Though it is not a feature game in terms of television this should be one of the better contests of the opening week. Cincinnati enters the season on the hunt for a third straight visit to the postseason while Chicago is looking to quickly erase last year’s second half collapse.
Its week 1 and these familiar opponents are ready to do battle even if there are a lot of unfamiliar faces on both sides of the ball for both teams.
The 2013 NFL regular season gets underway this week which presents the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a few bad lines with a two-team parlay that can add an instant boost to the bankroll.
Here are my top two plays for Week 1 in the NFL based on lines provided by [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′] .
Pointspread: Chicago -3
Total Line: 41.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
For the past two seasons Cincinnati continued to live in the shadows of Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the AFC North, but still managed to work its way into the playoffs as a wildcard team.
The tide is about to change in this division as the Bengals are more than ready to ascend to the top of the heap against a couple of former heavyweights that are starting to show their age.
Chicago went 10-6 last season but still decided to make a change at the top by naming offensive guru Marc Trestman as its new head coach. It is a bold gamble considering that most of his success as a coach came north of the border in the CFL.
The thought here is that Trestman will be able to get the most out of quarterback Jay Cutler through an offensive scheme that finally fits his skill set.
The big question for the Bears is how their defense will react to the loss of long-time leader Brian Urlacher.
The Bengals are built to win right out of the gate with the likes of Andy Dalton throwing the ball to AJ Green complementing a defense that was ranked sixth In the NFL last year.
It could take the Bears a couple of weeks to come together on both sides of the ball making this a perfect opportunity jump all over a road underdog that wins the game straight-up. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Pointspread: Washington -3
Total Line: 51.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
There has been a changing of the guard in Philadelphia as well with Chip Kelly taking over for Andy Reid as head coach. Much has been made about Kelly bringing his fast-paced, up tempo style of play from the collegiate level to the pros.
The one thing in his favor in this season opener is the element of surprise as nobody knows what to expect on Monday night.
Robert Griffin III burst onto the scene as a rookie last season to lead Washington to its first playoff appearance since 2007 with his electrifying play both throwing and running the ball.
This past offseason all the talk has centered on his ability to come back from major knee surgery and from all indications he is ready to pick up where he left off under the prime time lights of Monday Night Football.
The one thing to expect from this classic NFC East showdown is the ability for both teams to put points on the board.
The Eagles are still loaded with playmakers on offense with a healthy LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson leading the way and RG III will come up with his fair share of big plays against a very porous Philadelphia defense.
All this adds up to a gift on the OVER play in this game to round-out the back-end of this parlay.
The St. Louis Rams will look to turn things around after going 7-8-1 in their first campaign under head coach Jeff Fisher last year, with a win over NFC West Division visiting rival, the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.
The San Francisco 49ers will have one goal this season — to get back to the Super bowl. And the journey begins this Sunday with a matchup against a Green Bay Packers team whose playoff run ended earlier than expected last season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans are set to kick off on Sunday in the Steel City as they open their 2013 NFL football seasons.
The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have alternated winning the NFC South in each of the last four seasons. If that trend continues, this will be the Saints’ year, and winning their opener against the Falcons will go a long way in accomplishing that feat.
After enduring Tebow-mania last year, it didn’t seem like the New York Jets’ quarterback situation could get any crazier, but the competition between Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith has taken on a life of its own, and the Jets appear destined for another season mired in a quarterback controversy.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs finished with identical 2-14 records last season, but don’t let that fool you – there is a wide talent gap between these two teams.
The Indianapolis Colts surprised the NFL by compiling an 11-5 record a year ago, feasting on a soft schedule to do so. They’ll face one of the NFL’s easiest schedules again this year, getting things started in Week 1 with a matchup against an Oakland Raiders team that has had a dreadful preseason.
The 2013 NFL season is finally upon us – it seems like years since we saw the Ravens hoist the Vice Lombardi Trophy! There are some definite favorites to play for the Super Bowl this year and some obvious doormats yet again.
These two teams met last year in the playoffs, a game famously won by the Ravens on their way to winning the Super Bowl last season. Less than a year later there will be a lot of new faces on the field when they kick off the NFL season on Thursday Night.
Welcome to the ACC Pittsburgh. One of the conference’s newcomers wastes no time getting started with a conference game and they couldn’t have asked for a for challenging opponent even though there are some questions about just how good this Florida State really is.
A long offseason for the Texas A&M Aggies finally comes to an end. While they’ll have to play the first 30-minutes of this contest without star quarterback Johnny Manziel, the Aggies will surely be happy to finally get an opportunity to do their talking on the football field.
An undefeated season in 2012 has placed high expectations on this year’s Buckeyes squad, but with the pressure now on them the team will be hard-pressed to repeat their feat from a year ago.
Texas head coach Mack Brown thinks the Longhorns can go undefeated. They won’t have any trouble getting off to a 1-0 start against a bad New Mexico State team.
