Lance's Week 1 Predictions
Every week I’ll be putting out my predictions, they will include my winner for each game with a brief explanation, and 1 start and 1 sit for each fantasy football position. Making predictions for week 1 of any season is like entering a dark room that you’ve been in a few times but don’t completely remember where everything is, so you’re likely to bang your toe against a few pieces of furniture. Week 1 this year is like that but with more furniture and the room is the size of a closet and there’s a creepy doll chasing you with a chainsaw. Anyways, I’ll kick this off with my picks:
Kansas City over Houston
Remember last year when Pitt opened at New England and everyone expected Pitt to give them a run, but they were just plain bad and got destroyed? I think Houston is going to do worse than that.
Washington over Philadelphia
Washington’s front seven fuels the Football Team’s opening upset victory over Philly.
Miami over New England
New England’s defense is a major question mark with so many starters gone or opting out. I expect to see the usual early Fitzmagic that we’ve become accustomed to as Miami kicks 2020 off 1-0.
Minnesota over Green Bay
The young pass rush duo of Hunter and Ngakoue wreaks havoc on Rodgers all game long, never giving him a chance to get in a groove.
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Rivers dominates Jacksonville’s swiss cheese defense but he still isn’t able to silence the doubters because it’s Jacksonville’s swiss cheese defense.
Detroit over Chicago
Stafford to Golladay, Stafford to Hockenson, Stafford to Jones, all game long as the Bears offense continues to struggle with Trubisky at the helm.
Las Vegas over Carolina
This will be a coming out party of sorts for the Raiders young pass catchers. They’ll have an easy-ish go of it with the Panthers defense currently in rebuild mode.
Buffalo over NY Jets
I like some of the pieces the Jets have in place, but it won’t be enough offensively to get past this vaunted Bills defense.
Baltimore over Cleveland
As much as I believe the Browns will turn things around this year, I just don’t see them beating the Ravens in Baltimore, especially with the Ravens at full strength.
Seattle over Atlanta
This was the hardest game for me to pick the winner of. I went with Seattle because I feel their defense is better prepared to handle this matchup.
Cincinnati over LA Chargers
Joe Burrow demonstrates why he was the #1 pick by taking advantage of the Derwin James-less Chargers defense.
San Francisco over Arizona
Probably the next hardest game for me to pick a winner in. I like Arizona’s prospects this season and the injuries San Fran has already suffered shouldn’t be understated, but it’s in San Fran and they still have plenty of talent, so I’m going Niners.
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
The Saints have the advantage in time spent together as a unit. Brees has been working with most of his offense for the last several years, the same cannot be said about Tampa’s unit.
Dallas over LA Rams
This one will be a barnburner. I’m thinking 38-35 on the low end. Dallas’ secondary is weak, the Rams defense is limited. I see Dak using every weapon available to get this win.
Pittsburgh over NY Giants
This one won’t even be close. Pittsburgh’s starters will be on the bench before the 4th quarter begins and Jason Garrett will be picking up the pieces of his emotionally broken, young Quarterback.
Denver over Tennessee
The loss of Von Miller will hurt, but I picked Denver because of the firepower they can now unload offensively. This game may end up being higher scoring than most expect, with Denver ultimately getting the W at Mile High.
Fantasy Starts and Sits
QB Start: Philip Rivers at Jacksonville
Rivers behind a solid O-Line is going to be a wonderful thing to watch this year. He should open strong against a talent-poor Jags defense.
QB Sit: Daniel Jones vs Pittsburgh
He’s just starting his second season which should give you pause to begin with (if you aren’t sure why go checkout what Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold did in their second seasons). He’s also going against one of the top defenses in the NFL on primetime.
RB Start: James Conner at NY Giants
Mike Tomlin confirmed that Conner is his bell cow back. Conner will see lots of carries and should have his way with a lackluster Giants defense.
RB Sit: Kenyan Drake at San Francisco
Many are going to be riding Drake who finished last season destroying everything in his path, but I’d be careful. He just got his foot out of a walking boot (minor injury or not) and he’s going against a very good defense.
WR Start: Terry McLaurin vs Philadelphia
Philly snagged Darius Slay in the offseason, but he had a down year last season and is working in a new system. Don’t bench McLaurin because of Slay. Scary Terry will get plenty of targets in a talent deficient receiving corp.
WR Sit: Mike Evans at New Orleans
We just don’t know how Brady is going to look especially with his deep ball. Plus, Evans should draw Marshon Lattimore for most of the game, which will make things even more difficult. If you have another option, go that route, and wait and see how the Brady to Evans connection looks in an actual game.
TE Start: Tyler Higbee vs Dallas
Dallas’ secondary is lacking across the board and the fact that they cut HaHa Clinton-Dix doesn’t instill confidence in me. The Rams passing game should do well in this one and Higbee will be one of the biggest benefactors.
TE Sit: Chris Herndon vs Buffalo
Lots of hype surrounding Herndon coming out of training camp. If you were like me, you grabbed him late. If you are debating about which Tight End to start, don’t pick Herndon. Hype or not, Buffalo’s secondary is one of the best in the NFL.
K Start: Jason Myers at Atlanta
This should be a decently high scoring, close game. Which means both Kickers will (should) get plenty of action.
K Sit: Ka’imi Fairbairn at Kansas City
Like I said above, I think Houston is going to get blown out, which means Fairbairn won’t see many Field Goal opportunities in this one.
Defense Start: Washington vs Philadelphia
I swear I’m not completely off my rocker. Philly’s O-Line is hurting, and Washington’s strength is their front seven. I think the Football Team is going to find themselves in Philadelphia’s backfield early and often in this one.
Defense Sit: Chicago at Detroit
Stafford was on a terror to open last season, then he got hurt. He’s healthy now and I expect him to pick up where he left off, which doesn’t bode well for the Bears defense, especially if their lackluster offense fails to give them longer breaks on the sideline.