NFL 2025 Week 1 Prequel
By the grace of God, the agony known as the offseason is over. Professional football is back. 272 regular season games are in front of us.
To quote Peyton Manning, “God bless football.”
With that, here is the NFL 2025 Week 1 Prequel, with point spreads provided by CBS Sports and all times Eastern.
Thursday, September 4, 2025, 8pm
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (-8 1/2) — The Eagles are the defending champions. The Cowboys are perpetual underachievers, but this year seems worse. They have a new coach in Brian Schottenheimer and they traded away disgruntled defensive standout Micah Parsons. The spread is very high, but go with the emotions and the home crowd. Eagles cover
Friday, September 5, 8pm
Kansas City Chiefs (-3) at Los Angeles Chargers — The Chiefs have won the AFC West 8 straight years but their quest for NFL immortality and 3 straight Super Bowls saw them get blown out to close out last season. The Chargers never meet expectations, but Jim Harbaugh knows how to win football games. As great as Justin Herbert is, the Chiefs are going to be angry bunch. Until the trend changes, go with the team that has dominated this rivalry in recent years. Patrick Mahomes has not forgotten to throw a football, and there is no home field advantage in Los Angeles. Chiefs cover
Sunday, September 7, 1pm
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (-1) — Neither of these teams has a quarterback who can stay healthy. Tua Tagovailoa is one concussion away from involuntary retirement. Anthony Richardson was injured so often in his first two seasons that the Colts actually benched him to start the season. His replacement is Daniel Jones, who was a bust with the Giants. Neither of these teams is going anywhere, but Jones can be counted on to turn the ball over. When healthy, Tagovailoa can sling it. Tyreek Hill is still fast. The Colts defense is nothing special. Upset special, Dolphins win outright
Pittsburgh Steelers (-2 1/2) at New York Jets — Aaron Rodgers failed with the Jets, but so did Brett Favre and every other quarterback since Joe Namath. Now Rodgers goes against the team that got rid of him. Aaron Glenn will turn the Jets around. He is a Bill Parcells disciple. The Jets will no longer be a cakewalk win for opponents. Yet right now go with the experience of Mike Tomlin and the better team on paper even before Rodgers shows up. Steelers cover
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars (-3 1/2) —Trevor Lawrence and Bryce Young are both top overall picks with plenty to prove. The Jaguars have a new coach. In the battle of teams that joined the NFL in 1995 and reached the Conference Title Game in 1996, there is not much to like on either side of the ball. Home field does not matter. Go with Lawrence over Young. Jaguars win but fail to cover
Arizona Cardinals (-6 1/2) at New Orleans Saints — Kellen Moore just won a Super Bowl ring as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator. Now he takes over a Saints team that went from quarterback stability to a mess at the position. Yet it’s hard to trust a Cardinals team that has done very little since their inception in 1899. The spread is way too high for a road team that has question marks of their own. Normally the Saints quarterback can hand the ball off to Alvin Kamara, but now he is disgruntled. Cardinals win but fail to cover
New York Giants at Washington Commanders (-6) — Time will tell if Jaxson Dart will be the answer for the Giants at quarterback. Yet Jaydon Daniels as a rookie took the Commanders to the NFC Title Game. Do not expect a sophomore slump. This game is a mismatch. Biran Daboll may be the first coach fired in 2025. Dan Quinn has a team talented enough to bring a Super Bowl championship to the Nation’s Capitol for the first time in nearly 25 years. Commanders cover
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2 1/2) at Atlanta Falcons — The Buccaneers finally have stability at the quarterback position as Baker Mayfield is entrenched. The Falcons jettisoned Kirk Cousins and handed the keys to young Michael Penix. The Buccaneers are nothing special, and Todd Bowles has shown no evidence that he can get the Pewter Pirates to the next level. Yet the Falcons have shown no ability to get to any level that involves the playoffs. Go with the experienced team. Buccaneer cover
Cincinnati Bengals (-5 1/2) at Cleveland Browns — The Battle of Ohio comes down to a pair of Joes. With a healthy Joe Burrow, the Bengals are elite. With him injured last year, they were toast. As for the Browns, a very old Joe Flacco won the starting job over others including Deion Sanders’s kid. The spread is a little high for a road team, but can Flacco be trusted to not turn the ball over? Go with a healthy Burrow, but not in a blowout. Bengals win but fail to cover
Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots (-2 1/2) — Something crazy always seems to happen when these teams play, from the infamous Tuck Rule to Chandler Jones’s game winning interception return. Now Tom Brady is with the Raiders as a minority owner. Forget that both teams were terrible last year. Coaches Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel will bring a culture change to these franchises in the form of toughness, especially on defense. Geno Smith is competent but not a superstar, and Drake Maye can play. In a close game with weather not a factor, everything hinges on whether rookie running back Ashton Jeanty can be the next Josh Jacobs. If Jeanty can play, the Raiders can pound the ball. Upset special, Raiders win outright
4pm
San Francisco 49ers (-2 1/2) at Seattle Seahawks — The 49ers fell from elite status last year under a wave of injuries, but they are still loaded from a talent standpoint. The Seahawks are still trying to find their identity. Brock Purdy is healthy, and he still has too many weapons for the Seahawks to stop. 49ers cover
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos (-7 1/2) — The Broncos have their stud coach in Sean Payton and their stud quarterback in Bo nIX. They made the playoffs last year and have the talent to make a deep playoff run. The Titans were the worst team in the NFL last year. The Cam Ward era begins under tough circumstances. Expect the Broncos defense to tee off on the young rookie early and often. Broncos cover
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers (-2 1/2) — After 30 years of being dominated at Green Bay, the Lions hit the Packers in the mouth the last two years. The Lions; Super Bowl dreams went up in smoke last year under a hail of devastating injuries to the defense. Yet coming off a 15-2 season, the Lions are as hungry as ever. Dan Campbell lost both his offensive and defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs. The Packers got a major boost with the addition of Micah Parsons. Yet the Lions will have a healthy and very emotional Aidan Hutchinson with a ton to prove. This one could go either way. Go with the Packers only because it may take the new Lions coaching staff time to gel. Packers cover
Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams (-3) — CJ Stroud is entering his prime while Matthew Stafford is in the twilight of his stellar career. Yet Stafford can still play, and Sean McVay remains an offensive wizard. DeMeco Ryans brings the defense, making for a quality chess match. This is one of those games where trusting and giving the benefit of the doubt to McVay year in and yard out is the right move. Rams cover
8pm
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills (-1) — One dropped pass by all star receiver Mark Andrews had the Bills in the AFC Title Game and the Ravens out of it. These teams are as evenly matched as possible. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are both superstars who have yet to get past Kansas City and win the big one. John Harbaugh and Sean McDermott are consistent winners year in and year out. This is one game where it comes down to a tie on all angles. he revenge motive is powerful, but so are the Buffalo faithful.Take the home field. Bills cover
Monday, September 8, 8pm
Minnesota Vikings (-1 1/2) at Chicago Bears — Forget that the Vikings won 14 games last year. They traded away Sam Darnold and are giving JJ McCarthy the keys to the kingdom. This is a big gamble, given that he missed his entire rookie season with an injury. The Bears seem to have finally found their quarterback answer in Caleb Williams. The Bears have a rookie head coach in Ben Johnson, but he helped fuel a rocket ship offense in Detroit last year as offensive coordinator. It’s hard to be against a Vikings team that was so good last year, but trust the rookie head coach more than the de facto rookie quarterback, especially at home on Monday Night Football to start the season. Upset special, bears win outright