That "ahhhhhh" you hear riding along with the late summer breeze are the millions of fans saying goodbye to their football withdrawals as they begin to juice up on Week 1 of the NFL.
The 2015 NFL regular season has finally arrived and it all gets underway Thursday night as the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium.
Look for up-to-date stats with league leaders in coming editions of the NFL Quick Pick.
Games To Watch:
Pittsburgh - New England: The Patriots placed center Bryan Stork on injured-reserve/designated for return on Wednesday. Pressuring Tom Brady up the middle is the best way to disrupt the Patriots quarterback. Look for the Steelers to test backup center Ryan Wendell early and often as they try to come up with an effective pass rush.
Indianapolis - Buffalo: The Rex Ryan era in Buffalo begins and the hopes of Bills Nation haven't been this high in years. The Bills field one of the league's top-ranked defenses and will need it with Andrew Luck and the revamped Colts offense coming to town. It's already a statement game for the Bills in Week 1. Many are picking the Colts to go to the Super Bowl and if the Bills can come away with an impressive victory on Sunday it will serve as a message to the rest of the league that things in Buffalo have changed.
Thursday, September 10 | Time (EDT) | TV | Line (Westgte Superbook) |
Steelers vs Patriots | 8:30 PM | NBC | Patriots -7 |
Sunday, September 13 | Time (EDT) | TV | Line (Westgate Superbook) |
Packers - Bears | 1:00 PM | FOX | Packers -7 |
Chiefs - Texans | 1:00 PM | CBS | Texans -1 |
Browns vs Jets | 1:00 PM | CBS | Jets -3 |
Colts - Bills | 1:00 PM | CBS | Colts -2.5 |
Dolphins - Redskins | 1:00 PM | CBS | Dolphins -3.5 |
Panthers - Jaguars | 1:00 PM | FOX | Panthers -3 |
Seahawks vs Rams | 1:00 PM | FOX | Seahawks -4 |
Saints - Cardinals | 4:05 PM | FOX | Cardinals -2.5 |
Lions - Chargers | 4:05 PM | FOX | Chargers -3 |
Titans - Buccaneers | 4:25 PM | CBS | Buccaneers -3 |
Bengals vs Raiders | 4:25 PM | CBS | Bengals -3 |
Ravens - Broncos | 4:25 PM | CBS | Broncos - 4.5 |
Giants - Cowboys | 8:30 PM | NBC | Cowboys 6.5 |
Monday, September 14 | Time (EDT) | TV | Line (Westgate Superbook) |
Eagles - Falcons | 7:10 PM | ESPN | Eagles -3 |
Vikings - 49ers | 10:20 PM | ESPN | Vikings -2.5 |
Just about every game in Week 1 could swing one way or the other, but VAVEL NFL writers bravely step into the frying pan and gaze into our crystal ball to predict the outcomes of every NFL game.
Alberto | Bagay | Barratt | Blakely | Boal | Bowen | Buckley | Connett | |
Pitt - NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | PIT | NE | NE |
GB - CHI | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB |
KC - HOU | KC | KC | HOU | KC | KC | HOU | KC | HOU |
CLE - NYJ | NYJ | CLE | NYJ | NYJ | NYJ | NYJ | NYJ | NYJ |
IND - BUF | IND | IND | IND | BUF | IND | IND | IND | BUF |
MIA - WSH | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA |
CAR - JAX | CAR | JAX | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | JAX | CAR |
SEA - STL | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | STL | SEA | STL |
NO - ARI | NO | ARI | NO | NO | ARI | ARI | ARI | ARI |
DET - SD | SD | SD | DET | SD | SD | DET | SD | DET |
TEN - TB | TEN | TB | TEN | TB | TB | TB | TEN | TB |
CIN - OAK | CIN | OAK | CIN | CIN | CIN | CIN | CIN | CIN |
BAL - DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN | BAL | DEN | DEN | BAL | DEN |
NYG - DAL | DAL | DAL | DAL | NYG | DAL | DAL | NYG | DAL |
PHI - ATL | ATL | ATL | PHI | PHI | PHI | PHI | ATL | PHI |
MIN - SF | MIN | SF | SF | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN |
This Week | 12-4 | 10-6 | 10-6 | 9-7 | 11-5 | 9-7 | 10-6 | 11-5 |
Overall | 12-4 | 10-6 | 10-6 | 9-7 | 11-5 | 9-7 | 10-6 | 11-5 |
Eastern | Graham | Hunsicker | Taylor | Wahlgren | Williams | Zevchik | |
PIT - NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | PIT | NE |
GB - CHI | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB |
KC - HOU | KC | HOU | KC | HOU | KC | KC | KC |
CLE - NYJ | NYJ | NYJ | CLE | NYJ | NYJ | NYJ | NYJ |
IND - BUF | BUF | BUF | IND | IND | IND | IND | IND |
MIA - WSH | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA |
CAR - JAX | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR |
SEA - STL | SEA | SEA | SEA | SEA | STL | SEA | SEA |
NO - ARI | ARI | ARI | ARI | NO | ARI | ARI | NO |
DET - SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | DET | SD |
TEN - TB | TB | TB | TB | TEN | TB | TEN | TB |
CIN - OAK | CIN | CIN | CIN | OAK | CIN | CIN | CIN |
BAL - DEN | DEN | DEN | BAL | DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN |
NYG - DAL | DAL | DAL | DAL | DAL | DAL | DAL | DAL |
PHI - ATL | PHI | PHI | PHI | ATL | PHI | PHI | ATL |
MIN - SF | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN | MIN |
This Week | 12-4 | 11-5 | 9-7 | 10-6 | 12-4 | 10-6 | 11-5 |
Overall | 12-4 | 11-5 | 9-7 | 10-6 | 12-4 | 10-6 | 11-5 |