The NFL released its schedule last night to much fanfare. Teams were specifically anxious to see how many primetime games they had and also back-to-back road games.
Shortly after the games were announced, online sportsbook like the Winning Poker Network Sportsbooks put out odds for all 16 Week 1 games.
We will likely preview all the Week 1 contests individually at some point, but for now, here’s a couple that caught our eye.
Houston Texans (+9.5) at Kansas City Chiefs
This is the Thursday night opener on September 10th and a rematch of the Divisional Playoff round last year. The Chiefs fell behind 24-0 in that contest but stormed all the way back for a 51-31 victory. It was one of the greatest comebacks in league history.
Kansas City, of course, went on the win the Super Bowl, beating San Francisco. The teams is also the favorite to repeat this year at +495 odds. The Texans have had a tumultuous offseason with the trade of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. They’re not even the favorite to win the AFC South Division (+425), with Indianapolis (+118) and Tennessee (+138) both in front.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+5.5) at New Orleans Saints
This game would not have been nearly as interesting a year ago. Of course, that’s when Jameis Winston was still playing quarterback for the Bucs and not 6-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady. Brady has even brought his former tight end Rob Gronkowski to Florida with him and team expectations are through the roof.
New Orleans is a decent-sized favorite in this home opener and are also the favorite over Tampa Bay in the NFC South odds. The Saints are -123 and the Bucs +144. I think Drew Brees and company come out strong in this game, starting a Super Bowl run in what is expected to be Brees’ final NFL season.
