Stampede Blue’s NFL Week 1 staff picks

Week 1 of the NFL season is finally upon us folks. Tonight the 2018 season officially gets kicked off with the Atlanta Falcons traveling to the Philadelphia Eagles in a matchup against two teams who’ve been to the Super Bowl in the last two seasons.

And while we’re all pining for the Indianapolis Colts season opener on Sunday, just knowing that we can man the couch for the better part of 12 hours for the first time in more than seven months. We don’t know much about any of these teams quite yet, but the Week 1 lineup does offer some very good theoretical matchups.

Deshaun Watson will get his first taste of traveling to Foxboro in a matchup against Tom Brady, a potential big time NFC battle between the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings, and we also get the Khalil Mack-infused Chicago Bears defense heading into Lambeau Field to try their hand at stopping Aaron Rodgers — just to name a few.

For Colts fans, Andrew Luck will finally get to show just how ready he is the team’s home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. With all of this to look forward to, here are the Stampede Blue team’s picks for the Week 1 NFL slate.

Note: Majority vote becomes the staff’s collective pick, ties go to the home team and we’ll keep track of these throughout the 2018 season just as we did last year.

*Those staff members participating (8): Matt Danely, Brett Mock, Chris Blystone, Chris Shepherd, Jared Malott, Stephen Reed, Elliot Denton, Andrew Aziz

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**All times eastern

Thursday 8:20 pm

Falcons (6) @ Eagles | Contrarians: Stephen Reed, Brett Mock

Sunday 1:00 pm

Bengals @ Colts (7) | Contrarian: Matt Danely

Bills @ Ravens

Buccaneers @ Saints

Texans @ Patriots (6) | Contrarians: Jared Malott, Chris Blystone

49ers @ Vikings

Titans (7) @ Dolphins | Contrarian: Chris Shepherd

Jaguars (6) @ Giants | Contrarian: Aziz, Malott

Steelers (5) @ Browns | Contrarians: Danely, Shepherd, Blystone

Sunday 4:05 pm

Chiefs @ Chargers

Sunday 4:25 pm

Cowboys @ Panthers (5) | Contrarians: Mock, Shepherd, Aziz

Redskins (6) @ Cardinals | Contrarians: Reed, Mock

Seahawks @ Broncos (4/4) | Contrarians: Aziz, Malott, Reed, Blystone

Sunday 8:20 pm

Bears @ Packers (6) | Contrarians: Danely, Blystone

Monday 7:10 pm

Jets @ Lions

Monday 10:20 pm

Rams @ Raiders