Week 1 of the NFL’s regular season is set to kick off, and multiple favorites are underrated headed into their matchup.
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Below, we’ll dive into three favorites we believe are underrated heading into their Week 1 game.
Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5) vs. Cleveland Browns
Yes, there are question marks about the overall health of Cincinnati Bengals superstar quarterback Joe Burrow. Still, the line is a little too close for our liking here, even if the Cleveland Browns have a hostile home-field environment. The Browns’ defense has the potential to be better than many expect, and they did lay a beat down on Cincinnati early in 2022.
Still, in our eyes, even with some uncertainty surrounding Cincy, they should be at least four-point road favorites in this matchup. Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson looked old and slow in training camp, and it’s hard to be bullish about this group offensively as a result. The Browns can keep this close through three quarters all they want, but we expect the Bengals to pull away in the fourth.
Jacksonville Jaguars (-4.5) vs. Indianapolis Colts
With the Jacksonville Jaguars having a stronger defense and pass rush than they get credit for, along with the superior offense, you can make a strong case that they should be even bigger road favorites in this matchup. Yes, the Jaguars get some points taken from them as the road team, but there are too many question marks surrounding the Indianapolis Colts, specifically on offense.
Rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson is set to make first NFL start, and the Jaguars have the pass rushers to make his life more difficult and force him into turnovers. Overall, we like the potential for Richardson, but we don’t have faith in him standing out in his NFL debut. The Jags have too much talent on both sides of the football and a clear advantage. Don’t be surprised if they come out on top by double-digits on Sunday.
Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5) vs. New England Patriots
We’re well aware of the stats of the losing team that played in the Super Bowl in Week 1. That doesn’t exactly bode well for the Philadelphia Eagles as they visit Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Still, the Eagles are a much more complete football team, and it’s hard to find any advantages for the Patriots in this matchup besides home field.
The Patriots have been known to be a team that loves to take away an opposing team’s best top weapon on offense, but there are too many to do that against the Eagles. This is undoubtedly a fishy line when you factor in the talent discrepancy here, but we’re still very comfortable looking for the Eagles to win this game by a touchdown or more.
All odds courtesy of the FanDuel Sportsbook.
