NFL Week 1 best bets: Why we like Ravens, Lions and Steelers
Lorenzo Reyes is back for another season of best bets. He explains why he’s taking the Ravens over Bills, Lions over Packers and Steelers over Jets.
Week 1 will feature four prime-time games between Thursday and Monday.The playoff rematch between Buffalo and Baltimore on Sunday night looms as the game of the weekend.One of our experts picked nearly 73% of the games correctly in 2024.
NFL football is officially back. Finally.
Since the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl 59 in February, a full 207 days have passed ahead of their 2025 regular-season kickoff opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. In between? There was a draft, free agency, Micah Parsons got traded from the Cowboys, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got engaged, Nike rolled out some slick new uniforms … but no legit NFL football.
But now our cups runneth over. Following Eagles-Cowboys, the Week 1 smorgasbord rolls onward Friday night, when Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs face the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, and Swift will reportedly be in attendance at Corinthians Arena.
Sunday’s 13-game stack kicks off with Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers’ return to “JetLife” Stadium and ends with a playoff rematch between former MVP Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens and reigning MVP Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills.
Week 1 ends Monday night in Chicago, where the new-look Bears will host the Minnesota Vikings in QB J.J. McCarthy’s first regular-season start.
Can’t. Wait.
(But to tide you over in the interim, Week 1 picks from USA TODAY Sports’ panel of NFL experts.)
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