Week 1 Predictions

Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos

While Panthers have largely kept their team intact this offseason, Broncos have gone through some massive changes on both sides of the ball. This is not the same team that just won Super Bowl 50 against the Panthers a mere 7 months ago. Instead this team will be lead by second year quarterback Trevor Siemian. Siemian was the third stringer behind Manning and Osweiler last season and has shown consistency through the preseason. He will have his big targets Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders to throw to down the field and C.J. Anderson in his backfield. While the defense lost key players like Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan, the team was able to sign linebacker Von Miller to a long-term deal in the offseason. He along with DeMarcus Ware and Derek Wolfe will be the keys to the line with the team still having one of the top secondaries in the league.

Panthers meanwhile have the reining league MVP at the helm. He with a healthy Kelvin Benjamin returning to form along with Devin Funchess and Philly Brown should be able to continue the high scoring offense that made them the NFC champions last season. The team has a top defense with Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis and though the loss of Josh Norman in the secondary may seem significant, it will not stop this team from starting off this season as strongly as last season.  Prediction: Panthers

San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs

Travis Benjamin comes over from the Browns to make his start at receiver for the Chargers. He will play opposite Keenan Allen to help keep quarterback Philip Rivers throwing for over 4700 yards. Melvin Gordon has been impressive in preseason and should have a better 2016 campaign. Despite spending all offseason trying to sign defensive end Joey Bosa, the rookie will not start in the season opener.Instead Darius Philon will get the start.

Chiefs are the favorites in the AFC West this season. This is in no small part to the play of quarterback Alex Smith and his favorite target, tight end Travis Kelce. In addition he has good receivers in Jeremy Maclin and Chris Conley and a great running back in Jamaal Charles. Chiefs have a phenomenal defense in Tamba Hali, Dontari Poe, Marcus Peters and Eric Berry. They will be hard to beat this season. Prediction: Chiefs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

Can Jameis Winston have the same success in his second season as he did in his rookie campaign or will he hit a sophomore slump? This is the burning question in many people's minds. Mike Evans has become a favorite target of Winston, but let's not forget he has Vincent Jackson on the other side and Doug Martin at running back. This team improved upon their 2014 campaign last season, so can they build upon that sucess and be a playoff caliber team in 2016?

Falcons and Matt Ryan had a disastrous 2015 season and hope to return to their winning ways in 2016. The team is hoping the addition of Mohamed Sanu on the other side of Julio Jones is the answer they need. Devonta Freeman may be the running back to start the season but Tevin Coleman may get tapped if Freeman can't show the play that made him a star last season. Prediction: Buccaneers

Minnesota Vikings at Tennessee Titans

With Teddy Bridgewater out for the season, this team will rely heavily on the legs of Adrian Peterson. The team may have traded with the eagles to acquire Sam Bradford, but it will be Shaun Hill who gets the start at QB. A lot will be expected of rookie receiver Laquon Treadwell to bolster this team's deep threat ability. This team has a stout defense with Anthony Barr but can they make it back to the playoffs in 2016?

Sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota has nowhere to go but up this season. While he played well in 2015 his defense proved to be the team's undoing. Looking to improve on the offense, the team cut and traded many of its veteran receivers and running backs and will rely on receivers Tajae Sharpe and Kendall Wright and running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry. This team should get off to a decent start in 2016. Prediction: Titans

Oakland Raiders at New Orleans Saints

The Raiders are the odds on favorites in the AFC West this season. Derek Carr has two of the best receivers in the division in Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper. Latavius Murray is a workhorse in the backfield and their offensive line has made improvements through offseason acquisitions. Khalil Mack is one of the top linebackers in the league. This team will be a force to reckon with in 2016.

