2012 NFL Predictions: Regular Season Week 1

Last year I published weekly predictions for each game until about halfway through the season when various circumstances kept me from writing about the NFL until the postseason began.

This year I will be keeping up with my blog much more consistently. And with that commitment I have decided to use a different format for my weekly predictions during the Regular Season. I will first list out my picks for each game and then I will pick my Games to Watch. There is no set number and it could change from one week to the next depending on how many games I feel will be exciting and/or close ones.

So let’s get to it. Here are my picks for the first week of the 2012 Regular Season:

Day/Time	Game	Puff’s Pick
Wed., 8:30p	Dallas @ NY Giants	New York Giants
Sun., 1:00p	Indianapolis @ Chicago	Chicago Bears
	Philadelphia @ Cleveland	Philadelphia Eagles
	St. Louis @ Detroit	Detroit Lions
	Miami @ Houston	Houston Texans
	Atlanta @ Kansas City	Atlanta Falcons
	Jacksonville @ Minnesota	Minnesota Vikings
	Washington @ New Orleans	New Orleans Saints
	Buffalo @ NY Jets	Buffalo Bills
	New England @ Tennessee	New England Patriots
Sun., 4:25p	Seattle @ Arizona	Seattle Seahawks
	San Francisco @ Green Bay	Green Bay Packers
	Carolina @ Tampa Bay	Carolina Panthers
Sun., 8:20p	Pittsburgh @ Denver	Pittsburgh Steelers
Mon., 7:00p	Cincinnati @ Baltimore	Baltimore Ravens
Mon., 10:15p	San Diego @ Oakland	San Diego Chargers

Games to Watch (Predicted winners in Bold)

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, 8:30pm – Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

This will be a fun one to watch simply because it’s the first game that matters since the Super Bowl in February. In addition it is an NFC East game and no matter which two teams are matched up these games are almost always exciting, with few exceptions such as a certain Monday Night game a couple seasons ago between the Eagles and Redskins.

This should be a tight one, but last year the Cowboys lost their season opener in New York against a much less talented Jets team. I don’t expect much better against the Giants.

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, 1:00pm – Indianapolis Colts @ Chicago Bears

This one could be a fun one to watch. The Bears defense is not a great group and the Colts could take advantage of that. But I also don’t think the Colts defense is where they’d like to be, and the Bears have a much better offense than Indy does. I’m looking at a 10-point win by the Bears, but I don’t think the Colts will ever be out of contention.

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, 1:00pm – Jacksonville Jaguars @ Minnesota Vikings

If Maurice Jones-Drew were starting this game I would probably second-guess picking the Vikings. But I actually think Minnesota would be a postseason contender this year if it weren’t for them being in the NFC North with the Bears, Lions and Packers. Still, it isn’t like MJD will not play any part in Sunday’s game and he alone has the talent to keep the game close, assuming he is in shape after missing the entire Preseason.

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, 1:00pm – Washington Redskins @ New Orleans Saints

The Saints are down a head coach and an interim head coach, not to mention some key defensive players. This is a game that the Redskins could just as easily win, and I think the spread should be set at less than a touchdown in this game. My biggest concern about the Redskins is their defense. It wasn’t the most consistent unit during the Preseason and Drew Brees can take advantage of every error the defense makes.

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, 1:00pm – Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets

Darrelle Revis. He is the only reason I can come up with why the Jets could possibly win this game. But as much as it often seems like he is, he can’t be everywhere on the field at once. The Bills defense will shut down the Jets offense. The problem is whether the Bills offense will be able to show up the way they did during the first half of the 2011 campaign. I fully expect the Bills to win, but it could be close.

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, 4:25pm – San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers

San Francisco has a great defense. Green Bay has a great offense.

Green Bay has a defense that was a major disappointment last year but should be better this year. San Francisco has an offense that surprised many last year and may not be able to rise to higher 2012 expectations.

There is a lot to be excited about in this matchup. Both teams won their division last year; both teams fell in consecutive weeks to the New York Giants in the 2011 postseason. I have no idea whether this will be close, but it will be the most interesting ‘prevening’ game on Sunday (and yes, I did steal that term from Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory).

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, 8:20pm – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos

This is actually a tougher game to call for me. My main reason for picking the Steelers is that I don’t expect Peyton Manning to be fully in sync with his receivers yet. But Denver has a pretty good defense and, if they can contain a Steelers offense full of explosive potential, Manning and his receivers may not need to be perfectly cohesive.

Tomorrow I will publish my preview for the Season Opener between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Until then, thanks for reading. Enjoy the first week of the Regular Season!