NFL Week 1 Preview: Several potential upsets on opening weekend

We made it! Football is back. 32 teams start again at 0-0, all gunning to reach the Super Bowl in February and lift the Lombardi!

With such a short regular season, getting off to a good start is vital. Among the highlights of the week 1 schedule are five rivalry games which will be huge in tipping the balance in those respective divisions.

Ahead of the big kick-off, Paddy Power are throwing NFL games the perfect pass – by signing up as a new customer this weekend, you can score £40 in free bets after making your first £5 wager – which must be on something with odds of Evens or better. The NFL is unlike any other sport when it comes to betting – there are so many ways to back your favourite teams and players, from touchdown passes to rushing and receiving yards, or simply betting the spreads or moneylines.

NFL Week 1 quick tips

• Back the Seattle Seahawks to begin their title defence with a win over the New England Patriots – 1/2 with BetMGM
• Take the Green Bay Packers to beat the Minnesota Vikings on the road – Evens with Paddy Power
• Tip the underdog New York Giants to overcome the Dallas Cowboys – 13/10 with bet365

NFL week 1 schedule

Thursday

• Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots (1:20am)

Friday

• Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers (1:35am)

Sunday – 6pm window

• Carolina Panthers vs Chicago Bears
• Cincinnati Bengals vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints
• Houston Texans vs Buffalo Bills
• Indianapolis Colts vs Baltimore Ravens
• Jacksonville Jaguars vs Cleveland Browns
• Pittsburgh Steelers vs Atlanta Falcons
• Tennessee Titans vs New York Jets

Sunday – late window

• Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers (9:25pm)
• Las Vegas Raiders vs Miami Dolphins (9:25pm)
• Los Angeles Chargers vs Arizona Cardinals (9:25pm)
• Philadelphia Eagles vs Washington Commanders (9:25pm)

Monday 

• New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys (1:20am)

Tuesday

• Kansas City Chiefs vs Denver Broncos (1:15am)

Seahawks to take a successful victory lap

As is tradition, the defending champions get the season underway but this time it’ll be on a Wednesday night, not a Thursday (early Thursday morning for us in the UK)! Only twice before, however, has there been a Super Bowl rematch in Week 1 of the following season. In 1970, the Minnesota Vikings avenged their defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers again in 2016 (by a single point). 

The way in which Seattle won the big game back in February, coupled with home field advantage – and one of the most marked home field advantages at that – suggests that the Super Bowl winners will start their defence with a win. 

The “12s” at Lumen Field are known for causing seismic activity – setting a record for decibel levels recorded at an outdoor stadium in the past. Rashid Shaheed’s kick return touchdown during the playoffs last season almost took the roof off once again. Here, they’ll be welcoming their heroes home for the first time since becoming world champions. They’re sure to bring the noise!

This will be especially true when on defence. Seattle sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye six times, and created three turnovers in Santa Clara. During the off-season, New England traded for star receiver A.J. Brown, and added guard Alijah Vera-Tucker to their offensive line – but this is as tough as it gets for a first assignment. 

Back the Seattle Seahawks to defeat the New England Patriots at 1/2 with BetMGM

Pack to score early lead in the NFC North

One of the more high-value underdogs of week 1, for me, are the Green Bay Packers. They make the yearly trip across the Wisconsin/Minnesota border to take on the Vikings at US Bank Stadium, where they have lost on four of their previous five visits – and the one win came against backup quarterbacks Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall.

This time around, they’re set to face an offence run by Kyler Murray, who was signed in free agency on a one-year, veteran minimum deal. Murray is a former number one overall pick but saw his time in Arizona come to an end after he missed most of last season with a foot injury.

The Vikings named him their starter in early August – ahead of J.J. McCarthy, who the franchise drafted two years ago. McCarthy struggled mightily as the starter in 2025, after missing his entire rookie year with an injury. He also ended last season on the sidelines.

In short, I can see Minnesota’s issues on offence continuing even though the Pack will still be without elite pass rusher Micah Parsons. On the other side of the ball, Jordan Love is healthy and so too is his entire group of receivers – running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Tucker Kraft are questionable. They should, however, be able to find a rhythm quicker than their hosts.

Take the underdog Green Bay Packers to win on the road at Evens with Paddy Power

Harbaugh’s Giants to make a statement

The blue half of New York City is set to usher in the John Harbaugh era, hoping that he can be the man to finally haul them out of the NFL basement. The Giants have made the playoffs just once in nine seasons, and that was also the only time they won more than six games during that time. 

The spotlight will be immediately on the Super Bowl winning coach as he makes his sideline debut against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium, in one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL. During those same nine seasons, the Giants have been completely dominated by “America’s Team” – winning just twice in eighteen meetings, with one of those coming in Week 18 of last season (a dead rubber for both). 

The G-Men have also started seasons incredibly poorly in recent years – you have to go back to 2022 for the last time they even scored a touchdown in their opening game. Cowboys fans will fondly remember one of the three curtain-raisers since, where they destroyed them 40-0 to start 2023. 

This time, however, has a different feel to it. The Cowboys defence can be exploited both through the air and on the ground – they gave up 35 passing touchdowns last season (only the New York Jets conceded more) and 24 rushing touchdowns (the joint most in the league) as well as the most passing yards.

Giants QB Jaxson Dart had a promising rookie season, accounting for 24 total touchdowns and he’ll have his running mate – Cam Skattebo – back alongside him. That pair were winning plenty of admirers around the league until the latter’s gruesome injury in late October. 

Expect them to look a lot more prepared for Week 1 under Harbaugh.

Bet on the New York Giants to upset the Dallas Cowboys at 13/10 with bet365

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Elsewhere in week 1 of the NFL

After the official curtain-raiser in Seattle, the Seahawks’ two closest division rivals go head-to-head down under in the first NFL game to take place in Melbourne, Australia! The NFC West was a frenetic three-horse race last season with the Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers all winning 12 or more games. The Rams are the favourites to win the Super Bowl this time, having traded for one of the league’s best defensive players – Myles Garrett. He’ll line up alongside team legend Aaron Donald, who has come out of retirement in the past week.

Houston Texans vs Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers vs Chicago Bears are the two standout games in the 6pm window – both being clashes between two playoff teams of last season. The Texans had one of the best defences in the NFL last season – with Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter combining for 27 sacks – but their offence let them down in the postseason. The Bills have kept falling just short of a Super Bowl appearance in recent years, and will hope a change of head coach and moving stadium will help get them over that hump. 

The Las Vegas Raiders host the Miami Dolphins, which could see Fernando Mendoza make his debut but the Nevada team are yet to announce their starting quarterback. Veteran Kirk Cousins may be given the nod for the first few weeks before the keys are inevitably handed to the first overall pick in this year’s draft.

In the Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs host the Denver Broncos, desperately hoping that Patrick Mahomes will be ready to play. Mahomes’ season ended prematurely after he tore both his ACL and LCL. The visiting Broncos had already ended their hosts’ streak of AFC West division titles, however. Their signal caller, Bo Nix, also ended the season on the treatment table after fracturing his ankle in the playoffs, but he should be good to go here. 

About the author

Nathan Hill

Nathan Hill is an experienced sports writer who obsessively follows football – both the round ball and American kind – as well as range of other sports including F1, basketball, darts and snooker.

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