Saints had a horrible 2015 campaign and hope to improve in 2016. Drew Brees has been in need of some help in the short passing game. To that end the team released veteran wide receiver Marques Colston in favor of second year receiver Brandon Coleman. He will be a compliment to Brandin Cooks who had more than 1100 receiving yards last season. Though Mark Ingram's production was down last season he should be able to rush for close to 1000 yards in 2016 behind a better offensive line. Prediction: Raiders

Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets

Bengals are looking to stay competitive and hopefully win the AFC North in 2016. While the team lost receivers Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu in the offseason they did add Brandon LaFell in hopes to improve their underneath routes. Jeremy Hill will need to keep his hands on the ball this season as will his backup Giovani Bernard. This team still has one of the most stout defenses if they can keep the penalties to a minimum.

Jets were finally able to get a deal done with Ryan Fitzpatrick signed in the offseason. This made receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker very happy as Fitzmagic was able to put together a 10-6 record for the team last season. The team added Matt Forte to their backfield which should help their ground game and open up their passing offense. Todd Bowles has made this a very competitive defense. Prediction: Bengals

Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles

If ever a matchup had more questions than answers in Week 1, this is the one. Hue Jackson and the Browns are depending on Robert Griffin III to turn this team's offense around. Unfortunately he will be without one of his biggest offensive weapons Josh Gordon at the start of the season. This leaves it in the hands of Terrelle Pryor who showed vast improvement in preseason and rookie Corey Coleman. Duke Johnson will lead the charge out the backfield improving upon his 2015 season.

Eagles have decided to start rookie QB Carson Wentz. Josh Huff and Nelson Agholor with Jordan Matthews at slot will try to help turn this team around in 2016. Ryan Matthews will be their star back this season. Fletcher Cox and the defense will have their work cut out for them. Prediction: Browns

Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Packers will begin the season with both Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb back at full strength this should help both Aaron Rogers and the passing game as well as Eddie Lacy in the rush game. Lacy had a down year last season, but with a newly shredded physique he has looked good in preseason and should be able to regain his 2014 form in 2016. With Clay Matthews moving from inside to outside linebacker the team's rushing attack should be vastly improved.

Jaguars are the most highly anticipated team of 2016. Blake Bortles passed for over 30 touchdowns last season making him one of the most prolific passers in the league. This season the Allen brothers (Hurns and Robinson) will have Chris Ivory in the backfield to compliment T.J. Yeldon. The team has made vast improvements on offense, but it is the defense that has made the most changes. With the acquisition of tackle Malik Jackson and drafting of Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack are key figures to help make this one of the most improved teams of the season. Prediction: Packers

Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens

Tyrod Taylor will have to show the Bills why he is their long term choice at QB this season. He will have help with a healhty Sam Watkins who is back from offseason foot surgery and Marquise Goodwin. LeSean McCoy will have a heavy workload this season and likely will surpass 1000 yards in 2016 a feat he was unable to do in 2015. This team's biggest weakness will be on defense where injuries and suspension decimating the team in a big way.

Joe Flacco returns to form after an injury shortened 2015. He will also have a healthy Steve Smith Sr. back along with Kamar Aiken and Mike Wallace. Justin Forsett will also make a return this season with Terrance West playing more of a role in the run game. The loss of tight end Ben Watson will play only a small role in the team's capabilities down the field. Terrell Suggs and C.J. Mosley head up a line that made few upgrades but will need to improve drastically to stay competitive in the AFC North. Prediction: Ravens

Chicago Bears at Houston Texans 

Jay Cutler will finally get to see the ability of wide receiver Kevin White. The sophomore receiver spent his rookie campaign sidelined. He will join the likes of Alshon Jeffery who had an injury plagued 2015. Jeremy Langford takes over the starting running back job with the loss of Matt Forte in the offseason. The addition of Danny Trevathan next to Jerrell Freeman on the defensive line should help shore up some of the problems the Bears dealt with last season.

