Andrew Ortenberg
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We’ve reached an important milestone in the 2022 NFL season. The league officially released the schedule for all 32 teams on Thursday night, meaning all the guesswork is over. We now know when all the big rivalry matchups and highly anticipated showdowns will be taking place. Oddsmakers opened the floodgates immediately by posting Week 1 betting lines, and that’s what we’ll be taking a look at here.
Let’s dive into the odds for all 16 matchups in Week 1, with odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook:
Bills -1 at Rams
The 2022 NFL season will kick off with the Rams hosting the Bills on Thursday Night Football. Oddsmakers have this one as virtually a toss-up, so it should be a good one. Josh Allen and Buffalo’s explosive offense against the defending Super Bowl champions, what more could we ask for?
Steelers at Bengals -6
The Super Bowl runners-up are also at home in Week 1, and the Bengals are favorites of nearly a touchdown over their bitter AFC North rival. Just a couple of years ago that would’ve been unthinkable.
Eagles -4.5 at Lions
I have to say, there’s something appealing about getting Detroit coach Dan Campbell as a significant underdog in a home opener. You know his guys are going to come out on fire.
Colts -7.5 at Texans
The Colts collapsed at the end of last year and changed quarterbacks yet again this offseason, but they’re still a multi-score favorite on the road. Will the Matt Ryan era in Indy start with a bang?
Saints -4 at Falcons
Yet another division rivalry matchup in the first week of the season. The Falcons just shipped out Ryan and appear to be very much in a rebuild. Dennis Allen will be a significant road favorite in his first game as head coach of the Saints, which isn’t something you see too often.
Ravens -5.5 at Jets
The Ravens are coming off a very disappointing season, but that doesn’t mean expectations aren’t high for 2022. Expectations are much lower for the second year of the Zach Wilson experiment in New York.
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Patriots at Dolphins -2.5
The new-look Dolphins are a favorite over the Patriots, which isn’t something they’ve been able to say often over the past couple of decades. I can’t wait to see what Tyreek Hill looks like in Miami, and it’s perfect that his first game is against a Bill Belichick defense.
Browns -4 at Panthers
There’s still some uncertainty over the status of Deshaun Watson, but nevertheless the Browns are a comfortable road favorite over Carolina. If Watson were to get suspended, you can expect this line to drop considerably.
49ers -6.5 at Bears
Everyone knows Chicago is a disaster, so this number isn’t too surprising even if the 49ers don’t seem to be in love with the progress second-year quarterback Trey Lance has made.
Jaguars at Commanders -4
Will Washington win their first game as the Commanders? They’re expected to. The Commanders have plenty of question marks entering their inaugural season, but after how bad the Jags were last year they weren’t going to be a favorite against just about anybody.
Raiders at Chargers -4
It’s only right that these teams would play in Week 1 after the way they left things off in Week 17 of last year. That game was an all-time classic, and this one should be plenty entertaining as well as Josh McDaniels prepares to take the reins in Las Vegas.
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Giants at Titans -6.5
The Titans just traded AJ Brown and they signaled they aren’t too confident in QB Ryan Tannehill by drafting Malik Willis, but they’re still heavy favorites over the Giants. That tells you what the market thinks of the G-Men.
Chiefs -3 at Cardinals
Patrick Mahomes vs Kyler Murray in one of the best games on the Week 1 slate. It’s going to be very interesting to see how Murray starts the new season after all the drama surrounding him the past few months.
Packers -1.5 at Vikings
Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have Davante Adams at his disposal anymore, but he’s still capable of being a road favorite over the Vikings. Let’s see if Kirk Cousins has anything to say about that.
Buccaneers -2.5 at Cowboys
Tom Brady’s first game post-retirement. What a special occasion. It’s also the first game for Todd Bowles as head coach of the Bucs, and it’s a tough one. Dallas has to be feeling pretty disrespected to be a home underdog in Week 1 after easily winning the NFC East last season. I lean toward taking the Cowboys and the points here.
Broncos -4.5 at Seahawks
The Week 1 slate will wrap up with Monday Night Football. One can only wonder how Russell Wilson feels about the NFL schedule-makers having him return to Seattle for his very first game as a Bronco.
Pickswise is the home of free expert NFL Picks and NFL Odds. Be sure to check out all of our season previews and NFL Futures Bets leading up to the 2022 NFL season.
