Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Soldier Field will not only host the NFL opener for 2019 but the fierce rivalry between the Bears and Packers this Friday. For Chicago, they come off an impressive 12-4 season and have made very minimal changes to their squad. So they'll be pushing for a Super Bowl title in 2019, led by their elite defence and an underwhelming playoff exit last season at this venue as motivation. Green Bay will be disappointed in their 2018 performance with just 6 wins and it cost Mike McCarthy his job. So they’ll look to overturn a horrible 1-7 road record and a poor defensive unit. Which they did address in the offseason with a few key signings. The key in this Week 1 matchup will likely be on the defensive side of the field. The Bears have a great unit that proved hard to score against at this venue last season. They allowed the fewest points in the NFL and have conceded under 18 points in their last 3 home games. For the Packers, they have a new coach so it will likely take some time to adjust and that should see a low scoring affair here. So the Under total, which is 11-6 at Soldier Field since 2017, looks the best bet.
Stadium Record
Packers are 8-1 at Soldier Field since 2011. Bears went 7-2 at home last season.
Head to Head Record
Packers are 5-1 against the Bears but Chicago was victorious in the last meeting.
Best Bet
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Foxborough will be rocking on Monday morning as the Super Bowl champions unveil another title in this Week 1 affair. On the field, this should be a really tough contest between a pair of AFC rivals. It’s Tom Brady against Big Ben once again in the QB battle. Meanwhile, the Patriots will look to find scoring avenues without Gronk on the field (retired). Their strategy looks to be finding tall receivers for Brady with the likes of Josh Gordon and rookie Jakobi Meyers in line for big seasons. It’s a similar story for Big Ben with Antonio Brown now at the Raiders. Which should see JuJu Smith-Schuster play an even larger role in 2019. Ultimately, it’s incredibly hard to bet against the Patriots at home, especially in a home opener. They went a perfect 9-0 here last season and they’ve enjoyed large wins over the Steelers in the last 3 meetings in Foxborough. So we’ll be looking at a high scoring contest. The Patriots first five home games in 2018 went 4-1 against the 48.5 total and the Over is 3-0 when the Steelers have travelled here since 2013.
Stadium Record
Pittsburgh has lost all of the last 3 meetings at this venue. The Patriots went undefeated at home last season (9-0).
Head to Head Record
The Patriots hold a 6-2 SU record since 2010.
Best Bet
Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints
The Tuesday doubleheader will begin in New Orleans as the Saints take on the Texans. It’s been an interesting preseason for the Texans so this is a tough ask in Week 1 against the 13-3 Saints of last season. They’ve already lost RB Lamar Miller and shipped Jadeveon Clowney to the Seahawks. For the Saints, last year’s disappointing playoff exit should only motivate them to make it to the Super Bowl this time. Drew Brees isn’t getting any younger so he’s running out of time. Not that he’s slowing down in production though. The Saints offence is always the talking point but their defence is a major reason why they’re tipped to feature in Atlanta this February. They were the 2nd best team against the run in 2018 and that bodes well for them against the Texans injury-riddled backfield. So with the Texans owning a very poor 4-13 ATS record in away night games, we have to like the Saints in their home opener to win by over a touchdown.
Stadium Record
In 2011, the Texans travelled to New Orleans and lost 40-33. Saints are 15-3 in their last 18 home games.
Head to Head Record
The two sides have met just twice since 2011 and the home team is 2-0.
Best Bet
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
The Raiders and Broncos aren’t expected to feature in this AFC West divisional race but a Week 1 victory will be a great start. Oakland brought in Antonio Brown from the Steelers but he’s been more a distraction at this point. So after no preseason action with Derek Carr, it’s hard to see them building chemistry straight away. While for the Broncos, they’ve added the experience of Joe Flacco at QB and he’ll look to build a partnership with new head coach Vic Fangio. Ultimately, this really has a feeling of a low scoring and grinding contest between two poor teams on paper. So we’ll be looking for the Under trend to continue. In the Raiders last 12 home games, 9 have gone Unders and it’s also 5-2 when they play Denver at home. For the Broncos, their Under record on the road is 5-0 and 5-0 at any venue.
Stadium Record
Denver holds an 11-5 record at this venue against the Raiders. Oakland is 2-4 in their last 6 home games.
Head to Head Record
The two sides split the season series in 2018. Oakland won 27-14 in the previous meeting.
Best Bet
Other NFL Week 1 Tips
| Game | Venue | Best Bet |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers | Bank of America Stadium | UNDER 50.5 $1.89 |
| Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns | FirstEnergy Stadium | Titans +7.5 $1.62 |
| Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars | TIAA Bank Field | UNDER 52.5 $1.89 |
| Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins | Hard Rock Stadium | Ravens HT/FT $1.61 |
| Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings | U.S. Bank Stadium | UNDER 50.5 $1.60 |
| Buffalo Bills at New York Jets | MetLife Stadium | OVER 38.5 $1.76 |
| Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles | Lincoln Financial Field | Eagles -6.5 $1.60 |
| Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Chargers | Dignity Health Sports Park | UNDER 44.5 $1.92 |
| Cincinnati Bengals at Seattle Seahawks | CenturyLink Field | Bengals +9.5 $1.85 |
| Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals | State Farm Stadium | Cardinals WIN $2.20 |
| New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys | AT&T Stadium | Giants +7.5 $1.80 |
| San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Raymond James Stadium | UNDER 50.5 $1.87 |
