 Picks
Cincinnati Bengals -7.5 over New England Patriots (-110)
Every dynasty has to come to an end. The Patriots terrorized the AFC for two decades in the Tom Brady era, but that dynasty is long gone now. It’s the rock bottom part of the rebuild now for the Patriots, who have very few things to look forward to in 2024. One player that is expected to be the silver lining is first-round pick Drake Maye, but it’s already been announced that Maye will not be the starting quarterback and will instead watch Jacoby Brissett run the offense for the time being.
There are several things to mention at this point. First, Brissett isn’t a star quarterback. He’s a filler for the Patriots who have massive holes in their offense. Secondly, he doesn’t have many playmakers on offense. Rhamondre Stevenson is the lead back and the main focus in the offense that has one of the worst receiving groups in football. Even if Ja’Marr Chase holds out for Week 1, which I don’t expect to happen, the Bengals have a healthy Joe Burrow with a solid offensive group that should be able to score several touchdowns on Sunday.
Houston Texans -2.5 over Indianapolis Colts (-110)
The Texans created one of the most dynamic offenses in football last season. C.J. Stroud was phenomenal in his rookie season and quickly developed elite chemistry with receivers Tank Dell and Nico Collins. Those two receivers blossomed under Stroud and both had career seasons. The offense was already elite at the end of last season, but the Texans decided there were more pieces to add and acquired Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs to create an extremely balanced offensive group. Plus, the Texans also have Dalton Schultz at tight end so Stroud will have plenty of choices when throwing the ball.
On defense, the Texans unit was top 10 in football in the second half of last season. That’s going to make it difficult for the Colts to keep up with, and it’s why I believe the Texans should be able to cover the field-goal spread. Indianapolis has a strong set of players on offense, but I’m still worried about Anthony Richardson’s chemistry with his receivers since he missed so much time in the 2023 season.
Detroit Lions -3.5 over Los Angeles Rams (-110)
The Lions were known for having high-scoring games last year. That’s why it’s not too surprising to see their Week 1 matchup against the Rams have the highest over/under total of any game. There were several reasons for Detroit’s overall success last season, but the majority of them came on offense. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery formed a two-headed monster in the backfield which led to both running backs having fantastic campaigns. And when the Lions opted to put the ball into Jared Goff’s hands, he had Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta downfield.
St. Brown solidified himself as a top-five receiver in football last season and LaPorta had as good of a rookie season as you could ask for. The offense was nearly unstoppable, and the team’s only real flaw was on defense. However, Detroit made a point to strengthen their defensive unit in the offseason. The Lions have a much more balanced team heading into the 2024 season, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them win their Week 1 matchup by a touchdown or more.