Texans improved their offense through free agency starting with the addition of quarterback Brock Osweiler. He has shown in the preaseason he is worth the team's $72 million investment. He has one of the best receivers in the league in DeAndre Hopkins and the team drafted Will Fuller and Braxton Miller to help on the other side. Lamar Miller will help Alfred Blue improve the running game. J.J. Watt will have a healthy Jadeveon Clowney to help him and Vince Wilfork and Brian Cushing this season. Prediction: Texans

Miami Dolphins at Seattle Seahawks

Adam Gase has added a new sense of swagger to the Dolphins. The team hopes it will translate to success on the field. Ryan Tannehill will have rookie guard Laremy Tunsil in front of him to help keep him upright this season and receivers DeVante Parker, Kenny Sills and Jarvis Landry to help him improve upon his 4200 yards and 24 touchdowns from 2015. The team recently named Arian Foster their starting running back. The injury prone Foster hopes he can make a full comeback from a torn Achilles suffered last season or risk losing the job to Jay Ajayi. Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake lead a defense that hopes to finally beat the Patriots in 2016.

The Seahawks hope to have tight end Jimmy Graham available in the opening game, but he is a day-to-day decision. So Russell Wilson will have to rely on receivers Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse if Graham is unavailable. With Marshawn Lynch retiring in the offseason the team will be relying on Christine Michael and Thomas Rawls in 2016. Bobby Wagner and the defense will need to find a way to beat the Cardinals to win the division this season. Prediction: Seahawks

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

Victor Cruz is back healthy and will come back as the slot receiver. Rookie receiver Sterling Shepard will play opposite of Odell Beckham to help Eli Manning improve the team's 6-10 record from 2015. Running back Rashad Jennings will lead the run game in hopes of surpassing 1000 yards for the first time in his young career. Giants will have Jason Pierre-Paul at full strength and added Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins to shore up a terrible defense from last season.

Cowboys lost quarterback Tony Romo for six to ten weeks to a back injury. Instead rookie quarterback Dak Prescott will get the start. The young sensation has been a star through preseason. Fortunately he'll have Dez Bryant healthy and Terrance Williams to help him downfield and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott to help in the backfield. The defense has looked solid through preseason. Prediction: Giants

Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts

Calvin Johnson's retirement in the offseason left a massive hole on the Lions offense. To make up for the loss the team picked up Marvin Jones and Anquan Boldin through free agency on the other side of Golden Tate in hopes to keep Matthew Stafford passing for more than 4200 yards again this season. They will have their work cut out for them, but Ameer Abdullah should be able to get to 1000 yards this season.

Andrew Luck is back healthy this season and should be able to return the team to their winning ways. He'll have Donte Moncrief and T.Y. Hilton at receiver and Frank Gore at running back. Expect a big turnaround for a fully healthy defense in 2016. Prediction: Colts

New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals

Patriots will start the season without quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games. This leaves the offense in the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo. No worries as he will have the best tight end in the league in Rob Gronkowski along with receivers Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman and running back LeGarrette Blount. Chris Long comes over to the Patriots at defensive end to join a strong defense trying to make it back to the Super Bowl.

Cardinals finished just short of the Super Bowl and hopes to get over the hump this season. Carson Palmer will have receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd and sophomore sensation David Johnson at running back. The addition of Chandler Jones will make this dominant defense even more of a menace in 2016. Prediction: Cardinals

Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Redskins

While Ben Roethlisberger is healthy and available at the season opener, running back Le'Veon Bell will be out four games and wide receiver Martavis Bryant will be out for the season both due to suspensions. Instead running back DeAngelo Williams and wide receiver Markus Wheaton. Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones lead a hard hitting defense that will likely win the AFC North in 2016.

Kirk Cousins signed a free agency contract in 2016. He will need to show he's worth a long-term investment in 2016. To help him out he'll have DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon to help him. With the departure of Alfred Morris, Matt Jones has won the starting running back job. He has shown it was a wise decision in the preseason. Ryan Kerrigan will lead a defense trying to win the NFC East again this season. Prediction: Steelers