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Once again this season, the Baltimore Beatdown staff will pick the winners for each week’s slate of contests throughout the year. Results will be tracked throughout the year to see who is most accurate with their predictions.
Readers can participate by voting in the polls for each game below. Join in on the fun and chime in with your thoughts on every matchup!
Consensus Winners:
The staff was in agreement on just under half of the 16 games in Week 1:
- Chiefs > Texans (KC -9.5)
- Ravens > Browns (BAL -7.5)
- Patriots > Dolphins (NE -6.5)
- Colts > Jaguars (IND -7.5)
- Bills > Jets (BUF -6.5)
- Steelers > Giants (PIT -5.5)
No upsets here, as the BB team is going chalk with some this weekend’s most heavily-favored teams like the Chiefs, Colts, and Ravens. Perhaps the biggest question is weather or not these teams will cover their point spreads, which are all greater than seven points.
The Dolphins have beaten the Patriots in three of their past five meetings, but none of our writers see “Fitzmagic” topping Bill Belichick and company in Week 1. Same goes for the other AFC East showdown on Sunday, where the Bills were picked to topple the Jets across the board.
The staff also likes the Steelers to handle business against the Giants on Monday night, which will be QB Ben Roethlisberger’s first action since Week 2 of the 2019 season.
Lone Wolf Selections:
These staffers are going against the grain with these picks:
- Adrian likes the Washington Football Team’s chances to upset the Eagles (WSH +6.5)
- Spencer is rolling with the Falcons to upset the Seahawks in Atlanta (ATL +1.5)
- Spencer also likes the Rams over the Cowboys on Sunday night (LAR +3.0)
- Dustin is taking the Broncos to take down the Titans at home (DEN -1.5)
Washington could be a sneaky upset candidate against an Eagles team that is already somewhat depleted by key injuries at wide receiver and on the offensive line, but Adrian is the only writer willing to the roll the dice on them.
Spencer makes an appearance twice in this section, taking a chance on the Falcons and Rams in what could be two high-scoring affairs. Despite being underdogs, both Atlanta and Los Angeles are playing at home in Week 1.
Dustin is the only staff member who picked the Broncos over the Titans. Despite playing at home and being favored by a point-and-a-half, Denver is not a popular selection among the BB team.