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Forget Christmas, forget birthdays, forget all the imposters which lay claim to the “most wonderful time of the year”.
For sports fans, it’s upon us: The start of another NFL season, in which all 32 teams have hope of making it to (and winning) the Super Bowl as they all have identical 0-0 records (Though we all know you can eliminate 10-12 of those teams right off the bat as being realistic Super Bowl contenders, looking at you Jacksonville, Houston, Cleveland, Detroit…)
Here at Couch Rider Report, we’ve got many different teams that we root for, but have an equally strong passion for prognosticating. So grab a cold one, and read our 2014 NFL Week 1 Preview.
And feel free to tell us that we’re wrong. We get that a lot.
(All times are EST)
Game of the Week:
Green Bay Packers @ Seattle Seahawks (Thursday Night, 8:30 PM)
The Seahawks are coming off their first Super Bowl title, and well, the emphasis on illegal contact and holding in the secondary didn’t faze them much (of the starting CB and S tandem, 0 flags in the preseason). The Packers slipped into the playoffs at the very end only to get trounced for a 2nd consecutive year by the 49ers.
Seattle now possesses the best home field advantage in the NFL and it’s really hard to see how the Packers, even with Aaron Rodgers, can stop them, especially with their injuries on defense, BJ Raji in particular.
Still, this figures to be a back-and-forth game. Look for a late Russell Wilson to Percy Harvin score to be the difference in the game.
SEA 27, GB 21
Yet another great matchup:
Indianapolis Colts @ Denver Broncos (Sunday Night, 8:30 PM)
The Colts have rode Andrew Luck’s arm to considerable success in the past 2 seasons, but with a suspect Offensive-line and running game, he’d better be every bit the part for the Colts to win the AFC South again.
As for the Broncos, the last time we saw them they were getting steamrolled by the “Legion of Boom” in the Super Bowl 43-8. Having 6 months to stew on that loss, look for Peyton Manning to take it out on an average Colts’ defense at home.
DEN 37, IND 27
The “Race for the #1 pick” Game of Week 1
Oakland Raiders @ NY Jets, Sunday 1 PM
Desperation has already set in for fans in the Black Hole, as after the Raiders traded (for heaven knows what reason, maybe Al Davis‘ soul is STILL lives in those offices) for Matt Schaub and drafted David Carr to be the pupil, well one hurt elbow later and now Carr is the starting QB for the Raiders in Week 1.
They go into face a Jets team who decided, in their infinite wisdom, to keep only FOUR Defensive Backs even though the NFL, you know, is a PASSING league. Oh, and they have Geno Smith and Michael Vick as their QB’s, and Chris Johnson (AKA CJ 1.1K), who last I checked hasn’t gotten 2000 yards in TWO seasons combined, let alone the one he proclaimed he would.
All in all, only die-hard fans of this team could enjoy watching what promises to be a turnover, FG fest. But hey, someone has to win…
NY Jets 13, Oakland 10
And here’s all the rest…
PIT 24, CLE 18
NO 37, ATL 23
MIN 20, STL 17
PHI 45, JAC 24
BAL 20, CIN 17
CHI 30, BUF 13
WSH 24 HOU 16
KC 31, TEN 14
NE 34 MIA 24
TB 20 CAR 17
SF 45 DAL 35
DET 31 NYG 10
SD 35 ARI 31
Joe Cummings is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow him on twitter. Follow Couch Rider Report on twitter or Facebook.
