NFC Week 1 Predictions

Top Three NFC Matchups – Week 1

The 2010 NFL season kicks off this Thursday night when Minnesota travels to New Orleans to play the Saints in a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship game. The Saints went on to not just win that game, but to win it all by beating Indianapolis 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. While every team in the NFC is in action the weekend, there are a couple of matchups that are a bit more intriguing than the rest.

Here is a look at my top three matchups in the NFC for Week 1 on the NFL regular season.

Thursday Sept. 9       8:30 p.m. (ET)

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Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints (-5)             ‘Over/Under’ 48

Last season these were clearly the top two teams in the conference as they combined for 25 victories against only seven defeats. New Orleans earned the No.1 seed and hosted No.2 seed Minnesota in the conference final. The Saints were a four point favorite and the totals line was 54. The game lived up to all the hype as New Orleans pulled out a 31-28 win in overtime to capture the NFC.

Statistically, the Vikings dominated that game, outgaining the Saints in total yards 475 to 257, first downs 31 to 15, and time of possession 36:39 to 27:56. They one area they did not dominate was turnovers. Minnesota turned the ball over five times including two costly interceptions while New Orleans fumbled the ball away once. Viking QB Brett Favre has to do a better job at protecting the ball against a very opportunistic Saint’s defense in order to avoid the same result.

New Orleans’ offense is basically intact from last season’s while Minnesota is missing WR Sidney Rice (injury) and RB Chester Taylor (signed with Chicago). Stick with the Saints to cover in another wild one.

Sunday Sept. 12         4:15 p.m. (ET)

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Green Bay Packers (-3) @ Philadelphia Eagles ‘Over/Under’ 47 ½

Green Bay’s first team offense looked to be in midseason form when they were on the field in the preseason, while Philadelphia is still struggling with a make shift offense line and a new quarterback, Kevin Kolb, who only had two previous starts in the NFL.

The Packers are probably the most balanced team in the NFC with an offense that ended last season ranked sixth overall and a defense that was ranked second. The Eagles offense under their old quarterback, Donovan McNabb were ranked 11^th and their defense was ranked 12^th. While the defense should actually be better this year with the addition of first round pick DE Brandon Graham and second pick S Nate Allen, their offense could struggle early to put points on the board.

Green Bay is the real deal and should actually have a fairly easy time of it in this game. The Packers roll in a high scoring opening day romp.

Sunday Sept. 12         8:20 p.m. (ET)

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Dallas Cowboys (-4) @ Washington Redskins ‘Over/Under’ 40 ½

Dallas and Washington is one of the leagues best rivalries as these teams have a genuine dislike of one another that has been cultivated over the years. No matter which team is the favorite you can rest assured that the underdog will bring the fight until the bitter end.

Neither of these teams appeared ready to start the regular season, judging by the way they looked in the preseason. QB Tony Romo and the high powered Cowboy’s offense has trouble finding the end zone, while the Redskins new prized possession, QB Donovan McNabb looked a bit spotty in a very limited amount of playing time. There is concern over the health of McNabb’s ankle, but it is doubtful it will be enough to keep him out of the lineup against the Cowboys.

Washington will find a way to keep this game close and do not be surprised if DT Albert Haynesworth comes up with a monster effort that helps its cause. The Redskins cover the spread and keep the score down, but still fail to win the game outright.