The afternoon slate for week 1 of the NFL season consists of nothing but teams with playoff hopes except for the Tennessee Titans. The Broncos, 49ers, Seahawks, Lions and Packers all project to contend for a playoff spot this year. At the very least Titan’s fans will be excited to watch 1st overall pick Cam Ward lead the offense. An exciting afternoon slate gives us a great chance to enjoy more football.
49ers @ Seahawks
Sam Darnold leads the Seahawks following his resurgent season with the Vikings against a healthy-ish 49er squad. Running backs for both teams return from injury plagued season a year ago. When healthy, 49er running back Christian McCaffrey is one of the best in the league and Kenneth Walker is no slouch for the Seahawks. Veteran wideout Cooper Kupp is another new addition to this Seahawks team and he will be relied on heavily with DK Metcalf leaving in the offseason. The 49ers struggled to defend the run a season ago and I expect both teams to move the ball on the ground. Seattle has potential to be a top offense in 2025 if Darnold performs to the same standards as last year and Kupp can return to form. In this game I’m eyeing the over of 41.5 with both offenses being as healthy as they will be all year this week. Check out the player Prop for Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet to get over 29.5 rushing yards. Charbonnet has had to fill in for Walker in the past and if his number is called he’ll more than exceed his total.
Best Bet: Over 41.5
Player Prop: Charbonnet Over 29.5 Rushing Yards (-110)
Lions @ Packers
The Packers who made the biggest splash this offseason with the addition of Micah Parsons will host Jordan Love and division rival Green Bay Packers. While Parsons will be absent this Sunday the Packers possess plenty of playmakers on both sides of the ball. The Lions lost their offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Bears but have no shortage of weapons and Aiden Hutchinson’s is healthy for the defense. I’m eyeing the under in this game with Johnson’s exit playing a key part in regression for Jared Goff and the Lions offense at least to begin the season.
Best Bet: Under 48
Texans @ Rams
Stroud and the Houston Texans take on Stafford and the Rams. The Texans are without star running back Joe Mixon for at least the first 4 games of the season and will rely on veteran Nick Chubb to fill the void. For the Rams, Stafford has dealt with a sore back all offseason and for most of his career so his health is questionable at best. Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson is expected to play after recovering from a knee injury and will be a major addition to an already stout defense. I like the Houston Texans to travel to Los Angeles and win this game outright against a Rams team that won’t have Cooper Kupp opposite of Puka Nacua this year.
Best Bet: Texans ML (+140)
The Bookie of Eli 
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